Mobile storytelling.

One of the few issues that still nags at me when thinking about user engagement is just how much time and effort do we expect the user to spend in the experience.

To be honest, I haven't really seen any tangible research one way or tother. So mostly I try to not let it get in the way of the big idea. Why limit yourself. That way you open up the world of "transmedia" storytelling to all sorts of fun possibilities.

Like this location-based iPhone app called "Walking Cinema: Murder on Beacon Hill", an app built around a 43-minute series of interactive videos that tell the story of a real life murder mystery that occurred in Boston in late nineteenth century.

It's actually pure entertainment, no branding involved, and requires the user to literally move along to the story by watching sections from the video at eight different stops. The film just got included into the Boston International Film Festival, an apparent first for an iphone application.

The other reason this caught my eye is that borrows the same kinds of location based functionality and engagement I recently utilized for an idea while working with the good folks at Razorfish. Ours though relies on augmented reality. Alas the idea still resides in limbo land. So make your mind up already Ralph Lauren! But enough with the cheap attempted auto dick suck.

Kudos to Untravel Media for creating and producing.


(Sharing credit to jawbone.tv)