Transmedia Case Study: The Three Little Pigs

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If the Three Little Pigs were told as a transmedia story it might be designed like this:

  • The basic story would be told in an anchoring medium, such as a novel, TV show, or film.  In this case, it’s a short story.
  • There are four primary characters to expand and explore: three pigs and a wolf.  There are also deeper themes of hard work, planning, collaboration, family and persistence underlying the main story arc.
  • The first round of expansion:
    • Pig 1 has a blog which details the family history and complicated family dynamics that led to the pigs decision to live apart rather than together.  Pig 1 also harbors paranoid suspicions of a dark figure lurking about his house and a conspiracy theory of a cover-up by local authorities that contributed to the interfamilial conflict.
    • The wolf has a website would give us opportunities to learn more him, the path that led the wolf to his current antisocial tendencies, and give us a glimpse of his complex inner genius, such as showing his mathematical schematics of the impact of wind velocity on the materials of straw, sticks and bricks. We would also be able to find maps of the turnip field, apple tree, local market and County Fair and strategic attack positions. We would follow the wolf as he plots and adjusts his plans at each volley by the pigs and contribute ideas and support.
    • The second little pig, Pig 2, takes to Twitter.  Given that his house of sticks didn’t do very well under Wolf breath, he has become very interested in rebuilding with sustainable building materials and exchanges tips with his Twitter followers.  He tweets breaking news during any PigLand events such as a Wolf attack.
      • @littlepig2 walls of house bowing inward, sticks flying off roof – help
    • The third little pig, Pig 3, is a  hardworking homebody.  He keeps a vegetable garden and creates a cooking blog and cooking demo videos for YouTube shot on location in the House of Stone.  His recipes, such as such as Parsley Turnips, Baked Apples, and Stewed Wolf Surprise are made using only local, organic ingredients.
  • The second round of expansion
    • On a Ning network, Wolf supporters form Team Wolf and contribute strategy, information, additional maps, and alternate endings and plot developments.
    • An Anime comic takes fans on the first little pig’s visions of a pig super hero uncovering the conspiracy, saving the world and avenging evil as personified by wolves.
    • Pig 2 posts eco-friendly home designs and materials on Pinterest and holds a contest for homes make from sustainable building materials
    • The third little pig has a cooking series shot on location from the Stone House kitchen posted on YouTube with ways to make Parsley Turnips, Baked Apples, and Stewed Wolf Surprise. He hides clues for secret ingredients in his dishes in lyrics of songs and the YouTube trailers and encourage viewers to send in their stories about home cooking and wolf encounters to be shared on a website. He publishes a cookbook with recipes, clues to the location of the remaining house of stone, and phone numbers with changing recorded messages of cooking tips and pig gossip.
  • Additional expansion:
    • The Three Little Pigs II – The Sequel
    • A new game called “Angry Pigs” is available for download at the Apple Store involving pigs, wolves and wind velocity.
    • Pig 3’s videos showcase occasional trips to the Local Market and County Fair, where additional characters can be introduced
    • The pigs in PigLand can link with other story worlds, like Little Red Riding Hood or Puss n’ Boots, where there are opportunities for Wolf collusion for hard core fans.

The hypothetical transmedia version of the Three Little Pigs is not the repurposing of story across different platforms. It is the creation of a holistic narrative that unfolds in different and unique manners across different media. It allows for a dialogue between creator and participant.

Developers could decide if participant interaction, such as solving the sustainable materials problem, finding the wolf through clues and maps, or creating another character for the story, could move the story in different directions than the original version. Participants might urge the first little piggy to trust his instincts about the dark figure or create a hunter who steps up the stakes for the wolf and alters the time dimension of the wolf’s schemes.

29 Comments

  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Andrea Phillips, Scott, Alain Thys, Paul Drury, 4D Fiction and others. 4D Fiction said: The Three Little Pigs – as ARG/Transmedia! A case study example http://bit.ly/f6VMh4 /via @athinklab (Sounds great, I'd follow it!) […]

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  3. Die Woche in Links (38+39/11) | gumpelMEDIA
    October 10, 2011 at 2:48 am ·

    […] Case Study Example: The Three Little Pigs […]

  4. […] on November 1, 2011 by alford2011| Leave a comment Via Scoop.it – Clear CommunicationsShow original Share this: This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. ← Platform […]

  5. […] to get your head around transmedia? This article illustrates how a transmedia producer might reenvision the story of The Three Little […]

  6. […] este artículo es una traducción adaptada del texto Case Studi Example: The Three Little Pigs de Pamela […]

  7. […] Precisamente esa involucración del consumidor que permite la narrativa transmedia puede llegar a ser muy potente en el terreno del márketing, como demuestra esta campaña. […]

  8. […] Precisamente esa involucración del consumidor que permite la narrativa transmedia puede llegar a ser muy potente en el terreno del márketing, como demuestra esta campaña de los tres cerditos. […]

  9. | Transmedia NZ
    February 5, 2013 at 11:01 am ·

    […] Case Study Example: The Three Little Pigs […]

  10. […] page, and twitter, etc… . TMST is very specialised to communicate with customer for example, Dr Rutledge who is a the director of the Media Psychology Research Center, herself is specialised to conducts […]

  11. […] Rutledge, P. (2013). Case study example: The three little pigs. Retrieved from: http://athinklab.com/transmedia-storytelling/case-study-example-the-three-little-pigs/ […]

  12. Transmedia Stories | Melissa BCM Blog
    April 28, 2013 at 3:33 am ·

    […] blog provides a very fun and interesting example of what trans media stories would look like. Check it […]

  13. Transmedia Storytelling | Ground Zero+
    June 15, 2013 at 1:39 pm ·

    […] It is something we, in the Development Sector, can use and help ourselves. Especially see the case-study of the Three Little Pigs. It is simply entertaining and […]

  14. […] Pigs scenarios are an expansion of Dr. Pamela Rutledge’s humorous, tongue-in-cheek examples. View the original case study […]

  15. […] of The Three Little Pigs to demonstrate the idea of expanding your brand’s story by utilizing transmedia storytelling, a coordinated story experience told across multiple media […]

  16. Transmedia Story Telling | danielmitchell95
    August 26, 2014 at 7:43 am ·

    […] example that was given to make me understand used the story of the three little pigs on this […]

  17. […] used a lot of the tips and transmedia lingo I learned from this article. I really tried to imagine how can I get people involved in this story. What are ways that the […]

  18. […] Rutledge, a media-technology psychologist, offers The Three Little Pigs: a transmedia case […]

  19. Resources – Digital Storytelling 3040
    April 5, 2015 at 10:12 pm ·

    […] Example of 3 Little Pigs Transmedia Style […]

  20. […] Precisamente esa involucración del consumidor que permite la narrativa transmedia puede llegar a ser muy potente en el terreno del márketing, como demuestra esta campaña de los tres cerditos. […]

  21. Die Woche in Links (38+39/11) | gumpelmaier
    November 20, 2015 at 1:29 pm ·

    […] Case Study Example: The Three Little Pigs […]

  22. Discussion #2 | JOUR300w
    January 8, 2016 at 2:22 pm ·

    […] and reading the Three Little Pigs case study referenced in the schedule and found at this link: http://athinklab.com/transmedia-storytelling/case-study-example-the-three-little-pigs/, […]

  23. No, Your Children Aren't Becoming Zombies!
    January 23, 2016 at 6:54 pm ·

    […] reading this article about the The Three Little Pigs and transmedia storytelling, I wanted to find out more about Dr. Pamela Rutledge. I found her on […]

  24. […] Rutledge, P. (2016). The Three Little Pig: transmedia case study. Retrieved from http://athinklab.com/transmedia-storytelling/case-study-example-the-three-little-pigs/ […]

  25. curtinstudentblog
    April 16, 2016 at 11:24 pm ·

    […] Rutledge, P. (2016). The Three Little Pig: transmedia case study. Retrieved from http://athinklab.com/transmedia-storytelling/case-study-example-the-three-little-pigs/ […]

  26. Transmedia – Teaching in a Digital World
    October 18, 2016 at 8:13 pm ·

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  27. References – Teaching in a Digital World
    October 18, 2016 at 8:19 pm ·

    […] Rutledge, Dr.P.(2016). Transmedia Case Study: The Three Little Pigs. Transmedia Storytelling. Retrieved from http://athinklab.com/transmedia-storytelling/case-study-example-the-three-little-pigs/ […]

  28. Discussion Question #2 | JOUR300w
    January 9, 2017 at 10:04 am ·

    […] and reading the Three Little Pigs case study referenced in the schedule and found at this link: http://athinklab.com/transmedia-storytelling/case-study-example-the-three-little-pigs/, […]

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