Transmedia storytelling in analysis: The case of Final punishment

Transmedia storytelling refers to both fictional and non-fictional narratives that are expanded across different media platforms, inviting the audience to engage and migrate from one medium to another in order to undergo an enriched experience. As a relatively new and elusive subject, it does not have its own specific methods and methodology of analysis. This was my main motivation in proposing a transmedia project design analytical model, aimed at outlining relevant aspects that could contribute to understanding the process of the development of transmedia projects. First, this article succinctly presents the original analytical model to approach cases of transmedia projects and later applies it to Final Punishment, an award-winning multiplatform series produced in Brazil in 2009 by the Portuguese company BeActive - one of the pioneering transmedia production companies. The transmedia project focuses on eight women imprisoned in a fictitious high-security prison in Rio de Janeiro. It was possible to conclude that Final Punishment contributed to the development and dissemination of transmedia storytelling in Brazil, because in 2009 the country was just crawling in terms of multiplatform media production. Final Punishment gained notoriety not because of its rather limited range in terms of audience reach (a million viewers per episode and 1 1 5000 alternate reality game (ARG) players is not a great amount in such a large country as Brazil), but for its integrated and well-designed content which unfolded across multiple media platforms in a mixture of portmanteau and franchise transmedia type. The inconsistencies generated by the courageous initiative to produce a mockumentary in a country accustomed to mostly trusting everything that appears in the media, did not reduce the impact of Final Punishment.