From Consumer to Collaborator: How audiences are transforming storytelling

In response to the disruptive effects on the Internet on the entertainment media production industries, this Major Research Project explores transformations in storytelling told across film, TV and related media as entertainment media industries transition from an age dominated by mass media technologies to one dominated by the Internet. This research employs a design thinking approach that draws on foresight research, horizon scanning and expert interviews to explore the problem space, frame the key issues and design a solution. Positing that the audience’s innate desire to participate in the storytelling process is a driver of these changes, it asserts that today’s audiences are increasingly taking on a collaborative role in storytelling. In light of this new and empowered role for audiences, this research project proposes a series of thinking tools to aid today’s storytellers in engaging in sustainable conversations with audiences