Film Courage: In creating an immersive story why do you focus on the audience before you focus on the characters in the world?
Margaret Kerrison, Immersive Storyteller, Narrative Director and Writer: When we think about immersive storytelling we always go back to the idea of the person (the audience member) who’s coming in, committing their time and energy into the space. How do we create an experience for them that is truly immersive? In any other type of storytelling it is about another person’s story, it’s another character going on their own journey having this adventure but in immersive storytelling, the hero, the protagonist is your audience member, is your visitor. They are the ones who want to commit this time to going on a journey that is for them, that is unique to them, that’s personal to them perhaps. When we think about creating an immersive storytelling world or experience it is a multi-dimensional video game come to life. This player, if you will, is going into this experience and into this world to do something, to experience something and so we create a story and a narrative and a world around them. They are the first person perspective of looking around a space, an environment and a world. We see it through their eyes and so when I think about any type of experience that I build…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BUY THE BOOK – IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING FOR REAL AND IMAGINED WORLDS: A Writer’s Guide
BIO:
Born in Indonesia and raised in Singapore, Margaret Kerrison received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Her career spans television, film, digital media, games, brand storytelling, location-based entertainment, and immersive experiences. She has worked as a Story Lead, Story Consultant, and Writer for multiple projects around the world, including Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Star Wars: Launch Bay, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, Avengers Campus, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, National Geographic HQ, and the NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted. She was the writer for five projects that won Themed Entertainment Association (THEA) Awards. She has appeared in the Disney+ series Behind the Attraction, the Freeform television special Star Wars: Galaxy‘s Edge – Adventure Awaits, and the online educational program Imagineering in a Box. She was a Disney Imagineer from 2014-2021. She is currently a Sr. Experiential Creative Lead at Airbnb. Immersive Storytelling for Real and Imagined Worlds – A Writer’s Guide is her first book.
CONNECT WITH MARGARET KERRISON
Advertisement – contains affiliate links
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
More affiliates:
Camera we use for interviews – https://buff.ly/3rWqrra
Sound we use for interviews – https://amzn.to/2tbFlM9
Writers, try Final Draft free for 30-days – https://ow.ly/Gz4w30rDSKt
Other books on Amazon that Film Courage recommends – https://buff.ly/3o0oE5o
