Future of Film Podcast · Jeff Gomez: Building Franchises, Transmedia Storytelling and the Collective Journey

“Empathy is the way to the heart of a new kind of storytelling … which can reach global audiences and make the world a better place“ Jeff Gomez

Jeff Gomez is CEO of Starlight Runner and one of the world’s leading experts in story and narrative design. He works with executives, visionaries, and global leaders to develop vast fictional story universes on properties like Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers and Spider-Man

This conversation is really an exploration of narrative design. In particular, Jeff describes how conceiving and developing stories as worlds that can be told across multiple platforms can unlock incredible value for creators and brands. We also discuss the movement of audiences to participants and how, as storytellers we can not only engage and learn from the audience as well as harness this incredible feedback in our work.

This leads us to explore what Jeff refers to us the Collective Journey narrative modality which, he argues, is a more relevant way to think about story in today’s hyper connected world. We dig into what this means for film, for culture and how we are moving from Hollywood-centric storytelling to more global, diverse and inclusive narratives.

About Jeff Gomez

Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner, is one of the world’s leading experts in story and narrative design. He works with executives, visionaries, and global leaders to maximize the effectiveness of brand narratives, develop vast fictional story worlds, and design highly successful transmedia franchises. Jeff has teamed with top creators on such properties as Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, Magic: The Gathering and Spider-Man. He has also written and co-produced hit comic books and graphic novels, video games, animated series, global ad campaigns, and virtual productions. As a writer and game designer, Jeff has worked on the Halo, Splinter Cell, Need for Speed, and Turok franchises. He is currently serving as a producer on the global relaunch of the Ultraman franchise for Tsuburaya Productions. Learn about Jeff’s Collective Journey narrative model at http://www.blog.collectivejourney.com. Jeff coaches writers and rising creatives through his Starlight Runner Life Story coaching service. Find our more at http://www.slrlifestory.com