AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS is an award-nominated web audio adventure for the iPad (with a Chrome App version coming soon!). You travel across the web with characters who face ridiculous obstacles to being themselves. It is inspired by audio drama, audio tours, and alternate reality games...and it's about identity, mortality, and pizza toppings... This case study and interview gives you a behind the scenes look at the creation of this innovative narrative experience.

1. Authentic
in all caps
Case Study
& Interview
w/
Christy Dena

2. AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS is an award-
nominated web audio adventure for the iPad.
You travel across the web with characters who
face ridiculous obstacles to being themselves.
It's about identity, mortality, and pizza toppings.
what is it?

4. why look at this project?
Christy Dena has long been a force of nature in the
transmedia world. Her dedication is not only to the
craft of world building but also in developing
community and creating open forums to develop
best practices.
Her work is as much about the final product as it is
about the creation of an open source set of
processes and tools to help us all build better
projects.

6. Why did you make this project?
After working on commissioned projects for brands, agencies, and
broadcasters, I wanted to do a project that takes the sensibilities of
professional team work and approach and mixes them with a healthy
dollop of creative freedom. All projects have constraints, but this is one
where we can say and do a lot more than other client-led situations.
The idea of the audio-driven navigation system came in response to a
problem I saw happening in highly dispersed projects. There is a design
issue/challenge in successfully encouraging your players or audience to
travel across numerous websites - to go to lots of different "places" to
experience a work of fiction. Many creators have gone the route of
"convergence", where they combine everything in the same place...thus
removing any "divergence". I'm interested in "unmixed media" aesthetics.
So the question I asked, is how can I maintain divergence whilst
benefiting from convergence? The audio-driven navigation system does
this. An audio layer works as an intangible glue, guiding you across
different spaces.

7. Why did you make this project?
As for the story. There are a lot of influences on the playful story
of AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS. A major one is the unexpected death of
my mother from an aneurysm. I took care of her property, and spent a
long time searching through her books, notes, emails, and phone calls, to
understand what had happened and why. I became a Philosophy
Detective. And then there is the ongoing journey of "being yourself" -
how I've spent my life peeling back the layers of what I should be, and
how so much of the world makes it so weirdly difficult to do anything but
the "shoulds".

8. The project started with the idea of audio tours of the web. I worked on
developing a startup technology business that utilises that idea. At first
the plan was to release a creative project as a way to showcase what the
technology can do, and open it up for anyone to create their own audio
tour of the web – for educational/non-fictional or fictional purposes. The
work involved in creating both a fictional project as well as a startup was
huge, and so I had to make a decision which one I’d put my energy into
— first at least. I decided on the creative project of course.
how did you come up with this idea?
So the idea developed away from an audio tour, to more of a
radio drama layer that involves traversing specially-created
fictional websites. While there are many characters in the story,
you travel primarily with the Pathologist and Part-Time Time-Travel
Student. The characters live in a world split in two: the Overworld
and the Underworld. The Pathologist decides to take on a bet
to find the meaning of death.

9. Why did you choose to open up the creative
process through your creator’s log?
Very early on in the process I started the diary of my thoughts. But my
ideas kept changing and so I couldn't share them as they were
happening. People may like a character and the next day I decide to not
use it. I needed to have the freedom to create without people staring
over my shoulder. But I do love sharing the process of creating and the
insights I gain along the way. For some reason, the urge to create and
the urge to share the process of creation are equally strong in me. The
common factor is muddy messes. I channel what I experience into
creative projects, and I channel the creative process into education.
Either way, I take what I experience and try and make it into something
useful...and beautiful. I also find other diaries and insights helpful and so
I want to return the gift.

10. What were the outcomes of working in this way?
I was surprised by what I discovered from the diary process. The action
of writing down my thoughts helped me understand and solve
problems. The simple act of getting them out of my head and formed in
words crunched through invisible walls. It was a nifty way to keep my
notes together and easily searchable. I usually have pieces of paper
and notepads all over the place. By using a document I always knew
where the ideas were and could search for terms. Importantly too I
discovered things about myself. For instance, I noticed that I would
have an intuition about something but then would investigate through
testing alternatives. Some time later I would end up having the idea
again after I forgot I had it already. So I learned to trust my first instincts
more.

12. creative goals
Audio is a powerful element in any creative project
-- and we're drawing on it to explore characters,
setting, navigation, and emotion on the web in a new
way. The unusual mix of using audio as the major
delivery mode, along with visuals, and the need to
act, is a great creative challenge we're relishing. You
don't just listen, you look, and do. But all of the visual
and action elements need to compliment and not
compete with the main audio channel. We're drawing
on animation and audio tours to guide our insights.
1

13. creative goals
In terms of character design, the story has a
strong female lead that doesn't need saving but
still has her own flaws. She is courageous enough
to be herself. In fact, the whole ensemble of
characters explore different aspects of the
obstacles to being yourself -- from not knowing
who you are, to being courageous in the face of
financial, social, emotional, and psychological
walls. This approach has meant finding some
unusual approaches to protagonist, sidekick, and
ensemble design
2

14. creative goals
They are playing with an idea of 'immersion'.
When you read a book or listen to a radio drama,
you spend a lot of mental effort creating the
environment and appearance of the characters in
your mind. They want to encourage this
imaginative projection as much as possible, and
so we've developed aesthetic principles to
facilitate this happening.
3

15. creative goals
They are playing with the notion of 'space' on
the web. What if each website is a 'place' -- a
company, a building, a hideout? They are using
spatial sound, wayfinding, and aesthetic
principles we've developed to facilitate this idea.
4

16. creative goals
They are making this for people who have always
wanted to dive into stories delivered across the
web but found them unapproachable; for people
who have started engaging with online
experiences but found they demanded too much
time and effort to stay with; and for those that are
keen to explore something fun and different.
5

17. Placeholder Text
topicName

18. platform Overview
over 1 hour of audio drama
Social media accounts
for characters
over 10 websites
all accessed via an iPad App or {upcoming} Chrome App
Artifact:
Sent to Registered Users

19. Placeholder Text
topicName

20. Financing
Small grant from Screen Australia to port the app (create a desktop
version) and do a new trailer.
Financially, AUTHENTIC happened because of 4 factors:
Universe Creation 101 (Christyʼs company/Christy) channelling
income to pay the sub-contractors and cast ($28,500AUD)*
1
2 Sub-contractors not charging full rates
3 Crowdfunding contributors from 14 countries (15,000AUD)
4
* Christyʼs own funds included paying for business development, marketing materials (trailers,
posters), software and subscription costs, all the prototypes, and so on. She didn't draw any
income for her work on this project over the 3 years of almost full-time work. In the end when
she deducted fees and costs to run the crowdfunding campaign, the Pozible funds didn't end
up contributing as much to the project. But the cash influx and the swelling of support were
gold.

21. Crowdfunding
AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS Pozible crowdfunding campaign
successfully reached its goal.
length of campaign
Number of contributors
total amount raised A$15,214
242
30

22. Crowdfunding
rewards for contributing
app
The unique web audio adventure that includes three 20+ minute
episodes which involve moving through the 10+ websites, with optional
playful missions, and further activities outside of the main audio
experience.
soundtrack
Digital download of the complete custom soundtrack composed by
Trevor Dikes of Soundplay Interactive for all three episodes! Here is a
sampler of Trevor's work:
https://soundcloud.com/soundplayinteractive/soundplay-interactive-2012

23. Crowdfunding
Christy Dena shares her writing, design, and directing decisions made
during the project. It includes videos, podcasts & articles that inspired
or changed her thinking, art, audio files, writing scripts (see this
article), as well as a topic-driven navigation system for ease of use.
This will be in digital format, but not iOS.
creator’s log
They created a personal audio introduction to AUTHENTIC IN ALL
CAPS, guiding you to the app with a special narration written by Christy
Dena and performed by the narrator of the project - the ACE comedian
Jimmy James Eaton (who is also the narrator of our video).
personalized prologue by jimmy james eaton
Be a part of the development process by playing a pre-release version
of the App. Find bugs and give us feedback! You'll need an iPad of
course, and we'll be tracking your actions remotely, or if in Melbourne
in person too! All playtesters will be in the credits of the App.
user tester

24. Crowdfunding
mini game
In the AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS world, philosophers are gamblers. So we
have a casino where philosophers play...philosophy games. Some are
games you'd find in a casino, with a philosophic edge, and others are just
games that make you think...really think. For example, we like games such
as Jason Nelson's game, game, game and again game as well as
Molleindustria's Every Day the Same Dream. But let your imagination go
wild. If you would like to create your own special philosophy game (or let us
know about your existing one), we'll link to it from the app!
In the AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS world, Artists are Assassins. They get
funding and critical acclaim by killing people with their art. You can be a part
of the AUTHENTIC world by having your own Artist Assassin Avatar created
by artist Simon Howe (the artist behind the video). We'll work with you, and
based on the character traits you select (art weapon, weaknesses, etc), an
avatar will be created and exist in the world upon launch!
artist assassin

25. Crowdfunding
sponsor
You or your team can have a 2 hour meeting with Christy and a crew or
cast member. We'll do this either in person (if in Melbourne) or via Skype,
or some form. We can do a presentation, consult on your work, entertain,
whatever cunning plan you come up with!
As a sponsor, you'll receive 3 copies of the complete 3 episode iPad App,
the Creator's Log (digital version), and your branding included as a special
sponsor in the App for all players to see.
consulting

26. marketing strategy
Christy started by launching a website and teaser trailer right at the beginning o
the project, back when I didn't even have a full script. She did this to commence
the long process of building an audience, to gather some pre-sales, and to
collect data about who the project appealed to. That resulted in some pre-sales
peers sharing the news, some articles and podcast interviews. The awareness
was out there and so I continued to casually get the news out at industry
presentations. The next major milestone was the crowdfunding campaign. I
spent months researching journalists and strategies. The campaign involved
personal emails to people, special landing pages, press kit, trailer, interviews an
so on.

27. marketing strategy
That attracted an amazing response from my peers and beyond, with people
around the world supporting the project. When it finally came to the release of
the app I had run out of money. But Screen Australia had offered me a small
grant to port the app and create a trailer. So I decided to leave the full launch
until I had all that in place. I did, however, do small things such as creating
personalized prologues to the experience. I researched some journalists and
created a custom script narrated for them. That was a hit with some of the
journalists and a blast to do. The next stage is to release the new trailer with
announcements and the desktop version of the app.

28. audience
The primary audience is 35-49 year olds, equally male and female.
Younger and older audiences find it appealing though too. She found that
story-lovers respond to it the most ardently, with sales from around the
world. It appeals to alternate story and format-lovers, and surprisingly not
necessarily those who have an existing interest in audio.

29. response
The response post-soft-launch has been quiet but growing. She hasnʼt
done hardly any promotions since the soft launch, but she has had sales
around the world. Players have sent her emails about the experience and
the project was selected for the 2014 Electronic Literature Organization's
Media Arts Show. It was reviewed along literary novelists which is a great
sign regarding the place it has for some players. It is also being studied by
cross media design students in Sweden.

30. Team
ipad version
CAST
(in order of appearance)
Narrator + Underworld Goon: Jimmy James Eaton
Pathologist: Alison Richards
Assistant: Nadia Collins
New Client: Adam McKenzie
Ticket Officer + Philosopher Gambler: Ben McKenzie
Philosopher Ex: Stefan Taylor
Artist Assassin: Richard McKenzie
Quantum Pizzeria Waitress: Tegan Higginbotham
Quantum Boss + Philosopher Gambler: Kevin J Powe
Writer, Designer, Director: Christy Dena, Universe Creation 101
Sound Artist: Trevor Dikes, Soundplay Interactive
Illustrator: Yangtian Li
App Art: Adam (Elroy) Mazzitelli
Logo: Simon Howe
Artifact Art: Juliana Loh
App Programmer: Craig Peebles
Web Programming: Andrew Hine, Penny Lyle, Adam (Elroy)
Mazzitelli, Ajay Ranipeta, Christy Dena
Recording Production Assistant: Pamela Davidson
Featured Music: The Guggenheim Grotto
Teaser Editor: Atalanti Dionysus
CREW

31. Team
crowdfunding campaign
CREW
Writer-Director: Christy Dena, Universe Creation 101
DOP & Editor: Lester Francios
Animator + Logo: Simon Howe
Sound Artist: Trevor Dikes, Soundplay Interactive
Web Programmer: Ezra Silman
CAST
Narrator: Jimmy James Eaton
prototype 2
CREW
Writer-Designer-Director: Christy Dena, Universe
Creation 101
App Programmer: Craig Peebles
Artist: Juliana Loh
Sound Artist: Trevor Dikes, Soundplay Interactive
CAST
Narrator: Jimmy James Eaton
Pathologist: Rebekah Stone
Assistant: Nadia Collins
New Client: Adam McKenzie
Ticket Officer: Ben McKenzie
Philosopher Ex: Stefan Taylor

32. Team
CREW
Writer-Director: Christy Dena, Universe
Creation 101
Producer: Beatrix Coles
Art Director & Editor: Garth Jones
Web Programmer: Tom Stones
DOP & Editor: Adam (Elroy) Mazzitelli
CAST
Featured Player: Leena van Deventer
Cafe Extra: Laura Crawford
prototype 1 concept teaser
CREW
Writer-Designer-Director: Christy Dena, Universe
Creation 101
Producer: Simon J. Green
Sound Designer & Composer: Stephan Schutze
Tutorial Graphic Artist: Nilson Rea
CAST
Narrator: Rebekah Stone
Pathologist: Karin Muiznieks
Assistant: Tegan Higginbotham
New Client: Richard McKenzie
Ticket Officer: Adam McKenzie
Philosopher Ex: Stefan Taylor

33. Team
Christian McCrea
Dan Golding
Danny Stefanic
Jessica Lowry
JC Hutchins
Katharine Neil
Kevin Marks
Morgan Jaffit
Russ Weakley
Sarah Jansen
playtesters Consigliere
Anna Burkey
Beatrix Coles
Brian Jeffery
Deb Polson
Edward Colclough
Harry Lee
Lois Spangler
Morgan Jaffit
Robert Reid
Sayraphim Lothian

34. next steps
Christy always wanted to make the App accessible beyond the iPad, and so
the Screen Australia grant permits that. She decided to port it to a Chrome
App because Chrome has huge market penetration, the app isn't limited by
platform concerns such as iOS or Android, and it suits the aesthetics of the
project the best. She has made the Creator's Log public, and she will be
making some announcements over the next few months...

35. links
www.authenticinallcaps.com
www.universecreation101.com

36. get in touch!
TMC Resource Kit
info@tmcresourcekit.com
tmcresourcekit.com
AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS Case Study
& Intweview prepared by:
Anthea Foyer
redsquidlab.com
@redsquidlab
with help from Zan Chandler
zanchandler.com

37. THANKS to...
tmcrk partners

38. tmcrk partners
AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS Case Study is released under
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