Presenting a story in multiple formats is really cool, and expands the narrative. This can be done through transmedia storytelling, or it can just be an extension of an already established story. Whatever way to get a story or information out to greater numbers of people, greater exposure, is key, and oftentimes the way to do it (as well as just a cool project) is to take an existing work and build on it.
It’s like remixes; a song is expanded upon, recontextualized, and sometimes introduced to a new audience, with different elements added or subtracted. Even just a new singer (to take an example related to the short works here, Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” is him singing a Nine Inch Nails song), can radically alter the meaning or affect of a song.
Interactive media is about taking information and figuring out how best to convey it. Even if using text, how can that be illustrated? Paula Scher, in her interview, spoke about how she “illustrates with type” – her famous examples are posters for the Broadway musical “Bring In ‘da Noise Bring In ‘da Funk,” 
whose chockablock lettering style is iconic for certain musicals, plays, and other theatric works – using works in a graphical style to convey emotion.
Emotion is at the bottom of music director Mark Romanek’s work, too. He – the director of the music video for the aforementioned “Hurt” for Cash – says that at the root of many of his music videos and movies is making the audience believe that what is onscreen is really happening. Engagement – another theme that appears throughout Hillman Curtis’ interviews – is also critical when it comes to filmed entertainment. The viewer has to feel transported into the world onscreen, so that any other concerns outside of the entertainment aren’t consciously present.
Details are usually how it’s done. Mad Men has gotten many accolades because of creator Matt Weiner’s attention to detail, because when the details aren’t just right, when an audience is taken away from the story because of incongruity or anachronism, they lose the momentum of the narrative. Romanek briefly mentioned how he created Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” video, in terms of casting, both with people, locations and props.
I also noted how he specifically did not do a lot of planning. As long as he has enough footage, he prefers the magic to happen in the editing room. Scher, too, isn’t a major process person when it comes to certain ideas; if she doesn’t get it within a short frame after an initial conversation, too much work will leave something muddled. It struck me as I was watching a flood of various designs for posters, events, and logos, that if I was a client I wouldn’t be able to articulate any of those designs unless I specifically wanted an imitation or a hybrid of them. I would have keywords and maybe references, but that’s it. That’s another great definition of a designer – one who can articulate visually certain themes.
What I appreciated about Curtis’ video series is that he explored design through several different mediums. Curtis himself is an artist who has worked in a number of mediums, reinventing himself every few years. The presentation, how ideas and information is conveyed, remains relevant no matter what discipline or medium is chosen – it’s about clarity and often elegance, but overall, meaning.