CSI Files
Captain
<I>CSI</I> creator <font color=yellow>Anthony Zuiker</font> intentionally pushed the envelope to revolutionize the publishing industry with his upcoming "Digi-Novel", <I>Level 26: Dark Origins</I>. <p><I>Level 26</I> combines traditional reading with video "cyber bridges" to drive readers from the book to <A class="link" HREF="http://www.level26.com">Level26.com</a> and back again. The website also has extra content and social networking capabilities for readers. Zuiker created <I>Level 26</I> to be a "total sensory experience," he told <A class="link" HREF="http://www.fastcompany.com/">Fast Company</a>. "I think that's the future of consuming books, period."<p>For Zuiker, the first Digi-Novel is a prototype that will allow him to explore how multiplatform storytelling is going to work. <I>Level 26</I> will appeal to a certain segment of readers, but he plans to create future projects that are geared toward different demographics. "I want to turn the digi-novel into its own industry," Zuiker explained. "You walk into B. Dalton, there's 50 Zuiker books there."<p>Zuiker was frustrated by the lack of control he had over the <I>CSI</I> franchise, and that's one reason the Digi-Novel concept appealed to him. "I want to be in a position to own," Zuiker said. "I own the content that I write and shoot; I own all the characters; I own my e-book rights; I own my Web site."<p>Level26.com was created by EQAL, the social entertainment company behind <A class="link" HREF="http://www.lg15.com/">lonelygirl15</a>. When lonelygirl15 was launched, EQAL co-founder <font color=yellow>Greg Goodfried</font> noticed that fans would come to the site for original content, but they would linger to speak to other visitors about things that had nothing to do with the site. "[W]e had this realization that if you can drive somebody to a place around an entertainment property, and then provide them with social tools to talk about these other things, you're going to build a really vibrant community -- a whole universe," Goodfried said.<P>There are other cross-platform novels, including Scholastic's <I>The 39 Clues</I>. The book guides young readers to a website to access puzzles and games. "That's a similar idea in the sense that the book is the foundation," explained Dutton's president and publisher <font color=yellow>Brian Tart</font>, "but it doesn't go to the viral experience. We want to create a community that lives online."<P>Because of the dark nature of <I>Level 26</I>, Zuiker has had trouble getting corporate backing for his new cross-platform concept. "Let's be frank: It's not earned now," Zuiker said. "When I've earned a half a million users on my site, and shown that you can tell stories on three platforms and be solvent, then I'll have more leverage. I need to prove to the industry, on so many levels, that this can work."<p>The original article--including video clips--can be found in its entirety on the <A class="link" HREF="http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/138/crypt-keeper.html">Fast Company</a> website.<center></center>