Guest Column: Screenwriter and film producer Nick Fletcher and creative author Elsa Evripidou talk about the creation of the new cinematic book ‘Monsoon Tide’

Imagine a product where you can access a character’s backstory, inner thoughts and motivations but you can also see and hear the people, locations and action with the immediacy of a film.  With a cinematic book or cBook you read a chapter on your e-reader and then click to view the ensuing clip which propels you to the next chapter and so on.  The story is therefore revealed, half in a written and half in a film format.

Reasons for it:

• We have all had the experience of watching beloved novels become slightly disappointing feature films because some of the intricacies of the original story and the insights into the characters have got lost in translation.  The cBook means that this depth of background can be retained whilst at the same time exploring some wonderful cinematic possibilities.
• In our view, e-books are, for the most part, merely replicating conventional books in an electronic format.  As a result, they are losing market share to the old style printed books.   E-books, however, can do so much more.  There are many audio-visual, gaming and interactive possibilities which could be added to e-books and could perhaps appeal to new audiences.
• As avid readers ourselves, we were naturally concerned that the cBook might be seen as a dumbing down of literature, taking people away from the joys of reading and immersion in a story.  However, English teachers have been very enthusiastic about the concept, seeing the possibility to attract reluctant readers into the wonderful world of literature.  The clips can act as motivation… reading a few pages will be rewarded with a visual treat.  Also, a cBook story (akin to a 300 page novel) can be read in under two hours.

Who should consider making a cBook?

read more: http://www.talkingnewmedia.com/2017/10/20/ebooks-cbooks-new-ebook-format-combining-best-book-film-exciting-new-story-platform/