For this module I set out to investigate transmedia storytelling and the link between this technique and immersion. I used a methodology comprised in the making of a transmedia project and reading a vast array of sources to collect informed research on the topics I was investigating, with theorist Henry Jenkins as part of that. Furthermore, I was able to conduct interviews with transmedia producers and as a result was able to write a dissertation on my chosen subject. In terms of the practical investigation, my initial goal was to create a small-scale transmedia project using a transmedia production bible I created as a basis. From this I created a 22 page graphic novel issue, an audio segment to accompany the storytelling, illustrations and photography. I choice of media was crucial in creating a feasible and successful experience that can be enjoyed as an enriching entertainment experience. The research and practical I have produced has taught me about storytelling, fictional worlds, character development, narrative complexity and a breadth of other topics contained within storytelling that are specifically useful within the transmedia method.
If I could improve an aspect about my practical investigation I would of attempted to create even more outlets stemming from the main story line and in turn experimented with various media. The biggest constraints with this type of work is time and money. Time because of the large amounts of time that need to be invested in the writing and development of an entire fictional world. On the other hand, although money is not hugely important when creating a transmedia IP it does place limitations on the type of media that can be used. In summary, and as a product of this experience I believe my knowledge of storytelling and writing as well as genre theory, writing techniques and world building has improved dramatically. I can further say that, skills acquired as a byproduct of this project include time management, an improvement in my drawing and writing abilities and a better awareness and understanding of the way stories affect us as human beings. Throughout the making process I was also fortunate enough to collaborate with a voice actor on the creation of one of my transmedia outlets. This experience was both enjoyable and invaluable in terms of creating a piece for a transmedia project through a collaborative effort.
Finally, I am pleased with the work that I created in aid of my dissertation research. I think to an extent I was safe in my choice of story and genre, but also believe that this was a necessary constraint due to the limitations of time. The completion of all 22 pages of the graphic novel is an achievement I am surprised but happy about, and I definitely think I'll utilise the format in the future, most likely in the extended practice module. Overall, I have learnt a huge amount over the past 3 months through research, creating fictional worlds and thinking meticulously about every element that is incorporated in a story and thus passed onto the audience to engage with.
Thursday, 12 January 2017
OUAN601 - Development of Transmedia Production Bible
I wanted the transmedia production bible I made to feature all of the important information regarding the franchise I was making and anything that creators would need to go and create content set within that fictional universe if they needed to.
Firstly I wanted to provide context and backstory for the story world and this was actually the first thing I did. The reason for this is because it is the most fundamental aspect of an imaginary world and that it the context and reason for its existence. During this section I detailed the back story to the nature of the event and how to franchise will work as a whole project. This includes the reason for choosing the media I did and what each platform will be used for. This also includes the potential for each platform and what kind of stories can be developed in this particular story world. Following on from this, a synopsis of the first issue of the graphic novel was provided as in way of an example so that people glancing over the production bible will understand the nature of the story straight away. Characters profiles and descriptions are also featured so that creators have a rough idea of what they look like. Replicating a character 100% is never really necessary as seen with Hershel in The Walking Dead, but an approximation and incorporation of key features is helpful. Example scripts are also included, in this case I chose to include the three scripts for the phone call segment. Illustrations to reinforce the correct visuals is also contain in a transmedia bible, diagrams of houses and vehicles as well as showing any easily showcased material such as the Polaroids is also beneficial when trying to give someone an overall impression of a story world.
Finally, the formatting and the stylistic choices within the making of a transmedia bible can aid in the feel someone can get from a particular story. I chose to use a primitive typewriter font to depict the lack of technology within the story as well as an appropriate use of darker colours. There is a balance to be found between readability as a document and the production bible acting as a visual aid so its best if it can do both of these.
Firstly I wanted to provide context and backstory for the story world and this was actually the first thing I did. The reason for this is because it is the most fundamental aspect of an imaginary world and that it the context and reason for its existence. During this section I detailed the back story to the nature of the event and how to franchise will work as a whole project. This includes the reason for choosing the media I did and what each platform will be used for. This also includes the potential for each platform and what kind of stories can be developed in this particular story world. Following on from this, a synopsis of the first issue of the graphic novel was provided as in way of an example so that people glancing over the production bible will understand the nature of the story straight away. Characters profiles and descriptions are also featured so that creators have a rough idea of what they look like. Replicating a character 100% is never really necessary as seen with Hershel in The Walking Dead, but an approximation and incorporation of key features is helpful. Example scripts are also included, in this case I chose to include the three scripts for the phone call segment. Illustrations to reinforce the correct visuals is also contain in a transmedia bible, diagrams of houses and vehicles as well as showing any easily showcased material such as the Polaroids is also beneficial when trying to give someone an overall impression of a story world.
Finally, the formatting and the stylistic choices within the making of a transmedia bible can aid in the feel someone can get from a particular story. I chose to use a primitive typewriter font to depict the lack of technology within the story as well as an appropriate use of darker colours. There is a balance to be found between readability as a document and the production bible acting as a visual aid so its best if it can do both of these.
An Analysis of the Character 'Hershel Greene' From AMCs The Walking Dead
OUAN601 - Development of a Graphic Novel Issue
I was aware from the beginning of the project that I wanted to create a first issue of a graphic novel to introduce the audience to the story world. There were several reasons for this, firstly I was attempting to emulate in some respects The Walking Dead's model in which the foundation was a graphic novel. Secondly, I had never created one before and I thought it would be an interesting and fun endeavor that had the potential to yield some good results in terms of what I was aiming for with the creation of a story world. Furthermore, it was relatively cheap to produce, the main costs were materials and printing as well as pens for inking. Despite this, I knew it would be a lot of work so I began the process by a thorough planning of the story from page 1 - 18 with two, two page double spreads in body of the issue, resulting in 22 pages of content - coinciding with the average story length in a US comic book of 22 pages.
The first part of the process was the writing and planning. I started before I did any drawing by creating a length synopsis of the first issues story. From here I took the best parts and revised it several times until I was happy with it. The difficult part came next and required some thought as I converted the story from a synopsis into a 22 page comic book. This meant that some small sections of the synopsis were expanded over several pages so that they stood up and were coherent in the comic book format, whereas other larger sections were contained within just a few panels. After the story was divided up across all of the pages, some consideration was made to shot framing and the way that the panel would be drawn - this gave me a clear idea going into the actual drawing process what was going to be in each panel specifically. Finally, I wrote detailed notes explaining what each panel contained, any dialogue in the panel and finally, some lesser notes on anything that came to my during the planning of the panel. Below is the plan I created of the 18 pages of story without the 2 double page spreads that will also be included. It was drawn using a black pen and gave me all the information I needed to start drawing.
I printed out onto a relatively thick card a template so my pages were consistent with one another. After this stage the process was simply to draw the entire graphic novel, which took longer than I expected. Some of even the smaller panels took me several hours to complete and a page could take me up to a day to a day and a half to complete in pencil depending on the contents of the page. Once the penciling was complete I scanned in every page so I had a back up copy and proceeded to start inking the lines on each page. This probably took around a quarter of the drawing time or less because I didn't really have to think about it and it was simply retracing the lines I had already drawn. Once the entire graphic novel was inked and the lines drawn in, I became adding the final elements. These included signs on shops, text on the side of the removal van, and sounds that were made through the use of text, and finally, the dialogue. Of all the different processes this was the one that I enjoyed the most because it was the first time I could see everything coming together. As I was adding the final touches I added some black in different places that I had intended it to be from the start, for example the very first panel of snow on page 1. Before I did this, I had intended to do a few colour pages to demonstrate the type of colouring that would be included in the comic book. However, after seeing how black and white looked on just a few panels I thought that it suited the mood and format I had chosen really well, so I decided against any colour pages as I thought this would destroy any of the atmosphere that the illustrations were creating at this point.
After organising all of the pages and dialogue, the last stage was too compile it into a readable format and I am pleased to say I think the graphic novel captures what my initial intention with it was, to introduce the world, the themes and the characters to the audience as an entry point into a transmedia universe.
The first part of the process was the writing and planning. I started before I did any drawing by creating a length synopsis of the first issues story. From here I took the best parts and revised it several times until I was happy with it. The difficult part came next and required some thought as I converted the story from a synopsis into a 22 page comic book. This meant that some small sections of the synopsis were expanded over several pages so that they stood up and were coherent in the comic book format, whereas other larger sections were contained within just a few panels. After the story was divided up across all of the pages, some consideration was made to shot framing and the way that the panel would be drawn - this gave me a clear idea going into the actual drawing process what was going to be in each panel specifically. Finally, I wrote detailed notes explaining what each panel contained, any dialogue in the panel and finally, some lesser notes on anything that came to my during the planning of the panel. Below is the plan I created of the 18 pages of story without the 2 double page spreads that will also be included. It was drawn using a black pen and gave me all the information I needed to start drawing.
I printed out onto a relatively thick card a template so my pages were consistent with one another. After this stage the process was simply to draw the entire graphic novel, which took longer than I expected. Some of even the smaller panels took me several hours to complete and a page could take me up to a day to a day and a half to complete in pencil depending on the contents of the page. Once the penciling was complete I scanned in every page so I had a back up copy and proceeded to start inking the lines on each page. This probably took around a quarter of the drawing time or less because I didn't really have to think about it and it was simply retracing the lines I had already drawn. Once the entire graphic novel was inked and the lines drawn in, I became adding the final elements. These included signs on shops, text on the side of the removal van, and sounds that were made through the use of text, and finally, the dialogue. Of all the different processes this was the one that I enjoyed the most because it was the first time I could see everything coming together. As I was adding the final touches I added some black in different places that I had intended it to be from the start, for example the very first panel of snow on page 1. Before I did this, I had intended to do a few colour pages to demonstrate the type of colouring that would be included in the comic book. However, after seeing how black and white looked on just a few panels I thought that it suited the mood and format I had chosen really well, so I decided against any colour pages as I thought this would destroy any of the atmosphere that the illustrations were creating at this point.
After organising all of the pages and dialogue, the last stage was too compile it into a readable format and I am pleased to say I think the graphic novel captures what my initial intention with it was, to introduce the world, the themes and the characters to the audience as an entry point into a transmedia universe.
OUAN601 - Considering the Marketing & Distribution of the Transmedia Assets
One of the most important aspects of transmedia storytelling outside of the creation of worlds and the utilisation of media to distribute the stories that take place there, is how the world is given or marketed to an audience. There is a fine line between just creating something to be out there and part of a story world, and something that fits into the rules of the world as it does outside. With my own transmedia project I wanted to have the audio discovered by a character or incorporated into the story some way so that it can be mentioned inside the story but listened to externally in the same format that it is in the graphic novel for example. The problem I encountered is that in the story world I created, electronic devices have been rendered useless by an EMP type effect and so any audio like this would have to be listened to in a different way such as perhaps a radio broadcast. This makes it difficult to move elements from a fictional universe into a real ones because the two can be so vastly different, and as a result, different rules apply.
In terms of the marketing and distribution of the transmedia assets within my own project some are much easier than other. Print based media such as the graphic novel, short stories, and the photographs can be produced relatively cheaply and with relative ease. Of course the audio file can be delivered relatively easily in the form of a USB drive included in some form of 'special edition' release of materials but it doesn't quite coincide with the rules of the story world. So, instead, what I propose is that there is a broadcast sent out either as a one off special occasion or on several occasions where people can tune in (just like the characters from the story do) and listen to the recording. This is quite important because there is somewhat hidden or obscured information in the scripts which help people to build up various ideas about the nature of the world. The fact that this is only broadcast once or several times means that some of the information over the course of the 2 minute duration will be lost, and people will have to collaborate in open discussion about what they heard and what it all means. This is reminiscent of course to alternative reality games, which utilise real world platforms such as radio broadcasts, newspaper advertisements and billboards etc to engage their audience in a fictional game.
'Perhaps one of the first instances that transmedia storytelling was used in order to involve the audience was within alternative reality games. Which have been suggested as matching the criteria for transmedia storytelling due to nature of the medium having ‘the aggregate effect of multiple texts/media artifacts,’ as the defining attribute of ARGs (Watson, 2009).'
In terms of the marketing and distribution of the transmedia assets within my own project some are much easier than other. Print based media such as the graphic novel, short stories, and the photographs can be produced relatively cheaply and with relative ease. Of course the audio file can be delivered relatively easily in the form of a USB drive included in some form of 'special edition' release of materials but it doesn't quite coincide with the rules of the story world. So, instead, what I propose is that there is a broadcast sent out either as a one off special occasion or on several occasions where people can tune in (just like the characters from the story do) and listen to the recording. This is quite important because there is somewhat hidden or obscured information in the scripts which help people to build up various ideas about the nature of the world. The fact that this is only broadcast once or several times means that some of the information over the course of the 2 minute duration will be lost, and people will have to collaborate in open discussion about what they heard and what it all means. This is reminiscent of course to alternative reality games, which utilise real world platforms such as radio broadcasts, newspaper advertisements and billboards etc to engage their audience in a fictional game.
'Perhaps one of the first instances that transmedia storytelling was used in order to involve the audience was within alternative reality games. Which have been suggested as matching the criteria for transmedia storytelling due to nature of the medium having ‘the aggregate effect of multiple texts/media artifacts,’ as the defining attribute of ARGs (Watson, 2009).'
OUAN601 - Connecting Stories via Smaller Details
I've often thought that the best stories are sometimes the ones that play with subtlety rather than placing important details in front of the face of the audience. The humanisation of characters, by the use of quirks, dialogue specific to them in terms of the language they use, and the picking up of small details such as Lucy's camera and the Polaroid photographs are elements that I wanted to incorporate into my own work. To do this I attempted to make the characters as authentic and human as possible. This was also a conscious effort within the dialogue, as I intended it to sound as natural and unscripted as possible. I think the dialogue is one of the more difficult things to do well because if character dialogue was written the same way that people talk in every day life it would be perhaps, boring? Or seem unnatural in this way because it would be difficult to gauge easily what the characters are saying and intending. In this respect I think dialogue is about finding the correct balance.
The details across stories that connect them can range from the largest and most important features of a story world to the smallest almost unnoticeable details. I tried to use a spectrum of different elements to bring everything together across the different media outlets ranging from some characters simply appearing in other stories to the example of Lucy's photographs which in some regard showcase where she has been and the type of place they live. Furthermore, consistency on the smallest details can be the different between have a cohesive story world and members of an audience discovering errors in continuity and losing any immersion within the story world they previously had. So, overall, the small details matter and are not to be overlooked. One of the perhaps most futile and unnecessary examples of me trying to make sure everything works coherently is that the route Jesse takes from his bedroom in the graphic novel to wake up Lucy and Thomas before going downstairs into the kitchen and then basement is accurate to the layout of their home as depicted in the house plan below.
The details across stories that connect them can range from the largest and most important features of a story world to the smallest almost unnoticeable details. I tried to use a spectrum of different elements to bring everything together across the different media outlets ranging from some characters simply appearing in other stories to the example of Lucy's photographs which in some regard showcase where she has been and the type of place they live. Furthermore, consistency on the smallest details can be the different between have a cohesive story world and members of an audience discovering errors in continuity and losing any immersion within the story world they previously had. So, overall, the small details matter and are not to be overlooked. One of the perhaps most futile and unnecessary examples of me trying to make sure everything works coherently is that the route Jesse takes from his bedroom in the graphic novel to wake up Lucy and Thomas before going downstairs into the kitchen and then basement is accurate to the layout of their home as depicted in the house plan below.
OUAN601 - Creating a Story World / Transmedia Universe
Inherently, the creation of a story world and a transmedia universe is a complex and difficult undertaking. This became apparent to me quickly and the more media, characters, and stories that were added to the project, added another layer of complexity not just to the story world but also to the creation process. The story explores characters within this world managing and attempting to survive by the sudden onset of not only this threat, but the threat of other humans displaying desperation and a willingness to do anything to protect people they care about.
At the beginning of the project given the span of the undertaking it was difficult to determine where exactly to start and I found myself moving around and working on different areas simultaneously with the intention of creating cohesion where possible. The creation of a transmedia production bible was imperative to the success of the project as it acted as a type of manual where all of the ideas, characters, potential narratives, media and rules for engagement were held. By keeping this updated I found the management of the project as a whole much easier and it was in some way a representation of the project as it was increasingly scaled up and contained more information. I spoke about this throughout my essay and it became apparent to me also after talking with Jay Bushman and Andrew Merkin but transmedia is not just about gathering as much media as possible and pushing out a story. Rather, establishing the best combination of media in relation to a particular genre or story type is imperative to the success of a story world in terms of its appeal with an audience. It was quite easy for me to instinctively know which types of media would work because for this project I was often playing with tropes and a tried and tested method within the realms of transmedia storytelling. I also had The Walking Dead to model my project off in terms of their exploration of character and the way character adapt to the world around them. I think overall, it helps when creating a story world from nothing to have as much information about that world as possible. I did encounter the problem of attempting to write a narrative or a character for example and have to ask myself questions about certain elements that were included. In order words, by branching out with other stories, new questions about the universe are raised that demand answers before you are allowed to progress and construct a new narrative. This problem was even more apparent with the inclusion of visuals because if you are drawing something for the first time, you then have to establish what it looks like and if it even fits within the story world. I certainly found this to be problematic within the creation of the graphic novel more than other assets I was creating, but I think it has made me think a lot deeper about writing and the creation of story worlds as a whole.
At the beginning of the project given the span of the undertaking it was difficult to determine where exactly to start and I found myself moving around and working on different areas simultaneously with the intention of creating cohesion where possible. The creation of a transmedia production bible was imperative to the success of the project as it acted as a type of manual where all of the ideas, characters, potential narratives, media and rules for engagement were held. By keeping this updated I found the management of the project as a whole much easier and it was in some way a representation of the project as it was increasingly scaled up and contained more information. I spoke about this throughout my essay and it became apparent to me also after talking with Jay Bushman and Andrew Merkin but transmedia is not just about gathering as much media as possible and pushing out a story. Rather, establishing the best combination of media in relation to a particular genre or story type is imperative to the success of a story world in terms of its appeal with an audience. It was quite easy for me to instinctively know which types of media would work because for this project I was often playing with tropes and a tried and tested method within the realms of transmedia storytelling. I also had The Walking Dead to model my project off in terms of their exploration of character and the way character adapt to the world around them. I think overall, it helps when creating a story world from nothing to have as much information about that world as possible. I did encounter the problem of attempting to write a narrative or a character for example and have to ask myself questions about certain elements that were included. In order words, by branching out with other stories, new questions about the universe are raised that demand answers before you are allowed to progress and construct a new narrative. This problem was even more apparent with the inclusion of visuals because if you are drawing something for the first time, you then have to establish what it looks like and if it even fits within the story world. I certainly found this to be problematic within the creation of the graphic novel more than other assets I was creating, but I think it has made me think a lot deeper about writing and the creation of story worlds as a whole.
OUAN601 - Audio Segment, Finishing the Audio
Once the audio was recorded and sent to me I spent some time playing around with the order and cutting them up even further to get exactly what I wanted from the scripts and this piece of media in particular. I was unsure at first if I liked the converging aspect to the phone calls but after trying different combinations of the sound files I reverted back to simply overlaying the three clips. I adjusted the audio so it sounded more coherent and then added some simple 'fade in' and 'fade out' effects to add an element of drama to the sound rather than abruptly ending when the phone conversations cut out. I purchased several sound effects that I thought added more tension and build up to the sound, and finished the clip with some tense but quiet music. I tried the audio both with and without the music and the addition of another layer of sound really improved it a lot, so that is how the final version is presented.
After the audio was completed and a finished track I decided that I didn't want it to just be a piece of audio but perhaps have a visual to accompany it. I wanted the audio to do the storytelling however, and didn't want any visuals to distract or take away from the job the audio was doing at delivering another type of story. I decided to include a type of audio wave to illustrate the audio itself as oppose to creating more vivid imagery to accompany it. The process I undertook to do this was through Adobe After Effects and involved using 'Audio Spectrum' and then applying it to the 'Finished_Audio' clip. This created the wave that represents visually the audio being played. From there are a huge array of options to modify colour, bar height, and the number of bars in the audio wave.
The creation of this type of visual worked a lot better than I expected, as I was concerned that the addition of any type of visual would lessen the value of the audio or in some way distract from it. However, the fact that the visual is simply a representation of the audio itself I actually think it heightens the appeal of the audio because of the syncronicity between the two elements. One of the the most successful opinions of this in my opinion is towards the end of the track where the audio is tapering off as the different connection are lost. This is apparent in the visuals and I think makes this fact more obvious. As the audio deminishes and fades away, the bars in the audio wave decrease in size and in a strange way, given the context of the phone calls, seem to struggle before fading away the same as the audio.
In terms of distributing this to the audience, the audio could again be given as a physical artifact such as a file on a USB drive or memory card. Alternatively, a character in the story could discover the audio file somehow, or find a 'cell phone' somewhere before listening to the recorded messages on the little battery life it has left. Given the rules of the world, the vast majority of electronic devices, including cars have been rendered unusable unless repaired. This goes for anything that runs off power, but some battery powered devices such as a phone can be used until the battery expires and they can't be recharged - this was the idea behind this particular segment and some of the scripts actually feature the characters stating that their power is out and they are having to use their 'cell phones' to communicate.
After the audio was completed and a finished track I decided that I didn't want it to just be a piece of audio but perhaps have a visual to accompany it. I wanted the audio to do the storytelling however, and didn't want any visuals to distract or take away from the job the audio was doing at delivering another type of story. I decided to include a type of audio wave to illustrate the audio itself as oppose to creating more vivid imagery to accompany it. The process I undertook to do this was through Adobe After Effects and involved using 'Audio Spectrum' and then applying it to the 'Finished_Audio' clip. This created the wave that represents visually the audio being played. From there are a huge array of options to modify colour, bar height, and the number of bars in the audio wave.
The creation of this type of visual worked a lot better than I expected, as I was concerned that the addition of any type of visual would lessen the value of the audio or in some way distract from it. However, the fact that the visual is simply a representation of the audio itself I actually think it heightens the appeal of the audio because of the syncronicity between the two elements. One of the the most successful opinions of this in my opinion is towards the end of the track where the audio is tapering off as the different connection are lost. This is apparent in the visuals and I think makes this fact more obvious. As the audio deminishes and fades away, the bars in the audio wave decrease in size and in a strange way, given the context of the phone calls, seem to struggle before fading away the same as the audio.
In terms of distributing this to the audience, the audio could again be given as a physical artifact such as a file on a USB drive or memory card. Alternatively, a character in the story could discover the audio file somehow, or find a 'cell phone' somewhere before listening to the recorded messages on the little battery life it has left. Given the rules of the world, the vast majority of electronic devices, including cars have been rendered unusable unless repaired. This goes for anything that runs off power, but some battery powered devices such as a phone can be used until the battery expires and they can't be recharged - this was the idea behind this particular segment and some of the scripts actually feature the characters stating that their power is out and they are having to use their 'cell phones' to communicate.
OUAN601 - Audio Phone Call Segment, Finding Voice Actors & Communication
When I decided I wanted to make a small scale transmedia franchise to illustrate the notion of immersion it dawned on me that perhaps one of the best ways to do this was to provide not just a range of media but a diverse type, and one that encourages all of the audiences senses to be used. This allows for an impression on the audience from multiple senses and could in turn relate to their perceived authenticity of a world. I had several ideas for audio segments from recorded messages to radio broadcasts which could still be done if the project was expanded in the future. I chose to create three scripts for three separate phone call conversations that diverge to the same point where communication is lost within the story world on the night of 'the event'. The idea was to have some explanation of why electronic devices aren't working and provide some more context for the ensuing chaos after the event takes place.
At first I was unsure how to get the scripts recorded so in the meantime I spent a few days writing the scripts themselves with the consideration that they have to be roughly the same length and for the purpose of interest, diverse in their nature and participants. I created a total of three scripts one with two friends, one with a girl and a boy character and a conversation between a mother, father and son. My goal was to create three distinct conversations that when overlaid would mix into the audio but when listened to carefully could be distinguished. This is interesting because it is almost as if the audience has to decipher the audio for any clues to the nature of the event for example, which isn't mentioned anywhere in the earlier stages of the project. There are some lines of dialogue within the mixed conversations that allude to what they can see and hear, darkness outside the window, no power, and a blue flash to name a few.
I spent some time listening to voice actors online through their sound clouds that were found using different forums and voice acting websites before I came across someone called 'Carson Beck'. After listening to some of the work in his portfolio I got into contact with him and explain what I was hoping to have recorded before we came to an agreement on a suitable payment. From here I sent him a revised script that included a lot of different notes about intonation and the way certain lines in particular should be read. I tried to provide as many details as possible about the story world too so that the voice actors weren't working without a context :
'Allow me to provide some context for the scripts. For this particular project [which the scripts were written for] I am creating a transmedia narrative in which there is an 'event' that changes the world. I'm trying to be ambiguous about the nature of the event in the material I'm creating so that the different narratives can be expanded on where necessary without any technical loopholes etc. The scripts I sent to you are three separate phone calls, all of which take place at the time of the 'event' hence the abrupt ending to each one. Once the scripts are recorded they will act as some context for the audience and act as one 'entry point' into the story world that I am attempting to create. Hopefully that makes sense, if you have any questions about the scripts themselves let me know.'
After this he started recording different segments and sent them to me regularly so that I could give them the okay or decide if anything needed revising further based on what I had envisioned for the dialogue. Within a few days the three scripts had been recorded using a total of three voice actors and actresses for the different roles within the scripts. Finally, one thing I have learnt from attempting to utilise the transmedia method is that everything is the potential for a story, and this is no different. From a simple audio clip, 7 new characters were introduced and an unlimited number of questions raised about them.
At first I was unsure how to get the scripts recorded so in the meantime I spent a few days writing the scripts themselves with the consideration that they have to be roughly the same length and for the purpose of interest, diverse in their nature and participants. I created a total of three scripts one with two friends, one with a girl and a boy character and a conversation between a mother, father and son. My goal was to create three distinct conversations that when overlaid would mix into the audio but when listened to carefully could be distinguished. This is interesting because it is almost as if the audience has to decipher the audio for any clues to the nature of the event for example, which isn't mentioned anywhere in the earlier stages of the project. There are some lines of dialogue within the mixed conversations that allude to what they can see and hear, darkness outside the window, no power, and a blue flash to name a few.
I spent some time listening to voice actors online through their sound clouds that were found using different forums and voice acting websites before I came across someone called 'Carson Beck'. After listening to some of the work in his portfolio I got into contact with him and explain what I was hoping to have recorded before we came to an agreement on a suitable payment. From here I sent him a revised script that included a lot of different notes about intonation and the way certain lines in particular should be read. I tried to provide as many details as possible about the story world too so that the voice actors weren't working without a context :
'Allow me to provide some context for the scripts. For this particular project [which the scripts were written for] I am creating a transmedia narrative in which there is an 'event' that changes the world. I'm trying to be ambiguous about the nature of the event in the material I'm creating so that the different narratives can be expanded on where necessary without any technical loopholes etc. The scripts I sent to you are three separate phone calls, all of which take place at the time of the 'event' hence the abrupt ending to each one. Once the scripts are recorded they will act as some context for the audience and act as one 'entry point' into the story world that I am attempting to create. Hopefully that makes sense, if you have any questions about the scripts themselves let me know.'
After this he started recording different segments and sent them to me regularly so that I could give them the okay or decide if anything needed revising further based on what I had envisioned for the dialogue. Within a few days the three scripts had been recorded using a total of three voice actors and actresses for the different roles within the scripts. Finally, one thing I have learnt from attempting to utilise the transmedia method is that everything is the potential for a story, and this is no different. From a simple audio clip, 7 new characters were introduced and an unlimited number of questions raised about them.
- Friend 1 - Hayley Charas
- Friend 2 - Daniela Silva
- Mother - Daniela Silva
- Father - Carson Beck
- Son - Carson Beck
- Girl - Hayley Charas
- Boy - Carson Beck
OUAN601 - Polaroids
Once the idea for creating a tangible object that holds a greater meaning than perhaps it would without a story connection was established I went about thinking about the small elements that could be extracted from the story. After some thought I decided that a simple and potentially worthwhile addition to the project would be the incorporation of some photography. Producing the photography in this manner however allows for a seamless integration between both the story world and an external physical object. The meaning behind the Polaroid idea is that these are the photographs that were taken by the character Lucy after the camera is purchased half way through the first issue of the graphic novel, and when the events take place. In essence, this fills a gap in the timeline in terms of what Lucy does in her free time for example and what the environment they live in looks like. Polaroids work well with this idea because at a glance they give a clear impression of the environment without showing small details, so there is a sense of ambiguity that is interesting and enticing for the audience. I like the idea of incorporating a tangible object into the project because it means another sense, touch and feel is also utilised along with visual and audio experiences.
OUAN601 - Development of Characters & Narratives
Many revisions of the story was made naturally to accommodate for coherence and continuity across all platforms. The story I created operates on quite a specific timeline and therefore any discrepancies within the stories timeline on any platform would not have held up to scrutiny. This was somewhat of a priority to me as I believed that any immersion created by layering media and narrative threads would have been broken down by the discovery of a continuity error. The story explores characters within this world managing and attempting to survive by the sudden onset of not only this threat, but the threat of other humans displaying desperation and a willingness to do anything to protect people they care about.
The narrative was developed as early as I could within the production process as it was the foundation for the whole transmedia project. It was being continually revised throughout the course of the creation process and is a lot different in its final form than at the beginning. Changes were made as I thought more critically about the world and as I understood it more through my own thoughts and through the characters that inhabit it, I felt the need to make amendments and correct for the developing narrative. I provided a lot of backstory for the world and a more general over view of the event and how the world changes after it, this is one of the more crucial sections I wrote that informed the nature of the events and what happens within the fictional world.
Once I had established who the main characters would be in the graphic novel I wanted to be able to understand more about them for the purpose of writing and the style in which they are written even if this information is not featured anywhere. I wanted to have a point of reference that I had created so that if I was contemplating about how a character would handle a certain situation, what a character would say, or what skills they possess in certain scenarios I could refer back and remind myself of the values and emotions the different characters hold. To do this, I created a table featuring each character and information about them that I thought would be important aspects to consider across a range of possible situations that they make encounter in the story world. These included person details that may be revealed but also, flaws, core traits, occupation, quirks, dialogue style and a few other factors that helped me to establish who they really were. I think by doing this and attributing to the characters certain values and specific elements it helped me to envision them as real people despite them not being. This idea came to me from a quote from Mckee (2006) :
'A character is no more a human being than the Venus de Milo is a real woman. A character is a work of art, a metaphor for human nature. We relate to characters as if they were real, but they're superior to reality. Their aspects are designed to be clear and knowable; whereas our fellow humans are difficult to understand, if not enigmatic. We know characters better than we know our friends because a character is eternal and unchanging, while people shift - just when we think we understand them, we don't.'
Below are some very early character sketches that I didn't end up using in the main story. I knew the types of characters I wanted at this point and tried to draw a range of people at different ages to help myself make decisions about style, and which types of characters to include. I made a conscious effort to think not only about appearance but personality and characteristics when creating new characters, something I hadn't considered as much as I now know I should have. Overall, the writing process although difficult at first came together quite well and I believe I managed to keep the story world consist over the different platforms, which was something I set out to do from the start.
The narrative was developed as early as I could within the production process as it was the foundation for the whole transmedia project. It was being continually revised throughout the course of the creation process and is a lot different in its final form than at the beginning. Changes were made as I thought more critically about the world and as I understood it more through my own thoughts and through the characters that inhabit it, I felt the need to make amendments and correct for the developing narrative. I provided a lot of backstory for the world and a more general over view of the event and how the world changes after it, this is one of the more crucial sections I wrote that informed the nature of the events and what happens within the fictional world.
Once I had established who the main characters would be in the graphic novel I wanted to be able to understand more about them for the purpose of writing and the style in which they are written even if this information is not featured anywhere. I wanted to have a point of reference that I had created so that if I was contemplating about how a character would handle a certain situation, what a character would say, or what skills they possess in certain scenarios I could refer back and remind myself of the values and emotions the different characters hold. To do this, I created a table featuring each character and information about them that I thought would be important aspects to consider across a range of possible situations that they make encounter in the story world. These included person details that may be revealed but also, flaws, core traits, occupation, quirks, dialogue style and a few other factors that helped me to establish who they really were. I think by doing this and attributing to the characters certain values and specific elements it helped me to envision them as real people despite them not being. This idea came to me from a quote from Mckee (2006) :
'A character is no more a human being than the Venus de Milo is a real woman. A character is a work of art, a metaphor for human nature. We relate to characters as if they were real, but they're superior to reality. Their aspects are designed to be clear and knowable; whereas our fellow humans are difficult to understand, if not enigmatic. We know characters better than we know our friends because a character is eternal and unchanging, while people shift - just when we think we understand them, we don't.'
Below are some very early character sketches that I didn't end up using in the main story. I knew the types of characters I wanted at this point and tried to draw a range of people at different ages to help myself make decisions about style, and which types of characters to include. I made a conscious effort to think not only about appearance but personality and characteristics when creating new characters, something I hadn't considered as much as I now know I should have. Overall, the writing process although difficult at first came together quite well and I believe I managed to keep the story world consist over the different platforms, which was something I set out to do from the start.
OUAN601 - Project Planning & Time Management
Given the nature of the project I was undertaking as an investigation, I had to give a lot of consideration to the feasibility of my ideas and think about what would be achievable in the allocated time for this project. The idea to produce a small-scale transmedia project is within the context of transmedia itself still a range of appropriate media that is used to illustrate and fuel the consumption of a fictional world by the audience. Since I was modelling my idea of transmedia mostly off of The Walking Dead, a graphic novel was at the heart of my project and would provide the largest entry point into the story world. This was not something I had attempted before so I was curious to attempt to work out if it was possible or not. I reasoned with myself that the most important aspect was the story and the characters, so as long as there is a coherent story that fits with my transmedia project there shouldn't be a problem if I don't produce a finished and published first issue by the deadline time as it would be unnecessary given purpose of the piece. So there were some caveats I was holding myself to in order to assure myself that it would be possible and with all of these considered I decided to do my best to produce at the very least a full illustrated first issue of a graphic novel or comic book series.
In order to encourage myself to keep on top of the tasks at hand I would create notes throughout a diary each week to suggest a number of things to have completed. If the task was not completed I simply rolled it over to the next week. This is quite an open way to plan a project but because of the nature of what I was doing my average day consisted of doing a number of different tasks from e-mailing collaborators, printing work, writing scripts and narratives, drawing, designing and planning out things that I would need to make sure to do such as travel to a destination and produce Polaroid photographs. Due to this way of working it would have been pointless to write a list of tasks and tick them off one by one, and I found the best way of working on a transmedia project as an individual was to work as efficiently as possible but also fluidly moving from task to task as I saw fit and not tying myself to one particular element at a time. I suppose in a way this was an attempt to keep the different elements, although different levels of complexity and time needed to complete them, up to speed with one another. This was important because it was imperative to me from the perspective of narrative and cohesion across platforms to make sure they work together and there is a good level of continuity and consistency across all platforms, not matter how simply they are.
To make sure I understood myself what I was trying to do I was as meticulous as possible in my planning. This is reflected in my transmedia production bible and some of the planning I did for scripts and the graphic novel layout. I believe this was important to me because it meant at all times I knew where I stood with the project and could tell more easily if what I wanted to do was achievable as oppose to going into the graphic novel for example without much planning and creating each panel as I went along.
Despite my best efforts, I do think large amounts of time were lost more towards the beginning of the project because of the difficulty in generating a concept that would benefit from this platform, as well as my inexperience with the nature of transmedia storytelling and the creation of stories that work in those worlds. Whether this was 20 hours spent staring at a wall trying to come up with a feasible idea or the creation of 10's of characters that I would not be included within the final story world, or at the very least kept for a later date. Although I would have liked to use this time to work on what would end up being the final project, I think I gained a lot regarding different processes - writing, designing and thinking very hard about narrative and character complexity definitely paid off and I hope this will be evident in any future work as well as this project.
In order to encourage myself to keep on top of the tasks at hand I would create notes throughout a diary each week to suggest a number of things to have completed. If the task was not completed I simply rolled it over to the next week. This is quite an open way to plan a project but because of the nature of what I was doing my average day consisted of doing a number of different tasks from e-mailing collaborators, printing work, writing scripts and narratives, drawing, designing and planning out things that I would need to make sure to do such as travel to a destination and produce Polaroid photographs. Due to this way of working it would have been pointless to write a list of tasks and tick them off one by one, and I found the best way of working on a transmedia project as an individual was to work as efficiently as possible but also fluidly moving from task to task as I saw fit and not tying myself to one particular element at a time. I suppose in a way this was an attempt to keep the different elements, although different levels of complexity and time needed to complete them, up to speed with one another. This was important because it was imperative to me from the perspective of narrative and cohesion across platforms to make sure they work together and there is a good level of continuity and consistency across all platforms, not matter how simply they are.
To make sure I understood myself what I was trying to do I was as meticulous as possible in my planning. This is reflected in my transmedia production bible and some of the planning I did for scripts and the graphic novel layout. I believe this was important to me because it meant at all times I knew where I stood with the project and could tell more easily if what I wanted to do was achievable as oppose to going into the graphic novel for example without much planning and creating each panel as I went along.
Despite my best efforts, I do think large amounts of time were lost more towards the beginning of the project because of the difficulty in generating a concept that would benefit from this platform, as well as my inexperience with the nature of transmedia storytelling and the creation of stories that work in those worlds. Whether this was 20 hours spent staring at a wall trying to come up with a feasible idea or the creation of 10's of characters that I would not be included within the final story world, or at the very least kept for a later date. Although I would have liked to use this time to work on what would end up being the final project, I think I gained a lot regarding different processes - writing, designing and thinking very hard about narrative and character complexity definitely paid off and I hope this will be evident in any future work as well as this project.
OUAN601 - The Connection Between Individual Outlets in My Own Transmedia Project
There is a very specific thread connecting each of the different assets in my transmedia project together and normally it would be left for the audience to discover, chase and find the information within the stories for themselves. It is worth discussing the different ways that stories are connected however.
The main arc that is used to introduce the world, the main characters and overall giving the most information out in the least amount of time is the graphic novel platform. Providing visuals of the the world and a narrative featuring five or six main characters, this was chosen to provide the main arc because of its accessibility, familiarity and tried and tested success. It's important to note that transmedia storytelling does not have to be expensive and it is not only large studios with large budgets that can create a transmedia project - on the other hand it is accessible for virtually everyone.
The main story arc introduces the characters that some of the other media within the project will include so it is important to showcase the characters from the start. Furthermore, some notable events happen within the graphic novels first issue that are seemingly unimportant, but are linked directly to some of the other media that will be used to enrich the audiences experience in other ways. From this perspective, it was important to me to attempt to use a range of media that furthers the story but also creates enjoyment for audience members. So, not necessarily vital elements will be used but they will encourage immersion and create another connection to the fictional world. One example of this is when Jesse, Thomas, Lucy and Neva visit the town nearest to the house they move to, Lucy enters a camera shop and is seen leaving with a Polaroid camera. I saw this as an opportunity to think about her character in a more personal way and by taking some Polaroid photographs of an environment very close to Oregon where they live, I felt like I was writing not just from imagination but as if I were writing from experience. The Polaroids in terms of an artifact sense, can be distributed as an add on to the graphic novel when it is bought or through other means of marketing a collection of physical items as a set.
Another factor to consider was the different senses that could be tapped into. Visual media would be easy to stockpile but I felt something else was needed in order to 'bring the world to life' even more. Several ideas for audio segments have been listed within the transmedia production bible including radio broadcasts, podcasts, audio diary entries but I chose to write the scripts for and include three converging phone conversations that take place at the time of the event within the fictional timeline. The phone calls indicate that communications have been lost and this is also reinforced in the graphic novel - creating cohesion across platforms. I think this combined with the graphic novel does all for a sense of desperation, and hopefully it was portrayed effectively the struggle the characters have been placed into.
As I previously mentioned the Polaroids provided a physical, tangible object that would be looked at and examined by audience members. The imagery featured within the photographs is of the environment the story is set and brings it to life in a different way. By seeing various examples of the same environment through drawing and photography, the world feels to me at least, to be even more authentic and overall easier to comprehend from familiarity.
To emphasise and develop certain elements of the story visually I decided to produce a couple of illustrations that could have been scenes from outside of the events shown in the graphic novel. Ideas included, an illustration of the dinner party that the Hart family attend on their first night moving into their new home, furthermore, a more detailed illustration of the walk to the supermarket could have been interesting to see for the audience as well as providing some information about the mood of the characters. The illustrations I did decide to do however were geared more towards the diagram format than an illustration, and included a more detailed drawing of the pickup truck which is featured a lot throughout the graphic novel and will be seen a lot more at the story advances. The other I produced was a detailed floor plan of the house Jesse, Lucy and Thomas move to. These illustrations will both feature as double page spreads at the relevant times in the graphic novel, for example the house plan will be shown on the page following the page when the family first enters the house to illustrate the layout. This in a way is my attempt at producing a 'map' which can be seen often in transmedia universes and illustrate the environment in a different way to other methods of being shown - it also makes an otherwise fictional house feel like it has some purpose.
Finally, short stories were something I wanted to include due to their simplicity and ability to describe and convey a story in a level of detail that can't be found anywhere else. The descriptions of feelings, surroundings, movements etc makes for quite visceral storytelling and can bring the story to life event more when combined with the other platforms. The two ideas I had in mind to produce was the back story of Jakob Iversen, and a story set several decades in the future about a woman who although not explicitly mentioned will be hinted at through the vague descriptions and subtle references to the character that will be built up and familiarised to the audience through the other platforms. By doing this, questions are also raised by the audience in terms of what happened in the timeline between this and the last event that was shown explicitly - all open for speculation by the audience.
The main arc that is used to introduce the world, the main characters and overall giving the most information out in the least amount of time is the graphic novel platform. Providing visuals of the the world and a narrative featuring five or six main characters, this was chosen to provide the main arc because of its accessibility, familiarity and tried and tested success. It's important to note that transmedia storytelling does not have to be expensive and it is not only large studios with large budgets that can create a transmedia project - on the other hand it is accessible for virtually everyone.
The main story arc introduces the characters that some of the other media within the project will include so it is important to showcase the characters from the start. Furthermore, some notable events happen within the graphic novels first issue that are seemingly unimportant, but are linked directly to some of the other media that will be used to enrich the audiences experience in other ways. From this perspective, it was important to me to attempt to use a range of media that furthers the story but also creates enjoyment for audience members. So, not necessarily vital elements will be used but they will encourage immersion and create another connection to the fictional world. One example of this is when Jesse, Thomas, Lucy and Neva visit the town nearest to the house they move to, Lucy enters a camera shop and is seen leaving with a Polaroid camera. I saw this as an opportunity to think about her character in a more personal way and by taking some Polaroid photographs of an environment very close to Oregon where they live, I felt like I was writing not just from imagination but as if I were writing from experience. The Polaroids in terms of an artifact sense, can be distributed as an add on to the graphic novel when it is bought or through other means of marketing a collection of physical items as a set.
Another factor to consider was the different senses that could be tapped into. Visual media would be easy to stockpile but I felt something else was needed in order to 'bring the world to life' even more. Several ideas for audio segments have been listed within the transmedia production bible including radio broadcasts, podcasts, audio diary entries but I chose to write the scripts for and include three converging phone conversations that take place at the time of the event within the fictional timeline. The phone calls indicate that communications have been lost and this is also reinforced in the graphic novel - creating cohesion across platforms. I think this combined with the graphic novel does all for a sense of desperation, and hopefully it was portrayed effectively the struggle the characters have been placed into.
As I previously mentioned the Polaroids provided a physical, tangible object that would be looked at and examined by audience members. The imagery featured within the photographs is of the environment the story is set and brings it to life in a different way. By seeing various examples of the same environment through drawing and photography, the world feels to me at least, to be even more authentic and overall easier to comprehend from familiarity.
To emphasise and develop certain elements of the story visually I decided to produce a couple of illustrations that could have been scenes from outside of the events shown in the graphic novel. Ideas included, an illustration of the dinner party that the Hart family attend on their first night moving into their new home, furthermore, a more detailed illustration of the walk to the supermarket could have been interesting to see for the audience as well as providing some information about the mood of the characters. The illustrations I did decide to do however were geared more towards the diagram format than an illustration, and included a more detailed drawing of the pickup truck which is featured a lot throughout the graphic novel and will be seen a lot more at the story advances. The other I produced was a detailed floor plan of the house Jesse, Lucy and Thomas move to. These illustrations will both feature as double page spreads at the relevant times in the graphic novel, for example the house plan will be shown on the page following the page when the family first enters the house to illustrate the layout. This in a way is my attempt at producing a 'map' which can be seen often in transmedia universes and illustrate the environment in a different way to other methods of being shown - it also makes an otherwise fictional house feel like it has some purpose.
Finally, short stories were something I wanted to include due to their simplicity and ability to describe and convey a story in a level of detail that can't be found anywhere else. The descriptions of feelings, surroundings, movements etc makes for quite visceral storytelling and can bring the story to life event more when combined with the other platforms. The two ideas I had in mind to produce was the back story of Jakob Iversen, and a story set several decades in the future about a woman who although not explicitly mentioned will be hinted at through the vague descriptions and subtle references to the character that will be built up and familiarised to the audience through the other platforms. By doing this, questions are also raised by the audience in terms of what happened in the timeline between this and the last event that was shown explicitly - all open for speculation by the audience.
Wednesday, 11 January 2017
OUAN601 - The Utilisation of Aspects of The Walking Dead's Transmedia Model to Illustrate a Small-Scale Transmedia Project
The inspiration and basis for this project aside from the notion of transmedia storytelling was The Walking Dead. This franchise to me seemed to embody the vast majority of the research and work that I was reading and learning about. Due to this, I have used it as a point of reference during the creation process of my own, small-scale transmedia project. I believe the world is so successful in this respect because it has taken an already ideal genre for world building and blown it up to the size that only can only be achieved through success and the encouragement and consumption of their audience. From here I began to break down the franchise to its most basic parts and then dissect them further to really try to understand the level to which even the smallest narrative threads added to the building of the world in some way, thus enriching the perceived scale of The Walking Dead universe. I've also looked at some characters in particular, especially the characters that appear in multiple media outlets such as Hershel Greene and the majority of the main characters from both the graphic novel and television series.
The use of the graphic novel format to bring the world into existence encouraged me to consider that as a starting point as well. This way I could focus on the development of story and characters through both a visual and paper based medium. The advantages of this for my own project was that it was affordable and familiar, so by using this as a platform to build the foundation of the fictional world and the characters within it I could then experiment, pick and choose which other types of media to go with the graphic novel which would be projecting the main arc - similar to The Walking Dead.
I have spent some time re-reading the earlier volumes of The Walking Dead graphic novel and the second volume in particular struck me because it opens with a scene set outside of the main timeline that is usually shown to the audience in a linear way. This opening scene showed a time period before the graphic novel 'starts', and without going into the specifics gives a lot of information to the audience about a particular subplot. Furthermore, it provides context for characters and develops characters that up until this still early time in the lifespan of the graphic novels, hadn't really been developed. I found this technique so effective not just in terms of what it convey to the audience but also the way it manipulates the story and creates an incredibly interesting and immersive tangent - keeping the storytelling interesting. This is infact, how I decided to open my own narrative within the graphic novel medium, and chose to use a monologue to give the audience information about the current state of the world before moving backwards in time. So, although the same method, essentially the reverse of the way it was used in The Walking Dead.
Several episodes and segments within the various media supporting The Walking Dead has used the idea of a 'backstory' to develop characters and demonstrate the expansive world in a narrative driven way. Some characters that have had their stories explored further within The Walking Dead are; Morgan Jones, Carol Peletier, Philip Blake/The Governor, Lilly, and main characters such as Glenn, Maggie, Rick, Daryl, etc have all had their backstories or lives remarked on throughout the show. Again, the potential avenue that can be explored through a characters back story is an immersive and exciting way to direct the narrative. My reasoning for this is that it adds a very authentic and somewhat human characteristic to the otherwise fictional beings. Within the transmedia production bible I made, I documented several characters that can have their back stories explored and the way this would be done - using a table of information on the characters I was creating as a point of reference and cohesion.
One of the more obvious parallels between The Walking Dead universe and the one I created in Polar was the utilisation of the post-apocalyptic genre and the narratives that are driven by the characters and how they adapt in the 'new world', perhaps leaving behind who they once were. From this I would like to remark on one of the most successful attributes of The Walking Dead franchise and that is that its longevity gives way (due to the nature of the story world) to a level of development somewhat unparalleled in the realms of television and comic books. From here, a devoted audience member finds them self free to absorb hundreds upon hundred of hours of content all the while developing the immersion and connection to the fictional universe - one of the reasons I believe it to be one of the most successful comic book and television titles in recent times.
The use of the graphic novel format to bring the world into existence encouraged me to consider that as a starting point as well. This way I could focus on the development of story and characters through both a visual and paper based medium. The advantages of this for my own project was that it was affordable and familiar, so by using this as a platform to build the foundation of the fictional world and the characters within it I could then experiment, pick and choose which other types of media to go with the graphic novel which would be projecting the main arc - similar to The Walking Dead.
I have spent some time re-reading the earlier volumes of The Walking Dead graphic novel and the second volume in particular struck me because it opens with a scene set outside of the main timeline that is usually shown to the audience in a linear way. This opening scene showed a time period before the graphic novel 'starts', and without going into the specifics gives a lot of information to the audience about a particular subplot. Furthermore, it provides context for characters and develops characters that up until this still early time in the lifespan of the graphic novels, hadn't really been developed. I found this technique so effective not just in terms of what it convey to the audience but also the way it manipulates the story and creates an incredibly interesting and immersive tangent - keeping the storytelling interesting. This is infact, how I decided to open my own narrative within the graphic novel medium, and chose to use a monologue to give the audience information about the current state of the world before moving backwards in time. So, although the same method, essentially the reverse of the way it was used in The Walking Dead.
Several episodes and segments within the various media supporting The Walking Dead has used the idea of a 'backstory' to develop characters and demonstrate the expansive world in a narrative driven way. Some characters that have had their stories explored further within The Walking Dead are; Morgan Jones, Carol Peletier, Philip Blake/The Governor, Lilly, and main characters such as Glenn, Maggie, Rick, Daryl, etc have all had their backstories or lives remarked on throughout the show. Again, the potential avenue that can be explored through a characters back story is an immersive and exciting way to direct the narrative. My reasoning for this is that it adds a very authentic and somewhat human characteristic to the otherwise fictional beings. Within the transmedia production bible I made, I documented several characters that can have their back stories explored and the way this would be done - using a table of information on the characters I was creating as a point of reference and cohesion.
One of the more obvious parallels between The Walking Dead universe and the one I created in Polar was the utilisation of the post-apocalyptic genre and the narratives that are driven by the characters and how they adapt in the 'new world', perhaps leaving behind who they once were. From this I would like to remark on one of the most successful attributes of The Walking Dead franchise and that is that its longevity gives way (due to the nature of the story world) to a level of development somewhat unparalleled in the realms of television and comic books. From here, a devoted audience member finds them self free to absorb hundreds upon hundred of hours of content all the while developing the immersion and connection to the fictional universe - one of the reasons I believe it to be one of the most successful comic book and television titles in recent times.
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Monday, 9 January 2017
OUAN601 - Collecting Imagery
Once I knew the basis for my story world and the type of story I was creating I because collecting imagery to dictate and inspire stories and the overall direction I wanted to take. In essence, the story sends the world back to a time without modern technology due to an EMP stopping forms of communication etc and a cold climate similar to that of a nuclear winter. The story explores characters within this world managing and attempting to survive by the sudden onset of not only this threat, but the threat of other humans displaying desperation and a willingness to do anything to protect people they care about. To satisfy this visually I collected visuals based around apocalyptic events, climate, abandonment of buildings and man made places, and tools or equipment that would function under the current circumstances. Where they are suddenly the most important and imperative tools to survival.
Through the imagery I was looking at for inspiration I was looking also for the type of mood that was being conveyed and how I could in turn emulate this in any visual documents or artifacts I was creating. Aside from the secondary research I was undertaking, I also made a trip to a more secluded rural location in order to experience this type of environment first hand and provide myself with an understanding, a mood and a reference point for the type of environment the world was set. Another advantage of having this type of imagery at hand was being able to create realistic and dynamic shots for the purpose of storytelling.
Through the imagery I was looking at for inspiration I was looking also for the type of mood that was being conveyed and how I could in turn emulate this in any visual documents or artifacts I was creating. Aside from the secondary research I was undertaking, I also made a trip to a more secluded rural location in order to experience this type of environment first hand and provide myself with an understanding, a mood and a reference point for the type of environment the world was set. Another advantage of having this type of imagery at hand was being able to create realistic and dynamic shots for the purpose of storytelling.
OUAN601 - Illustrating Transmedia Techniques Within my Practical Work
Throughout the collection practical work that has been created I have attempted (whilst keeping the media and techniques appropriate to the IP) to incorporate and demonstrate as many techniques that can be seen in transmedia storytelling as I could. The way a stories contained within a fictional universe can branch off in multiple directions means that techniques need to be used to allow the different stories to take place. The inclusion of character back stories is a good way to provide context for a character and also provide some information about the universe in a different time frame - whether that is a short or long time from the present timeline. Taking The Walking Dead as an example, several back stories or diverted time frames are used to provide context and further develop characters within the world. The Governor, Morgan, Glenn and various relationships have all been unpacked within the franchise to add depth and a larger worldly element to the franchise. Again, this also employing the technique of familiarity in respect to the nature of people whilst also satisfying audiences curiosity and filling in a blank space so to speak with a given character. In my practical investigation I chose to utilise this technique and write a character called 'Jakob'. The first and main entry point into the universe was chosen to be in the form of a graphic novel because its ability to function as both a visual and written document that is easy to access and distribute on a budget. The character Jakob, is only seen once in the first issue until his planned introduction in the second issue via radio communication with the main group. The intention from this point is that he becomes a main character, with this, the opportunity to provide his character with some backstory, satisfying the audience regarding his history and what happened to him at the time of the event. One of the key components of the nature of this story is seeing how different people react and deal with this kind of catastrophic scenario. The backstory provides another example of this, but also in a way demonstrating who he was before the event and peeling back another layer to a hopefully complex character. This will details details that otherwise can't be obtained, such as what his wife was like and what happened to her that means they aren't together at the point he is introduced.
Converse to the implementation of backstories and jumping around a fictional timeline to fill in information gaps, a look into the future can have a similar effect. For the purpose of a practical investigation I attempted to have a broad range of media across a broad timeline within in the context of this particular apocalyptic story. Aside from the present time the story is set, the past and future are relevant to developing the world and appeals to the audience in terms of finding out further information about the unknown. Stories set in the future of the story world I created are quite important to demonstrate the difference between the pre-event and post event world to varying degrees. The past is shown as a normal world, identical to reality, shortly after the world changing event takes place the world all of a sudden looks very different and new concepts are introduced to the audience to demonstrate this face - with no power, what do people eat? How do they get clean water or communicate? How do they stay warm? And so forth. This change is what shapes the world, and the characters that inhabit it. So looking even further past the immediate time after the event where the world looks even more different from reality - a world that has been decimated by having to endure several decades of a nuclear winter style climate. Short stories, illustrations and physical artifacts are things that I thought would work well within the small-scale project I was creating to use this technique and allow the audience to piece together the idea of this particular story world for themselves. In particular, showing a main character or main characters years in the future could be an interesting way to continue their story.
Of course, one of the aims of a fictional world is to make it as detailed and layered as possible to emulate reality in its perceived complexity. To incorporate this into my own example of transmedia storytelling, I chose to use the audio from several phone calls taking place at the same time that the event occurs. Through this the loss of communications is illustrated, but there is a more interesting aspect to this approach. I chose to layer several conversations on top of each other so that bits and pieces of each conversation break through at a given time. Within the scripts there are subtle clues that allude to the nature of the apocalyptic event but also are consistent with various visuals and descriptions across the other media that mentions or includes the event. This was also an attempt to incorporate aspects of ARGs where real world platforms such as phone conversations or newspaper articles are used to further the story, and in terms of marketing these audio files could be included or combined with other media to provide some more information about the world without handing it to them directly. Similar to the way that Henry Jenkins talked about the audience members acting as hunters and gatherers, seeking information to further and enrich their experience.
Finally, I have attempted to use physical artifacts to develop scenes, key events and show alternative viewpoints. These are in the form of Polaroids, taken by one of the main characters who acquires a Polaroid in the graphic novel outlet of the story world. This was an attempt to bring certain small aspects of the story to real life and create depth and immersion this way. Furthermore, the creation of a house plan to show the layout of the main characters' house was included for fun, and another piece of information for the audience to take, similar to the way a map of a fictional world may be included to show the locations of various places. This could be used by the audience and compared to scenes throughout different media showing the house, or simply just another layer of information within the story world.
Converse to the implementation of backstories and jumping around a fictional timeline to fill in information gaps, a look into the future can have a similar effect. For the purpose of a practical investigation I attempted to have a broad range of media across a broad timeline within in the context of this particular apocalyptic story. Aside from the present time the story is set, the past and future are relevant to developing the world and appeals to the audience in terms of finding out further information about the unknown. Stories set in the future of the story world I created are quite important to demonstrate the difference between the pre-event and post event world to varying degrees. The past is shown as a normal world, identical to reality, shortly after the world changing event takes place the world all of a sudden looks very different and new concepts are introduced to the audience to demonstrate this face - with no power, what do people eat? How do they get clean water or communicate? How do they stay warm? And so forth. This change is what shapes the world, and the characters that inhabit it. So looking even further past the immediate time after the event where the world looks even more different from reality - a world that has been decimated by having to endure several decades of a nuclear winter style climate. Short stories, illustrations and physical artifacts are things that I thought would work well within the small-scale project I was creating to use this technique and allow the audience to piece together the idea of this particular story world for themselves. In particular, showing a main character or main characters years in the future could be an interesting way to continue their story.
Of course, one of the aims of a fictional world is to make it as detailed and layered as possible to emulate reality in its perceived complexity. To incorporate this into my own example of transmedia storytelling, I chose to use the audio from several phone calls taking place at the same time that the event occurs. Through this the loss of communications is illustrated, but there is a more interesting aspect to this approach. I chose to layer several conversations on top of each other so that bits and pieces of each conversation break through at a given time. Within the scripts there are subtle clues that allude to the nature of the apocalyptic event but also are consistent with various visuals and descriptions across the other media that mentions or includes the event. This was also an attempt to incorporate aspects of ARGs where real world platforms such as phone conversations or newspaper articles are used to further the story, and in terms of marketing these audio files could be included or combined with other media to provide some more information about the world without handing it to them directly. Similar to the way that Henry Jenkins talked about the audience members acting as hunters and gatherers, seeking information to further and enrich their experience.
Finally, I have attempted to use physical artifacts to develop scenes, key events and show alternative viewpoints. These are in the form of Polaroids, taken by one of the main characters who acquires a Polaroid in the graphic novel outlet of the story world. This was an attempt to bring certain small aspects of the story to real life and create depth and immersion this way. Furthermore, the creation of a house plan to show the layout of the main characters' house was included for fun, and another piece of information for the audience to take, similar to the way a map of a fictional world may be included to show the locations of various places. This could be used by the audience and compared to scenes throughout different media showing the house, or simply just another layer of information within the story world.
OUAN601 - Resolving Your Research Project
In the third and final lecture conducted by Richard, he explained the necessary steps and requirements when rounding off our dissertation project. Some advise was given to us in order to aid the completion of the essay in accordance with the deadline in January. The advise included
Following this the correct way to Harvard reference was shown to us by Richard, and it was explained that although there is a correct format (Author (date) Title Place Publisher) there are some acceptable and stylistic methods to use this format in terms of highlighting certain information. Finally, the bibliography should be alphabetised by surname and the invidivual references separated into types of research sources. (Book, websites, journals, visits etc.)
- Refer to your original plan.
- Be more disciplined than ever.
- Don’t prioritise the practical over the written.
- Set targets.
- Scale down your ambitions if necessary.
- Learning Outcomes.
Following this the correct way to Harvard reference was shown to us by Richard, and it was explained that although there is a correct format (Author (date) Title Place Publisher) there are some acceptable and stylistic methods to use this format in terms of highlighting certain information. Finally, the bibliography should be alphabetised by surname and the invidivual references separated into types of research sources. (Book, websites, journals, visits etc.)
- MILES, R. (2013) Why Referencing, Leeds: LCA Publishing
- Miles, R. (2013) Why Referencing, Leeds: LCA Publishing
- MILES, R. (2013) Why Referencing, Leeds: LCA Publishing
- Miles, R. (2013) ‘Why Referencing’, Leeds: LCA Publishing
OUAN601 - The Purpose of a Transmedia Bible
From my research into transmedia storytelling and the way transmedia IPs are created I have found that the document itself is crafted with the intention to provide a useful, best-practice guide to the thinking, planning, and execution of a franchise that spans multiple platforms. So, during the creation process when the rules of the world are created, and characters developed etc - this is all documented within a transmedia bible so that anyone who picks it up can create consistent follow on content stemming from the main story world. The document is predominantly aimed at the producers of a project, as it is the transmedia producers who have responsibility for the overall direction of all key areas. A transmedia bible can infact extend to work as to a full production reference document. Overall, the transmedia production bible includes information on the key story and design IP elements, rules of engagement, functionality and technical issues across multiple platforms, and can include a business plan or marketing strategy for the IP. Despite this rough format, every transmedia bible will differ greatly depending on the type of franchise, the different media used, the nature of the story and the platforms it is executed on.
The more I have researched further into the nature of production bibles and the purpose they serve the more I have discovered as well as being a dedicated document, detailing the specifics of a story, television show, film etc. They take on the role of a document that may be used in some ways to pitch a particular idea. As well as the template I have been studying and referring back to over the course of making my own transmedia production bible I discovered several other production bibles, or 'pitch' bibles. The content I came across within these types of documents was very close to the types of information contained within a production bible that was designed for the purpose of being purely functional and informative for the creators of a story idea. Specifically, I have been referring back to the production and pitch documents for Adventure Time, Bravest Warriors and Rocket Dog. However, due to the unavailability of these kind of documents online it is difficult to determine whether or not the format to which these documents took is the norm across all types of genres and stories or was perhaps unique to the creators and the nature of the work they produced which is ultimately 'fun' and the presentations and documents represent this.
In the crafting of my own transmedia bible for the transmedia IP I am creating, these documents were useful because they provided visual examples of the structure that was explained to me in the document 'A Creator's Guide to Transmedia Storytelling'. I used this document as a rough point of reference during the making process, and in combination with some of the visual documents I was examining I compiled a breadth of detailed information regarding the nature of the story world I was creating, with illustrations for accompaniment.
Rocket Dog Pitch Bible
The more I have researched further into the nature of production bibles and the purpose they serve the more I have discovered as well as being a dedicated document, detailing the specifics of a story, television show, film etc. They take on the role of a document that may be used in some ways to pitch a particular idea. As well as the template I have been studying and referring back to over the course of making my own transmedia production bible I discovered several other production bibles, or 'pitch' bibles. The content I came across within these types of documents was very close to the types of information contained within a production bible that was designed for the purpose of being purely functional and informative for the creators of a story idea. Specifically, I have been referring back to the production and pitch documents for Adventure Time, Bravest Warriors and Rocket Dog. However, due to the unavailability of these kind of documents online it is difficult to determine whether or not the format to which these documents took is the norm across all types of genres and stories or was perhaps unique to the creators and the nature of the work they produced which is ultimately 'fun' and the presentations and documents represent this.
In the crafting of my own transmedia bible for the transmedia IP I am creating, these documents were useful because they provided visual examples of the structure that was explained to me in the document 'A Creator's Guide to Transmedia Storytelling'. I used this document as a rough point of reference during the making process, and in combination with some of the visual documents I was examining I compiled a breadth of detailed information regarding the nature of the story world I was creating, with illustrations for accompaniment.
Rocket Dog Pitch Bible
OUAN601 - What are the results of the practical testing?
The practical investigation that was undertaken for the purpose of exploring the transmedia method has been informative in terms of understanding the techniques and application of techniques that exist within the transmedia technique. Furthermore, I found myself thinking critically about story in a manner I have never done before. For example, when creating the initial idea for a story world I found myself considering every possible avenue that could be employed in order to expand and 'flesh out' the fictional universe. This took the form of creating characters with a high level of detail (back stories, careers, age, interests, quirks) so that at any time a coherent and canon story element can be created to reinforce the depth of the world I was creating. Specifically, the character of 'Jakob' was created but then not included from the start of the graphic novel story. This is to use the idea of transmedia storytelling that Jenkins (2003) describes in that the experience for the audience is enriched by the seeking and acquiring of information from different media platforms. So in this case, a backstory for this character (who is only seen in a single panel) in the graphic novel will have a back story that leads up to the events in the first issue. Thus, to understand the experience of the character prior to the graphic novels story line must be discovered through reading a short story.
Aside from the critical and purposeful crafting of stories with the transmedia method in mind, the creation of a transmedia IP has helped me to understand further the techniques that can be used in a transmedia story and also the way techniques in popular transmedia franchises have used. Most notably, The Walking Dead which also made its inception through the creation of a graphic novel. Looking closely at the way that series has developed and evolved over the past decade has informed my own transmedia project quite a lot. Looking at the way characters have been singled out for whole episodes of television and the jumping between time frames in the graphic novel led me to explore these types of ideas further in the practical investigation.
Overall, the practical investigation into the way transmedia storytelling and the invention of a fictional universe has heavily informed the conducted research. The exploration regarding the interconnectivity of narrative threads and story arcs across was fueled by the building a small scale story world. Through this, it was easy to see the ways in which the different tropes and avenues the transmedia technique can utilise to expand on a world. The consideration of different elements that I made as well as thinking about how they would work in unison and crucially how they are marketed and received by the audience. This became apparent to me quite quickly, that the level of rigorous and exhaustive planning is required in order to create a fictional universe from nothing and distribute it to an audience that is ready to consume the content and immerse themselves.
Aside from the critical and purposeful crafting of stories with the transmedia method in mind, the creation of a transmedia IP has helped me to understand further the techniques that can be used in a transmedia story and also the way techniques in popular transmedia franchises have used. Most notably, The Walking Dead which also made its inception through the creation of a graphic novel. Looking closely at the way that series has developed and evolved over the past decade has informed my own transmedia project quite a lot. Looking at the way characters have been singled out for whole episodes of television and the jumping between time frames in the graphic novel led me to explore these types of ideas further in the practical investigation.
Overall, the practical investigation into the way transmedia storytelling and the invention of a fictional universe has heavily informed the conducted research. The exploration regarding the interconnectivity of narrative threads and story arcs across was fueled by the building a small scale story world. Through this, it was easy to see the ways in which the different tropes and avenues the transmedia technique can utilise to expand on a world. The consideration of different elements that I made as well as thinking about how they would work in unison and crucially how they are marketed and received by the audience. This became apparent to me quite quickly, that the level of rigorous and exhaustive planning is required in order to create a fictional universe from nothing and distribute it to an audience that is ready to consume the content and immerse themselves.
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