Tag Archives: The Story Lab

The Story Lab: Week 8 Reflections

This week nothing was set in class, so we had the chance to work away at our Transmedia final assignment, Project Instafame.
At this point in time we are still wrapping our heads around the story and how it will be dispersed through our different social media platforms.
We have started to draft up a rough timeline on butchers paper, in order to visualise the actual timeline of events and also fill in the gaps between the significant moments in Emily’s life.

Our group has decided to set up a meeting outside of class, as well as using class time next week to kick off the narrative of Emily’s tumblr posts. Fortunately thanks to Tumblr, there is a function that enables users to que up as many posts as they like and schedule them for when the user wishes it to be posted. As a group we plan to have all Emily’s tumblr posts finished and scheduled through the tumblr, so each team member can focus on her other social media profiles as the real time events play out over the three week narrative.
This will be the main priority for this coming week.

I am really looking forward to getting our story started, I look forward to depthing the character of Emily and making her seem as believable as possible. I think it will be an really interesting experience.

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The Story Lab: Week 5 Reflections

In this weeks class, we all took turns to present our argument that we explored throughout our Assignment 2: Research Report.

It was great to hear everyone’s thought process and what they ended up debating in their essays. The topic question I choose for my essay, was ‘The viral campaign for 2008’s The Dark Knight was incredibly innovative for its time. Is it, though, an example of transmedia storytelling?’. There was a number of other students that choose this topic question as well, so when it came to going around the room to discuss how we individually approached our essays, it was really interesting to hear the different perspectives on whether the viral campaign was an example of transmedia storytelling and how each individual argued their point.

Dan also asked us to write in this weeks blog post, our new philosophy of storytelling, that is based on the research you did….so my new philosophy is everything is a story! No matter how it’s told, everything tells a story. There are no limits or rules to storytelling, it can be displayed through so many mediums! I know that probably sounds very ambiguous but it’s very hard to define something as massive as the idea of storytelling I believe….so that is my philosophy.

See you in next weeks blog!! haazzarrr!

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The Story Lab: Week 4 Reflections

In this weeks class we looked at the role of women in the ‘superhero’ story. I found this very interesting to discuss, as it combines two fantastic topics I enjoy, feminism and superheros! We looked at Wonder Woman and how she was created to represent a strong female role model that fights for love, peace and gender equality. I must say I was very surprised to learn that she was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston in 1941,  seems very progressive for its time and has definitely lead me to a new found appreciation for her character as I’ve never really been a big fan of any other DC characters apart from Batman, I grew up favouring Marvel Universe instead…

yay positive female role models!

yay positive female role models!

Speaking of Marvel, we then moved on to look at the character Agent Carter, who is a part of the Marvel film universe in the Captain America films. We looked at the different mediums her character has travelled across, first starting in the Captain America film, then to the ‘Marvel Short’ and ending in her own spin-off TV series. Its interesting how she was portrayed across the three transmedia continuations. I would say she started of very strong, representing a female character that was not just a love interest which is fantastic to see in a genre that is so heavily dominated by males. As her character moves onto the Marvel short and the spin-off series, I would say her representation starts to go downhill, to the point where I would say her fight for equality becomes comical, becoming somewhat of a gimmick. I found this interesting quote online which I think makes a good point…

“While this response is obviously well-intentioned, the fervent focus on Peggy Carter’s gender (ABC’s tagline for the show is “Sometimes the best man for the job…. is a woman“) could be considered its own form of sexism, and could ultimately be damaging to the show’s quality. It brings to mind the much-researched sociological phenomenon of stereotype threat, where people from marginalized social groups experience anxiety from having their gender or race emphasized and ultimately perform worse in tests because of it.”
– H. Shaw-Williams, Screen Rant

 

Anyway I could rant about this for ages but perhaps I better leave it here….

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The Story Lab: Week 3 Reflections

In this weeks class we looked at the process of adaptation, in particular we focused on The Animatrix and this weeks reading by Umberto Eco titled “Casablanca”: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage.

The Animatrix is a really interesting example of a adaptation, as it was not made by its original creators, The Wachowskis, but was given their tick of approval. The adaptation is told through the medium of anime, and really adds to the original film, The Matrix, as it serves a prequel mini-series. We discussed in class the many evident ‘push off points’ in The Animatrix that directly linked to The Matrix film and also how audiences are able to recognise this. An example of this is shown in the second story, The Second Renaissance Part II. The audience is able to see the ‘pods’ that the humans are kept in which is of course known as the Matrix, which is a very key part of the film and also directly thinks the adaptation back to its source.

Due to the philosophical nature of the story of The Matrix, it really gives the potential for possibilities of adaptation and giving it the ‘cult’ film status. In the Umberto Eco reading, he discusses what he believes makes a ‘cult’ film. One of these beliefs is that the film must provide a ‘fully furnished world’, which is key to a successful adaptation. In order for a story to be able to be told through trans-media storytelling, the original source must have a strong and rich story-world. It is quite evident that the film The Matrix has a strong storyworld, not only was it adapted to the anime short series but it was also adapted to various video games and graphic novels.

I must say I really enjoyed The Animatrix, such an interesting concept and visually how it’s told through the art style of Anime is just so cool! I will definitely watch the rest of the mini episodes when I get the chance…

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Project Brief 1: Case study of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

In the age of post-broadcast television, the concept of ‘complex narratives’ became increasingly popular in the 1990’s as TV shows began to move on from episodic formats, as seen in sitcoms and soap operas, into sophisticated storytelling better known as ‘quality TV’. Shows such as The Sopranos and other HBO branded programmes (“it’s not TV, it’s HBO”) were at the forefront of this movement. In the rise of ‘quality TV’ programmes, the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired in the U.S in 1997. The concept of the show was adapted from the 1992 film of the same name by it’s creator Joss Whedon. What made BtVS stand out from other ‘quality TV’ programmes of this era was it’s unique ability to remix so many different conventions from genres such as horror, comedy, teen-drama, action adventure, just to name a few, creating its own ‘mega-mix’ as well as its use of transmedia story-telling, leading it to create the intricate story-world that is known as the ‘Buffyverse’.

The concept of ‘remixing’ is evident throughout the narrative of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. First of all it’s initial idea is an adaptation of the ‘vampire’ story, which has been remixed throughout different forms of media since the 1800’s. Yet BtVS does not always follow the predictable conventions of a horror story (like one involving vampires) would usually follow, a great example of this being the character Buffy herself. Physically her appearance is one of the most predictable cliches of the horror genre, the pretty blonde girl who is killed in the first act. But Whedon changes the game by remixing this archetypal character, explaining that idea was to “…create someone who was a hero where she had always been a victim” (Whedon, 2001).

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The show’s ability to remix conventions from many genres, in particular its combination of ‘teen drama’ and ‘horror’, set it apart from any show at the time and still stands to this day. As explored in Laura Suitsted’s essay Breaking Conventions to Build the Buffyverse, the show’s early seasons prominently make use of the metaphor that ‘High-school is hell’, a well known trope to the teen genre. But Whedon remixes this idea by making it far more literal, that high school is hell with real monsters in fact. An example of this is the episode The Pack, where the main ‘pack’ of bullies at Sunnydale high become possessed with the spirit of a cruel hyenas and then literally prey on the weak students by eating them. Or the episode Witch, when Buffy befriends a girl named Amy in cheerleading tryouts who is under intense pressure from her mother, a former head cheerleader in her day, to make the squad. After failing to make the team, it is revealed the mother is a witch who switched bodies with her daughter, saying that Amy was wasting her youth, so she took it for herself, which no doubt is an unique take on the pressures of being a teen.

Buffy Season 8

Buffy Season 8

Whedon’s ability to create the in-depth story world that is the ‘Buffyverse’, is aided by his use of transmedia storytelling. The story of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was continued on in the spin-off series Angel, which followed the character of Angel and his backstory, an important part of the Buffy story-world. BtVS lasted till season 7 but Whedon continued the story on to a graphic novel titled Buffy Season 8. All of these forms of media that depict world of the Buffyverse work because they all follow the ‘coherent set of rules within the universe in which the story takes place’ (Suisted, 2005).  The result of this combined with its remixing of genre is what lead BtVS to its massive cult following as well as an accredited academic field, which both stand strong till this day.

 

References:
– DVD Episode Commentary “Welcome To The Hellmouth” Buffy The Vampire Slayer. 20th Century Fox: Whedon, Joss, 2001.

– Suisted, Laura. (2005). Breaking Conventions to Build the Buffyverse. Available: http://www.watcherjunior.tv/01/suisted.php. Last accessed 15th Mar 2015.

The Story Lab: Week 2 Reflections

In this weeks class we wrapped our heads around the three set readings for the week that got quite technical and discussed different theories of transmedia. As a class we focused mainly on the theory behind ‘remixing’ ideas in storytelling.

When it came to the practical part of our class this week, Dan set us the task in our peer groups to create a story that could be told in five parts. My group decided to have a bit of fun with the idea and we conjured up a story of a guy and a girl who decided to go on a road trip to a cabin in the woods. Along the way they meet a hitchhiker who joins them on their journey but when the travellers stop at a gas station, the hitchhiker disappears to then later return at the end of the story to brutally murder the couple. Keeping in mind this story was told over five flashcards. We shared our idea to the class and everyone had a good giggle at the crazy extent some groups went to when creating their five part stories.

Our next challenge was to ‘remix’ this idea. By ‘remixing’ the story we are able to take any part, for example the character or the setting and give it a new spin, like changing gender, occupation, intent or even rearranging the order that the story was originally told etc. Just like remixing a song!
My group got a little carried away and gave our story a big remix, but for the better I reckon! The story ended up evolving into a thriller which still begun with girl and guy on a road trip but the hitchhiker evolved into a travelling salesman who ends up abducting the couple to a secret cult in the woods and which then ends in the murder. Although our idea took a turn for the more ridiculous, it was still a really interesting process going back over work and applying this idea of ‘remixing’ which is something I haven’t ever done in my writing.

Finally we ended with one last challenge, which was to adapt our story into three different forms of media. My group decided to adapt our idea into a short story, screenplay and alternative reality game. I took on the task of creating a ARG and had a lot of fun thinking about it. After reading about The Dark Knight‘s viral marketing ARG, I was fascinated by the idea of audience participation and am truly amazed at the extent they went too for that particular film! It makes me hope another production company creates an amazing ARG on par with the Dark Knight sometime soon, as I want to take part!!

Now to finish off that case study…

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The Story Lab: Week 1 Reflections

In our first week of Story Lab, we got straight into it and began to explore the idea of what makes a story by looking at two examples of storytelling. Our first example was a more conventional way of storytelling, that being the 1931 film ‘Frankenstein’ and our other example would be described as more unconventional, being the 1938 radio drama broadcast by Orson Welles, The War of the Worlds.

Both of these examples happened to be from the same era, the 1930s, which was quite interesting beginning point to our exploration of storytelling. In this day in age it seems easier and more accessible for anyone to create a story in any medium and publish to the world, thanks to the advancement in technology. Yet in the 1930s, you had to be more creative in your means of storytelling. Which is why The War of the Worlds stood out in its time, causing much controversy.

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When listening to the radio drama in class, what stood out the most to me was the production values. You could almost describe it as a theatre production, it was so perfectly well timed as well as the extent they went too, to layer each sound creating atmosphere in each segment. It’s seamless flow made people honestly believe it was a true news broadcast crossing from post to post across America reporting this UFO landing. Pretty amazing stuff, It may be a tad dated but I must say I really did enjoy it!

Will be interesting to see what is next to explore in next week’s lessons.

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