Destination: Transmedia

Building on the research begun in my honours project, this year I plan to create a transmedia project for my Master’s degree. Remix (discussed in my last post) is also closely aligned to transmedia, as existing material is often transformed via remix into divergent digital media. This new project will also add to a greater understanding of remix, and is a continuation of my investigation into the language of remixability.

My project will use three digital media platforms (an animated motion comic, an e-comic, and an interactive game), to tell a single story. Transmedia is often described as storytelling across multiple platforms, and Henry Jenkins (author of Convergence Culture) calls transmedia storytelling “the art of world making”.

So what is the project about and where does it begin?

In 2002 I created a four page comic strip, Rock of Ages, that was published in a childrens’ book collection, Storylines: The Anthology (2003). Pages from the prologue can be viewed here (minus the text):

Promotional card. © copyright Zak Waipara.

Following this, in 2004 I was awarded a grant by Te Waka Toi, Creative New Zealand, to develop a script continuing Rock of Ages in graphic novel form. The script was completed and subsequently tinkered with, but the graphic novel project was never quite realised (though bits and pieces have continued to materialise over the years).

A new panel from the project. © copyright Zak Waipara.

In 2010, while teaching an interactive media paper (that had at its core aspects of game design and non-linear storytelling), I started noting down ideas for how my Rock of Ages story might translate into a game.

Game concept art. © copyright Zak Waipara.

These three strands form the basis for a new transmedia project. The comic strip print material will be remixed into a motion comic, that serves as a prologue or origin story. The graphic novel script (or a portion of it) will now be envisioned as an electronic comic (e-comic). The game design ideas will be linked together to form an interactive quest style game.

Rebranded project. © copyright Zak Waipara.

As well as a place to post reflections on completed study, this blog will document my ongoing research and any changes that occur along the way. One of these changes is rebranding the project under a slightly different title. The best part of all of this, for me, is a return to comics!