Today’s class we had to present what we had we researched about for the past two weeks or so. It was kind of daunting to present after I realised that my chosen prompt the most popular one in the class. However it was quite interesting to hear how everyone else interpreted the question. There was a particular person that felt that there were elements of the campaign that fit into the category of transmedia storytelling like the newspapers and websites. He also felt that particular parts of the campaign such as the rallies for Harvey Dent and the Joker were not. I disagree with this statement as I’m in the belief that you can’t just pick and choose what parts qualify and what parts don’t. I’m in the belief that you have to judge a project on what it is by taking every single part into account, if it has some part that fit into the conventions of transmedia and parts that don’t, what do you classify it as? By finishing this project is now realise how narrow by idea of narrative actually was. This allowed me to see narrative a tool that can enhance the original narrative as it can have many layers to it. The fact that nothing too important is spoiled by participating in this game is a testament of how someone can create a project which allows people to enjoy an underlying narrative over the primary one.

This is a story about a man dealing with depression. Stuck in mundane life where nothing ever changes, he has effectively given up on hoping for change. He blames his passive personality for his tedious and repetitive reality, but he has a sort of cynically optimistic outlook on life as he is aware that there are those who are worse off than him. This however doesn’t null his pain as he tries to cope with it through watching TV and playing video games. He uses self deprecating humor to hide his true feelings from the world as often what he says in his head is vastly different from what he actually says.

Rules

1.Keep an open communication with the group.

2.No idea is beyond compromise.

3.If issues or uncertainties arise contact group immediately.

4.Everyone is expected to contribute to the best of their ability to the group.

5.Keep yourself accountable for every action.

The reading by Henry Jenkins helped to better understand the role of transmedia, in the age of ‘media convergence’. By using a film franchise I was quite familiar with it showed me that the first Matrix film was released to generate interest from the public, but the interest was not limited to the film itself. The film is actually just a part of the Matrix universe since it extended into other mediums such as comics, video games and web series. This helped fill in the gaps that the film couldn’t possibly accomplish in its 150 minute run time. With this much content, the producers expected quite a commitment from the audience as when the second film came around, there was no recap. This kind of universe building is quite intriguing from a narrative point of view as there are many layers on converging stories that affect one another until they reach an ultimate conclusion. I now realise that I have been actively engaging with this kind transmedia universe but instead of the Matrix it’s the Mass Effect video game franchise. The Mass Effect universe can be explored by playing the three main games, the many issues of comics as well as an animated film that all fill in the time jump between each game. This is a way to have multiple mediums to tell the same story that I can actually see myself making, so I’m really glad I read this reading.

The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a popular Hollywood staged show and has been running since March 2005. Beginning in January 2011, the Thrilling Adventure Hour began podcasting sketches from past performances. Each stand-alone tale celebrates and reinvigorates a new genre from the radio comedies of yesteryear, including science fiction, fantasy, westerns, superheroes, horror, war dramas, and many more. The various tales told are in the same format as traditional old-time radio serials as they are performed in front of a live studio audience and have an original intro song. Each episode is essentially a parody of various works of pop culture as they constantly delve into the cliches of all these sub genres for comedic effect. Examples of this are the characters of Sparks Nevada and Croach the tracker from one of the most popular segment Sparks Nevada: Marshall on Mars. Sparks Nevada is like a childish Indians Jones mixed with every western protagonist in 50’s as his exceptionally quick draw and even quicker mouth gets him into more trouble than out of trouble. Croach the tracker on the other hand is a combination of Tanto and Spock as he has a great sense of honor and tradition but is also a Martian and his lack of understanding of human customs and logical thinking causes confusion between him and Sparks Nevada. Most segments have a three act structure as the norm is introduced with banter between characters, then a conflict emerges to the dismay of the main characters which disrupts the norm so they have find some way to overcome the obstacle. This is usually solved with an exchange of quick witted responses and any other means depending on the show, between the protagonists and antagonists. In some cases there are ‘Specials’ that occur on the anniversary of the show where in that episode the podcast’s fan favorite characters will crossover with each other. There are also various spin offs of the podcast’s flagship shows that also converge as they make several references to past events that end up effect the entire Thrilling universe. This is similar to the example given in class which was the Marvel cinematic universe where the actions taken in one property affects the rest. The casual manner in which the characters react when they face each other is unique in the sense that they just accept that they are now in the same timeline. These are very interesting episodes as in a one particular ‘special’ they had fans of the show as characters. These particular fans where dwellers from the fifth dimension so that was the explanation of how they viewed the character’s reality as fiction. The characters refused to acknowledge their fictional world as the fans addressed the character as if they were actors by being star struck and repeating catchphrases despite the fact that in reality they actually fictional. This fictional reality upon fictional reality made for a fascinating listening experience as it was conflict between realities as both sides argue that their reality is the ‘real’ reality despite the fact that both are fictional.

Manovich’s reading on databases was quite interesting especially when he asked whether narrative and databases have the same status in computer culture. This was a tricky question as they are almost polar opposites as databases as a culture form, represents the world as a list of items, and it refuses to order this list. On the other hand, a narrative creates a trajectory based on causality of seemingly unordered items. There is common ground in terms of motivation and purpose the example given for a game and a novel the reader needs justification to progress further. There are media objects that explicitly follow a data base logic, while others don’t but the majority of them are databases. In new media, despite being labelled as linear narratives, interactive narratives or databases on the on the level of material organisation, they are all databases. This assumption of calling new media as a narrative rather than a database is due to the fact the narrative is used as an all-inclusive term. The fact that a database can support a narrative is a significant enough reason as to why databases occupy a large portion, if not the largest territory in the new media landscape.

What is the ‘narrative’ of the campaign?

The narrative of the campaign was to liberate Gotham city from crime and corruption by electing Harvey Dent and showing support for him. However there was a twist as the Joker took over the website and vandalised it. It then turned into manhunt for Joker clues as they were planted in cities all around the world.

What role does the audience play?

The audience were upgraded from a passive role to a more active one as the campaign required a certain degree of engagement and effort. The audience was required to find clues through the website they were given. Without audience participation the campaign would have been a failure. The enthusiasm shown by the audience helped made this campaign a massive success as producers were able to create hype for the film which made it the biggest grossing film for 2008.

How was the idea of the ‘remix’ and the ‘database’ employed here?

‘Remix’ can be found in this campaign as the picture and trailers that the audience were provided with have been tampered with. This “jokerification” of this work gives the audience an insight into the deranged mind of the Joker as the smiley faces on the character’s faces as well as the “Haha” graffiti were testament to his twisted sense of humor. In terms of ‘database’ producers of the game took full advantage of the open nature of the web as a medium their websites kept evolving and changing with the initial Harvey Dent support posters and ending with the vandalised version of it. This also allowed for other mediums to be linked to the game as it linked audio to images to give a variety of clues to the participants.

Make a list of as many artefacts/objects/’bits’ of the campaign as you can.

• Harvey Dent Posters
• Harvey Dent recorded speech
• Joker Harvey Dent Posters
• Joker graffiti of various paintings
• Gotham Newspaper
• Gotham websites
• Voice mail and text messages by the Joker
• Rallys for either Harvey Dent or Joker
• Batman logo
• Batman logo vandalised

What role does each ‘bit’ play in the overall narrative?

• Harvey Dent Posters – these posters establish a sense of reality for the audience participating in the game.
• Harvey Dent recorded speech – this adds further realism as he talks about needing the audiences support to save Gotham.
• Joker Harvey Dent Posters – The audience is introduced into the deranged mind of the Joker as he vandalises the campaign posters and announces his own vision for Gotham.
• Joker graffiti of various paintings – The Joker tampers with even more paintings claiming his intent to be bigger, which prompts a scavenger hunt for more clues.
• Gotham Newspaper – The newspaper informs the audience what their actions led to in Gotham city. This also has various clues such a websites and hidden messages.
• Gotham websites – Several Gotham public websites include recording and hidden messages which help those participating.
• Voice mail and text messages by the Joker – This is the most immersive aspect of the game as the audience is actively interacting with the Joker as he leads them to even more hint and clues.
• Rallys for either Harvey Dent or Joker – Gathering crowds support their chosen leader as they take to the streets in support. This is a sign of an impending climax in the narrative of the game.
• Batman logo – The Batman logo, a symbol of hope for the people of Gotham appears in front of those that called themselves “citizens of Gotham City”. They were sent there by the clues from the game. All of a sudden the Batman logo is defaced with the Joker graffiti along with every website that was part of the game leaving a trail of chaos. This is so the audience can see the conclusion once they see the film.

How do you think the team went about planning this? Think logistics.

The website was simple enough as they would have has graphic artists make the props for the Harvey Dent campaign. They would have had Aaron Eckhart and Heath Ledger record their lines in addition to having they pose for additional promotional material. The fact that they need to go out a hide tangible objects in various cities had to require people to either travel or have people that live in the area to be actively communicating with the people in charge of managing this project. They would have had to carefully map out the schedule of the introduction of each bit as it required numerous steps in a specific order for the whole campaign to progress its narrative.

How does this campaign fit into the narrative of the film?

The campaign fits into the character motivations of the film as Harvey Dent intends to clean up the city of Gotham while Joker desires chaos and anarchy. The posters with Dent wanting his city to change for the better is testament to his desire to improve the city that he loves and wishes to protect as for the majority of the film that is a one of his biggest ambitions. The Joker vandalising the Batman logo and the line about breaking his one rule is his attempt to corrupt the Dark Knight as well as shatter the public’s perception of him. That is the motivation of the Joker in the film as his obsession with Batman’s rigid rules prompts him to try and make Batman submit to chaos. The fact that Batman was so absent from the campaign makes the game feel like setting up the film, as Batman will fix the problems raised by the game.

The TED talk by Andrew Stanton grabbed my attention the most as there were quite a few things that he said that I whole heartily agree with and others that I downright disagree with. I am firm believer that for a story to be feel genuine and with a sense of reality, the author must have had some sort of similar experience or is very informed on the subject. Stanton touches on this as he emphasizes that a writer must write what they know in order for their story to have an added layer of depth. That is why I feel that for my story I will have to write a story that I am quite knowledgeable about or have firsthand experience. Stanton went on to say that a story must evoke a sense of wonder but that is not true for films that are darker. It is fine for a Pixar film or another fantasy based film but he seems to forget that there a various genres out there mainly horror and thriller movies that aren’t able to conjure such emotions with the story they are telling. If I end up settling on an idea that might allow me to do so, I will definitely try, but if having such emotions instilled in a scene that might disrupt the mood I’m setting then I would be against it. Stanton definitely took his own advice and stuck to what he know and there is nothing wrong with that, however I would of appreciated if he was a bit more inclusive with different types of stories.