I recently had an discussion that raises the question of how much flexibility creators have when it comes to working with a new form like transmedia storytelling. The discussion started as a result of my exploration of the use of 3D computer graphic (CG) models for illustrating stories (see example below). I was tinkering with several different formats, including western style graphic novels, manga, photo essays, and picture books.
When I asked for reaction to an example of a western style layout that used CG images, among the responses were several that essentially said hand-drawn illustration were the only form that fans would accept. These comments in particular raised the issue of how we as creators can continue to explore transmedia storytelling without alienating a fan base that loves what we have been doing.
It is not a trivial question. A loyal fan base has tremendous economic and creative value for a creator.
The challenge for creators is that no matter what medium they use, they risk losing fans by doing something that is too different.
I recently read the Hunger Games trilogy and then saw the movie adaptation of the first book. The fans of the novels were very, very pleased with how closely the adaptation followed the novel and how upset they would have been if the movie had differed greatly from the book.
The evolution of information technology brings with it new opportunities, but it also raises concerns about how those new technologies are displacing older ones. We are seeing the traditional book – paper between a soft or hard cover – replaced by e-books and there are many who express concern about the lose of books.
These concerns are not new. I heard similar complaints in the 1970s and 1980s as music moved from analog record to tape to digital formats. There were analog “purists” who swore that the sound of an LP (long-playing) record was much more true to life that sound recorded on tape. I heard the same argument again when digital CDs began to replace audio tape.
As the technology evolves, opening new possibilities for creating stories, it raises questions, concerns, and perhaps even resistance. The creation of artwork with near-photorealistic quality provides the transmedia creator with one more option for image creation. Using that technology, however, is not without risk.
Fans who love hand-drawn and colored artwork for graphic novels are likely to be turned off by photo-based versions of such novels. I’ve heard die-hard fans of hand penciled, inked, and colored graphic novels express their distaste for graphic novels colored on the computer using Photoshop. For them, creating photorealistic CG images using 3D modeling software would probably be considered the ultimate heresy.
As creators we walk a fine line. More than one artist has spoken with frustration about how the expectations of loyal fans – for example, fans who wanted to continue to hear a singer’s old classics rather than new songs – can also stifle creativity.
As we move into the era of transmedia storytelling, we need to be sensitive to what our fans want. At the same time, we need to use our creativity to explore transmedia storytelling and create entirely new experiences for those fans. The development of effective approaches to transmedia narratives is not an either/or situation but rather one in which we value our fans and invite them to collaborate with us. At the same time, those fans need to value our desire to push the boundaries with the stories we tell and the forms in which we tell them.