Interactive

Narratives and
Transmedia
Storytelling
Interactive Narratives and Transmedia Storytelling provides media students
and industry professionals with strategies for creating innovative new media
projects across a variety of platforms. Synthesizing ideas from a range of
theorists and practitioners across visual, audio, and interactive media, Kelly
McErlean offers a practical reference guide and toolkit to best practices,
techniques, key historical and theoretical concepts, and terminology that
media storytellers and creatives need to create compelling interactive and
transmedia narratives. McErlean takes a broad lens, exploring traditional
narrative, virtual reality and augmented reality, audience interpretation, sound
design, montage, the business of transmedia storytelling, and much more.

Written for both experienced media practitioners and those looking for a
reference to help bolster their creative toolkit or learn how to better craft
multi-platform stories, Interactive Narratives and Transmedia Storytelling
serves as a guide to navigating this evolving world. An accompanying online
resource site, www.Storyfort.ie, will feature regularly updated articles and
links to related content.

Kelly McErlean has developed graduate and postgraduate programs in film

and new media for local and international delivery and successfully delivered
eLearning and onsite contracts for international broadcast organisations on
behalf of the European Broadcasting Union. Kelly lectures on new media,
film and entrepreneurship in the Department of Creative Arts, Media, and
Music at Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland. He has won several
awards including a Golden Spider Award and a Digital Media Award for
his film, new media, and photographic works. Kelly holds a PhD in visual
culture from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin.
 Interactive
Narratives and
Transmedia
Storytelling
Creating Immersive Stories Across New
Media Platforms

Kelly McErlean
First published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
The right of Kelly McErlean to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-63881-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-63882-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-63757-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Warnock
by HWA Text and Data Management, London
Visit the eResources: www.storyfort.ie
For Esther
 Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Traditional Narrative Texts 14

3 Subjective Interpretation 45

4 Sound Design 63

5 Visual Montage 86

6 Codifying Story Elements 98

7 Interactive Narratives 120

8 The Business of Transmedia Storytelling 152

9 Conclusion 164
Appendix 1: Making The Little Extras 168
Appendix 2: Digital Data Compression 182
References 185
Index 193

vii
 1
Introduction

Forms move and are born, and we are forever making new discoveries.
Kasimir Malevich – Suprematist Manifesto (1916)

This book explores contemporary and traditional storytelling concepts

and ideas. It encourages theoretical research and experimentation in the
development of interactive narratives and transmedia stories. It considers
the work of a wide range of practitioners across a multitude of creative
fields. These include writing, music, film, photography, theatre, art and new
media. It identifies and examines key texts and includes interviews with
industry practitioners and academic researchers. Throughout history artistic
inspiration has often come from the most unlikely sources. An openness to
new ideas always brings about original, exciting and challenging storytelling
opportunities.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

The book is aimed at storytelling creatives who are looking to develop and
deliver interactive narratives and transmedia titles using new technologies
and distribution platforms. It is a synthesis of storytelling strategies and
related theoretical concerns with regard to interactive content creation. It
considers many of the current questions regarding interactive storytelling

1
2 Introduction

and is intended to guide and inform the reader’s knowledge and to promote
ideas generation. A key concern of the text relates to story navigation: how
will storytellers resolve the difficulties in creating interactive points within
a plot to encourage a natural, rather than forced, story interaction? Who
and where is the intended audience for interactive content and what issues
are anticipated or currently experienced in targeting and then delivering to
particular demographics? Does an interactive content audience need to have
access to specific (perhaps the latest) technologies, do they need to have
interactive story experience, a history of social media engagement, platform
awareness or particular software application experience? What are the
most appropriate skillsets and previous experience of an interactive story
developer? Which elements of the traditional storytelling experience can be
exploited within these new narrative paradigms? Sound design and music
are considered within a broad storytelling context to look at their potential
to fully realise narrative worlds and to promote audience immersion and
engagement. The future of interactive storytelling is explored, and artistic
and commercial projects, completed and in development, are considered.
Throughout the book I have avoided taking a technocentric approach. The
emphasis is on the creation of engaging stories which (through trial and
error) take advantage of the most innovative yet appropriate modes of
delivery to effectively communicate story ideas across multiple platforms.
The book includes the most useful content that I have identified over many
years teaching this subject in universities and colleges across Europe. You
will note that there are many references to the works of traditional artists. I
have made observations on their workflows when I considered them to be
relevant to the development of interactive and transmedia stories. I have
drawn on existing best practices from traditional media, to identify and give
insight into creative works that are both experimental and engaging and to
synthesise complex theories to make them accessible to a wide audience.

DEFINING INTERACTIVE NARRATIVES AND

TRANSMEDIA STORIES
An interactive narrative offers a pre-specified level of story agency or
choice to the audience, allowing them to exert an influence on the plot. The
interactive experience is ‘highly context-dependent’ and involves some form
of interface such as text input (entered at the command line), a hand-held
controller or a gesture-sensing device (Laurel, 1991 p. 21). Each interaction
results in various levels of impact on the story depending on the narrative
design. Producer Hideo Kojima states that the challenge for interactive
 Introduction 3

narrative developers is to offer increased agency without sacrificing the

story emotion developed through ‘cut sequences’ (edited scenes rather than
interactive gameplay) (Ashcraft, 2008). Brighton-based artists group Blast
Theory released a very interesting interactive narrative titled Karen (2015).
Using a phone-based app to facilitate a series of ‘video calls’, the user takes
the role of a client and interacts with a life-coach called Karen over several
days. The multiple choice responses given to Karen’s often leading questions
are used to construct a psychometric profile of each user which can be
purchased at the end of the story. The story progresses along a satisfying
narrative arc and includes a good level of story conflict, drama and humour.
User engagement is designed around well-constructed questions (delivered
by Karen) and equally valid answer options for the user. The result is an
interactive narrative that feels like you are a performer within a finely tuned
theatrical experience.

Transmedia stories are delivered across multiple distribution platforms, in

various formats that can include feature films, short films, episodic television,
streaming content, social media, games, print media, music and audio clips.
Transmedia stories are defined as ‘many franchises developed around a core
story and characters’ (Blumenthal & Xu, 2012 p. 190). Transmedia story
elements exist within a single story world despite their perceived distance
from each other. Blast Theory’s #FindTheGirl transmedia campaign to
promote Thirteen (2016) delivered story content within the five-episode
online drama itself, but also on social media platforms and across various
websites (Puschmann, 2016).

THE AUTHOR
At 18 years old I took full advantage of the UK’s education grant system
and left Ballymoney, Northern Ireland to study computer programming at
Birmingham Polytechnic, UK. I graduated in 1989 and soon began my career
as a computer programmer working for Marconi Command and Control
Systems at a UK Ministry of Defence site in Leicester. I designed and coded
software in Ada (the defence sector’s traditional language of choice) to
perform phonetic searches on London Fire Brigade’s database of geographical
locations. The system allowed emergency telephone call operators to enter
street names as they heard them phonetically without the need to check
spelling. However, I found working at the ‘command line’ lacked the creativity
I sought so I returned to education to study photography at Bournville Art
College under the inspirational guidance of my tutor John Hodgett. With
4 Introduction

a small child in tow, my then girlfriend Esther and I returned to Dublin in

the mid-1990s where I was able to combine my software engineering, film
and photography skills. I was hired by the influential sculptor and academic
Aileen McKeogh to work in Arthouse, a trailblazing multimedia arts
organisation in a newly refurbished, purpose-built premises in Temple Bar.
As Head of Training and Production I project-managed European-funded
projects and designed and delivered new media education contracts on behalf
of the Irish government. In 2000 I raised €250,000 private funding to set up
a new media training college in Dublin city centre. I travelled extensively
throughout Eastern Europe and North Africa helping international broadcast
organisations to establish digital strategies and to develop new media training
programmes for their personnel. In each country I would work on a photo-
essay to pass the extended time between meetings. I almost got arrested in
Pakistan on the road to Rawalpindi for photographing an enormous toll booth
in the middle of nowhere. In Egypt, my now wife Esther and I interviewed
prospective course participants and she was happy to receive numerous
confidence-building proposals of marriage. On a visit to Media Production
City, near Giza, a simple linguistic error left uncorrected led to me being
mistakenly identified as the Director General of Radio Telefis Eireann (RTE).
In too deep, we spent the day being whisked around the impressive film studio
complex introduced to movie stars and forcing a fully attended water park to
wait for our arrival beifre starting a show.

During my travels I always noted the international language of storytelling

and the potential of new technologies to create new narrative paradigms.
I continued to research the subject and was extremely fortunate to be
supervised by Dr. Kevin Atherton and Dr. Paul O’Brien when successfully
completing a PhD in visual culture at the National College of Art & Design,
Dublin. By 2012 our award-winning college was fully accredited and
delivering graduate and postgraduate programmes in film, theatre, games
design, photography and animation, welcoming students from 22 countries.
We produced the animated logo for the Eurovision Song Contest, which
aired before and after commercial breaks and was watched by over 120
million people each year. Our students won national and international
awards and were highly sought after by audiovisual production companies.
In 2014 the Irish immigration service’s heavy-handed approach to
international students forced the closure of dozens of private education
facilities in Ireland, including ours. In the years since, I have worked in
the public education sector and I am now researching and lecturing in the
highly innovative Creative Arts, Media and Music Department, Dundalk
Institute of Technology.
 Introduction 5

I have always been interested in experimental narrative projects and generally

prefer arthouse films to traditional commercial fare. I take inspiration
from my children’s engagement and interaction with games and social-
media platforms and I continue to develop my own projects – interactive
stories, films and photo books. My most recent film work Singularitas was
conceived as a multilingual short, with languages intermixed throughout
and no subtitles. The intention was to create a concept piece, an audiovisual
spectacle which would be currently incomprehensible, yet in a few years,
be viewed via commonplace language translating devices. The translation
would ‘free-up’ the text and remove the linguistic barriers of language,
dialect, intonation and prosody, making it accessible to anyone, in any
country, speaking any language. In short, the film was really for the future.

NEW MODES OF STORYTELLING

In this book I also consider how evolving technologies will impact storytelling
media and modes of delivery. Narrative interpretation depends on our
understanding of the technologies used to create and deliver stories (Wood,
2007 p. 42). Audiences are increasingly knowledgeable about production tools,
workflows and distribution platforms. If the spectacle focuses our attention on
technology itself, then it creates in the audience a desire to learn more about
the process of production. Individual digital elements compete for audience
attention while driving the narrative and helping to create an immersive
environment (Wood, 2007 p. 45). The effect may work with real elements or
act as a counterpoint, expanding and developing their meaning. There may be
an over-emphasis on visual spectacle through attempts to recreate that which
no longer exists or does not yet exist. In this sense new media technologies
are no different than the special effects of early cinema. If the audience knows
how an effect is produced then the impact is reduced and immersion in the
story may be lost. The fluidity of perception leads to the creation of narrative
perspective. The world is constantly changing and the author’s narrative is
altered during its creation, and again when it is observed by the reader:

the shift of an object or area out of the center of vision even to the
inner edge of the periphery transforms it … perceptual constancy is a
phantom, and the world thus seen is no longer identical to itself.
(Crary, 2001 p. 298)

The observer’s engagement with the technological invention manipulates

the optical display. This is an alternative to the theatrical tradition of
6 Introduction

perception (Crary, 2001 p. 191). I will use as an example an interactive

film I made called The Little Extras (see Appendix 1) which was created to
extend the relationship between author and observer. In this film, viewer
interaction alters their perspective of the story and creates a flexible or
plastic narrative experience.

In interactive film the process of interaction may be considered a

representational vehicle for the development and presentation of the
characters. Navigation through the narrative leads to changes in our
interpretation of the representation. The belief system that makes the
representation possible is an acceptance of what is real both within the
context of the story and the viewer’s world (Mitchell, 1995 p. 356). The
representation of characters within the interactive narrative text is distanced
from the reality of the actors who are playing the roles and the mode of
interaction itself. We can consider representation as a process or mode of
interaction as well as relating to a ‘particular kind of object’ (Mitchell, 1995
p. 420). The immersive nature of the story allows the distance to be traversed
and a multiplicity of character perspectives to cohabitate the metanarrative.
The mode of interaction is blended to the narrative to function as a natural
method of ‘reading’ the story, ‘all representations are conventional in the
sense that they depend upon symbol systems that might, in principle,
be replaced by some other system’ (Mitchell, 1995 p. 351). The mode of
interaction in The Little Extras is rooted in simple hyperlinking. If the viewer
has been properly encouraged and stimulated to ‘read’ the text and look for
interactive opportunities, they will seize upon a symbol system that allows
them to navigate more freely. The Little Extras creates a temporal reality
within the interactive text. The temporal period is known to the audience
in that it deals with historically familiar concepts including the emotions of
jealousy and anger (Mitchell, 1995 p. 353).

Filmic representations of reality can be considered uncinematic (Carroll,

2008 p. 203). Narrative disclosure is unrealistic in that it does not replicate the
reality we experience in everyday life where most issues remain unresolved
and facts stay hidden. Theorists who favour the Italian Neorealist recording
of experiences emphasise the value of photography in creating cinematic
works where the camera simply photographs the reality in front of it. An
alternative theoretical position is to emphasise the creation of narrative
structure through editing. Pacing and juxtaposition of narrative elements
create the relationships between shots and scenes for the audience and drive
the narrative according to the author’s vision. Mitchell notes the difference
 Introduction 7

in time between the writing of the story and its reading, ‘narrative seems
to be a mode of knowing and showing which constructs a region of the
unknown, a shadow text or image that accompanies our reading, moves
in time with it’ (Mitchell, 1995 p. 190). The author of the non-linear story
creates an organic text that lives and grows through interactivity. As the
story develops, the relevance of its own past and future is in state of flux.
Dialogue in the text offers the characters a voice as an alternative to the
absolutism of diegesis. This mimesis can be flexibly interpreted by the
audience as they develop a greater understanding of the characters and
their situations (Mitchell, 1995 p. 191). Most film-makers create work that
their target audience will understand and cognise (Carroll, 2008 p. 212).
This includes incorporating known features specific to their genre such as
high-key lighting in film noir thrillers and the lone gunman in westerns. A
film that is ‘truly, ontologically incomparable with any other would be …
an incomprehensible artifact. Faith in the consummately singular motion
picture derives from a romantic-modernist fantasy of the genius’ (Carroll,
2008 p. 216).

Jerome Bruner explored the transference of knowledge and the assimilation

of narrative. He points out that knowledge always represents someone’s
perspective, so that the ‘normativeness of narrative, in a word, is not
historically or culturally terminal. Its form changes with the preoccupations
of the age and the circumstances surrounding its production’ (Bruner, 1991
p. 16). Bruner is stating that a perspective on a story is therefore influenced
by one’s consideration of the author’s intent. It depends on what we know
about both the author as a person and the subject under discussion. He
refutes the concept of knowledge as a fixed entity. It is instead highly
flexible and changing, mediated and remediated by successive readers,
who have been influenced in turn by their background, friends, books,
cultural experience and conventions. The reality created by a narrative is an
interpretation of the facts presented to us.

Different cultures will adopt and exploit digital interactive media

developments in different ways (Jenkins & Thorburn, 2003 p. 5). Political,
cultural and economic forces will shape the interactions between the
people and emerging technologies. The book includes an analysis of
the communication and processing technologies that will be used to
develop and distribute new media formats including interactive films. The
relationship between author and observer is explored. Digital media allow
the reader to alter original texts through interactivity including the use of
8 Introduction

inserts and links (Landow, 2006 p.126). The role of the author is changing.
The reader is empowered to actively construct meaning by adding layers of
interpretation. However, readers have always ‘read’ texts from particular
perspectives and in doing so altered their interpretation of meaning to suit
themselves. In this way, the act of adding content to the published text
is simply another step in the information reception process. This process
leads to an interpretation and position taken by the reader in relation to
the content.

A SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTERS

Chapter 2, ‘Traditional Narrative Texts’, explores the works of various
creative artists including photographers, playwrights, authors, film-
makers and academic theorists. It considers the extent to which non-
linear narrative developers can exploit traditional storytelling structures,
techniques and literary devices to produce a unique story experience. The
chapter introduces relevant terminology and reflects on the prospective
augmentation of linear narratives by the addition of interactive interfaces.
The chapter also examines classic film-making techniques including the
incorporation of narrative conflict, promoting audience immersion and
the use of sound. Subtitles in film are also considered with regard to the
potential incorporation of hypertext within interactive film products.

Chapter 3, ‘Subjective Interpretation’, examines how an audience interprets

meaning within narrative texts. The relative position of the author
and reader is assessed. Burgess and Dovey are considered with regard
to the linguistic construction of texts and the interactive storyteller’s
relinquishment of authorial control. Bellantoni’s research into our emotional
response to colour sequences is explored alongside Kandinsky’s theory on
the psychology of colour and Mortenson’s description of our instinctual
responses to geometric patterns.

Chapter 4, ‘Sound Design’, examines the explicit nature of music via the
theoretical texts of Adorno and Eisler. The chapter also looks at Goodall’s
research into the history of music development and Storr’s work on the
emotional meaning of music. It considers the exploitation of musical
devices and techniques including counterpoint, syncopation, allusionism,
psychological time and instrumentation. It explores the use of music in
cinematic works and examines the implementation of music in feature-film
soundtracks.
 Introduction 9

Chapter 5, ‘Visual Montage’, takes a detailed look at spatially presented

audiovisual works and assesses the meaning and interpretation of both
spatial montage and the juxtaposition of story elements. The chapter also
considers the work of Hockney, Marker and Burroughs and examines how
spatial presentation techniques used in traditional film and print media can
be employed in an interactive narrative context.

Chapter 6, ‘Codifying Story Elements’, considers the classification of

interactive narrative elements using a predetermined database schema.
Codification of content requires the identification of story components which
can be stored in a database. Codified data can be accessed non-sequentially
to present the audience with a non-linear narrative. The chapter also looks
at the codification techniques proposed by Propp and Bal. It introduces
narratology terminology and considers Barthes ‘message without a code’.
It further examines the metatagging of digital content, data visualisation,
trend-identifying algorithms, data analytics and hypernarrative. The chapter
also explores the historical archive and reflects on the work of Brecht, de
Quincey and Perec.

Chapter 7, ‘Interactive Narratives’, looks at ergodic texts, interactive titles,

interfaces, narrative immersion, story structures, latency, distribution
platforms and related technologies. It considers both historical and
contemporary interactive narrative works with particular emphasis on
the theatrical tradition. Interaction methodologies and their impact on
users is assessed, including gesture-controlled interfaces and the study of
proprioception. Virtual reality (VR), virtual identities and augmented reality
(AR) are also explored. VR creates a fully rendered computer graphics
environment for the viewer whereas AR overlays computer generated text
and graphics over our real world vision.

Chapter 8, ‘The Business of Transmedia Storytelling’, looks at the commercial

implementation of interactive narratives and transmedia stories across
international markets. It considers the work of several ground-breaking
experimental storytelling companies such as Blast Theory (UK) and the
content-creation department of Marriott International (US). The chapter
explores a range of new storytelling platforms including social media, and
examines some highly innovative and commercially successful attempts to
monetise interactive content. It looks at the international news agencies’
development of data analytics tools to measure audience engagement, the
development of augmented reality products and geo-located narratives.
10 Introduction

In Appendix 1, ‘Making The Little Extras’, I discuss the development of

this interactive film. The film concept is compared and contrasted to
the works of Brueghel, Manovich and Tarkovsky. Conceptually the film
created a paradigm shift that fundamentally differs from traditional linear
narrative. In Appendix 2 I have given a brief explanation of digital data
compression. The exploration of new storytelling platforms, developing
experimental narratives using digital workflows, is much improved by a
good understanding of compression.

COMMERCIAL IMPERATIVE
During my research I spoke to media-industry professionals and academic
theorists here in Ireland and abroad. While the former naturally seek
to exploit the commercial potential of new storytelling platforms, the
latter’s theoretical approach and openness to experimentation without
a commercial imperative has resulted in the development of innovative
products that could eventually be successfully monetised. Therefore, my
approach has been to consider the potential success of all commercial
opportunities within this highly experimental and inventive storytelling
environment. The stories considered in this book have been delivered in
a wide variety of formats from self-contained entertainment products to a
media segment within a content creation department’s audience-building
marketing strategy. Depending on your approach, you may believe the
commercial imperative of content creation to be irrelevant. Generating
income from interactive content is a challenge. However, it is worth noting
that when one considers the income generation potential of the passive
consumption of traditional media (selling commercial advertising space to
clients based on projected audience figures and demographics), it seems
likely that the commercial potential of individually identifiable interactive
engagements with story elements is significantly greater.

THE COMMAND TO READ

To expand upon this practice of exploring traditional media I encourage
the reader to continue to study a wide range of texts and to certainly move
outside their comfort zone. Reading is not always easy, nor even pleasurable
in some cases, as many worthwhile texts require significant effort to get
through. As a film and photography lecturer I have always promoted the
importance of critically analysing narrative texts. Keep reading until it
becomes more than a thought, it becomes an opinion. With the rise of
 Introduction 11

online broadcasting I have found it necessary to encourage ‘reading not

watching’. Reading a text requires a greater level of engagement with the
author’s text to fully consider their intention and line of argument. Reading
creates a much more profound understanding of a concept. Watching an
online documentary may be useful in some circumstances, but it tends to
result in a simple regurgitation of facts – it lacks criticality. When reviewing
student work, it is always obvious to me who has conducted their research
by ‘reading’ and who has simply ‘watched’.

When considering relevant published materials as part of your research, go

to a library with a good stock of visual reference books and simply browse
through the texts one by one. Eventually, a narrative technique or visual
style will appeal to you, it will make itself known and provide the starting
point for future research and practice. Experimentation with techniques,
styles and approaches often uncovers something original. The film-maker
Alan Parker attributes his success in film-making to the large number of
television commercials he made during his early career in advertising. It
was here he says that he was able to make mistakes, experiment with new
ideas and eventually hone his craft. It also allowed him to develop a unique
storytelling style, a personal aesthetic. The repetition of the short storytelling
process, conceiving ideas, shooting then completing the product allowed
him to continually analyse his work and thus grow as an artist. In fact, in
my experience as a teacher, it is the student who completes a large number
of smaller projects, rather than getting part way through several larger and
more ambitious ones, who is the most capable, confident and ready to work
in a competitive industry.

LATERAL THINKING
A high level of critical analysis in turn results in a good degree of lateral
thinking, considering an idea from various angles, thinking around the
concept. In storytelling this allows the writer to produce unique, thought-
provoking narratives. As the story creator engages with the development
process while keeping an open mind, they will achieve a greater level of
ownership of their work. This ownership, the act of critiquing your work and
its intention as the narrative develops, encourages one to ‘say something’
with each story. This always results in a much more compelling narrative, one
which has an opinion, is eloquently expressed and which promotes debate.
The increased engagement with the intention of the author also increases
the potential for commercial success. It is important to have an opinion on
12 Introduction

something that you wish to engage with both creatively and intellectually.
The artistic artefact that you produce will create an intellectual discourse
between you and your audience. In this regard, the most successful works
‘speak out’. Your opinion, the point of view you have adopted in relation
to the subject being discussed, should come from an informed position,
evidencing research, knowledge and synthesis.

PITCHING YOUR IDEA

It is beneficial to pitch your idea to an audience. The pitch forces you to
consider who and where the market is for the product you intend to create.
An intellectual academic may experiment with concepts and storytelling
paradigms having little interest in their commercial potential, yet most
students are engaged in a programme of academic study in order to launch
a successful career. Therefore, I consider it important to both identify the
audience for a story idea that is being pitched and decide how the story
will be delivered to them. This constraint, forcing the creative individual
or team to tailor a product for a particular audience, is an opportunity to
employ the techniques of lateral thinking to develop a fresh perspective
and personal style.

DEVELOPING AN IDEAS BOOK/VISUAL DIARY

An ideas book or visual diary is an invaluable resource in ideas generation.
It should include all manner of visuals, texts, references, both obscure and
well-known. Whatever takes your fancy. The important thing is to get it
down on paper, scanned, copied or drawn. The best ideas books I have seen
tended to be messy affairs, with bits of paper and assorted materials bulging
out at the sides. In this personal volume, the individual is storing up a series
of narrative elements, for future reference. The visual diary is an important
tool for communicating ideas to both clients and other creatives. Note why
you are including content; it is a common occurrence for visually exciting
work to be included in an ideas book, only for the creative to forget what the
(significant) point of its inclusion was.

***

This book has been written in order to be accessible, engaging, incisive and
informative to the creative storyteller. The research that went into it was
highly selective and concentrated on the simplification and clarification of
 Introduction 13

complex, often abstract ideas. It highlights the vocabulary and knowledge

most relevant to the development of new narrative structures. It identifies
story products and creators, industry practitioners and academic
researchers, and includes pertinent literary references to guide and inspire.
It’s all in there, it just needs to be ‘unpacked’.
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