Graphic Narrative Production

(Resubmission)

The collection of images support the original intentions of the production aspect to my work. I wanted to gather and explore images of existing graphic novels that could perhaps inspire me to use different techniques.

The different layouts are intriguing to look at as there are so many.

With mine first thoughts being in relation to a target audience of a young age, it is important the imagery is large.

All these pieces are common in the way that they do not have too much text. Having small sentences to support what is going on is vital but it should not take away from what the novel is about.

From this it has become clear that the imagery should do the talking. Having close ups to see emotion and shots of fighting or a conflict would leave no room for text as it is very clear what is happening.

The graphic novel I am concerning myself with will be aimed at a more younger audience to what these are.

With Jack and the Beanstalk being more child friendly I will take the layout and image positioning from this research rather than the actual content.

This is another collection of existing products aimed at a different audience to the previous slide. It is important to look and explore the difference between the content on a child friendly product and a piece more suitable for a adult.

The way the imagery is presented in these can be valuable when exploring my own production.

Large images, supported with colourful backgrounds and minimal text.

This layout can inspire my own piece of production. Clean, equally spaced boxes that make it easy to follow. The small, yellow boxes stand out from the rest of the imagery.

Another idea to explore in the idea generation is the position of the text. The black and white image explores having a large amount of text around the image in order to make it more clear. The font should be explored as well. This should be clear and easy to read.

(Arial) This is a good font to explore as it is clean, easy to read. This is important for the production as it needs to support the imagery.

(Comic Sans) This is a possible font in order to relate to the target audience. This looks much more friendly and something a younger person would read.

(Chalkduster) This is another possible font that would blend in well with both the audience but also the story itself. This would work well with Jack and the Beanstalk. With it being such an old novel, it would look good with soft text supporting the images.

(Gill Sans MT) Perhaps trying something much more professional. This is much bolder than the previous two explored but this would make it stand out from the images. If it is an vital section to the story, this could be used to show the importance.

(Noteworthy) This is a great font that could be explored. It has a soft, calm look to it which would support the target audience. It is almost in a handwritten style which can make it seem more readable. This would be worth looking at for the speech bubbles.

Possible ideas

I am going to use photography to capture the certain scenes of the story. The story of Jack and the Beanstalk will be in the style of a graphic novel. I will produce it over 4 pages with different sized boxes on each. The text needed will be an explanation of each scene and the dialogue between characters.

In the idea generation section, I wanted to explore work aimed at the same audience so I could try something different.

In order to entice a young audience and make them want to read a graphic novel in the days of online domination, there needs to be a twist.

Having a humorous side such as a giant with a peculiar haircut and using slang in a old novel.

Jack and the Beanstalk adaptations

Proposal

I am going to create a graphic novel where I re-create the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, a popular tale.

This will be captured over 4 pages and to tell the story with a modern twist. The images included in the graphic novel will be my own photographs I have taken and edited on Photoshop to a comic book style.

The text on the pages will minimal just to explain what is happening in the scenes as well as to show dialogue between the characters involved. After detailed mind maps and extensive brainstorming it has become clear the main audience of these kind of books are children, this is due to the lack of words and heavy imagery with bright colours.

Therefore this particular novel will be targeting an older market of those competitors target but still in the child demographic. The novel will be aimed at both genders from the age of 10 to as high as 15 years old. This may in some cases be extended should the classic tale with a twist be a success. The Twist will stay with the outline of the story, but with many tales over the years, the way in which it is told differs each time. Examples of the twist are the peculiar Afro that the giant has and the guitar that is stolen instead of a gold harp in the original story. Also some characters are changed such as the cow that is sold in the original tale will be changed to a dog and slang is used instead of older language. The twist is designed to modernise the book and target a new and older target audience. The audience would mould the product because for too long has the book been written off as some old tale and it is time where the children aged 10-15 can read to book, enjoy it, tell others through word of mouth and maybe even have role play in their schools to play the parts they have read.

It is the targeted audience that will decide how well the novel does through readership and also through how well they have understood the adaptation of the novel. The audience will be targeted through schools, as they do not tend to buy or go to any libraries in their spare time. Having a sale in the schools where many other books and novels are sold would be a good idea to bring the product to them, here they can use some book tokens given and also get a good understanding of competition through the sellers wanting them to read their book.

I would like the product to look fresh, modern and full of life. The twist was inspired when researching the market. The only way to entice the young audience is to modernise the work. This is seen through the film ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’ this is a good example in taking the novel and making it suitable to a different audience.

I want my work to be clean, easy to read and looking very professional. I want each photograph to explain the part of the story that well the text needed would be minimal. I want the final product to look unique but also something that the demographic looked at would buy and read.

The modern twist is something similar to what others have done for films and for the theatre, however In terms of graphic novels, not one person has created a graphic novel with a modern and humorous twist.

This is the unique selling point for the work, I wanted to have something competitors did not have. A giant with a guitar and afro does exactly this.

The target audience was chosen because they would be more likely to express an interest in something like this. A very young audience would not have experienced the original Jack and the Beanstalk, therefore not understanding the twist and a more older, adult audience would not appreciate the twist, wanting something more classic, such as the old, classic pieces seen in the earlier slides.

Jack and the Beanstalk is dated and lacks imagination after years of the similar story being repeated in households. This product wants to give a classic story the limelight it deserves again. The audience was chosen to get them back to reading print and with them being so easily contacted through schools, they can be much easier to get to buy the product.

The audience can take the product and make it popular again. Having the comedic factor allows interaction with the audience.

Having both genders makes it available for more people. The story is not one which can be split into a certain gender. Both would read the novel, therefore it is better to reach out to a large market.

Script Drafts

Mother: “Jack we need to sell the dog, we need money” “Son, we must swap the dog for some money, we need money”

Jack: “Okay Mother, if you say so” “But Mum! I love the dog” –Something more modern “If you insist Mother, I will go to the market”

In the market

Jack: “I’m here to get rid of my dog, you want him mate?” “Hello there, would you be interested in purchasing this dog?”

Old man: “Yes, here are some very unusual beans, they are magic” “I will give you these magic beans I have in my pocket” “Would you swap them for these magic beans?, I do not have any money”

Jack: “Go on then, I will have them” “Magic you say? I will take the deal, Sir”

Back home

Mother: “Where is my money!!?” “Jack, son, where is the money?” (Offering a modern twist in the language as well can be something to explore)

Once upon a time there lived a poor widow who had a son named jack and a dog-named trigger. The family was very poor and the only income they had was from the dog entering competitions and winning, however one day trigger fell and hurt his ankle and therefore could not run again. After weeks of jack trying to find a job, jack and his mother agreed to sell trigger on the market. Mother: Jack we need the money, you need to sell that dog.Jack: Okay mother if you insist I will go to the market.In the marketOld man: Hello jack, what are you doing here?Jack: I am here to sell my dog, you interested?Old man: Yeah, I will give you these magic beans for the dog.Jack: Magic? Old man: Yes they are sonJack: Okay deal.Back at home Mother: I see no dog? How much money did you get son? £10? £20?Jack: No money mother, I swapped for these magic beans.Mother: Magic? Jack you stupid boy, you have been an idiot.Jack: But, they are magic.Mother: Go to your room jack, I am not happy(Mother throws beans away)The next morningJack: Wow look at that (Looks out the window to see a beanstalk)(Jack climes up the beanstalk all the way to the top to see a house and a woman outside.)Woman: What are you doing up here?Jack: Breakfast.Woman: Breakfast? You will be breakfast alright.Jack: Excuse me?Woman: My husband will eat you for his breakfast if you do not leave this minuet.(Groans in the background of the giant)Woman: Leave now!(Jack is forced back down the beanstalk)The next morning jack cannot help but to find out who that woman’s husband is. So he climes and climes until he gets into the house(Giant gets up and jack starts to hide)Giant: Fee Fi fo fum I smell the man of an Englishman (The giant sits down on the table with his wife and he hears a noise)Jack is seen Running away with a guitar of the giants; The giant chases him towards the beanstalk.Jack: Mother! Mother!Giant: Come here now Englishman.Jack: Mother!Mother: Jack is that you son?Jack: Yes it is, Get the axe mother.Mother: the axe?Jack: Yes now!Jack slides down the beanstalk whilst the giant is on his trail.Jack: Get the axe ready Mother.Jack jumps off the beanstalk and takes the axe off his mother; he then starts to chop the beanstalk repeatedly. The beanstalk falls and lands on the giant.Jack: Yes Mother we did it.Mother: Jack, this is crazy even by your standards.Jack shows his mother the shiny guitar and they both smileMother: This could solve our problemsJack: Yes it sure canJack starts playing guitar, and they lived happily ever after.

Storyboard drafts

This first image is important, it should be one with both Jack, his mother and the dog. All play a huge part to the start of this modern graphic novel.

The second section must be with Jack and the magic beans, this could be either purchasing them or showing them to his mother, both explain the story.

The third section to the storyboard should be the inclusion of the large beanstalk. Having an image showing the sheer height of the beanstalk or tree in this adaptation would be good.

The fourth section to the storyboard explores the giant for the first time. The image for production should include both the giant and Jack. This would leave little room for explanation through text and make it much more suitable to the audience.

The fifth section looks towards Jack and leaving for the first time. This shows his stubbornness later. Having one image covering him going back makes it very clear what is going on.

The sixth section looks at Jack and his curiosity. Going back up the beanstalk, finding the guitar and the giant chasing him. The use of speech marks are to make it clear what is happening in the scene.

The next section explores the chase. Jack running for the beanstalk with the guitar he has stolen. This image is important as it shows the guitar, something which is important in the telling of this adaptation.

The seventh section looks at Jack coming down the beanstalk for a second time, this time with much more pace. This needs to have a image where the camera is looking up to demonstrate the height of the beanstalk. It should also have jack chopping it down in the narration.

The last section to the storyboard shows how this adaptation ends. Jack learning to play the guitar and people paying him whilst he sits on a bench. The beans proving to be a good idea which led to the guitar.