Metanarrative and Metafiction

Hi Everyone,

If you’re still confused about metanarrative or metafiction, take a look at the Wikipedia definitions for these terms.  They are actually pretty good and provide several definitions for each.  Let me know if you have any questions about any other concepts or terms we discussed last night.

Metanarrative (Wikipedia)

Metafiction (Wikipedia) 

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Hi Everyone,

A colleague from the Philosophy Department sent me a fascinating article from Smithsonian Magazine about the discoverer of the Epic of Gilgamesh cuneiform tablets.  You may remember that this particular story is one of the oldest literary narratives in the world, and tells of the hero Gilgamesh and his quest to defeat the evil demon Humbaba (critic Christopher Booker has noted that this is perhaps the earliest example of the “Overcoming the Monster” plot type).  I think you may also find some elements of this plot in George Smith’s personal quest to decipher the mysteries of Mesopotamian literature.  Enjoy!

Assignment 2: Transmedia Story Proposal

Hi Everyone,

Here are the details for assignment 2.

In this assignment, you will write a proposal for your transmedia storytelling plan which summarizes your strategy for composing a series of transmedia stories. You should answer the following questions in your proposal:

• What type of stories are you going to tell?
• In which genre will you be writing?
• Why are you choosing these particular types of story to compose?
• What is the purpose of your stories?
• Who are the intended audiences for your stories?
• What is the method of focalisation you will employ?
• How will your story be temporally arranged?
• How will this story be shaped by media through each subsequent pass? In other words, what types of media will you add to each revision, and how will these media redefine the rhetorical effects[1] of your stories? You won’t have enough room to address this in detail, but you may want to point out just a few anticipated effects.
• Will your method of focalisation or temporal arrangement change after each pass?
• What types of stories will you be producing for Pass 2 through Pass 4? Will you be continuing the same story throughout, or devising new stories for each pass? Each approach has its benefits and disadvantages, so consider your strategy carefully.
• What do you anticipate the challenges will be in this project? How are you planning to deal with them?

Your proposal grade will count as one of the six short assignments for this course. Your proposal should be in the neighborhood of 350 to 500 words in length, and should be both posted to your student blog and uploaded using the WebCT Submit Assignment mechanism.

Proposal Grading Rubric (Out of Ten Points):

__ / 5 Completeness (includes all required elements and meets length requirements)
__ / 3 Quality of Proposal (engaging, thoughtful, and creative)
__ / 2 Mechanics and Grammar (well-written with no spelling errors; syntactically correct)

[1] See the “Other Useful Sites” section of our course blog for a link to Paul Newall’s introductory essay on rhetoric.

Here is a copy of the full Transmedia Story Assignment (PDF). You’ll likely want to reference this document as you prepare your proposal (and this assignment description is also included in that PDF file).

As always, let me know if you have any questions! Assignment 2 is due to your personal blog and to be uploaded to WebCT on 5/27 by 11:55PM.

Linking your Blog

Hi Everyone,

There are still a few questions about linking your blog to the course Wiki, so I’m adding some detailed instructions here. If you managed to do it on your own, fantastic! Pat yourself on the back and have a mocha. If not, read on, and don’t despair — once you figure out the Wiki, it’s a piece of cake.

First, you should realize that you are NOT linking your blog to the main transmedia blog (where you are currently reading this message). This blog is set up so that only I can post and link directly to it (though I encourage you to comment as much as you like on both this blog and the blogs of your classmates). I am, however, manually adding links to the student blogs in batches as they are added to our course Wiki. The Wiki is editable by the entire course community, so all of our shared documents and course modules will be housed there. We’ll use this blog for announcements and assignments and your student blogs will be used for your writing assignments. So, if you don’t see a link to your blog on the transmedia hub blog, that just means I haven’t added it yet. It should be linked within 48 hours of you posting the link to the Wiki, though.

Now, step by step instructions for adding a link to your blog from our course Wiki (which I ask you to do in assignment one):

1. Copy the URL of your student blog from the address bar of your browser with your main blog page loaded.
2. Find the blog password from my email of 5/11. Write down the password as you’ll need it to edit the Wiki.
3. Visit our course Wiki at http://transmedia.pbwiki.com/.
4. Log in to the Wiki if you are not already logged in.
5. Click on the “sidebar” link on the right hand side of the screen to display the Wiki sidebar
6. Click on the “edit” link at the bottom of the sidebar to bring up the GUI editing interface
7. Position your cursor after the last item in the bulleted list of links. Hit ENTER to advance to a new line.
8. Use the link tool to add a link to your blog. Choose “URL” as link type.
9. Paste the URL you copied in step 1 into the URL field of the GUI pop-up window. Provide a descriptive name for your blog that matches the format used by other students (or, you can choose to use an alias).

That’s it! Now you get a mocha, too. Let me know if you have any questions about this process.

Module 1 Added to Wiki

Module 1 is now linked to our course Wiki under “Module 1: Introduction to Narrative”.  Use this as a reference when preparing your own group module (and you’ll need to read this for next week as well per the syllabus schedule).  Let me know if you have any questions!

Don’t Panic!

Hi Everyone,

You have until Sunday night to pick your Group Presentation Module, but the available spots are going fast. I have received a few anxious calls from students, so I want to reassure you that there is still time to post your blog and sign up for a presentation. By the way, the password for the Wiki was purposefully not added to the syllabus as it (the syllabus) is posted openly on the Wiki and anyone can access it.  We want to keep the ability to edit the Wiki restricted to only students enrolled in the class.  For the password, you should refer to the email I sent on 5/11. I believe we have more students (22) than available spots (20) so I went ahead and added a third student slot for Module 2. If necessary, I will assign the last person to sign up to another module I feel would benefit from a third presenter.

The image below is from Wikimedia Commons and shows a Towel Day tribute to Douglas Adams, one of my favorite storytellers. If you see a towel hanging from my office door next Friday, now you’ll know why!

Group Module Assignment

Hi Everyone,

The details for the Group Module Assignment (PDF) are now available as an attachment to this post in PDF format. The example module 1 will be posted shortly and linked to our course Wiki.

RM

WebCT Accounts Created

Hi Everyone,

I added all registered students to the WebCT account, so you can now login to access the supplemental course readings. If you have trouble logging in, see http://reach.ucf.edu/passwords/. Also note that we are using what UCF calls the “old” WebCT (not the new Webcourses system). If you’re still having trouble logging in, bring any questions to our first optional class meeting on Monday night.

RM

Assignment 1: Introduction

Due date: Sunday, 5/20, 11:55PM

This assignment has three parts:

1. Create a personal blog on www.wordpress.com. You can choose to use your name or an alias for your blog. You will use this blog to post most of your online assignments, so spend some time configuring it to your liking.

2. Create a new posting called “Introduction.” Your “Introduction” post should contain the following information:

• A general introduction (academic background and any interesting details you would like to share with the class, and, by extension, the general public). Feel free to use an alias or your first name only if you’re concerned about privacy. Just let me know offline what your alias is so that I can give you credit for this (and future) assignments.
• Tell me about your interest in narrative or storytelling. Are you a lifelong reader? An avid viewer of films?
• Tell me about your interest in media. Do you play video games? Work in the simulation industry? How comfortable are you in working with computers? Are you a casual or an experienced Internet user?
  
• Add a link from your  blog back to this main blog.  Name this link “Transmedia Course Hub.”  You can add this link using the “Blogroll” link in the administrative control panel.
• You will be posting your blog’s link to our central wiki Web site so that all of our postings are interconnected. Link your blog to the “Student Blogs” sidebar in the right-hand panel of our Wiki.

3. Sign up for your group module presentation on http://transmedia.pbwiki.com/Group-Presentation-Schedule. Use your first initial and last name or an alias to claim your spot. Each team may have no more than two members. See the group module presentation assignment for details. See the course syllabus for the password to this Wiki (you’ll need this to edit the schedule and student blogs page). Edit the student blogs page to link to your newly created blog.

That’s it! Bookmark the course Wiki, this blog, and your personal blog. We’ll be accessing all of them throughout the course.

Grading Rubric (out of ten points):

__ /3 Introductory posting is complete
__ /3 Grammar and mechanics
__ /2 Student blog is created and linked from our course Wiki
__ /2 Group module is selected on the course Wiki

Directions to the Digital Media Building

Hi Everyone,

Here are the directions to the OTC-500 building:

- Pass the last entrance to UCF on Alafaya Trail / 434 heading towards SR50
- Take a left at the next light (Research Parkway)
- Pass the light at Progress Drive
- Turn left into the turn in for UCF Foundation / Orlando Tech Center.  Update: this is actually the 2nd turn in.  Drive past the first sign that says UCF Foundation / Orlando Tech Center and then turn left at the 2nd sign that says this.
- Proceed to the right around the bend, then take an immediate left
- Drive past a couple buildings on the right, then head left over a few speed bumps
- Our building is OTC500, and will be on the right. Park anywhere. There will be a sign on the door that says School of Film and Digital Media. It is in the small, lighter-colored building.

Google Map to the OTC-500 building

Where are you meeting?

Larger classes (15 or more) are usually scheduled in the large classroom or the Mac lab.  To find the large classroom, proceed through the double doors then turn left at the first corridor and follow the hall until it dead ends at the large classroom.  The Mac lab is directly across the hall from Rudy McDaniel’s office (see below).

Smaller graduate classes or groups of independent study students (or meetings with colleagues) are usually in the DM conference room.  The conference room is directly to your left as soon as you enter the building.

If you are meeting directly with professor McDaniel, you will probably be meeting in his office.  Rudy McDaniel’s office is directly through the double doors and a few offices down on the right-hand side, room 144.

It can be a bit tricky to find the building if you are searching for the first time.  If you have any trouble, please call the Digital Media department at 823-6100.  Our office manager Ryan Browne will be happy to assist you.  If you are unable to reach Mr. Browne you can contact Rudy McDaniel at 823-2488.