The term “Graphic Novel” is not strictly defined by any means but is used to show differences in artistic quality between graphic novels and regular kind of comics. The one thing that separates a graphic novel from a regular comic book is that a graphic novel has a narrative featuring a beginning, middle, and end whereas a comic book in an ongoing series. In a sense it combines both elements of comic book imagery and story book writing to form a different medium than both in general. Making a graphic novel may seem to be simple, but it is actually a very difficult task that requires both patience and an understanding of what you're writing. Over the last two months I made my first ever graphic novel, a 10 page story entitled, “Fear and Loathing in Hyrule”.
“Fear and Loathing in Hyrule” tells the story of a warrior named Link. Link lives in Hyrule where the King is called to rescue the Kingdom from Gamelon from the evil wizard Ganondorf. However unbeknownst to him he is being set up to go there by Ganondorf and the King's daughter Princess Zelda who is attempting to take out the King in order to seize the throne of Hyrule for herself and to unify both Gamelon and Hyrule with her lover King Ganondorf. Link is told this by Gameon and the book of prophecies. He ventures off to Gamelon where he rescues the King and defeats Ganondorf. Upon returning to Hyrule they reveal Zelda's plot and she is arrested and sentenced to scrub all the floors in Hyrule.
One of the key elements of Graphic Novels are the characters themselves. In a Graphic Novel the characters need to be 3-dimensional; we need to know why they do what they do and who they are. A well-rounded and 3-D character must have these three dimensions: Physiology, Sociology, and Psychology allowing us to know them. The character of Link is a 3-D character in this aspect. He is a blonde warrior that works for and honors the King but suffers from his inability to win the heart of Princess Zelda.
Another key element is the premise of the story. In order to make a strong story you must include: Characters, Conflict, and Conclusion. The main characters of my Graphic Novel were Link(the main protagonist and hero), The King of Hyrule(a supporting character), Gameon(another hero who aides Link in finding the King), Princess Zelda(the primary antagonist), Ganondorf(the secondary antagonist), Weegee(the King's demon body guard), and the Minion(Ganondorf's servant). The conflict of the story revolves around Princess Zelda's interest in assassinating her father, seizing the throne of Hyrule for herself and unifying Hyrule with Gamelon which would be ruled by King Ganondorf; something that Link is attempting to prevent from happening. In the end Link defeats Weegee and Ganondorf, saves the King and exposes Zelda's scheme ending her reign of terror.
Every Graphic Novel has its own narrative. The first step of this narrative is “Preparation”, which is something that occurs such as someone leaving, a rule is placed on the hero, a rule is broken, or something like that which sparks the story. In the case of “Fear and Loathing in Hyrule” that event is the King of Hyrule deciding to take a leave of absence to battle Ganondorf and his minions in Gamelon. The second step is “Complication”, where something significant occurs that sets the story in place such as a villain attacking, a desire from a member of the family, a hero going out on his quest, or the hero planning action on the villain. For example, in “Fear and Loathing in Hyrule”, the King is captured by Ganondorf after Zelda tipped him off of the King's arrival.
The third step is “Transference”, where the hero first comes across something whether it be the hero leaving home, being attacked, receiving help, or being transferred elsewhere. In the case of my story, the hero Link is encountered by the Wizard Genie Prophet Gameon and is informed of Zelda's betrayal and eventual plot. The fourth step is “Struggle”, where the hero has a battle with one of or the main villain and is victorious in this battle. In “Fear and Loathing” this occurs when Link arrives to Gamelon where he decapitates the demon Weegee and rescues the King. It seems like its the end of the story however there is still a bit to go.
This leads us to the fifth step, “Return”, where the hero comes back, is chased/rescued, they encounter a difficult task, or they accomplish one. In “Fear and Loathing”, after saving the King, Link goes into Ganondorf's lair where he and Ganondorf finally have their confrontation. Link defeats Ganondorf with the Book of Prophecies and Curses along with Weegee's cursed, which entraps him into the book forever. After this comes “Recognition”, where either the hero is recognized, the false hero or villain is exposed, or the villain is punished. In “Fear and Loathing in Hyrule”, after defeating Ganondorf, Link returns to Hyrule where he and Gameon reveal to the King that Zelda betrayed him and it is there that the King arrests Zelda and sentences her to scrub all the floors in Hyrule while Link is recognized as a hero.
Perhaps what makes the Graphic Novel so unique as a communication tool is the elements it combines. As stated in the name, it is basically a combination of a classical story and animation to go with it. This allows the reader to see physically what the character is and looks like. If you take away one of the two main elements of the Graphic Novel: story and imagery you get an entirely different view of it. Without the imagery its not a Graphic Novel it becomes a regular text printed story where all scenes, characters, and actions are to be viewed and imagined by the reader as they read the story; and in total opposite without the text itself, it suddenly becomes a story of interpretation where you interpret what's going on based on the images in the story.
Over the last 30 or so years, the Graphic Novel has become a very popular medium and communication tool. Combining the elements of both comic book imagery and classical storytelling, its a unique medium that gets larger and larger each day. All Graphic Novels require the ability to not only tell a story but to give depth to its characters and depth to the story in general. By use of the 6 Narrative steps you get out of it a story that is stunning both visually and on terms of how its written. Graphic Novels is one of the largest growing mediums and will continue to get bigger and better.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Blog 9:Facebook
In the last decade computer technology has become the main form of communication. In the modern world that we live in we communicate through the use of E-mail, Instant Messaging, and text messaging. The one thing that has combined these three elements of computer communication is social networking. One of the largest and widely used social network is Facebook. Originally founded in 2004, Facebook has become a phenomena in the landscape of communication.
It was in 2006 that I began using Facebook shortly after launching my MySpace account. However I will admit I did not fully use my Facebook until last year when more and more friends of mine began using it. Since then Facebook has become my main tool of communicating with others online. As of December 5, 2010 at least 95 percent of my friends use Facebook actively and thus are able to communicate with me actively. Facebook has not only allowed me to reach current friends and relatives but also people who I have not seen or spoke to in a long time.
One of the great things about Facebook is that it has become very expansive in the last year. For example, you can now log into websites using your Facebook account thus making the websites turn into mere apps on your account that are easily accessible. Facebook has also become easily accessible through phones and consoles. For example, Facebook Mobile(which I use whenever I need to) allows you to receive notifications for whenever someone comments on a status, picture, sends your a message or when you are tagged in either a picture, note, or status along with being able to reply to those notifications and even setting your own status. It is possible as recently as earlier this year to update or check your Facebook on your X-Box 360 or I-Pod.
Another one of the biggest uses for Facebook is the ability to organize things. On Facebook you can post “events” that allow you to tell others a festivity that you're holding, where its going to be, details regarding it, the time it will occur, directions to the location and the ability to allow any of the participants to communicate on a singular page by asking and answering questions about it. Fan pages have become popular on Facebook for movies, bands, businesses, and certain people to give out information to the people that subscribe or “like” their page. In my experience I have found these things to be very useful. One of the biggest examples of this would be my recent joining of the Shepherd University Communications Department page where now I can receive information from Professor Williams, Larson, and McKahan regarding any event the department is hosting such as the Senior Capstone poster presentation from last Wednesday.
While Facebook does have a lot of great advantages, it also comes with its own disadvantages. Because it is online everything you post on their becomes public knowledge whether it is to your own personal group of friends on there or the entire internet(in the case of people who are unsure on how to use privacy settings). This has as a result made people(myself included) vulnerable to information about myself falling into the wrong hands. For example, from my personal experience I had said something very negative about another on Facebook(without saying a name). I thought they wouldn't know about it but they saw it(how so I don't know) and it caused a very bad situation, one that I regret.
Since 2004 Facebook has become the most popular and widely used way of communication on the internet. It combines elements of e-mail, text messaging, and instant messaging along with basically becoming your own computer for storing images, video, and writing blogs. Not only that but it has also expanded communication through its fan pages and event pages. In my year and a half of utilizing Facebook it has become the primary source of communication for me. For that reason I enjoy using Facebook but it is to keep in mind while those things are great it does ultimately come with a price.
If you would like to keep in touch and communicate with me you can reach me at my Facebook page
It was in 2006 that I began using Facebook shortly after launching my MySpace account. However I will admit I did not fully use my Facebook until last year when more and more friends of mine began using it. Since then Facebook has become my main tool of communicating with others online. As of December 5, 2010 at least 95 percent of my friends use Facebook actively and thus are able to communicate with me actively. Facebook has not only allowed me to reach current friends and relatives but also people who I have not seen or spoke to in a long time.
One of the great things about Facebook is that it has become very expansive in the last year. For example, you can now log into websites using your Facebook account thus making the websites turn into mere apps on your account that are easily accessible. Facebook has also become easily accessible through phones and consoles. For example, Facebook Mobile(which I use whenever I need to) allows you to receive notifications for whenever someone comments on a status, picture, sends your a message or when you are tagged in either a picture, note, or status along with being able to reply to those notifications and even setting your own status. It is possible as recently as earlier this year to update or check your Facebook on your X-Box 360 or I-Pod.
Another one of the biggest uses for Facebook is the ability to organize things. On Facebook you can post “events” that allow you to tell others a festivity that you're holding, where its going to be, details regarding it, the time it will occur, directions to the location and the ability to allow any of the participants to communicate on a singular page by asking and answering questions about it. Fan pages have become popular on Facebook for movies, bands, businesses, and certain people to give out information to the people that subscribe or “like” their page. In my experience I have found these things to be very useful. One of the biggest examples of this would be my recent joining of the Shepherd University Communications Department page where now I can receive information from Professor Williams, Larson, and McKahan regarding any event the department is hosting such as the Senior Capstone poster presentation from last Wednesday.
While Facebook does have a lot of great advantages, it also comes with its own disadvantages. Because it is online everything you post on their becomes public knowledge whether it is to your own personal group of friends on there or the entire internet(in the case of people who are unsure on how to use privacy settings). This has as a result made people(myself included) vulnerable to information about myself falling into the wrong hands. For example, from my personal experience I had said something very negative about another on Facebook(without saying a name). I thought they wouldn't know about it but they saw it(how so I don't know) and it caused a very bad situation, one that I regret.
Since 2004 Facebook has become the most popular and widely used way of communication on the internet. It combines elements of e-mail, text messaging, and instant messaging along with basically becoming your own computer for storing images, video, and writing blogs. Not only that but it has also expanded communication through its fan pages and event pages. In my year and a half of utilizing Facebook it has become the primary source of communication for me. For that reason I enjoy using Facebook but it is to keep in mind while those things are great it does ultimately come with a price.
If you would like to keep in touch and communicate with me you can reach me at my Facebook page
Blog 8:My Major and Me
In 2008, as a Junior attending Boonsboro High School in Boonsboro, MD, I became part of their Theatre Department. Upon joining their department I began having a renewed interest in film. It was their I made my decision that I would pursue a career in that field. In May 2009, after a long search I made my decision to attend Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV. It is where I am currently and where I hope to graduate as a Communications student and have great success in my film concentration later in my career.
The reasoning I chose to be a Communication student with a film concentration was multiple. One such reason was my love of film making dating back to when I was a Middle School student. I feel that film is the best art form on the planet in the sense that unlike pictures or paintings the images are moving and can tell multiple stories by what you see and interpret. Another reason is the amount of jobs there are in the world when it comes to film making. Its an art form that will never go away and has different fields within it such as animation, camera work, directing, producing, editing, narrative writing, storyboard work, and countless others.
The required courses to take for all communication students include: Communications and New Media, Voice and Diction, Narrative Scriptwriting, History of Film or History of Television, and Computer-Mediated Communication. Once those core courses are completed my concentration focuses on Sound Design, Single-Camera Production, Music Video or Experimental Video, Studio Production, Advanced Production, and one course from the New Media Concentration which could either be: Graphic Novel, Game Design, Animation and Communication, Motion Graphics, or Advanced Internet Media. It is my opinion that each individual class serves more of an importance on terms of the major as it teaches every major element of the film major. For example, Voice and Diction serves as a great communication class for teaching proper speaking, a major importance for a film career and for pretty much every career in general. Narrative Scriptwriting comes in handy when you're attempting to tell a story within the film you're making.
One of the key things to any profession is knowing the history of the said-profession in order to learn from history and to understand it. For this reason, the history of film and history of television are necessities as they both tie into the major and gives you insight. In this modern world we live in, computers is the most important tool of communication and technology in the film world as all editing, and animation are done with computers. It is because of this that Computer-Mediated Communication is an essential class that can go a long ways. Once you get into the film concentration itself you will discover that each class is significant in that it teaches you a different branch within that field.
For example, Sound Design falls under of editing as it mixes the dialogue, effects, and music within the film. Single-camera Production revolves around the use of filming with one camera and adjusting the angles and light pending on the shot. Music Video and Experimental Video revolve around two different premises as music video is a fast-paced short video done to music whereas experimental video is something experimental like filming a man sleeping for several hours or shots of the lights in the empire state building. Studio Production is about the use of studio equipment, the production system, and the functions of production personnel. Finally, Advanced Production is the principles and practices of short film production including digital cinematography, sound, lighting, and editing.
The communications major is one of many fields based on the concentration. In my concentration I hope that I am able to get far in the film world. While I do have some exact things in mind I also feel that they will change as I learn more and more about each film branch. My ultimate goal is to achieve a steady career in film, make great financial gain by moving up the career ladder, and to get attention to Shepherd’s University ever-growing Comm department. It is my belief after attending their film fest earlier in the semester that this school has great young talents and does a great job with teaching their students.
The reasoning I chose to be a Communication student with a film concentration was multiple. One such reason was my love of film making dating back to when I was a Middle School student. I feel that film is the best art form on the planet in the sense that unlike pictures or paintings the images are moving and can tell multiple stories by what you see and interpret. Another reason is the amount of jobs there are in the world when it comes to film making. Its an art form that will never go away and has different fields within it such as animation, camera work, directing, producing, editing, narrative writing, storyboard work, and countless others.
The required courses to take for all communication students include: Communications and New Media, Voice and Diction, Narrative Scriptwriting, History of Film or History of Television, and Computer-Mediated Communication. Once those core courses are completed my concentration focuses on Sound Design, Single-Camera Production, Music Video or Experimental Video, Studio Production, Advanced Production, and one course from the New Media Concentration which could either be: Graphic Novel, Game Design, Animation and Communication, Motion Graphics, or Advanced Internet Media. It is my opinion that each individual class serves more of an importance on terms of the major as it teaches every major element of the film major. For example, Voice and Diction serves as a great communication class for teaching proper speaking, a major importance for a film career and for pretty much every career in general. Narrative Scriptwriting comes in handy when you're attempting to tell a story within the film you're making.
One of the key things to any profession is knowing the history of the said-profession in order to learn from history and to understand it. For this reason, the history of film and history of television are necessities as they both tie into the major and gives you insight. In this modern world we live in, computers is the most important tool of communication and technology in the film world as all editing, and animation are done with computers. It is because of this that Computer-Mediated Communication is an essential class that can go a long ways. Once you get into the film concentration itself you will discover that each class is significant in that it teaches you a different branch within that field.
For example, Sound Design falls under of editing as it mixes the dialogue, effects, and music within the film. Single-camera Production revolves around the use of filming with one camera and adjusting the angles and light pending on the shot. Music Video and Experimental Video revolve around two different premises as music video is a fast-paced short video done to music whereas experimental video is something experimental like filming a man sleeping for several hours or shots of the lights in the empire state building. Studio Production is about the use of studio equipment, the production system, and the functions of production personnel. Finally, Advanced Production is the principles and practices of short film production including digital cinematography, sound, lighting, and editing.
The communications major is one of many fields based on the concentration. In my concentration I hope that I am able to get far in the film world. While I do have some exact things in mind I also feel that they will change as I learn more and more about each film branch. My ultimate goal is to achieve a steady career in film, make great financial gain by moving up the career ladder, and to get attention to Shepherd’s University ever-growing Comm department. It is my belief after attending their film fest earlier in the semester that this school has great young talents and does a great job with teaching their students.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Blog 7:Every Picture Tells a Story
They say that a picture is worth 1,000 words. While they may ring true, it is my belief that every picture like a book tells a story with a beginning, middle, and end. The picture shown above may look to the simple mind like a picture of a design someone did where they cracked an egg and made it seem like the lead egg curb stomped him or something that gruesome while the others looked on in shock. However, this is more than that, this picture is a tragic story of a life taken by a cruel mind and the trauma suffered by those who witnessed a cold blooded murder that day. This is the story of a killer egg and its poor victims.
There were two eggs named James and David. Both of the eggs were making jokes about people as they came by. A third egg named Judith appeared and the eggs started making jokes about her to each other. Judith, however wasn't quite affected by the jokes as she knew both of the eggs were just two jokers from her old high school. However the next passerby the boys would make a joke about would change their lives forever.
Bruce was just an office worker. He worked from 9-5 everyday dealing with a nagging boss and coming home to a nagging wife and sleeping with a nagging back pain as his spine wasn't exactly straight. James and David proceeded to start making jokes about Bruce, his posture, and his figure. A long life of living had turned Bruce rotten on terms of his attitude and his frustration. He turned to James and David and scolded them for their jokes only to hear a snicker from one of them.
Bruce was not sure which of the two eggs had said it but at that point it no longer mattered. Bruce turned to a laughing David where he shoved him to the ground, James stood up for his fallen friend only to be shoved forcefully to the ground and right in front of David's appalled eyes and the poor Judith, Bruce jumped and smashed James into many pieces instantly spilling his yoke all over the concrete and all over Judith and David. David suddenly burst into tears as he witnessed his friend dying in front of him and the yoke of his friend spilling all over the canvas and all over him and poor Judith who was in so much shock that she just couldn't express any emotion except for total and utter shock at the cold blooded killing of James the Egg. Bruce turned around and walked away with an angry grin on his face and years of frustration boiling all over his inner self. In the end, no one would ever forget the cold-blooded killing of James T. Egg by Bruce T. Egg(no relation).
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words but I think that a picture like any other medium tells a beginning, middle and end. The beginning of this catastrophe on an egg-stravagant scale was just two men making jokes about the people walking down the street in front and by them. Then upon seeing Bruce T. Egg they began making jokes on him. When they did not listen to his warnings, he took justice in his own way and took the life out of James T. Egg and forever changed the lives of Judith and David T. Egg. That was the story of the killer egg and his poor victims.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Blog 6:The VALS Survey
The VALS survey is a survey designed to identify the type of person taking the survey. The survey finds out the consumer's product ownership, media preferences, hobbies, additional demographics, or attitudes. The questions in the VALS survey integrates into larger questionnaires that ask about the topics. It was first founded in 1978 by SRI International based on Arnold Mitchell's work in the 1960's on trying the explain the fragmentation of the people in the United States and the economical and societal impact of these changes. However as the 1980's went on the ability to predict consumer behavior weakened and it went under reworking by a team from SRI, Stanford, and Cal-Berkeley.
It was then they determined that psychological traits are more stable then social trends and shared values and beliefs to explain consumer behavior. The new VALS was launched in 1989 still under the philosophy that psychological traits and demographics are more powerful than demographics alone. The new VALS is still in effect today and currently consists of eight types(Innovators, Thinkers, Believers, Achievers, Strivers, Experiencers, Makers, and Survivors) and two critical concepts for understanding consumers(primary motivation(with ideals, achievement, and self-expression as sub-categories) and resources. To find out just what my type was, I took the VALS survey at http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/surveynew.shtml. The results of my survey brought me both agreement and disagreement.
My primary type was “Striver”. A Striver as defined by the survey are trendy and fun loving types. They are motivated by achievement and are always concerned about the opinions and approval of others. To a Striver money defines success as a Striver typically lacks the resources and high finances that most have. Many Strivers see themselves as having a job working somewhere instead of a long-term career mainly because a lack of skills and focus tend to prevent them from moving ahead in the career ladder.
Despite the limited funds, Strivers are active consumers because shopping is seen as both a social activity and an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to buy to others. I mainly agree with this result as throughout my life I've been motivated by achievement and has set the bar high on terms of financial gain as I see it as the true measuring stick to success in life on terms of career. I further agree with the active consumer sentiment and do feel that buying something of high rank is a high achievement to show to friends and I'm typically concerned with the opinions and approval of others. While I am trendy in some fields(on terms of buying gaming and computer products) while I'm not trendy in others(such as the purchasing of clothing and accessories) so I think its not quite accurate to say I'm trendy. Another disagreement I have is that I view my line of work as a “job” and not a career and that is because I feel that even with my lack of resources I still see my future as a career worker not a guy with a job as I feel anyone can overcome lack of anything with determination and the right motivation.
My secondary type was “Achiever”. An Achiever is typically motivated by a desire for achievement. They have goal-oriented lifestyles and a deep commitment to career and family. Their social lives reflect the focus and are structured around family and work. They live conventional lifestyles and tend to be conservative politically and prefer a predictable and stable lifestyle. Achievers are active in the marketplace preferring established and prestigious products that in their mind demonstrates success to their peers.
I fully agree with the goal-oriented lifestyle as I set goals for myself. The same can be said the deep commitment to family and career as I have valued those two things above all throughout life. However I do have several disagreements with the type of lifestyle on terms of how I like it. While I enjoy the predictable and stable life sometimes I prefer to have a change-up once in a while that changes the structure in which I'm working under and I really don't see myself as a conservative spender as I tend to throw money around upon acquiring the certain amount. I have a mixed feeling on prestigious products as while I do tend to buy them frequently I personally see no difference in wearing a plain blue t-shirt and something from a big brand like American Eagle nor do I see a difference in store-brand soda and the name-brand, as it all just tastes the same its just less “sexy” on the outside.
The VALS test was created for the purpose of identifying the type of person taking the survey. While I feel some of the results and definition of what type I am is semi-accurate in some aspects, it misses in some other places. Overall however, I see it as a much better way of determining a consumer and the closest thing to identifying the type of consumer correctly. Once again, to take the test simply go to . After taking the test go to to read more into the answers you receive or follow the above chart to see what you're categorized under.
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