Adam Chou
Proposal:
The work I will create is a visual novel the dichotomy of storytelling. The idea is to represent what how words can often disturb and create a different perception of reality. I have attempted to do this by presenting two different texts, with the ability to switch between them. They both tell the same story (i.e. a girl’s walk to her father’s grave), but with slight differences. The project will be script-based, idealizing a rough draft of a movie in both black and white and color. These mediums were chosen for their symbolism of abstraction and realism.
Inspiration:
Natsume Sōseki was a Japanese writer who lived through the dawn of the 20th century, and some more. He was considered a prominent member of Japanese literary culture, helping to bring about a profound effect (stylistically) amongst aspiring Japanese writers. His work, Kokoro, chronicles one man’s regret, which ends with his suicide. The piece, in my understanding, illustrates emphasizes the association of memory to guilt, showcased by Sensei’s inability to forgive himself. In my piece, I will be attempting to mimic a light-hearted version of this sensation – instead making a more ‘slice of life’ style. Slight changes within my writing, stylistically, would be trying to keep his descriptive style while eliminating the first-person narration and having a third person narrator.
Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese writer based in the United Kingdom who has also received critical acclaim. His book, Never Let me Go, is a dystopian science fiction novel. It chronicles the first-person experience of a woman named Katie, who sees the two people she knows and loves, leave her. The piece plays with a bittersweet feeling of regret and loss, tying in the two for the fated plot-twist that initially shocked me. Foregoing the plot-twist due to time constraints, I chose instead to borrow the unusual inner-peace that the narrator exudes in the end scene, despite the loss experienced.
Logistics:
The project will consist of audio, images, and text. The audio component will be a recitation of the script by me and a willing female (or someone with a feminine voice) volunteer. The text will be a typed-out version of a short story I wrote.
The text box will be displayed next to an image box. There will be a JavaScript function that will write out the text (i.e. w -> we -> we_ -> we_l -> we_li -> we_lik -> we_like) and will have a mouse hover function to control image and auditory display.
Because the idea is based around the idea that storytelling creates a different idea of what the story would be, there will be two versions of the image, text, and audio. Initially, the image will initially be in black and white, and lack audio surrounding the current events of the story (i.e. an alarm ringing). However, if a button is clicked, the audio will stop, and the images will have some color and the sound audio for various items that appear (i.e. the alarm audio) will exist. Images and audio will be cycled through a dictionary function, using the variable (i) which is to be used to automate the typewriter, audio, and image file displays. A pause and auto play button will be included below the image and text boxes, in the middle of the screen. Additionally, the ability to skip items will also be included.