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The purpose of the Narrative Project is to showcase our work in writing, digital photography, graphic design, audio engineering, and web production by producing a graphic novel, illustrations, an audio story with original music from a story that I've written. I want my work to be seen by the world as I have combined all my skills to create each aspect of this project. I have used my story-telling abilities to lead my audience through a world that I have created. In English class we were required to write a short story about anything we wanted. Then in Digital Media we would take inspiration from our story to create music that would help convey the importance of our theme, main character, and climax. In Deign, we made illustrations of our character on Adobe Illustrator that showcased a scene of our story. My story is titled "Close Your Eyes".

This Project taught me to convey an entire story and message in multiple different ways. I was able to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator to draw the abstract appearance of my characater which has taught me how to use the program so much better. I now feel confident telling my story and sharing the music I made on ProTools to go with it. This project has showed me the ropes of what film makers endure everyday.

Story

My story is titled "Close Your Eyes". I was heavily inspired by a utopian society that almost exaggerates the reality of our world today. This Flash Fiction is about a boy who lives in a completely electronic world but is curious about nature and colors. He later wakes up in this seemingly dream world that is meant to represent everything beautiful about the Earth. I wanted to incorporate a detailed description of this world as I am extremely passionate about the environment and I think it is important that we all take care of the Earth's natural beauty. In addition, I love stories that leave you thinking at the end, so I decided to attempt to relay that effect to my audience.

Close Your Eyes

The obnoxious buzzing and vibrations of their devices flooded the entire classroom, echoing precisely off each of the claustrophobic walls. This created a consistent hum that was more familiar to Tristan’s ears than the voices of his classmates, as his focus was glued to his virtual reality tablet. It became muscle memory to learn on a device, making education an individual experience. At home, Tristan’s strength never forgave his mind and its habits to see life through a tiny screen: the norm for anyone who had experienced the perfection cast by a metal telescope.

Tristan’s neck hung down and his eyes followed, gazing effortlessly at a pixelated yet vivid green landscape. His mind floated in the clouds, picturing the beauty of some seemingly far away planet. Occasionally his view drifted to the single window above his bed, originally built by distant ancestors, of whom Tristan winced at the thought. Scanning over the desolate grey, Tristan quickly jolted his head back to its downward position, gaining reassurance through the familiar brilliance of his tablet. A sudden rush of warmth entered his bloodstream, guiding his heart back to its steady tune, his virtual sanctuary.

Sometimes he wondered about trees, and how they might sway in the wind – if he ever saw one. He constantly attempted to suppress this thought, as he desired to be content in his bubble. He had heard rumors about real forests like the ones on his device, but his young mind never knew what to believe. Everything he learned at school was about ancient technology, including a detailed background of a man named Steve Jobs from Cupertino. His brain exploded at the thought of life in another city. Tristan only knew the colossal steel buildings and houses packed so tight that he could hear the daily program playing on the neighbor’s television.

There had been a warning broadcasted about the harmful effects of the current climate change. The excessive use of electricity had caused natural disasters to strike in a pattern that seemed to circle Tristan’s town. The booming sound of his heart soon pulsated throughout his entire body as he flung back onto his bed, pale, overwhelmed by the possibility of destruction to everything he’s ever known. His eyelids flickered quickly before snapping shut, revealing a vast land of mystery.

Darkness. That’s all he saw as he sat up, his hands pushing down gently behind him on the soft soil. For a moment, everything was still, peaceful. Suddenly, a rush of cold air brushed the boy’s brown curls into his face, to which he immediately tucked back into place. Calmly, he examined his hands, now covered in dirt, and realized they felt empty. He couldn’t put a finger on why he felt this way. Something braised his face softly, and as he looked down, a lovely shade of green that resembled something so familiar, yet foreign in that exact moment of time, sat upon his lap. He traced the path from which the color had originated, and choked on his breath when he saw a whole sky of green, dancing and twirling with the wind. The day was getting lighter now, as he sat watching the magnificent show before his eyes. He felt the warmth of sunlight kiss his skin, basking under a cloudless blue. As he took time to gather his thoughts, he envisioned his true desire: to escape an earth permanently damaged by human brilliance, an irrepressible, terminal brilliance.

He took each step with gratitude, softly lifting and then placing each foot in the virgin soil that fed the giants surrounding him. He noticed the incline ahead of him, and was determined to conquer it despite his untrained limbs. Heavy breaths, each one bursting with hope and life, seemed to propel him up the hill. He must have felt connected to the earth, for he reached the peak with a fearless smile. The silence overwhelmed Tristan with grace, and he felt more satisfied than ever with the simplicity of these rolling hills. Because he was so thoughtfully immersed, his fear disappeared completely, washed away by the sounds of white water crashing forcefully into the bank of teal. It was that same raging sound that shook Tristan’s body awake, only this time coming from the tablet flung beside him on his bed, which projected a live image of a rushing river on some seemingly far away planet.

Illustrations

Our project in Design class was to combine multiple animals into a drawing that represents our main character of our Flash Fiction. Then we were asked to create an environment and outfit to draw for our characters. All of this was done on Adobe Illustrator. I learned how to more effectively use Illustrator to convey a message.

Brainstorming Sketch and Characteristics
Brainstorming Sketch and Characteristics

While I was sketching my character, I drew inspiration from the qualities of my character. Because I believe that Tristan, my main character, is innocent and naive, I thought that any young animal would be a fit. He is also curious, represented by a cat. I combined all of these qualities into one character, and played around with his location.

Example Poses for My Character
Example Poses for My Character

Because I wanted this scene to take place in his utopian city, I wanted to show him being bored of the mundain lifestyle that his life provides by having him sit up against one of the buildings like a human. I was looking up pictures of cats sitting like humans and decided to base my entire illustration of those images. Therefore, I had my model sit against a wall like a cat with a slouching position to communicate his boredom and sadness.

Tristan on the Spaceship
Tristan on the Spaceship

This is my final illustration including both the character and the background I have been designing. I have learned an incredible amount through this project and I am extremely happy with my finished product. My main character, Tristan, is pictured in the middle with a city background behind him within a spaceship.

Here is my character in progress.

Music

Our task for the music section was to help explain our short stories through music which we created on ProTools. We had to make a short clip of music for our Story Theme, Character Motif, and Climax. I learned how to use plug-ins to create a sound that goes well with the mood of my story. The music enhances the audio story because it makes the audience feel something through more than just words.

Story Theme Music

This is a picture of my ProTools session for my Story Theme.

Character Motif

This is a picture of my ProTools session for my Character Motif.

Climax Music

This is a picture of my ProTools session for my Climax Music.

EDM Music

As a way to practice using Reason, our teacher required us to create a practice piece of music using an electronic style. Reason is a music application that allows us to play around with electronic beats and instruments. I think that reason is a fun tool to have when looking for a dance beat to jam to. It was a really great experience even though I felt super new to the application. Each of us were responsible for creating 8 bars of an EDM beat and below is the combination of all of our songs. The combination of all our works is called an Exquisite Corpse.

Audio Book

This is my finished audio book with all of my music incorporated with my flash fiction story.

Close Your Eyes

This is a picture of my ProTools session for my flash fiction.