Texts, Worlds, Realms and Channels: Towards a Taxonomy of Polymorphic Works

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Texts, Worlds, Realms and Channels Towards a
Taxonomy of Polymorphic Works

• Christy Dena17th August 2005

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Ingredients
Treasure-hunt books
Theatre
Games
Hypertext Fiction
Ergodic Literature
Hybrid Arts
Installation
Networked Art
Locative Arts
Polymorphic Narrative
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Hierarchies

• Linnaeus introduced a hierarchy of living things
  genera, order, classes and kingdoms.
• Cross-document Structure Theory (CST)
  differentiates between four levels of textual
  organisation document, paragraph/sentence,
  phrase, word.
• Hallidays systemic-functional grammar
  differentiates between the following ranks
  clause, group (verbal), group (nominal), group
  (adverbial) and word (Halliday, M.A.K., 1973).
• OToole developed Hallidays grammar for Art and
  proposed the following units work, episode,
  figure and member (O'Toole, L.M., 1990).

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Types of Cross-media Works

• Enhanced TV, iTV
• ARGs (alternate reality games), Extended Reality
  Game
• Locative Arts, Mobile Gaming, Mobile Art
• Telematic Arts, Networked Narrative Environments

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What are Polymorphic Works?

• The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary defines
  'polymorphism' as 'the occurrence of something in
  several different forms' (Moore, B., 1997 1040).
  
• Polymorphic works are works in many forms,
  multiple texts.

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Medially Framed Units

• Character member, numeral, pixel,
• Paragraph components of lexia. Examples Panel
• Lexia framed as a component of a text. Examples
  Webpage, chapter, sequence, scene, lexia,
  chorus?
• Text framed as a stand-alone text. Examples
  book, episode, post to a website, canvas.
• Work collection of texts. Example triptych,
  website, book set, entire series.

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Fiction Framing

• EventRealm Example 2-part film 1 eventrealm.
• SeriesRealm collection of texts clustered
  according to the eventrealm.
• Realm of Coherence/Progeny entire collection of
  all texts. Akin to Seymour Chatmans notion of
  kernal (Barthes noyau) where a fictional
  event is of primary importance in the narrative,
  advancing plot. They cannot be deleted without
  destroying the narrative (Chatman, 1978 53). A
  satellite then is a minor plot elementis not
  crucial in this sense (ibid. 54).
• ThemeWorld Example Matrix, Star Wars, Lord of
  the Rings, James Bond or branding

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Framing

• Portal access to themeworld
• Simulation emulate themeworld
• Meta about themeworld, its creation and affect.

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Taxonomy Values

• Text individual unit of the product. Can be an
  episode, movie, book, painting.
• Themeworld the fictional world or brand as is
  known through works and imagination.
• Channel Mode of accessing the text.

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Taxonomy Values Channels
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Taxonomy of Polymorphic Works
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Type 2 Component Works
Type 2 Single-text, Single ThemeWorld,
Multi-Channel
Disney and Pixar (2004) Amazing Adventures Movie
Theatre Storybook and Move Projector, Funtastic,
South Oakleigh
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Hybrid vs Multi-Channel

• Hybrid Art is the integration of modes and styles
  into a single form. A singular mode of
  interaction is used to access the work.
• Multi-channel works require assembly to bring
  all the components into a whole. The assembly can
  be literal (aligning a picture in a book beside
  one on a computer) or conceptual (juxtaposing the
  experience on the website with the story on the
  TV show).

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Type 3 Crossovers
Type 3 Single-text, Multi-ThemeWorld,
Single-Channel

• Lara Croft, for instance, fights criminals with
  Sara Pezzini of the Witchblade themeworld in the
  Titan Books series from 1999-2002. More recently,
  The Simpsons themeworld jumble with Futurama in
  the Crossover Crisis comics by Matt Groening,
  2002, 2005.

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Type 3 Crossovers
Type 3 Single-text, Multi-ThemeWorld,
Single-Channel
Channel
Simpsons
Futurama
The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis II
Time Delivery
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Type 7 Series Crossovers
Type 7 Multi-text, Multi-ThemeWorld,
Single-Channel
Channel
Law Order
Homicide LotS
Baby its You, Part 2
Baby its You
Time Delivery
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ThemeWorld The Matrix
The Matrix Comics Graphic Novel Vol.2
The Matrix Comics Vol. 1
The Matrix Comics Vol.1
Print
The Animatrix
The Path of Neo
Enter the Matrix
DVD, CD, Tape
The Matrix Comics Preview Comic
The Second Renaissance Part 1 (Animatrix)
The Second Renaissance Part 1 (Animatrix)
Radio
The Animatrix 4 Episodes
Program (Animatrix
Program (Animatrix
www.intothematrix.com
The Matrix Comics Vol.1 Preview
Website
www.matrixonline.com
www.theanimatrix.com
Television
Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix
Film
15/05
31/03
March
Feb
15th Nov
3rd June
14th May
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
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Issues
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Time

• Reading time (discourse-time)
• Plot-time (story-time)
• Delivery time

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• Story Time
• Delivery Time
• Film The Matrix 1999
• Online Comic Bits Pieces, 1999
• Print comic Bits Pieces, 2003
• Animation The Second Renaissance, 2003.
• Discourse Time
• Film segment 5mins
• Online Comic Story 15mins
• Print Comic story 10mins
• Animation story 9.13mins

The Second Renaissance 2090-2139
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Genettes time-relations

• Ordre (order)
• Durée (duration)
• Fréquence (frequency)

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Rhythm Delivery Timing

• Duration relation of time to read/view/watch the
  narrative (discourse time) to the time the
  story-events themselves last (story-time).
• Summary discourse time shorter than story-time
• Ellipsis discourse time is zero
• Scene discourse-time and story-time equal
• Stretch discourse-time longer than story-time
• Pause story-time is zero.

Chatman, S.B. (1978) 68
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Order

• first narrative Genette
• second narrative anachronies (disjunction
  between story chronology and discourse
  chronology) analepsis (flashback, retrospection)
  and prolepsis (flashforward, foreshadowing,
  anticipation).
• Homodiegetic analepsis information that relates
  to the current character, event or storyline.
  (G.)
• Heterodiegetic analepsis information about
  another character, event or story-line. (G.)
• External anachrony events that begin and end
  before the starting point of first narrative or
  now? (G.)
• Internal anachrony events that begin and end
  after the starting point or now?. (G.)
• Mixed anachrony events that begins before the
  starting point or now? and ends after. (G.)
• Distance span of time from present or starting
  point to the inception of the anachrony
• Amplitude duration of the anachronous event.
• Completive anachrony
• Repetitive anachronies repeat what has been
  stated before, with a different slant. (eg
  Jack-Jack Attacks! short animation on
  Incredibles DVD.)

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Relationships btw Texts

• Adaptation
• Remediation
• Continuation
• Elaboration
• Contrast

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The Incredibles (dir Brad Bird, Pixar, 2004)

• Scene with mother listening to messages from
  babysitter in The Incredibles (theatre, DVD,
  video, online)
• Scenes with babysitter calling mother in
  Jack-Jack Attacks! (short on DVD extra)

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One Life to Live (ABC, 2005)
Marcie Walsh
Sourced from http//abc.go.com/daytime/onelifetol
ive/index.html
Sourced from http//abc.go.com/daytime/onelifetol
ive/gallery/61981_1.html
From Hyperion Books website Marcie Walsh works
as a receptionist at a police station, where she
sees firsthand that truth is actually more
bizarre than fiction. The Killing Club is her
first novel. She lives in Llanview, Pennsylvania.
For more information about Marcie Walsh, please
visit www.abc.com/daytime/onelifetolive.com.
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The Killing Club (Hyperion, 2005)

• Killing Club was a club in the TV series
  character Marcie Walshs past.
• Marcie Walsh writes book called The Killing
  Club, based on her past.
• The Killing Club is published in TV series and
  in real-life through Hyperion Books (but
  co-written with Michael Malone the actual
  author).
• The book is a mystery about how a group of
  friends wrote down in a Death Book how they would
  murder people didnt like. Then the murders start
  happening and an investigation ensues.
• Murders described in fiction book start to
  actually happen in TV series.
• No murders in real-life as yet!!

Cartoon by Clementine Hope, Hyperion website
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GoFigure.net.au (tonyjohansen.com, 2005)
In gallery (x3)
Described on gofigure.net.au as a painting
about painting and the act of painting In
this case it takes the form of a triptych in 4
parts
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GoFigure.net.au (tonyjohansen.com, 2005)

• 3 paintings in gallery
• Numerous digitisations online
• Description and images of the making of the
  paintings
• Images that were not selected (equivalent to
  deleted scenes)
• Title of work a hyperlink
• Author name a hyperlink

Image sourced from Sydney Morning Herald, April
26, 2005
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Types of Delivery/Experience of Plot over Texts

• Sequential
• Simultaneous
• Alternating

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Producers

• Primary (original)
• Commissioned
• Licensed
• Sanctioned
• Unsanctioned

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• Project Site
• www.polymorphicnarrative.org
• Research Blog
• www.crossmediastorytelling.com