arts / 10

Kickstarter in the Community: Follow
fictional friends 1n ‘Green Gables Fables’

» Web series integrates social media with video storytelling

Cheryl Minns

. Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

An Shirley, the title

character in Anne of
Green Gables, may seem old-
fashioned, but add a computer,
cell phone, and other modern
day conveniences and she’s just
like any other teenager.

Writer Alicia Whitson,
lead actress Mandy Harmon,
and producer Marie Trotter
brought Anne’s story into the
21st century when they created
the Green Gables Fables web
series. The show follows the
spirited redhead and her lively
friends as they document their
lives through videos and social
media.

“Many of the experiences
Anne undergoes in the book
are easily transferable to the
modern era,’ Trotter wrote to
the Other Press. “We found
that technology provides more
platforms for her story and
more opportunities for unique
adaptation.”

The web series is delivered
in a transmedia format, where
the characters not only appear
in YouTube videos but also
publish their own tweets,
Instagram photos, blog posts,
and more. The idea is that
viewers feel connected to the
characters and can follow all of

: the story’s details in real time.
: “Using a variety of social

: media accounts makes Anne’s
: world as realistic as possible,

: and fully immerses Green

: Gables Fables in the tech-

: savvy 21st century,’ Trotter

: wrote. “Transmedia creates a
: story universe that supports

: the video content. Fans can

: interact with characters as

: events are happening, and

: sometimes even have a role in
: shaping events.”

: The team created more

: than two-dozen accounts for

: the series and its characters,

: using the online presences

: to expand on the characters’

: personalities in ways the

: original book couldn't.

: “Developing each

: character’s social media

: presence creates many

: challenges for us, as we must
: determine how active the

: character will be, how much

: they'll interact with viewers,

: and what kind of content

: they'll post,’ Trotter wrote.

: For the first season,

: content was created ona

: week-to-week basis with a

: new episode posted every

: Wednesday in 2014 until the

: finale on February u1, 2015.

: During the show’s production,
: the creators communicated

: online from separate locations,
: with Whitson in Kansas,

: Trotter in Toronto, and

: Harmon in Utah with the rest

: of the cast. Instead of setting

: the show in the book’s fictional
: town of Avonlea, Prince

: Edward Island, the show is set

: in the real town of Avonlea,

: Saskatchewan, because it was

: easier to dress Utah landscape

: as Saskatchewan rather than

: as PEI. :
: Now the web series is ready

: to produce its second season,

: which is based on the book

: Anne of the Island. In order to
: make the season authentically
: Canadian, the cast and crew

: have decided to film the

: episodes in Toronto this June.
: This will mark the first time

: the team will be together in

: one location for production,

: which will take place over a

: month instead of the week-

: to-week schedule of the first

: season.

To fund this ambitious

endeavour, the team turned
: to Kickstarter for financial
: Support.

“The main goal of the

Kickstarter campaign is to

: raise money for season two, so
: we tried to keep the rewards

: simple and reasonably priced,”
: Trotter wrote. “We decided

: on a combination of content

: rewards, such as videos and

: scripts, and merchandise

: rewards, such as T-shirts,

: buttons, and posters.”

The rewards ranged from

postcards signed by the cast
: ($15) and button sets ($20)

: to personalized voicemail

: messages ($100) and cast

: videos on fan-picked subjects
: ($150-$300).

The campaign reached

: its $10,000 funding goal on

: February 22, only four days

: after the campaign launched
: on February 18. The funds are
: intended for production costs
: ($1,000), transportation and

: accommodations ($5,000),

: food budget and emergency

: fund ($1,600), as well as the

: Kickstarter fees and rewards

: ($2,400). The campaign

: concluded on March 20 with
: over $15,000 from more than

: 350 backers.

“We were so pleased! It

: was very reassuring to see such
: a tangible mass effort on the

: part of the fandom. They really
: demonstrated their faith in us

: to create another adaptation

theotherpress.ca

   

Image from kickstarter.com

: of a story we all love,” Trotter
: wrote,

Anne of the Island is the

third book in the Anne series,

: but will be the focus of Green

: Gables Fables’ second season.

: To bridge the gap between

: seasons one and two, and to

: cover the second book, Anne of
: Avonlea, Green Gables Fables

: will be offering a transmedia

: adaptation of the story that

: will take place on social media.

“Fans will definitely be

: surprised at how some of the
: story events from Anne of

: Avonlea are adapted for the

: modern age,” Trotter teased

: about the upcoming event.

To watch the web series

: and follow the transmedia
: content, check out the

show’s official website at

: GreenGablesFables.com

 

Comic Corner: Graphic novel restores
sci-fi classic to original glory

» ‘Star Trek: Harlan Ellison's the City on the Edge of Forever’ review

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

OOOO

will admit I am not the biggest

Star Trek fan. | much prefer
the character-driven, sci-fi
exploits of narratives such as
Star Wars. However, even I am
aware of the classic episode The
City on the Edge of Forever from
the original Star Trek series.

Written by speculative

fiction master Harlan Ellison,
the episode is praised as one of
the greatest that the franchise

: has ever produced. Despite all

: of this, Ellison was notoriously

: furious with it and the

: changes that were made to his

: screenplay.

: Adapted by brother duo

: Scott and David Tipton, who are
: responsible for many of the Star
: Trek graphic novels produced

: by IDW Publishing, this graphic
: novel stays remarkably close to

: the original script by Ellison.

: Much of the narrative from

: the episode is unchanged. A

: crew member beams down to an
: unknown planet and encounters
: a time portal to 1930s America.

: Through his actions the course

: of history is changed, requiring
: Kirk and Spock to also travel

: through time in order to set

: things right.

The changes that were made

: to the story are subtle—the

: most notable being that in this
: adaptation the crew member

: wasn't the lovable McCoy but

: a character named Beckwith.

: The narrative still focusses on

: theological, philosophical, and
: moral dilemmas highlighting

: themes of loss, determinism,

: and the “hero complex”—the

: desire to save everyone.

The art by J.K. Woodward

is extremely realistic, to the

: point where I think it’s a little

: creepy. Made to look like

: screen-capped tableaus from

: the original episode, each panel

: has the aesthetic of a 1967 oil

: painting. My personal sense of

: aesthetics aside, the end result is
: impressive.

After having read this

: graphic novel, I will say

: that it has definitely made

: it onto my quintessential

: recommendations shelf.

: This is probably one of the

: best examples of multimedia
: adaptation I have ever
encountered.

   

Ley

iy
on the EDGE
ORAL

CN

Cover art by Juan Ortiz via startrek.com