17 August 2011

All kinds of crazy.

It's 4:45 am and I'm finishing another portfolio submission for an internship as a story artist. It's weird, because I only found out about this particular opening a week ago.

Anyway, I've been in a pretty volatile state scrambling together trying to find out who the person to address in my cover letter is, putting together new artwork (ability to work digitally preferred), trying like hell to find an way to format the thing into a PDF (preferred submission format).

To submit to a creative position, if you're doing it right, is to bare your soul, so the week's been flashes of ecstasy and despair.


Well, the first order of a submission packet is to GRAB ATTENTION so the portfolio for story artist internship is being submitted with the following cover letter.


Dear XXXX XXXXX

So responsible and wise

Here’s my ‘folio for you to view

With your discerning eyes.


I write to you this application

In response to a job posting

Of Talent Development : Story Artist

Placed at the official …um…web host-thing. *


My involvement in Improv proves

(in school and Tater Totz)

my collaboration and support

Upping productivity, lots!


I majored in Sequential Art

(I know that’s not the norm)

But with such study, I am versed

in story: theme and form.


So XXXXX. (or someone else)

You must like what you see

So Call the number on this sheet,

And arrange to meet with me!




Hopefully, they will.


* here is a humorous footnote detailing how difficult it is to rhyme with the full URL

06 August 2011

a short thought.


Here are some kittens for no particular reason

Continuing with the theme of stage Improv informing storytelling, I’d like to talk about how the game “Half-life” (the stage game, not the video game) can be useful as a focusing tool in the early drafts of a scenario, script or storyboard. The stage game goes that the players improvise a 2 minute scene, then play the same scene at 1 minute, 30 seconds, fifteen seconds, 7, 3 and 1, wherein the scene gets wilder and wilder as people fly into position and scream plot points at the top of their lungs. This is useful in visual storytelling, as Scott McCloud pointed out in page 84 of Understanding comics with an ever-shortening scenario from one full page of panels to merely two. Although in the bare minimum of space, narrative clarity can be lost, I find “half life” to be very valuable as a focusing tool, drawing my attention to the essence of the story spine, which beats need to be hammered, and what is truly extraneous.


(Game proper starts at 50 second mark)

Let’s talk improv. In “Half-Life”, players improvise a 2 minute scene, then replay the same scene, halved, and halved again until it’s one second long.. This is useful in visual storytelling, as Scott McCloud pointed out in page 84 of Understanding comics with a scenario progressively trimmed from one full page of panels to merely two. I find “half life” to be valuable in focusing my attention to which beats need to be hammered, and what can be cut.





In “Half-Life”, players improvise a scene, then replay it, until it’s one second long.. This is useful in visual storytelling, as Scott McCloud pointed out in “Understanding Comics”. “Half Life” focuses attention on what’s importand, and what can be cut.





Improvise a scene. Replay it until it’s one second long.. This is useful in storytelling. You focus on what’s vital.





Improvise until the scene’s one second long! Essence of storytelling!





One second long! Essence! Storytelling!





SHORTEN! ESSENSE! STORYTELING!










SHRESSENSYTELLING!