Gabriela Rodríguez Bissio, Cecilia Fernández Pena, Natalia Correa http://transmedialiteracy.upf.edu/en/didactic-card/looking-hidden-character
At which point a book becomes something else? How do film adaptations, street art and rap songs relate to literature? How can we analyze these texts and what can we learn about literature from them?
In the previous part, we explored the complexity and diversity of the transmedia universe of Spring. The good thing about transmedia universes is that anyone can contribute to them. In this part, we propose that you put your creativity into use by making your own DIY-version of Spring.
Useful skills for reading, writing, and analyzing artistic texts can be developed in places other than school. Interaction with literature and films can take different forms: From simply reading books and watching films, to making mash-ups and podcasting, to creating memes and parodies. Traditional media consumers have turned into prosumers, or participatory creators, who interpret and transform already-existing texts and share their creations on the Internet. Apart from being a form of art in itself, prosuming helps to maintain the relevance of different texts and keep them in our active memory.
These are some helpful tools to create adaptations and parodies in various media: sound, video, images, and social media. Just choose one format (or several ones), dig into our archive of raw materials, and get crafty!
Animation is a genre widely used not only in entertainment, but also in education. For instance, many popular TED-Ed lessons include animations that make videos more captivating and comprehensible. You can animate some episodes from Luts’ novel that did not make it the final cut or create something completely new: for instance, offer an alternative ending.
3-5 hours
What memes would Lible share on Facebook and how Toots’ Tinder profile would look like? Creating fake accounts for fictional characters may seem as a purely entertaining activity, yet, it requires a solid knowledge of the material. Let’s make some profiles for those who never had them.
>1 hour
Create handy infographics to visualize the most interesting facts about Spring. You can use this format to present the results of analysis or just to advertise the novel and film to your friends.
2-3 hours
Gabriela Rodríguez Bissio, Cecilia Fernández Pena, Natalia Correa http://transmedialiteracy.upf.edu/en/didactic-card/looking-hidden-character
A mashup integrates several pre-existing videos into a new unified one, which allows juxtaposing different sources and acquiring a fresh perspective on them. Usually the original videos are not at all related, so that the result can be very funny or thought-provoking.There are plenty of mashup genres: music videos, political videos, trailers, supercuts and some more. By the way, this format is widely used not only by prosumers, but also in the official film industry.
2-4 hours
One can spend the whole eternity scrolling memes, yet, they can be not only fun (and sometimes dumb), but also thought-provoking. Try to show the actuality of Spring with your literature-inspired memes.
<1 hour
Write a post or a short newspaper article on a current topic in society using “Kevade” as a ‘code’ for your text in a similar manner as was done by Andrus Kivirähk and Tarmo Tanilas. As an alternative you can also choose to create a caricature depicting some topical issues in society as was done by Ave Taavet in Eesti Päevaleht.
1-2 hours
Share your ideas about O. Luts Spring in your own brand new podcast. You can offer your interpretation of the novel or film, put them under a microscope, share your reaction or discuss the texts with a friend. The podcast can last 5-8 minutes.
2-5 hours
Hetland, Tim (ed.) 2017. Teaching Literature with Digital Technology. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s. Liberty Kohn, 237-240
How about developing a rap version of Spring? You can write a bold parody, think of an alternative ending or organize a rap battle among fictional characters.
1-2 hours
The videos of people reacting to films, TV shows and music videos have become extremely popular. We bet you have seen some (or plenty) of them on Youtube or other social media platforms, so you will be able to make one about Spring. Maybe your video will raise some important questions or motivate others to watch this timeless classic film.
2-5 hours
Remixing implies altering a piece of media by adding, removing or changing some elements. It is close to sampling – reusing a portion of a sound recording to another recording. A mashup, in its turn, integrates several pre-existing songs into a new unified one. Whereas such techniques can be considered plagiaristic when applied to writing essays, they are extremely popular in pop culture. We can listen to remixes in dance clubs, admire remixed visual art or even watch remix films. Let’s try to create some remixes based on Spring!
2-3 hours
Today literary texts are adapted to all kinds of media, starting from graphic novels to video games, and social media is not an exception. Retelling famous plots via social media can be fun and rewarding. You can combine this activity with making fake accounts.
1-2 hours