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AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
and merchandise, resulting in a prolonged, multitextual, multimedial
fictional experience.” 7 A franchise thus constitutes what Lisbeth Klastrup
and Susana Tosca call a “transmedial world”: 8
Transmedial worlds are abstract content systems from which a repertoire
of fictional stories and characters can be actualized or derived across a
variety of media forms. What characterizes a transmedial world is that
audience and designers share a mental image of the “worldness” (a number
of distinguishing features of its universe). The idea of a specific world’s
worldness mostly originates from the first version of the world presented,
but can be elaborated and changed over time. 9
Clearly, not all products of a franchise constitute elaborated storyworlds,
for example artwork or illustrations. Notice that while both definitions
above focus on the narrative dimension of franchises/transmedial worlds
(Parody: “franchise storytelling,” “creation of narratives”; Klastrup and
Tosca: “fictional stories and characters”), they do not per se preclude nonnarrative elements. Parody includes “settings” and “merchandise” as part
of the fictional universe; Klastrup and Tosca premise their definition on
an “abstract content [system],” “a mental image of the worldness.” It would
indeed be inconsistent to exclude artwork, designs, drawings, and other
non-narrative elements from fictional universes when they can actually
be – and often are – powerful constituents of these universes; after all, the
single most defining elements of the Alien franchise are the Alien creature
and the artwork by H.R. Giger, both of which are non-narrative. 10 In fact,
some hallmark design element or other non-narrative constituent
7 Clare Parody, “Franchising/Adaptation,” Adaptation 4, no. 2 (2011): 211.
8 Wolf provides a concise overview of existing research on transmedia worlds in Building
Imaginary Worlds (4–14), pointing out that the circulating terms – secondary, diegetic, imaginary,
etc. – each emphasize a different aspect of transmedia worlds. The term “subcreation” that he
himself uses in the subtitle of his monograph is taken from J.R.R. Tolkien (6).
9 Lisbeth Klastrup and Susana Tosca, “Transmedial Worlds – Rethinking Cyberworld Design.”
In International Conference on Cyberworlds 2004: Proceedings, ed. Masayuki Nakajima, Yoshinori
Hatori, and Alexei Sourin (Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society, 2004), 409.
10 It is yet another point of debate to which degree drawings and graphic artwork can be
considered to have a narrative dimension. I would cede the point that some drawings may
have a narrative dimension, not only in a series, but also in themselves: it is obvious in some
of Giger’s drawings that something must have happened for the depicted state of affairs to be
possible, for example a crash-landed spaceship. However, I would argue that the narrative
dimension is not the def ining characteristic of drawings and illustrations, and it is usually
minimal.
AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
and merchandise, resulting in a prolonged, multitextual, multimedial
fictional experience.” 7 A franchise thus constitutes what Lisbeth Klastrup
and Susana Tosca call a “transmedial world”: 8
Transmedial worlds are abstract content systems from which a repertoire
of fictional stories and characters can be actualized or derived across a
variety of media forms. What characterizes a transmedial world is that
audience and designers share a mental image of the “worldness” (a number
of distinguishing features of its universe). The idea of a specific world’s
worldness mostly originates from the first version of the world presented,
but can be elaborated and changed over time. 9
Clearly, not all products of a franchise constitute elaborated storyworlds,
for example artwork or illustrations. Notice that while both definitions
above focus on the narrative dimension of franchises/transmedial worlds
(Parody: “franchise storytelling,” “creation of narratives”; Klastrup and
Tosca: “fictional stories and characters”), they do not per se preclude nonnarrative elements. Parody includes “settings” and “merchandise” as part
of the fictional universe; Klastrup and Tosca premise their definition on
an “abstract content [system],” “a mental image of the worldness.” It would
indeed be inconsistent to exclude artwork, designs, drawings, and other
non-narrative elements from fictional universes when they can actually
be – and often are – powerful constituents of these universes; after all, the
single most defining elements of the Alien franchise are the Alien creature
and the artwork by H.R. Giger, both of which are non-narrative. 10 In fact,
some hallmark design element or other non-narrative constituent
7 Clare Parody, “Franchising/Adaptation,” Adaptation 4, no. 2 (2011): 211.
8 Wolf provides a concise overview of existing research on transmedia worlds in Building
Imaginary Worlds (4–14), pointing out that the circulating terms – secondary, diegetic, imaginary,
etc. – each emphasize a different aspect of transmedia worlds. The term “subcreation” that he
himself uses in the subtitle of his monograph is taken from J.R.R. Tolkien (6).
9 Lisbeth Klastrup and Susana Tosca, “Transmedial Worlds – Rethinking Cyberworld Design.”
In International Conference on Cyberworlds 2004: Proceedings, ed. Masayuki Nakajima, Yoshinori
Hatori, and Alexei Sourin (Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society, 2004), 409.
10 It is yet another point of debate to which degree drawings and graphic artwork can be
considered to have a narrative dimension. I would cede the point that some drawings may
have a narrative dimension, not only in a series, but also in themselves: it is obvious in some
of Giger’s drawings that something must have happened for the depicted state of affairs to be
possible, for example a crash-landed spaceship. However, I would argue that the narrative
dimension is not the def ining characteristic of drawings and illustrations, and it is usually
minimal.