Dallas, as you may know, has one of the most inglorious criminal justice pasts and the nation's highest rate of DNA-based exonerations. Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins has made headlines for his courageous work to uncover the truth behind many of the unjust convictions that took place during the reign of his predecessors, one of whom was a man named Henry Wade of Roe v. Wade infamy. Wade was also the District Attorney implicated in Errol Morris's The Thin Blue Line.
During his 35 year tenure, Wade (a former FBI agent under Hoover) cultivated a culture that encouraged and rewarded evidence suppression, biased jury selection and outright discrimination from the interrogation room to the court room. In light of this history, Toronto's story is representative of hundreds if not thousands of stories about people caught in a politicized system that devalues the lives of young black men.
Having discovered so much rich and complex history through my research, I felt publishing a book simply wasn't enough. I saw extensions-ways the book could be the centerpiece of a larger creative movement that addressed one of the great societal challenges of our time. DNA-based exonerations. Coerced and false confessions. Tainted witness testimony. Crime lab tampering. Prosecutorial misconduct. Our criminal justice system is deeply flawed - some would say broken - and it seems like every day we're finding out just how bad the damage is.
We now know that whether or not Toronto was guilty, the system's scales were weighted against him even before he stepped foot in the court room, even before he was born. For a society that places the highest value on liberty and justice to arrest, prosecute, convict, imprison and kill such a disproportionate number of young black men without compunction just isn't acceptable. Nor is it acceptable that we as a society don't seem to care about or think we can do anything to resolve this issue. We can. We just have to have the will to hold society accountable to its lofty ideals.
This is where the creative team comes in. My big picture vision is to create an interactive installation project composed of work that inspired and was inspired by this book. It's one thing to read a book; it's something else to step into a multi-media experience replete with photography, video, music, compelling graphic and web design, primary documents and assorted interactive tools. In fact, I would argue that in hyper-stimulated, post-literary environment where bound books are being replaced by digital readers and big-box bookstores are inching toward obsolescence, a multi-media approach to engaging audiences is the new standard.
Key elements to organizing and promoting these ideas were:
Lay out/Graphic Design (by: Hal Hilliard)
Previously, I mentioned that the book contains transcripts, letters, e-mails, and news articles. Because it aims to encourage a participatory reading experience (wherein the reader is asked to wrestle with the documents and make sense of them on his/her own), I wanted to properly represent all of these elements as if they were real. I chose to work with a graphic designer because I wanted the look and feel of the physical book to be consistent with the genre-bending structure of the story and I didn't know how to make all of this happen given my skill set. Hal read the manuscript twice and submitted a list of questions about both content and style.
We then spent time going through design books and just talking about what he liked and what I liked in order to get a feel for one another. I appreciated this approach. It challenged me to think as big and as broad as possible and then to articulate what I was looking for. Moreover, it gave Hal a visual sense of what I wanted to communicate. Hal is the visual director of this project. I wrote the story, but he is the one pulling out the salient images and devising creative ways to represent them to an audience. For example, one of the critical scenes of the last third of the book takes place on a basketball court. It's where my main character forges a bond with the only person who can give him the insight he needs about the murders. But basketball also has a deeper meaning and resonance throughout the story. It's a motif. The basketball court is a site of male aggression but it's also a site of camaraderie. It's a hyper-competitive space but it's where genuine male bonds are forged and can safely reside. Hal knew we needed images that evoked that sensibility. Toni's job was to get them. This is just a small sampling.
In addition to the standard book that will be available for purchase, Hal and I are also exploring the option of a full-color special edition, 8 x 10 coffee table version of the book. We've found a company that can provide this service for a reasonable cost and believe a modest audience will want to own it as a keepsake.
Web Design (by: Jonathan Sears)
The website is the backbone of the project. All of the work that everyone is doing will be permanently displayed here. We want to make a memorable experience for visitors. We want them to be able to spend time on the site, to get to know me, the team and, of course, the book. The site's construction and aesthetics are critical here. Jonathan and I have enjoyed successful collaborations in the past. He designed the cover for my last book, The Nightmare and The Dream: Nas Jay-Z and The History of Conflict in African-American Culture.
This go round we started by, again, me simply giving him a broad overview of the Make Me Believe Experience in my head. Jonathan then sent me a list of sites that employed some of the ideas I wanted to actualize. After a second conversation, he put together an extensive proposal. Because I believe it's such a thorough, clear description I've excerpted segments of the proposal below:
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Thematics
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Thematically, the website will be broken down into two separate sections (for now -- and I'll explain further), which will allow it the opportunity to grow as you and your work continue to progress. Overall, the look of the site will be based on strong full-page photographic imagery, with simple navigational overlays that populate the screen as the user browses. Since you already have a talented photographer on the team, allowing her to help you/us set an overall mood and feel for each page of the site can only be helpful. Plus, communication through strong imagery is essential in gaining the interest of a large percentage of the internet public.
For starters, the opening page and main section of the site should focus on you as a writer first and foremost... "Focus" as in image-wise. I know you're involved in a lot of things, but when viewers stumble upon your site, they should immediately recognize that you are a well read individual and prolific writer.
Visually, I'm thinking you have a few options on getting this initial point across. An image of you at a desk with pen in hand (or contemplating) could work. An image of you out and about with your preferred notepad of choice could work. An image of you in a library-type situation could work. Or even an over-shoulder shot of you typing away at your machine may be preferred. Regardless, I'm sure you understand my angle ...continue reeling them in.
While I like your image you have on your homepage now -- and even the one of you sitting on the stairs that was on your last site -- they don't scream "This is a writer who I need to support." I get more of a cool dude vibe ...which is not a terrible thing either. I just remember talking with you a while back when you first landed your away-from-home-office-space to do your thing in, and that kind of feeling of excitement is a good thing to convey/relay.
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Items after the opening page, in the second visually themed and "main" portion of the site, will be based on visuals that are depicted in the novel including, but not limited to RL's Blues Palace ...and thought provoking scenes/places/visuals touched on in the book.
This section will utilize a large photograph for each heading-area of the "current project" breakdown, which will help us control the mood within the project as the viewers browse from page to page.
Plus, as you continue to create more projects, you'll be able to continue transitioning your viewer's moods (seamlessly), as long as the large scale images and overlaying navigation style remains the similar.
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Navigation structure
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As we discussed, the main navigation for the site will be housed within a left-hand-side, browser pop-out area. And upon roll-over, the viewer will be presented with a number of page options to get them started on their journey. Everything within this side bar will deal with your current project (for now), the Make Me Believe novel. But of course, a home button or something similar can always be added. Everything here will remain expandable.
In addition to the left side, and a slight variation of what we previously discussed, the site will host a streamlined, text only, right-side navigation bar at the top of the screen that follows the viewers movements and allows them to easily retrace their steps. This will only be a basic, simplified version of navigation that will be presented in a font no larger than 10pt, but will allow easier navigation from cell phones and devices of that nature that may not support the side-bar pop-out due to screen resolution concerns. And to further clarify, simplified (from the home screen) is displaying "Home," "Current Project," and maybe a "More" button as well, while the side bar will have highlights contained within the sections such as Audio and Video ...and the other items I'll mention in the next.
Overall, the two separate styles of navigation will help your site appeal to different levels of web browser. The pop-up will be more cool/hip, while the right-side streamlining will serve as a much more utilitarian/straitforward option.
Still, both versions will be designed to accentuate the large-scale imagery that was previously mentioned. And once a viewer specifies where they'd like to roam using either system, small buttons and/or simple navigation text will overlay the main imagery in a complementary fashion. This will allow us to maintain control over the mood of the viewer while keeping things extremely simple. And similar to the way the Broken Bells site works (http://www.brokenbells.com/home.html), text, video and imagery will, for the most part, never completely cover the background imagery ...as to keep the viewer thinking within the same mood/tone parameters.
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Individual Page Specifics
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As mentioned previously, the page structure will be broken down into two main sections giving it the ability to expand from project to project.
<+>
The first main page/section will include a large opening image, with a brief synopsis of who you are as a writer. Aside from the left-hand navigation and the top bar, viewers will be able to click a "More" or "More about Dax Devlon Ross" style button that falls just after the intro text. If pressed, the imagery will remain the same. But when necessary,information and links will populate the page within translucent windows. Again, this will help keep everything clean and simple.
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The second/current project section, and more expandable area, will contain everything relating to "Make Me Believe." (To note: I keep using "current project" because as things continue, I foresee the site breaking into three main sections being, main, current project/s, and past projects -- assuming you'll be taking on more of these style endeavors.)
The main headings ("+"), sections found within the side bar navigation, and actual additional "pages" that will be visually designed break down as follows:
<++> The Book
Here viewers will be greeted by the book cover design and initial text that will give them a better idea of what the overall book/writing style is about. The background imagery of this page will depend on the actual cover design, but it will more than likely need to be the most muted/subtle main image of the site.
As this is where the most in-depth reading will more than likely occur, I'd prefer to distract the viewer as little as possible here. Still, we will hopefully be able to capture the overall feeling of the novel with a simple initial statement.
Additionally, the further break down of this page's contents is:
-> Your Inspiration
-> Brief synopsis
-> Readable first chapter (*flash*)
-> Where and how to purchase the book
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<++> Inspired Media (Audio/Video and maybe Photos)
Here is where I'd suggest having one of the most bold images for a background. A night scene with glowing neon could easily set the mood nicely. Videos (whether youtube or other) along with audio clips will be scattered in simply gridded, yet interesting formations that work well with the selected imagery. Still, the overall look will depend on how many audio and video files make the cut.
The individual items contained within this main page are:
-> Brief description of what's available (and maybe creators)
-> Playable (and downloadable??) MP3s
-> Video (*flash* if not standard display)
-> Links to find more info on the creators
-> Maybe photos??
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<++> The Process
As we discussed on the phone, the process behind this project should not only be mentioned, but it should be highlighted. You've taken the time and gone through a lot of effort to make this happen, so when people start to realize that, they will hopefully be compelled to support your efforts.
Therefor, if possible, the background imagery of this page will (hopefully) be one that contains a group or groups of people populating the scene to help pair with the community-project ideas you've already put together.
The breakdown of this page is flexible but should include:
-> A description of how much the project encompasses
-> Mentions and or interviews of the contributors
-> A blog synopsis with links ...and maybe a window that allows viewers to peruse a certain section of the blog to build interest.
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<++> Findings ...or Miscellaneous
This will be the catch all page for items that related to the project, that don't yet have a place. Specifics such as court documents and interview statements could appear here. Also, photos of the Dallas scene could work well.
This page should probably be the last or second to last in the grouping.
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<++> In addition to the mentioned pages, a "Buy the book." banner will always be on the screen in some regard. Visually, I'm thinking the banner will remain on the bottom or right side of the page ...and will more than likely involve a solid color bar that spans the entire width/height of the site to form a simple separation.
**In addition, this site will soon house a fan section where viewers will be encouraged to interact with each other by telling stories of their own experiences related to the book and share links to additional information. As the principal webmaster, I will occasionally start or comment on fan threads as a way to boost the profile of the viewer section of the website. Other features of the website will include blog, Facebook, Twitter and RSS feed links, as well as links to related sites and organizations.
