The Adventures of Jack Sterling
Attention fellow explorers, are you ready for your greatest adventure yet? The Adventures of Jack Sterling takes viewers through the story of explorer Jack Sterling and his crew of ragtag adventurers as they prepare to go on a search for Jack’s beloved uncle, fellow explorer Reid Sterling. Uncle Reid has left Jack messages and clues to his latest whereabouts, but will it be enough to find him in time?
2023
A story is only as good as its characters, so my first step was creating the backstory of my main character Jack Sterling, a young explorer in the 1930s. I decided that viewers were going to step into the story at Jack’s desk just before he sets off on the search for his missing Uncle Reid. I sketched a brief concept drawing of what I wanted my set to look including some possible props. This drawing would serve as not only a guideline for the graphic props I would create but also the antiques and props I would need to find elsewhere.
I began antiquing and collecting props as well as creating graphic props that would give viewers an insight to the unique relationship between Jack and his Uncle Reid. These props include letters, telegrams, government documents, a wall calendar and magazine from the adventure society that Jack is a member of.
One of my favorite parts of this project was the creation of my characters. I utilized the AI Image Generator, Midjourney, to create images of all my crew members as well as other important images relating to Uncle Reid’s disappearance.
It is important to me that each and every part of this desk has a story behind it. Each book title and photograph relates in some way to the overall story and character of Jack Sterling.
I want the audience to have three different levels of interaction with the set. Those who view it in passing will gather enough information to begin to form a basic story of what is going on. Viewers who take a closer look at details such as pictures and book titles will start to get an understanding of Jack’s character and therefore be able to craft a fuller version of the story. Finally, viewers who look through the drawers and pay close attention to dates and content of the letters and telegrams will be able to connect the dots and understand the full story of just how important this expedition is to Jack.
