Media Journeys 2021 

Special Issue: Journal of Adaptation in Film and Performance 

Making Monsters: The Production of Terror  

We are seeking proposals for article contribution for a special issue in the Journal of Adaptation in Film and Performance on the intersection of adaptation, special effects, and monstrosity.

Monsters stalk through modern media. They are heard howling from radio, film and television. They are even spinning their tales on every corner of the World Wide Web. Whether adapting illusory techniques from stage, like Pepper’s Ghost, or creating new and experimental forms of monstrosity that range from classic film monsters to urban legends like the Slender Man, our media worlds are crawling with monsters. This special issue will explore the audio and visual processes, techniques and materials used to create these monsters.

Making monsters often requires skilled and thoughtful approaches to adaptation, making the monster in media texts a locus for debates around creativity, invention and innovation in technology and media culture. These monsters are always constructed, but their construction varies wildly from the use of in-camera effects and sound effects, to make-up effects, to animatronics and puppetry through to animation and post-production CG work.

Due to the content being published in the Journal of Adaptation in Film and Performance we ask the contributors think about how aspects of adaptation affect elements of the construction of these monsters. Whether it be drawing elements from visual references, using older production techniques, or transforming a pre-existing an already existing monster into a new and frightening form.

We are seeking articles of 8,000 words on topics including:

  • Make-up effects and monsters 
  • Animatronic and puppet creatures 
  • Computer generated monsters 
  • Suitmation 
  • Animated monsters 
  • Audio monsters from radio to sound effects 
  • Monstrous transformations 
  • Costuming and making over actors into monsters 
  • Stuntwork and monsters 
  • Monstrous performances 
  • Social media and urban legends 
  • Adaptation of monster effects across media platforms 
  • Monster “makers”: creature designers, make-up artists, special effects artists 
  • Monsters and otherness: gender, sexuality and race in monster design 

Proposals of 300 words to be sent to: ueamakingmonsters@gmail.com by November 30th 2021. Please provide your title, content summary, name and affiliation, and contact details.