Unit 1: Belief — Story — Orality
Exercise 1: Conventions of Narrative
Week 3
M 09/07 Labor Day — No Class
» Due (09-Sep): Exercise 1
- post on your blog (WordPress) by class-time Wednesday
W 09/09 Discuss: conventions of narrative (examples from exercise)
→ for composing digital storytelling project
- focus: ideas & lessons identified from analyzed stories, prospective techniques for application.
- Watch (during & after class): Shipka, “On the Process of Composing Other People’s Lives” Enculturation 2012
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— for Friday class: choose/decide story for project; outline to storyboard/sketch
plus: watch Shipka video & read Alexander excerpt
F 09/11 Discuss:
excerpt from The New Digital Storytelling (pp. 83–9) by Bryan Alexander (2011) PDF
- focus: media + genre conventions, techniques, choices
- Activity write/sketch in class: storyboard your video (Project 1)
+ publication/circulation map (media, platform, audience)
— for blog entry 1 (post during/after class) - Resource: Center for Digital Storytelling (2010)
“Scripting” & “Storyboarding” excerpts PDF
» for M 9/14 workshop — video work-in-progress
In the essay I read, the narrator takes a journey across the country. He learns to accept the natural beauty in the views without his cellphone. The lack of technology makes this better.
In terms of approach, intimacy makes a huge difference when telling a story as it encompasses many of notecards found in the Digital Story-telling toolkit that are important when engaging an audience.
It would be important to include an aspect of coauthorship whether through pictures or storytelling timeline to allow the reader to be able to connect with my story on a personal level.
When composing a story on any type of media, you have to constantly consider all of the ways that the audience will view and interpret what all is being presented to them.
In terms of approach, it would be beneficial to include personal experiences that many audience members would have also gone through or can relate to so that an emotional connection can be made between the audience and author.
The soft spoken words by Elvis León left the audience full of sadness and a sense of being lost on how to cope with the passing of his friends in such a tragic way. He used his voice and pictures to instill his feelings, what he perceived and how it affected him to tell his story.
When it comes to a narrative, I think that a simple and straight forward story can really leave a large impact on a person in the way that it makes them truly think. If there is a lot going on in a story I feel like there is little room for interpretation which leads to fewer take aways. In my project, I would really like to incorporate affect, space, and define to leave an impact similar to the one described in my exercise.
Through my analysis, I have gained an even greater understanding of how important it is to appeal to your listener on every level when telling a story. It is crucial to paint a picture for the audience, sometimes not only through words but also through photographs. A good storyteller is inclusive; he or she must really bring the audience into the narrative. Allowing viewers and listeners to feel, see, hear, and touch exactly what is intended in the story. Moreover, I believe a great author is relatable, I found myself enthralled by the narrator of the video “Freckles.” I felt as though I understood her feelings and her pain.
In analyzing the narrative of certain pieces, I want to try to utilize the “information arc” as in the “Compose” button on Designs of Meaning. This arc consists of placing information balanced and strategically so that it has maximum impact on the reader. This could be sandwiching sorrowful information between two facts that may enlighten the audience.
You as an author have to engage the audience a great way to do that is by implementing feeling/emotion into your piece, either by how you narrate the story or by what you display to the audience, something has to grab their attention.
Using clips of video and freeze frame grabs to evoke the idea of (preservation)
I’ll admit, I don’t see the appeal of preserving another’s life, especially a complete stranger; it just seems weird.
Ignore this.
(disregard earlier post)
The story I watched used images to visually convey what was being said.
This story has given me the insight into my own story that I should use affect to put the reader/listener in my shoes. Doing this will make them relate to the story on a higher level even if they have not experienced what I have.
I think telling a story through a narrative and visuals is a very effective way to get your point across quickly and keeps in interesting.
The lesson I learned from this first exercise is that it is very important to know who your audience is, so that you are able to appeal to them correctly, and so that they are able to fully understand the point you are trying to get across.
In the story “Texas Alligators,” the author used various types of imagery and engaged the senses to build a personal relationship with the audience in order to effectively communicate her belief later in the essay.
I think that showing conflict is one of the best ways to draw an audience in, and coupled with emotional appeals, otherwise known as pathos, is one of the most powerful ways to present a story.
Use video/music in the background to engage the reader and keep them interested.
enhance the sense (Perform) hearing and sight
I think using media allegories is a great way to provoke abstract thoughts and engage the audience.
It is important to include the audience and to consider how the audience is thinking, feeling, and believing so the story can be told accurately and in a way that is relatable.
Engaging multiple senses can help to make the audience experience more vivid and memorable, and interest them in the story.
I plan to make a video including something about skateboarding and music, two big portions within my life story.
There are many ways to attract interest. Figuring out which medium (written, visual, audio) most authentically recreates your emotional process or ideas is the key in mixed media digital stories.
Using “Envision” as a tool can adequately portray a desired feeling or scene from a story. By using informative/ descriptive words and phrases you aid in the crafting of the scene.
The belief I took away from Brenton’s “This I Believe” was that all people are qual. His styles of writing is what drove this home though. His use of appeal to emotion and feeling while also providing eventful information makes his belief clear and intriguing.
In the video I watched, I encountered the narrator using descriptive language to try to get the audience to connect with her story through emotion, and connecting the emotions she described to images.
It is important to consider that your audience is able to interpret and access the story or message that you’re trying to convey. I think it is important to strategically pick the medium that you choose to share your story on.
For me, having the ability of envision is important. It is helpful to keep the story running smoothly, and having the concept of envision allows for the author to not only be award of the audience, but also allows the author to control the atmosphere of the narrative. It can bring forth emotions that act as an ally oop, for the belief or purpose at hand.
In “the Instigator” the narrator used important color choices to make the audience reflect on their own family memories and emotionally relate to her story.