1. At least 10 more images or several seconds of digital video
2. At least one “found” object that adds significance to the narrative
3. Music of some sort, either borrowed or composed with Garageband
4. voice-over narration

The product should be a minimum of at least a minute, but not longer than 3 minutes. Here are some elements to keep in mind as you develop this project:

1. Point (of View) — the angle from which the story is told, and the final point of the story, what you want people to remember or the reason for the story
2. Dramatic Question — the tension that holds the audience from beginning to end, like will the boy get he girl?
3. Emotional Content — genuine portrayal of emotional — a potential for negation or loss — contrast of desire with its opposite
4. Your Voice — keep writing succinct; make several recordings
5. Soundtrack — be sure it’s suited to your story’s meaning, in mood, tempo, and lyrics
6. Economy — the interaction of the visual, the soundtrack, and the narration — let the three work together: do not try to use too much — keep it simple
7. Pacing — the rhythm of the story — try to vary your approaches for a better effect — don’t forget to breathe

Consider writing your narration on the front and back of one 4×6 card; this will equal about 2 to 3 minutes of narration. Truth works well, as in genuine and honest, not necessarily factual. A strong story usually follows the shortest path to its destination, or the point of the story. Remember that every word, image, and sound counts: nothing should be superfluous, as it detracts from the effect of the narrative.

(Adapted from the Digital Storytelling Cookbook (PDF))

Examples

• Center for Digital Storytelling
• Capture Wales
• Caught in the Middle
• Dana Atchley Productions
• Do a Google search

Helpful Links

• Digital Storytelling at Mercer

Some Ideas

You may take this any way you want, but keep in mind that the story should be inspired by something you have read this semester.

• Express a strong belief you have and how it came to be so meaningful for you.
• Describe the most exciting moment in your life and why it was so significant.
• Explain a disappointment you had and what you learned from it.
• Recount a discovery you made and what led you to it.
• Make a digital postcard from a trip you’ve recently taken.
• Examine your favorite room and share what it reveals about you.
• Describe something you faithfully buy and why it is so important to you.
• Look at your family and its mealtime rituals.
• Consider your biggest mealtime disaster or triumph.
• Compose a narrative about your favorite food or beverage and why it became so.

Post your finished product on Google Video or YouTube. Be sure to include a link to it on your portfolio.

Log into LitMUSE MOO and request a character by typing:

@request NAME for EMAIL

Where NAME is the name of your player and EMAIL is your email address. It’s important that you get the latter correct, for the system will send you login information to this address. Fill out the requested information. Your character should be created within a few hours.

Once your character has been created, login and describe it. Try “help players” for hints about how to do this. Next, construct a room for your player. You should then describe the room and set it as your player’s home. To build a room, type:

@dig …

where … is the name of your room. Then, once the room is created (the MOO will create the room and assign it a number), go there (@go # — so if your room’s number is #10, you would type @go #10), and type:

@describe here as “…”

where … is your room’s description in quotation marks. You can initially describe your room and change its description at any time. Finally, while you are still in the room, type:

@sethome

Your character will now wake up in its new room when you log in.

Not only should your room and player be described as part of the narrative, but you should also create objects that enhance the sense of immersion. You might link those objects to other texts, like photos on the internet, or a web page that contains music or video.

Start with a small, simple narrative. You may use the images and ideas from exercise one, but you will be adding the following to them:

1. At least 10 more images or several seconds of digital video
2. At least one “found” object that adds significance to the narrative
3. Music of some sort, either borrowed or composed with Garageband
4. voice-over narration

The product should be a minimum of at least a minute, but not longer than 3 minutes. Here are some elements to keep in mind as you develop this project:

1. Point (of View) — the angle from which the story is told, and the final point of the story, what you want people to remember or the reason for the story
2. Dramatic Question — the tension that holds the audience from beginning to end, like will the boy get he girl?
3. Emotional Content — genuine portrayal of emotional — a potential for negation or loss — contrast of desire with its opposite
4. Your Voice — keep writing succinct; make several recordings
5. Soundtrack — be sure it’s suited to your story’s meaning, in mood, tempo, and lyrics
6. Economy — the interaction of the visual, the soundtrack, and the narration — let the three work together: do not try to use too much — keep it simple
7. Pacing — the rhythm of the story — try to vary your approaches for a better effect — don’t forget to breathe

Consider writing your narration on the front and back of one 4×6 card; this will equal about 2 to 3 minutes of narration. Truth works well, as in genuine and honest, not necessarily factual. A strong story usually follows the shortest path to its destination, or the point of the story. Remember that every word, image, and sound counts: nothing should be superfluous, as it detracts from the effect of the narrative.

(Adapted from the Digital Storytelling Cookbook (PDF))

Examples

• Center for Digital Storytelling
• Capture Wales
• Caught in the Middle
• Dana Atchley Productions
• Do a Google search

Helpful Links

• Digital Storytelling at Mercer

Some Ideas

• Express a strong belief you have and how it came to be so meaningful for you.
• Describe the most exciting moment in your life and why it was so significant.
• Explain a disappointment you had and what you learned from it.
• Recount a discovery you made and what led you to it.
• Make a digital postcard from a trip you’ve recently taken.
• Examine your favorite room and share what it reveals about you.
• Describe something you faithfully buy and why it is so important to you.
• Look at your family and its mealtime rituals.
• Consider your biggest mealtime disaster or triumph.
• Compose a narrative about your favorite food or beverage and why it became so.

Start by making a free account on Flickr, a photography web site. Customize your account settings and email me the URL for the front page of your account. You may begin to use Flickr anyway you’d like, but your should create a set that titles your story, and be sure it’s understandable that this is your assignment.

Next, join the group Tell a story in 5 frames (Visual story telling). Your assignment is as follows (taken from their introduction page and modified accordingly):

Tell a Story in 5 Frames has two important parts. The first part is creating and telling a story through visual means with only a title to help guide the interpretation. The second part is the response of the group to the visual story. The group response can take many forms such as, a poetic or prose rendering of the visualization, a critique on the structure of the story, comments on the photograph, or other constructive forms of response. Telling and enjoying stories should create entertainment for the group as well as offer insight into the universal elements that help create a story for an international audience. The more people who respond, as either story tellers or respondents, the greater the reward for all.

Creating a story in five frames is not easy. Short stories of three or even one photograph are also welcome.

The Rules of the Game

1. Submit a sequence of up to five photographs that create a story in order, in your 5-frame story set.
2. Choose any subject, but the entire sequence should visually tell a story.
3. A title for each photo should be the only words used. Rely on the photographs to bring the story to life.
4. Class members respond by relating in their own words the story that they see, or critique the story and/or photographs and open the story up to discussion.

Guidelines for Telling a Story

Guidelines are not rules, but a formula that can be used to suit your creative imagination. Several avenues exist for story telling, such as journalistic reporting, sequential photos that reveal a moment, photographic poetry, and narrative. The following guidelines are for narrative.

A good story has characters in action with a beginning, middle, and an ending. Fortunately a lot of information can be given in a single photograph, enhancing the limitations of five photographs for your story. Location, time, and atmosphere aid viewer imagination. Keep standards of pictorial beauty, but pack as many story telling elements in one photograph as possible to develop an action.

• 1st photo: establish characters and location.
• 2nd photo: create a situation with possibilities of what might happen.
• 3rd photo: involve the characters in the situation.
• 4th photo: build to probable outcomes
• 5th photo: have a logical, but surprising, end.

Your completed exercises will be shared with the group on September 13. During this meeting, we will all respond to each other’s exercises both in written comments on Flickr and discussion in class. The class will elect 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. All will be encouraged to submit their exercises to the Tell a story in 5 frames pool on Flickr.