Category: digital story

Chapter Review: Storyboarding

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In chapter 8 of Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community, author and Center for Digital Storytelling co-founder Joe Lambert discusses the importance of storyboarding as a visual tool to organize a digital story. Having worked in television production myself, I’ve found that storyboarding is useful when trying to present a new client with a unique proposal. As Lambert says, “The art of film storyboarding has taught anyone working on a story (from mega-movies to digital stories) one important lesson: planning on paper will save the enormous expense of time, energy, and money when it comes time to produce your work” (p.97).

Lambert illustrates this point by giving a scenario of a man name Rick, who wanted to create a photo montage for his parents’ 40th anniversary. Rick had a lot of ambition, a ton of content, but very little production planning. In the end, the final project was a disappointment. I found this scenario interesting because I completed a similar project last August for my parents who celebrated their 50th anniversary. It took months to gather all the photographs, weeks to choose the best visual sequence and background music, and hours to ultimately decide on the final cut. Plus, I decided to show the 15-minute presentation to my parents to make sure no particular family member had been omitted. In the end, my family was very impressed by my work.

The 50th anniversary photo montage would not have been possible without a significant amount of planning. In creating digital stories, storyboarding can help a digital author in planning available content, such as photos, video, narration, music and text. Lambert gives an example, which is part of a tutorial called MomnotMom, that allow a digital storyteller to visualize the various elements that will be incorporated into a project. In many ways, it looks similar to a timeline one would find in a video editing application such as WeVideo, iMovie, or Adobe Premiere. In many ways, creating a storyboard is like creating a rough “off-line” edit of a multimedia project without actually using an edit software. One just needs to get a piece of posterboard, Post-it notes and a Sharpie marker. Personally, I would recommend a larger canvas to visualize the story, like a whiteboard in a conference room or classroom (if available).

Lambert concludes the chapter with a digital storytelling example entitled “Ray’s Story.” Unfortunately, there was no mention to where this digital story could be found online. I attempted to do a Google search using the keywords “StoryCenter” and “Ray’s Story”, but there were no clear results. Still, I was intrigued by Lambert’s comments of how the StoryCenter facilitators collaborated with Ray to help create his story about growing up in West Baltimore. Lambert mentions the term “story circle” as a way of the facilitators helping Ray shape the details of his story. He comments how “It’s a matter of listening hard to what the photos are saying, to what’s in between what the storyteller is telling you, in order to find the questions that will help someone discover their insight and their voice” (p.104).

Overall, I’ve been intrigued by what Joe Lambert and his StoryCenter colleagues had implemented to facilitate digital storytelling. Looking forward to the next chapter.

 

 

 

Digital Story Critique: StoryCorps – Willie Harris and Alex Brown

HarrisWNPR13-636x424I just can’t get enough of NPR’s StoryCorps. This week, I wanted to take a listen to one of their audio-only digital stories. One that stood out was a recording of Willie Harris and Alex Brown, the founding members of the Black Stuntmen’s Association. These movie daredevils talk about the adversity of getting into the film business in the 1960s and the recognition they have received for their tireless efforts. As in previous critiques, I judged this digital story on the following assessment traits (as established by Jason Ohler in his book Digital Storytelling in the Classroom):

Story – Harris and Brown share vivid details of how practicing stunts in a public park in the late 1960s drew the attention of the Los Angeles Police Department, who assumed they were Black Panther members.  There’s a nice interplay between them, even when discussing the racism they endured on Hollywood movie sets. Their story flows in a simple chronological order, which gives the listener a solid historical context.

Originality, Voice and Creativity – At times, the listener can hear the subtext of emotion from Harris and Brown. It’s a revealing first-person account from two individuals who have been at the forefront of changing hiring standards in a company town such as Hollywood.  Harris’s mention of the emotion he felt going back to post-Jim Crow Mississippi to be recognized for his accomplishments is especially poignant.

Media Grammar – StoryCorps productions are always know for their impressive recordings and this is a perfect example.  Every word and subtle emotion from Harris and Brown comes through clearly.

I think I’m addicted to the adversity stories on StoryCorps.  That’s a good thing.

 

 

 

Digital Story Critique: Kindertransport

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Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S69279 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 [CC BY-SA 3.0 de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

During most of my semester in the Learning With Digital Stories (INTE5430) class, I have been focusing on the theme of adversity.  The World Wide Web offers a wide variety of digital stories from people who have either experienced adversity first-hand or knew of someone close to them who experienced it.  On the University of Houston’s Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling site, there are several digital stories that relate to this theme of adapting and surviving from sudden change.  One such story is Kindertransport: The Unknown Children of the Holocaust by Eliz Markowitz.  Markowitz talks about how her grandmother and grandmother’s twin sister were rescued from the Nazi regime before the start of World War II.  As in previous critiques, I judged this digital story on the following assessment traits (as established by Jason Ohler in his book Digital Storytelling in the Classroom):

Research – Markowitz gives the viewer lots of historical and personal background information.  She includes details such as her relatives’ upbringing in Austria, the fallout of Kristallnacht and how both her grandmother and twin sister were able to leave for England.  Also, she incorporates an abundance of historical photographs, family pictures and Nazi propaganda posters.  Some of the images are disturbing, but she includes them to make the viewer understand the impact of the Holocaust.

Originality, Voice, Creativity – Markowitz gives a unique perspective of a person who has been impacted by the Kindertransport rescue.  Her images range from happy family portraits to horrific photos of concentration camp execution chambers.  At times, the juxtaposition of images feels sporadic and puzzling, but maybe that’s because it characterizes the insanity of war.  Markowitz’s narration is clear and calm, but at times, I wish she would slow down and give the viewer a moment to absorb the emotional subtext of the story.  I like how she used the song “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof as a music bed.  I just wish she used a second piece of music instead of repeating one song over again.

Citations – This is an assessment trait that is the weakest.  There are no citations to the archived photos in the video.  I would like to have known where she found them.  Plus, Markowitz does not cite the copyrighted music from Fiddler on the Roof.  In previous videos from this website, I’ve noticed other digital storytellers that have omitted citations as well.  I think the digital storytelling facilitators at the University of Houston should make citations a requirement.

Overall, Markowitz did an impressive job of telling how this major event of compassion saved many lives and preserved future generations of Jewish families, including her own.

Digital Critique: “Clean Streets”

For the most part, I’ve been focusing on the theme of adversity in my critique of digital stories in my Learning With Digital Stories class (INTE5340) at the University of Colorado-Denver.  This week, however, I’m going to take a break from this theme.  At times, I like to hear stories about people discussing pride in their work.  The StoryCorps video “Clean Streets” is a perfect example.  For this critique, I judged this digital story on the following assessment traits (as established by Jason Ohler in his book Digital Storytelling in the Classroom):

Story – Sanitation workers Angelo Bruno and Eddie Nieves do an impressive job of telling their short story about working together in Manhattan’s West Village.  It’s very much a first-hand account of how both loved their job and enjoyed working together.  Bruno shares an interesting anecdote about his early days on the job when an old-timer showed him the value of a good day’s work.

Originality, Voice, Creativity – There’s an genuine earnestness in hearing Bruno and Nieves tell their story with their New York accents.  Their voices give the listener a definite sense of place.  Their camaraderie shines through when they mention requesting vacation time together and how Nieves misses “my partner” after working with him for nearly 10 years.

Media Grammar – Excellent.  The StoryCorps production team created a first-rate story.  In addition to the high-quality vocal recording that NPR is known for, the animation team, The Rauch Brothers, draws vivid animations that compliment the richness and tone of Bruno and Nieves’s narration.

This is the second digital story I have enjoyed on the StoryCorps site.  I look forward to delving into more stories.

Chapter Review: “Seven Steps of Digital Storytelling”

DS imageAfter reading Chapter 4 of Joe Lambert’s Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community, I was tempted to jump to other readings mentioned by my peers in my Learning With Digital Stories (INTE 5340) class.  On the other hand, I realized that I was one of the few people writing responses to Lambert’s book. So, I decided to proceed to chapter 5 to discover what Lambert and his colleagues consider the important steps in creating a unique digital story.

First of all, Lambert and his StoryCenter team believe in the importance of the digital author expressing his or her viewpoints fully and expanding upon how certain events have changed the author’s life.  More importantly, Lambert focuses on the importance of the author writing without any concern for fame or publicity.  He comments, “If you burden the beginning of your process with the external expectations, you can easily interrupt or edit the little voice inside your head that is working through why the story has great personal meaning for you” (p. 55).  The second step is the author retaining ownership of his or her emotions.  The emotional undercurrent of the story is key in establishing a connection with the readers.  At times, however, the author may be hesitant to disclose certain pieces of information out of concerns of privacy.  Thirdly, the digital story must highlight a pivotal moment when things changed significantly in the author’s life.  The more details the digital author can produce, the better the reader will be able to “see” the significance of the moment.  This concept is key in the fourth step of gathering archived images or creating new ones to create a visual narrative.  Lambert brings up the concepts of “visual metaphor” and “juxtaposition” as clever methods to orchestrate images.  On the other hand, Lambert advises against quickly gathering random images from the Internet that “can take away from the integrity of the story” (p. 63).

After incorporating visual elements, the fifth step in digital storytelling is creating the audio elements.  Key to this is the author recording his or her own voice, since, as Lambert says, “voice not only tells a vital narrative but it also captures the essence of the narrator, their unique character, and their connection to the lived experience” (p.63).  Mixing in music and ambient sound (thunder, traffic noise, etc) can be useful, but only if it adds, rather than subtracts, from the overall emotional tone of the story.  Editing the visual and audio elements together is the sixth step, where the author determines what elements of the story will be included and when those elements will appear.  As a rule, Lambert’s team sets certain constraints regarding narration words (250 – 375) and visual images (less than 20).  The final step is sharing the story with the audience, where digital authors may need to make revisions based on who they want to share their stories with on the World Wide Web.

I found these steps very easy for a novice digital author to comprehend.   Perhaps the biggest challenge for most people would be the first two steps: “Owning Your Insights” and “Owning Your Emotions.”  As an introvert, I’m often reluctant to express myself openly to a group of people, much less the whole Internet.  Still, there’s something very therapeutic about telling a remarkable story to a large group strangers in cyberspace.