DIGITAL STORYTELLING: Key components of a digital story.

Hi all,

This topic has already been covered thoroughly in other posts, so I thought I'd re-cap.

There are a number of ways that the components can be broken down. At CDS we use a model that we call the Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling.

The first three elements help define the content of a digital story. They are:

1. Point of View - This elements helps clarify the content of the story. It plays a big role in deciding what details of the story to edit out, and what to leave in. The point of view is defined by asking three questions: a) what is the message of the story? b) who is the audience? c) why am I telling this story right now?

2. Dramatic Question - This element helps create the arc of the story. It's created by making a statement that hooks the viewer into the story. The statement creates a question in the mind of the viewer and the story ends when the question is resolved. "I was seven years old when I met my father" is an example of a dramatic question. It hooks you in and motivates you to listen to the story until it's conclusion.

3. Emotional Content - This is the heart of a digital story. It is the emotional journey of loss and redemption or of crisis and transformation that makes a story compelling. This is what everybody can relate to and what makes stories so universal. Emotional content is often the most difficult piece of the story to create. It requires honesty and an understanding of the emotional journey that we've undergone. At CDS, we generally discourage folks from creating a digital story about an experience that is still being resolved. A certain distance and perspective is important to be able to write about an experience clearly.

The last four elements can be thought of as the pieces that give form to the digital story.

4. Voice - This is the gift of the storyteller. It's important to approach recording the script in this way because so many people hate the sound of their own voice. We usually remind our participants about how much they cherish the sound of the voice of their own friends and family.

As counter-intuitive as it sounds we also talk about the images when talking about voice. The visual narrative should be thought of as another layer of meaning that will be conveyed in the story. Participants need to choose images that complement the voiceover by paying attention to the mood and tone that the images (and any panning, zooming or other special effects) convey.

5. Soundtrack - While the script and voiceover makes a story, the soundtrack can break a story. Appropriate soundtrack can be thought of as a third narrative that is supporting and enhancing the message and emotional content of the story. Unfortunately, the soundtrack can easily interfere with the storytellers intended message. Common pitfalls to avoid include: too much volume on the soundtrack, lyrics that interfere with the voiceover, lyrics that contradict the message of the story.

Music can also be complicated in terms of copyright issues. There are a number of places to find music that can be used. One site CDS uses often is www.freeplaymusic.com.

Also, don't forget that sound effects can be incorporated into digital stories - the sound of rain, far away trains, crowds, etc. - can all be effectively used in digital stories.

6. Economy - this is something that we have not spent a lot of time talking about during this event. Economy of words (and to a certain extent, images) plays an essential role in making digital stories short and sweet and emotionally compelling. It forces the writer to cut out all the extraneous stuff, and focus only on the language that support the central focus of the story. It is very helpful to use a somewhat articial parameter. In our workshops we encourage folks to strive for 250 word stories - and no more than 350 words. It forces folks to re-work their stories until only the most important pieces remain.

7. Pacing - This is important to avoid monotonous, or take your breath away fast-talking digital stories. Make sure that the voiceover sounds contains the storytellers natural inflections and that the pacing matches the content of the story. Also, change-up the amount of time images stay on the screen. Use panning and zooming effects for images that require them.

That's a lot more information than I had planned to put out there. At the risk of being redundant I will mention the http://www.storycenter.org/cookbook.pdf one more time. It's where all this stuff is presented in much more detail.

Signing off,

Andrea