Page 217 - Mediapedia Mobile

Stuart is a Steven Spielberg look- alike. Here he and Kit are viewing the Thanksgiving Day parade.
PART III SHARING YOUR WORK
07_MP_234-277.indd 272-273
6/20/08
9:29:22 AM
DIGITAL STORYTELLING:
HOW OFT-TOLD STORIES BECOME POLISHED SHORT MOVIES
REQUIREMENTS
• First person authenticity. This gives it instant credibility because it really hap- pened to the teller.
The fundamental assumption behind digi- tal storytelling is that each of us has many stories we’ve told over and over again. In their retelling, these narratives become polished, like a small stone in a fast-mov- ing stream. Only the most significant de- tails remain. The often-told story’s pace is usually quick, because dragging portions have been eliminated over the course of many tellings. Such stories always have a “capper”—an ending that evokes a laugh or a nod of recognition to a fundamental insight.
Step 3: Do a dramatic reading.
[ 272 ]
CHAPTER 7: PROJECT IDEAS
[ 273 ]
Teri Scheinzeit
One of the first women I worked with told a difficult story about the life and death of her beloved grandmother. After
we finished, she said the storytelling process helped her deal with the sadness she felt from her grandmother’s death. But the capper for me was when she told me that during our work together was the first time she felt anyone was really listening to her. That’s as good as any Emmy Award could ever be in my book.—SD
Step 1: Find the story. Your story need only be awakened. But how to do that? Ask a family member, friend, or partner what story he or she has heard often and likes best. Look at old photos or objects around your home or office.
CASE STUDY: stuart
time: Writing and rewriting takes about two hours; recording, one hour; taking original photographs, about one hour; scanning archival images—if there are any—one hour. Editing will take as long as you can manage, or as long as needed. This is where you learn the most, and you may discover “holes” that need to be filled.
• To the point. Extraneous detail as been eliminated via the editing that comes with repeated telling.
Stuart Dworeck is a TV editor with a special gift for anima- tion. At the Oxygen Cable TV network, Stuart developed “Our Stories”—short segments in which ordinary women recorded tracks and sent photos that a team assembled using digital animation techniques.
• Deep meaning. Those remaining de- scriptions have deep meaning.
When we started “Our Stories” for Oxygen Media’s Web site in 1999, it was meant to be a place where women who didn’t have access to Big Media (broadcast and cable TV) could present their own stories. At Oxygen we were explor- ing the concept of co-creation. That’s where the audience creates content along with the media professionals. Usually when making documentaries and TV shows, we did it to our subjects; now we could do it with our subjects. By having the subject of the story become the active storyteller, the stories would be real, first-person experiences.
• Dramatic payoff. The story evolves into a satisfying ending.
gear: A digital camera, access to a scanner, a program like iMovie for the Mac or Premier for the PC, a recording setup. See Chapter 5 for details about slide-show applications and techniques.
• Few, key characters. There are few characters, but those we meet are important.
budget: There could possibly be costs in buying music you want to use.
• Built-in wisdom. There is a “lesson” that is sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit.
WORKFLOW
The maximum length of the finished piece is two minutes. The project is pow- ered by specific constraints that focus creative energy and heighten the impact. The most important rule is the absolute, rigid, fanatical limit of 120 seconds.
Step 2: Write the script. Put the story into the first person. The script should be no more than 250 words. Here are six characteristics of such personal stories:
Your movie is built upon a first-person account. Start by making a digital re- cording of your own voice. Give a spirited reading. Don’t be afraid to act out differ- ent parts. Have a friend around to give feedback and encouragement. Lock the track, getting it down to two minutes or a bit under. This track will guide selec- tion, duration, and transitions among