Digital Storytelling Dr. Anthony Curtis – UNCP Mass Communication

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What is a Digital Story?

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A digital story is a 21st century form of mass communication that harks back to the ancient art of oral storytelling. This contemporary form of mediated communication combines traditional techniques from television, video production radio, newspapers and magazines with contemporary multimedia tools to deliver informative and entertaining short productions with text, still and motion images, sound, music, and voice. They are script-driven and all about the articulation of a coherent verbal expression – the voice – of the narrator.

Digital stories are narratives, which help us make sense of things. We learn from stories and remember their meanings because they are personally understandable. Stories penetrate human understanding and engage feelings. Someone has said, the deeper the emotion, the deeper the learning.

The best digital stories usually...

• Begin with a script that focuses the writing before audio and video are created or manipulated.
  
  
• Are quite personal with the narrator making it clear how something or somebody impacted her or his life.
  
  
• Are concise at two to five minutes long with story narrowed down to a single nugget of one central idea.
  
  
• Use easily-available source materials such as still photos, hand drawings, scanned images, transition effects, and recorded narrative.
  
  
• Include universal story elements of conflict, transformation,and closure in a way with which the audience can identify and be changed.
  
  
• Involve collaboration in which people give and receive feedback during scripting and production.

Digital stories come in many forms:

Personal narrative	Very short documentary
Fictional story	Reminiscence
Movie or book trailer	Persuasive charitable pitch
Public relations message	Animation
Movie or book review	Learning instruction
Interview	Poem
Song	Photographic journey
Rebus riddle	Lots of other forms

Examples from UNCP students

UNCP Mass Communication student digital storytelling productions

Examples from Elsewhere

Choices   Helen Barrett

My Life as a Winklepicker   Shoebox Stories – 10 videos

Coming Full Circle   Norman

Ghosts   Thomas Robert Mallon. 10th Grade, Lick-Wilmerding High School

A Bracero's Journey   Yesenia Chavez, 9th Grade, SOTA, Awarded Special Achievement

A Walk on My Dark Side   Yale College – 10 videos

More Like the American Nightmare   Created by Xiana Wang, 9th Grade, San Francisco School of the Arts, Awarded Second Place

Picture Me Black   Created by Dakarai Ramel Griffin, 10th Grade, San Francisco

Peace   Created by Michael Sheard, 11th Grade, CollegeTrack, East Plao Alto, Awarded PeaceNow Prize

Holy Bunion   Created by Natasha and Anabel, 10th Grade, SF SOTA, Awarded Outstanding Artistic Achievement

Sparring Partners   BBC Capture Wales – 7 videos

My Potato Story Created by Silvia Jeong, 9th Grade, San Francisco School of the Arts, Awarded First Place

River Stories   Brisbane, Australia: State Library of Queensland (streaming server)

Collections

Africa   KQED's Digital Story Initiative

Capture Wales   BBC

Stories for Change   Digital storytelling community

Scribe Video Center   West Philadelphia community

Digital Drive-In   Dana Atchley Memorial

I Photograph To Remember   IPTR

Longer

Grass Born to be Stepped On   Apple – 9 minutes

Documenting Child Labor in Nepal   Apple – 6 minutes

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard   free range studios – 21 minutes

What is Scion City?   Second Life

Resources

Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling   University of Houston, College of Education

Documentary Filmmaking in the Classroom   Apple

iLife How-To Guides   Apple

DigiTales   Bernajean Porter

jakesonline.org   David Jakes

The Center for Digital Story   Berkeley

Schoolhouse Video   Raw materials kits

KitZu   Raw materials kits

Digital Kids Club   Raw materials kits

Tech4Learning

Google: digital storytelling resources