Below you’ll find an overview of three common approaches to storytelling through new media. Each of these approaches allows you to make an emotional connection with your audience in different ways, using the unique characteristics and conventions of the approach. As we study each approach, consider which of the stories you want to tell would best suit which approach.
VERBAL STORYTELLING
Approach: story conveyed entirely through written language.
Characteristics:
Uses the conventions of memoir and creative non-fiction to narrate a sequence of events and interactions, offer insight into characters, recall conversations through dialogue, provide details of setting and action, and reflect on moments of emotional significance. Verbal stories may be accompanied by images and/or delivered orally, but language is the primary vehicle for conveying the story.
Options:
- A “flash” memoir of the kind featured on Brevity and Hippocampus (with cover image and optional audio narration)
- CDS-style oral storytelling accompanied by pictures that advance every 10-20 seconds
- Moth-style oral storytelling (images optional)
Resources:
- Shimmering Images
- Help pages on Using iMovie ’11 to make a CDS style story
- more to come
New Media Tools:
- Fotor, Pixlr, and other free or inexpensive image editors for desktop or mobile
- GarageBand, Audacity, Voice Memos, or other free voice recording app
- iMovie or any photo story web or mobile app for CDS style storytelling
- video recorder and iMovie or other video editing tool for Moth-style storytelling
Publication Platforms:
- in written format on Cowbird.com, with cover image and optional audio narration
- in video format on Vimeo or Youtube
- Voicethread or other platform for creating and hosting narrated photo stories
GRAPHIC STORYTELLING
Approach: story conveyed through a combination of words and visuals
Characteristics:
Uses the conventions of comics and graphic novels to tell a story through characters whose body language, facial expressions, behavior, and dialogue move the story forward across a series of panels. May include brief bits of explanatory or narrative text (i.e., captions), but the visuals are intended to carry a significant portion of the storytelling weight. Panels typically feature background scenery relevant to the story and transitions where needed to suggest large passages of time or movements back and forth in time.
Options:
- a short graphic memoir (around 5-10 pages that convey one story)
- a series of autobio comics (around 3-5 separate short comics that relate to a common theme)
- a comic-style short animation (cartoon, stop motion, paper cutout, or similar)
Resources:
- Making Comics
- Practice activity for Week 9 Sunday
- Sample autobio comics shared by students
- Selections from graphic memoirs on Google Drive
New Media Tools:
- Pixton, ToonDoo, BitStrips, Make Beliefs Comix, Storyboard That, or any other tool for creating and hosting comics
- GoAnimate, Plotagon, Animation Desk, iStopMotion, or any other tool for animation
- iDraw, Google Drawing, PowerPoint, or any tool that allows shape-based and vector drawing
- SketchBook Express, Pixlr, Pixelmator, SumoPaint, ArtRage, or any tool that allows raster (i.e., pixel) based drawing
- ComicLife or any tool for laying out panels and pages
Publication Platforms:
- Comic creation sites (see above)
- Tapastic, SmackJeeves, ComicFury, or any other free site for hosting hand-drawn comics
- Vimeo or YouTube for animations
CINEMATIC STORYTELLING
Approach: story conveyed through the reenactment (or dramatization) of events on screen
Characteristics:
Uses the conventions of film making to tell a story through actors whose body language, facial expressions, behavior, and dialogue move the story forward across a series of shots and scenes. May include small amounts of narrated voiceover, but the interactions between characters are intended to carry most of the storytelling weight. Scenes typically focus on key moments of change between characters and follow the overall pattern of a narrative arc (or plot). May also experiment with juxtapositions between words spoken by characters, visuals, and soundtrack, to create tension or deepen emotional impact.
Options:
- a screenplay and storyboard for a short film (live action or animation)
- optional: animatic (animated storyboard) or short concept clips
Resources:
- Crafting Short Screenplays that Connect
- Sample scripts, screenplays, and storyboards on Google Drive
- Numerous resources on writing short films available on the web
New Media Tools:
- Word processing application for screenplay formatting
- Simple comics app or hand drawn panels for storyboard
- GoAnimate or Plotagon for short concept clips
Publication Platforms:
- Comic creation site for storyboard
- Scribd or Slideshare for screenplay
- Vimeo or YouTube for animatic or concept clips