About Digital Storytelling
“Telling weak stories with technology is like giving a bad guitar player a bigger amplifier.”
“Writing is the primary tool used to plan and create a digital story. The saying “if it ain’t on the page then it ain’t on the stage” is just as true for digital storytelling as it is for theater and movies.”
— Jason Ohler, digital storytelling expert
About Cinematic Storytelling
“Having a clear idea of possible beginnings, middles and ends, is a big help for me. But if the story is strong enough within you, you’ll be pressurised a certain way and the story will tell itself. Beginnings and middles and ends are a very good way of trying to work it out in advance. Don’t do anything on a whim or because you want to feel really fancy – it just doesn’t work. Lies are soon found out. You can’t fool an audience.”
— Shane Connnaughton (co-wrote the Oscar nominated screenplay for My Left Foot)
“If you’re sitting in your minivan, playing your computer animated films for your children in the back seat, is it the animation that’s entertaining you as you drive and listen? No, it’s the storytelling. That’s why we put so much importance on story. No amount of great animation will save a bad story.”
— John Lasseter, chief creative officer at Pixar
Regardless of what you think of the movie, this is a pretty good example of the magic that can happen through perpetual revision:
It wasn’t until about the fifth draft of “Sixth Sense” that I really began to figure it out. It was then that I realized he’s dead. It took me five more drafts to execute it right. -M. Night Shyamalan)
I found the quote, along with a bunch of others you might also find inspiring, on this site: Inspiration for Writers
About Writing
I want a t-shirt with this one:
A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. -Thomas Mann
From StorySlam Winners and Judges
“Just because I’m making people laugh doesn’t mean I’m telling a good story. Stringing together funny anecdotes with some exposition and calling it a story results in failure/audience boredom.” -Evan, Storyteller
“Establish high stakes as quickly as you can.” -Diana, Storyteller
“Stories – the best stories – are about when the joke’s been on us… the times we’ve failed. There isn’t much that’s more entertaining or enriching than stories of failure, regret, and humiliation. And nothing in the world is more exhausting than listening to someone’s good news. So be ugly. Be ugly and dopey and vile. Because when you’re ugly, you’re sincere. And sincerity is what makes everyone want to listen.” -Andrew, Storyteller
“The beginning and the end reunite in a moment where people think, ‘Oh that’s where she/he was going with that!’” -Kate, Storyteller
“What makes a good story:
1. A good lede. That’s what we call it in print, anyway. The beginning of the story should draw people in right away with something compelling and pungent.
2. Strong delivery. A sense that the storyteller is comfortable, confident, and that we’re in good hands.
3. An arc. A feeling that something is building, that we’re going somewhere.
4. A powerful ending. Maybe something that makes us pause before we clap. Or something so funny, that we erupt with applause.”
-Liz Spikol, writer and former Grand Slam judge