We have learnt some basic elements of a good digital story and we have been flourished with a number of great examples of DST that hopefully will inspire us to produce one of similar or at last near-similar quality. Well, it's easier said than done. Definitely, not an easy one for me. I love telling stories to children and I have learnt some story-telling techniques.. oops , but not DIGITAL...had a hard time thinking of one.
When I started planning for my DST, the first question that struck my mind is;
What is the story that I wish to share?
Two choices I have are: About my learning journey or About two different generations. To play safe, I gather that maybe I should choose one of these and have the other as a backup plan. I spent several weeks, trying to visualise how my story will be like.
The second question that struck my mind is;
Do I have enough resources to carry out one of my choices. I don't have that many photographs. Most that I have are those of my family. OK, fine. I managed to select a few, go to some places and have some good shots... I went through those in the computer and realised that I need more to make a good story. I browsed through the internet to look for some to supplement the few that I collected and I started to story-board mentally.
While I was sharing my idea with one of our classmates, Dr Towndrow threw me one question: Who is my audience going to be? That question stalled me. The choice that I have made is very personal to me and not many will share the same thoughts that I wish to bring across through my DST. So.. I put aside both my choices and thought of a new one.. a view coming from a third person's perspective.... The process go through another new cycle : (
After reading the article by Hull and Nelson (2005), and browsing through the pages of Ohler (2008), I am glad to know that I don't have to know much about digital imaging/editing or embed original /great video clips in my DST or fear of any copyright issues.I can either use whatever photos/ free copyright pictures/ videos in the internet/ get some 'professional' assistance for any technical glitches. The initial challenge now is to have a story line that will impact the targetted audience... then other elements come in.
Other questions that follow are:
What colours do I want to feature in my DST so that audience can feel the emotional impact/ mood and not just its beauty or its creativity?
What font should I use for some of the texts that I wish to include in my DST? I am aware that some fonts may convey a particular message to the reader.
Whose voice should I use? My voice or someone else's?Will the voice that I use have any impact on my targetted listener? How will the tone be like? Angry? Happy? Sad? Disappointment?
Do I need to use any kinds of transition/ animation in my presentation? How will these transition add effect to the message/ meaning that I wish to bring across to my viewers? Well, Randy's "Lfe N Ryme" does not have much animation/ transition effect, yet it managed to bring meaning to its design. The use of 79 still images, lyrics or spoken-word poem and a background music are enough to create a DST that one can admire. THat guy is CrEAtIve! HE managed to braid and orchestrate all into one meaningful DST(Hull and Nelson, 2005).
What sort of music background do I want to use? Religious, contenporary, jazz, children's song, rock or ..? I am still contemplating. Got one in my pocket.. but that is meant for my first planned DST. Have to look for another suitable one now.
What software should I use ? Mac i-movie/ Windows movie-maker or maybe a video-editing software? I know some basic function of all these stuffs....but it doesn't help much.. really! I need time to 'study' these!
Whatever it is, so far these questions are still haunting my mind. I am still collecting resources and I can only frame a story-map/ story-line once I get all the resources that I feel necessary = ^
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Hi Siti,
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are going through. We are on the same boat.My topic is close to yours.Mine talks about my...life. I don't think we will ever have problems with purpose and audience because our topics have universal elements in it. Everyone has to... live. (just my two cents)
I also suggest that you create a story line and narration first.Collecting resources comes next. Take it from Ohler. (www.jasonohler.com)
Dear Siti
ReplyDeleteI will agree with Eula here and suggest that you should first have a storyline. Once you have that, things should fall into place as you would know by then what you should be looking for; the elements of your story will tell you what you have to do.
The study of colours is a 'Science'. You can do some simple research to know which colour blends well with which and what are their significance.
The third point is for you to consider what sort of message/s do you want your viewers to go away with after viewing your DST project. Put yourself in the position of the viewer and play the Devil's Advocate.
Cheers.
Wilson