There are many ways to continue exploring your ideas as you begin writing for your digital story. If you already have a story in mind…great! Continue to build your idea into a story by thinking about your audience and the purpose of the narrative.
- Are you looking a call to action?
- Will you be communicating your research for a general audience?
- Are you using the video as a way to defend your dissertation?
It may help to think about the impact you want from the video, or an emotion or impression you want to have on your audience, then work backward from there.
If you are hitting a writer’s block, try one of the activities below to help identify and select an area of interest for your digital story.
Free writing is a technique used to generate a stream of consciousness flow of writing without stopping for a set period of time, usually 10-30 minutes. This exercise excuses errors in spelling and grammar and serves to generate a raw product that can be reviewed and crafted for later use in your narrative.
In this activity, you do not make corrections as you write. Keep writing even if you have to include “filler” text to keep the continuous process going. Only stop writing when your set time is up. You are aiming for subconscious writing to generate the flow of ideas.
To start free writing, simply:
- Set a time limit.
- Choose a writing implement (paper and pen, keyboard typing, etc.).
- If you must, start with a specific thought or phrase. For example, “My writing today will be focus on ____.”
- Don’t stop writing until the time limit has expired, even if you have to write the same sentence over and over again until new inspiration strikes.
Start generating a list. You need not list things in a specific order; the first idea is not the “best” idea. Simply choose a topic and generate a related list of ideas or answers that correspond to the topic.
Writing a thank you letter to someone who has helped you with your research can also generate some great ideas and could be the basis for your digital story. Identify someone who provided support or assistance through your research process but who you never thanked.
Sometimes, you need inspiration to unlock your creativity. The ideation tools at IDEO might help to spark some ideas if you’re feeling a little lost.
Once you have some ideas, write them down and decide on a story you’re excited to tell in this workshop. Bring them to discuss as part of thesynchronous session with your Storytelling Fellows cohort.
Stuck on generating ideas? Check out what the experts say. The Khan Academy has teamed up with Pixar Animation Studios to create a new series called Pixar in a Box. One module in this series discusses The Art of Storytelling. Listen as directors and animators offer some helpful advice for new storytellers.
If you need additional inspiration, browse the rest of The Art of Storytelling module from Khan Academy’s Pixar in a Box series for more ideas. You may also be interested in the Under Our Skin project developed by the Seattle Times.
Scripting
By session two, you will be asked to write a script of roughly 250 words that focuses on a main theme or idea that will carry your digital narrative. Consider developing the script with vocal cues, timing, audio and pacing in mind. Once you have generated a script, consider whether it can act as an accurate transcript for your video captions. The transcript should copy all spoken dialogue as conveyed in the video.
Remember that the script is just one phase of the storytelling process. Think about how the script will connect to your plan, the media you have or hope to gather, and the overall video composition you hope to create. If you are actively participating in a Storytelling Fellows workshop, you will receive instructions on how to share your script in the Discord community.
The goal for this script is to pair it with audio and images to have a working draft to share with others in session three of the workshop. Remember that your draft should include your recorded audio synced properly to the visual media in your project, along with some progress towards developing captions for your production.
Copyright and Creative Commons
When collecting media assets, be aware that identifying appropriate licensing is always a concern. To avoid copyright issues, consider using media with Creative Commons licensing. The Creative Commons allows content creators to share their work and assign licenses to original content based on the level of restriction they would like to impose on those who plan to use their creations. Check the Creative Commons website for details on each license and what is required when giving attribution.
Another type of license, Public Domain, is attached to files that are free and open to the public to use without attribution or other licensing restrictions. You can copy, modify, distribute, and screen content in the public domain without restriction and without asking permission from the content creator. Oftentimes, you will see this work displayed on publicly available repositories such as Wikimedia and Flickr.
Images
Use the research guide on Images and browse through the options available on the guide. This will give you a sense of where and how to use and properly cite images in your works. Websites such as Pexels and Unsplash offer images through CC0 licenses or other irrevocable, nonexclusive license options. If you find a similar site, be sure to read their license terms before using their materials.
Video
If you are looking for free, high-quality video clips, consider websites such as PexelsVideos and Creative Commons licensed videos on Vimeo.
Audio
For music and other audio clips licensed under Creative Commons, check out the Free Music Archive, ccMixter, and Incompetech.
Your own work
Using an original piece of artwork, imagery, or audio track? Consider sharing your work by getting a Creative Commons license and uploading to one of the many digital repositories listed above.
Don’t just take our word for it – check out what the experts in the field do to prepare for storytelling projects.
Hypothesis-Driven Design: From NPR, a look into building immersive storytelling projects. You can check their step-by-step guide for more information.
Storytelling Project Blueprint 2.0: Another how-to document from the folks at NPR.
Imagining the Story: How to tell a story with Rob Rosenthal.
An Introduction to Video Editing: From Adobe, learn some practical tips for getting into video editing.