• digital storytelling,  instruction,  timeless,  tips

    Four things to do before saving the final version of your digital story

    You’ve reached the end of your digital storytelling workshop and everyone’s getting ready to render and output their finished digital story. Here are four things you need to think about: 1. Make sure each digital storyteller in the workshop watches their film from start to finish 2. Make sure there are no mistakes with narration or images: an image duplicated or in the wrong place, a piece of narration clashing with an image 3. Correct any typos in the titles or credits 4. Double-check the spelling of names Here’s a related article on Capture Wales about sharing your digital story. Written and first published by Gareth Morlais on 30 June…

  • digital storytelling,  instruction,  timeless,  tips

    Why you should keep movie titles away from the edges

    When adding titles and end credits to your digital story, use only the middle 80% of the screen. The central area is the TV safe area. If you creep too far out to the edges, there’s a risk letters will get lost if the story’s broadcast on TV. Old cathode-ray tube TVs trim the edges and on newer LCD screens, people often have their zoom set to ‘automatic’, which trims the edges. This TV safe area tip is one I learned from Rob Thompson. He used to be a video editor at BBC Wales but I think he now works with Avid in the Middle East.

  • digital storytelling,  instruction,  timeless,  tips

    Why naming conventions matter

    Here’s a tip that will make post-production, storing, archiving and finding individual digital stories easier. When working with workshop participants and individuals, ask them to make a final decision about which name they will use on their digital story. This seems so simple, but some people find it difficult because: they have a name like John Smith which makes it hard to identify or make themselves stand out in public the name by which they’re known is not their given name they think they may like to keep the option of telling an anonymous story etc Having decided on a name. Make one folder called, say, “joe-m-bloggs”. Spelling is important,…

  • digital storytelling,  instruction,  timeless,  tips

    Housekeeping for digital storytelling training workshop

    Here’s a cribsheet I wrote to remind me of what to say at the beginning of the first day of our three-day digital storytelling workshops around Wales: Fire drill Beware of tripping on cables. I’d let people know that I’ve written each person’s name on a PostIt on each computer. Planning the seating is something we didn’t leave to chance. Remind people to take regular screen breaks, change their seating position, be comfy… Let people know where toilets are Let people know start and end times and times of refreshment breaks. Ask people to drink and eat away from the computer please. Introduce trainers, storytellers, newcomers (at start of subsequent…

  • digital storytelling,  education,  media literacy,  museums,  timeless

    The future of digital storytelling in public spaces

    This post is a response to a question asked on Museum 3.0 group about: “the future of digital storytelling in regards to broader social networking tools” by Angelina Russo, an Associate Professor at Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia. As this question’s related to museum of the future, I’ll begin with an editorial approach to applications of digital storytelling in museums, libraries, galleries and other public spaces before addressing technical issues. The teaching of the activity of digital storytelling in public spaces can form part of a museum’s educational program where: people learn about history, area, objects, etc. the learning spans curriculum areas media literacy is improved citizens get their voice ‘exhibited’…

  • digital storytelling,  education,  media literacy,  museums,  story,  timeless,  tips

    Three digital storytelling ideas for museums

    If you work in a museum, library or archive and you’re looking for digital storytelling inspiration, here are links to three ideas in this blog: Archive Meets Storytelling – A step-by-step set of instructions on how to run a workshop which delivers short videos mixing considered but unscripted personal reminiscence with existing archive footage. What a Museum is – Pondering on museum paradigms: “Living-memory sections of museums are more to do with memories than artefacts. So museum managers can feel free to move away from traditional perceptions of what it is they’re doing. That’s when they’ll feel it’s OK to instruct their staff to spend less time on objects and…

  • digital storytelling,  education,  museums,  story,  timeless

    Managable digital storytelling for museums

    How can museums resource this: recording and sharing visitors’ interpretations and stories about its artefacts? One of the challenges around publishing personal stories made by lots of people is keeping on top of the ethical issues around the right to portray others in public. This will be especially true of teachers and also of public organisations like museums, libraries and educational courses. Recording, tracking and demonstrating that there’s proof that individuals are happy for you to show their work is one thing; getting second signoff by a parent/guardian in the case of stories by children, young people and vulnerable people is quite another. From my experience in BBC production, it’s…

  • digital storytelling,  instruction,  japan,  links,  media literacy,  timeless

    Papurau Bro: coming together to fold

    Papurau Bro are Welsh-language local newspapers written by, edited by, folded & stapled and distributed by community members. They’ve thrived for three decades or more and I’d say that digital storytelling in Wales has drawn inspiration from the spirit of Papurau Bro. In my current (2009) role as executive producer of www.bbc.co.uk/cymru I was interviewed by Rhodri ap Dyfrig for his tech blog metastwnsh. I’ve long been a fan of Rhodri’s work in screening short films via Pictiwrs yn y Pyb. Before the interview began we discussed our shared admiration of the way Papurau Bro are made in concert by the people featured in the stories and wondered what might…

  • digital storytelling,  media literacy,  timeless,  tips,  Wales

    Five ways to make your digital storytelling project more sustainable

    1. move away from the ‘once in a lifetime experience’ approach. Make it feel like a process that can become more of a ‘routine’ than a ‘treat’ event. 2. get people making stories using accessible tools. E.g. free web-based editing tools they’ll be able to continue using after you’ve moved on. 3.reduce the resources participants need to take part. If people don’t have an archive of their own photos, help them take bespoke contemporary ones; if people don’t have much time, offer a form they can create in less time; meet people where they already gather; etc. 4. scale up activities. E.g. hold training the trainers workshops so you get…

  • digital storytelling,  empowerment,  japan,  timeless

    End of workshop photo

    You can tell how well a workshop went by looking at the end-of-workshop photo. This one was taken at the end of the first Media Conté Workshop where media exprimo and Aichi Shukutoku University worked with teenagers in Kani, Gifu Prefecture, in the centre of Japan’s largest island. Kani is well known for its car manufacturing. One of the leaders of Media Conté is Akiko Ogawa, who’s made two trips to Wales to study digital storytelling. She told me earlier this year there were many Japanese descendants from Brasil and other countries who had come to work in Kani’s factories. She told me she wanted to find a way of…