This room needs to be very quiet indeed. Switch off any noisy lights, air conditioning, fans, clocks, computers, etc. The fewer echoes in the room the better;  safe clutter is good. The voice-recording room needs to be available throughout the production workshop. It can be small – just big enough to accommodate three people,  recording equipment and microphone. May need to have power points, even if only to re-charge batteries / portable voice recorders. This is the third in a mini-series of four articles on www.aberth.com/blog about the ideal spaces for your digital storytelling workshop.  Written and first published by Gareth Morlais on 5 July 2009

This is where the digital stories will be made.  There needs to be enough space, tables, chairs to accommodate all the equipment and people. Power points along two sides of the room makes safe rigging easier. It’s good if it has natural light and ventilation but’s essential it can be made dark enough for images from the data projector to have impact. E.g. some kind of blinds or curtains for blackout. If you’re running a workshop – as opposed to one-to-one – set the furniture out classroom style, in rows, facing the screen. Allow adequate space for the data projector to show from the back of the room. There also…

This is the first in a mini-series of four articles on www.aberth.com/blog about the ideal spaces for your digital storytelling workshop. Easy access for people with disabilities to all rooms is essential, including toilets and eating-places. Also – there needs to be reasonable access and parking for the vehicle you’ll be get-in and get-out equipment. Ideally, parking close by for people driving to the workshop. If this is not possible, then people need to be informed of the nearest public car park. The venue should be accessible by public transport. Here’s a cribsheet, a checklist of things to look out for when choosing your venue: Nearby parking and public transport…

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…

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.

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,…

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…