“How can people participate without necessarily having to be centre stage?” That’s a question I’ve been asking myself ever since discussing digital storytelling with a colleague, Grahame Davies, last year.
My experience of Digital Stories is that they’re usually personal. This aspect of ‘talking about myself’ raises a barrier in some people and cultures. This was an issue raised by some people I met in Japan earlier this year.
Last night, on TV, I saw a piece of video that stands as a good example of a ‘tribute form’. Look at the first 55 seconds of the video clip on this page. It’s in Welsh. It features people who live in Bala, north Wales. They’re all praising Mair Penri Jones – a woman who’s been active and helped many people in that community.
As well as being a form of storytelling about others, rather than the self, this form lends itself well to a project where equipment is in short supply and people need to work together to make a film.
I’d be interested to hear of other similar forms.