Storytelling
Regardless of the medium, photography, animation, podcast, audio book, or video, the foundation of media making is storytelling, you don't need to be Martin Scorsese or Jordan Peele to tell a good story. If you have ever told a friend a joke or talked about something and impacted them in some way, even if it is just a laugh, then you are a storyteller!
However, many times the pursuit technical mastery or our awe for technology (Michael Bay Transformers anyone 😂), detracts us from the fact that making digital projects is about stories. This page is here to help you learn about some key storytelling strategies that will make you a better video maker.
WHY TELL STORIES
Nothing activates the brain like a good story. Unlike sitting through a passive PowerPoint lecture, which only activates the portion of the brain associated with language processing, listeners of a story experience similar brain activity than if they were actually experiencing the event itself. Even better, by telling stories, the storyteller and the listeners can synergize meaning around a particular concept by experiencing the same ideas, thoughts, and emotions in a shared space. Even just using descriptive words to evoke deep imagery of an experience can stimulate the olfactory and sensory cortexes of the brain.
Tips for Storytelling
4 Keys to Storytelling (Video)
Did you know that storytelling has unique and specific effects on our brain chemistry? This video takes a Neurological approach to creating compelling stories.
This resources takes a more psychological/marketing approach to good storytelling, explaining how different elements and mediums in storytelling affect us cognitively.
Learn about the Story Grid community of writers through this podcast. The podcast features working writers that have struggled in the past and now share their successful strategies.
Story Telling Templates
You wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, write a research paper without an outline, so why dive into a digital storytelling project without a proper brainstorming session? The templates below provide guidelines around popular narrative arcs that can help facilitate your process. Find the narrative arc that speaks to you or to your project to learn more about each step in the narrative process.
Promote an idea 💡
Setting: Describe the Context
Problem: Name the Struggle
What Could Be: Describe a Better World
Solution or Idea: Pitch a Solution
Reward: Make Solution Real to Audience
How can you Help: Propose Actions for Audience
Hero’s Journey 🛡️
Setup: Name Hero & Context
Call to Adventure: Describe Hero’s Motivation
Challenge: Odds Against the Hero
Climax: Hero Overcomes Odds
Resolution: Describe a Better World
Show + Tell 🌇
About Me: Make a Personal Connection
What it is: Share Project Idea(s)
Why: Explain Your Passion
Show it: Demonstrate its Special Features
How: Explain the Origin
Call to Action: Propose Actions for Audience
Personal Growth 🌱
Background: Describe the Context
What was I Doing?: Illustrate the Situation
Challenge: Chronicle the Obstacle
Realization: Describe the Aha Moment
What Happened: Recount the Resolution
Lesson I Learned: Takeaway Lesson for Audience
Teach a Lesson: 👩🏫
Overview: Describe the Purpose
Concept: Teach the Concept
Example: Connect to the Audience
Explanation: Name Application to Concept.
You Try It!: Make Audience Problem-solve
Summary: Summarize Key Takeaways
Storytelling in Popular Media
See the first Hunger Game novel’s narrative mapped out into thematic points while learning key tips to crafting your own narrative. Consider using draw.io to map out your own story
Learn how the first episode of the second season of Stranger Things was scripted and the overarching themes and structure used to create this cult classic. (PDF)
This video breaks down the six key storytelling structures that make up this cult classic film and helps highlight how good storytelling made this movie so popular.