{"id":728,"date":"2017-06-25T18:58:53","date_gmt":"2017-06-25T18:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/?p=728"},"modified":"2017-06-26T20:57:34","modified_gmt":"2017-06-26T20:57:34","slug":"elements-of-digital-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/2017\/06\/25\/elements-of-digital-storytelling\/","title":{"rendered":"Elements of Digital Storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">As scientists and archeologists discover human footprints dating back to 3,000 years inevitably along the ancient human presence they also discover the presence of stories. Whether it is a cave drawing or a clay or stone tablet,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>these artifacts keep the record of existence, customs, culture, or according to R. I. M. Dunbar (2004) even gossip<\/span><span class=\"s1\">. Regardless of the medium, language, symbols or age, humans have been compelled to record what is happening around them from what seems to be the beginning of time.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The records range from direct accounts of for goods exchange as in many ancient Egyptian clay tablets from the Bronze Age<\/span><span class=\"s1\">, <\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wikiwand.com\/en\/Ebla_tablets\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-734\" src=\"http:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/download.jpg\" alt=\"clay tablet\" width=\"228\" height=\"221\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">the intricate accounts of a battle as in writings of Greek biographer Plutarch in 100 AD,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thoughtco.com\/g00\/plutarch-of-chaeronea-120345?i10c.referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-735\" src=\"http:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/plutarch-526581630-5898addd5f9b5874eeb0f324-246x300.jpg\" alt=\"Plutarch\" width=\"246\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/plutarch-526581630-5898addd5f9b5874eeb0f324-246x300.jpg 246w, https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/plutarch-526581630-5898addd5f9b5874eeb0f324.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 246px) 100vw, 246px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">to present day\u2019s recorded accounts of lives of regular people on video blogs. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/32825477\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Stories first and foremost are records of our existence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s4\">But the recording is not the only way we tell stories. There are other narratives that take us to somewhere else: places unimaginable, places that we would not have visited otherwise. These places are filled with villains and saints, lovers and haters, heroes and cowards \u2014 characters we might never have met in our everyday life and that often have nothing to do with our everyday life.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We love them or hate them, we cry or laugh with them, we learn from their mistakes and in the process of following their lives, we also discover who we are. From Gilgamesh <\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/chefsandwines.com\/en\/parole-expert\/gilgamesh-and-wine-first-written-trace\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-737\" src=\"http:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/gilgamesh-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Gilgamesh pic\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/gilgamesh-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/gilgamesh-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/gilgamesh.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s4\">to Wilbur,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/questgarden.com\/178\/96\/6\/150219171609\/process.htm\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-738\" src=\"http:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/Wilbur-and-Charlotte-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"Wilbur the pig\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/Wilbur-and-Charlotte-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/files\/2017\/06\/Wilbur-and-Charlotte.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s4\"> these characters help us put our own lives in perspective and even make our own life\u2019s decisions based on what we have discovered\/learned from their narratives. As<\/span><b> <\/b><span class=\"s4\">Cody C. Delistraty (2014)\u00a0postulates in his article <i>The Psychological Comforts of Storytelling<\/i>,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201chumans are inclined to see narratives \u2026 because it can afford meaning to our lives, a form of existential problem-solving.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s4\">But as we move through history, it seems that with technological advancements in society the ways we tell and experience stories change. The miracle of technology, be it a printing press or photo or video camera alters not only ways that stories are told, but the way the audience experiences them. In his seminal work, <i>The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction<\/i>, Walter Benjamin (1936)\u00a0points out that <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s4\">the mode of human sense perception changes with humanity\u2019s entire existence. The manner in which human sense and perception is organized, the medium in which it is accomplished, is determined not only by nature but by historical circumstances as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s4\">In this essay, he was referring to film and photography, the first major technological advancements that affected storytelling since the invention of the printing press. With the invention of the printing press the number of readers has increased dramatically (and I suspect the tradition of oral storytelling has lessened) but also the population of readers has changed. The stories still had the beginning, middle, and the end. The stories still had the five components:\u00a0the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. But once the book production became less expensive the books became available to the general population, the working class people, the stories spread quicker (Dittmar, 2009).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">With the invention of film and photography, the stories took on a visual form. For the first time, the stories came alive according to the interpretation of others: film directors, camera directors, screenwriters, and actors. The role of the audience changed from readers with imagination to passive consumers. And that role stayed the same through the Television age (Shirky, 2010). Then came the Internet. Which brings me to what I think is the main distinction between the traditional storytelling and the digital one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Beyond the fact that stories now created using digital technology, the most important distinction, in my opinion, is the fact that digital storytelling became participatory. Technology once again altered the role of the audience.\u00a0The structure and elements of the story stayed the same but technology has enabled the audience to change from passive consumer to that of a participant. Technology allowed the audience to interact with the characters and the story itself (Alter, 2016). For the first time, the audience is able to choose their own ending to the story,<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JFVkzYDNJqo?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nmake decisions for the characters (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/articles\/1kWsQcfTPFjfz9sdxfTGFhC\/our-world-war-interactive-episode\">http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/articles\/1kWsQcfTPFjfz9sdxfTGFhC\/our-world-war-interactive-episode<\/a>), and interact with the narrative directly (<a href=\"http:\/\/hunchfilm.com\/\">http:\/\/hunchfilm.com\/<\/a>). Furthermore, for the first time, the audience has a capability to rewrite and alter the stories themselves through remixing them or combining them with their own stories:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/apps\/2013\/08\/08\/mixbit-is-a-new-video-remix-app-from-youtube-co-founders-steve-chen-and-chad-hurley\/#.tnw_NJYhIpwZ\">https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/apps\/2013\/08\/08\/mixbit-is-a-new-video-remix-app-from-youtube-co-founders-steve-chen-and-chad-hurley\/#.tnw_NJYhIpwZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>because as Shirky (2010) put it, &#8220;when you buy a machine that lets you consume digital content, you also buy a machine to produce it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As technology develops further, I am sure the storytelling will continue to adjust to it. The next reiteration seems to take a direction towards a complete audience emersion into the story through Virtual Reality (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/12\/13\/magazine\/virtual-reality.html\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/12\/13\/magazine\/virtual-reality.html<\/a>). It&#8217;s exciting and also telling that the storytelling will never go away as it is an inherent part of who we humans are.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alter, A. (2016, January 3). New Julian Fellow project, &#8216;Belgravia,&#8217; treads new digital ground [Web Log message]. Retrieved January 4, 2016 from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/01\/04\/business\/media\/new-julian-fellowes-project-belgravia-treads-new-digital-ground.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur&amp;_r=0\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/01\/04\/business\/media\/new-julian-fellowes-project-belgravia-treads-new-digital-ground.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur&amp;_r=0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Benjamin, W. (2015). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In <i>Illuminations.<\/i> London: The Bodley Head.<\/p>\n<p>Delistraty, C. C. (2014, November 02). The Psychological Comforts of Storytelling. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/health\/archive\/2014\/11\/the-psychological-comforts-of-storytelling\/381964\/\">https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/health\/archive\/2014\/11\/the-psychological-comforts-of-storytelling\/381964\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah E. Dittmar; Information Technology and Economic Change: The Impact of The Printing Press . Q J Econ 2011; 126 (3): 1133-1172. doi: 10.1093\/qje\/qjr035<\/p>\n<p>Dunbar, R. I. (2004). Gossip in evolutionary perspective. Review of General Psychology, 8(2), 100-110. doi:10.1037\/1089-2680.8.2.100<\/p>\n<p>Shirky, C. (2010). Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. East Rutherford: Penguin Press.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As scientists and archeologists discover human footprints dating back to 3,000 years inevitably along the ancient human presence they also discover the presence of stories. Whether it is a cave drawing or a clay or stone tablet,\u00a0 these artifacts keep<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ed-677"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":781,"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728\/revisions\/781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghostandpenny.com\/onid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}