CONSTRUCTING A DIGITAL STORY

Malcolm RobertsWintec

WHAT IS A DIGITAL STORY? A short multimedia tale told from the heart A combination of digital images, text, music and

spoken voice which tells a powerful story. Ingredients:

Story board Images Spoken voice Sequence Music Transitions and effects Cooked gently and then shared!

STEP 1: WRITE AN INITIAL SCRIPT

Brainstorm ideas of your story Write down your script to match your

images Start with a dramatic question Write the sentences down on stickies

ready for your storyboard

STEP 2: PLAN THE STORYBOARD The storyboard is what you plan to

show Match your images to your script Work out the order Make a series of sketches that

represent the images onto the stickies Collect images from scanned old

photos, or digital camera images or from royalty free image sites on the web

STEP 3: DISCUSS AND REVISE THE SCRIPT

Discuss the ideas with others in a story circle

Take advice from others and revise your ideas as necessary

Go over the script until your are happy with your story sequence

STEP 4: SEQUENCE THE IMAGES IN A MOVIE EDITOR

Suitable movie editors include: moviemaker, i-movie or Corel video-studio.

Import your images into the movie editor

Drag your images onto the storyboard in the correct sequence

Ideally your images should be resized in a 3:4 ration in an image editor such as photoshop or paintshop pro or paint

STEP 5: ADD THE NARRATIVE TRACK Record your narrative track as separate

sound files for each sentence Record the sound files separately using

software such as audacity or garageband

Or record the sound files in the video editor

Drag the sound files onto the storyboard

Adjust the image duration to match the sound files

STEP 6: ADD SPECIAL EFFECTS AND TRANSITIONS

Look at each image and decide what visual effect you are going to add to the picture

Decide on the “Ken Burns” effect: to make the image come alive eg: (ease in) etc…

Decide on any video filters you may wish to use

Don’t over do the visual effects: each effect chosen should have a purpose

Keeping it simple is often the best……

STEP 7: ADD A MUSICAL SOUND TRACK

Choose a music sound track that fits in the mood of your story

Rip the music track from your CD or locate a royalty free music track from the internet

I-movie and Corel Video studio allow the user to easily import a musical sound track

Drag the sound track onto your storyboard Adjust the volume to suit, ensure it does

not drown out the spoken voice

STEP 8: PREVIEW YOUR STORY Preview your story Make any alterations to suit Make sure your story is perfect in terms

of Timing Clarity of sound Images are clear Transitions are appropriate Your ‘story’ is told

STEP 9: RENDER YOUR MOVIE Burn your story to disc or movie file Be prepared to wait as this process

often takes time Share your completed Digital Story with

friends and family Start planning your next digital

story…..