Creatively Told Tales

INTRODUCTION

When you look back at your life and consider which moments were the most powerful, or life-changing, there are always a few that immediately stand out. This story is about one of those moments. It's not often that you have a time when someone's life is in danger. This story is about one of those moments.

STORY: SCREENPLAY AND STORYBOARD

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17PGc1x_BwQQCX6XC_KGu1G6y1k1YM6N8-tqO5vvOKGc/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vOZ8NRxJJ5pXtqsM-yz10WPB9L-lUkL5sRk4R0Y2CHU/edit?usp=sharing

COMMENTARY

From the process of developing this story, I learned that I could look at the traumatic moments in my life from an analytical third person view and really think about what every sentence meant. 

From this approach I particularly enjoyed pairing the very basic non descriptive screenplay with a completely visual representation through the storyboard. It was a challenge to try to break down the screenplay into showing instead of telling, and interesting to match that with scenes in the storyboard.

I think the screenplay was the most challenging just because I am so used to writing descriptively, and having to take out all the description and convert it into action was harder than I thought. 

This story shows what I learned from Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect in regards to familiarizing the character sin the story to the audience. I tried to make it seem like a situation that could happen to almost anyone, because that's exactly true. You never know when disaster might strike, or how you will handle an emergency situation. 

If I were to offer advice to someone creating cinematic story, I would tell them to forget about what they've read or written in order to write the screenplay and think directly in terms of action and scene. For the storyboard I think the best advice is to not worry about details and focus on what the main emphasis in each shot is. Make this align with the most important moments of your story and it will be an effective cinematic story.

STORYTELLER BIO

INTRODUCTION

Ever since I was young, I have had a fear of public speaking. Whether it was getting in front of a crowd, or standing up in front of my family, or even talking to a group of strangers, my heart pounds and my thoughts desert me. When I began playing guitar, I knew I might have the chance to play in front of a crowd. That chance arrived far faster than I thought. Before I knew it, I was signed up to play the second song I had ever learned in front of a whole group of families coming to watch their kids perform as well. Of course my immediate thought was that I would have the same nerve racking experience as I usually had. But I knew if there was going to be any way I would overcome it, it would be to get over it. 

STORY

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1DSSVuLnNR39aF5nqFuZz3AefHs2Aihv7w4cUg_wTMf8/edit?usp=sharing

COMMENTARY

Using this type of storytelling, that is graphic memoir style, I learned that I didn't have to worry about using words as much as a verbal storytelling method. I have been drawing and painting since I was a toddler so this was second nature.

It turned out to be a fun and more visual way to convey my thoughts and emotions throughout the story. I also learned about the ways to convey emotion through body position and how the characters and events were portrayed. 

This visual approach was what I enjoyed most, exploring close-ups and camera angles so to speak. Playing with facial expressions was especially challenging and enjoyable as an artist who hasn't explored drawing people too much.

My graphic memoir reveals everything I learned from Making Comics regarding how the scenes were arranged and how to create a narrative from one panel to the next. It also helped me with how to arrange and resize the panels to make a visually stimulating story that also made sense.

If I were to offer advice to someone who wanted to put their story into graphic memoir style, I would tell them to play with all the different angles they could, and watch TV shows for how the director portrays certain scenes. It helps to try several approaches for one moment to see what gets the message across the most. 

STORYTELLER BIO

INTRODUCTION

This story is about the night I discovered a passion that shaped my career and life. Art has always been a part of my life, but what you decide to produce tells those who view it who you are. As a college student majoring in art, the moments when I found what I loved to paint are the turning points in my life.

STORY

http://cowbird.com/story/105743/

COMMENTARY

This story taught me to appreciate the moments when you find something that changes a big part of your life. There are times when you realize something and it doesn't seem to be anything important until later, and this was one of those times. 

I think this form of storytelling is one of my favorites, because I read a lot so it is the form I am familiar with. I also enjoy the concise nature of the story, because a small amount of words can carry a meaningful message. Having the option to pair an image with the story was an extra bonus, especially for the content of my story.

What I found challenging about verbal storytelling was cutting out the unnecessary information, because the first version of a story is just getting all your ideas and information about the story down on paper. Having the perfect amount of writing to content in order to keep the reader interested is difficult.

Brainstorming for this story was the beginning of my ability to think of shimmering images. I hadn't really thought about the moments that stuck in my head until I was trying to come up with an idea for this story, and after reading Shimmering Images. Once I started thinking about them, I couldn't stop.

If I were to give advice for someone starting this approach, I would tell them to write down all their ideas for a story before they begin. Then imagine which one of these they think conveys the most powerful message through words. 

STORYTELLER BIO

Intro - Human Connection

      Human connection shapes our lives - what is love, grief, happiness, loss, without someone to share it with? Your connections will carry the weight of your story.

Chapter 1 

      Use internal struggles that we all have at a basic level, from your own life. People want to see your life and their own life, so make the connection of problems everyone has, just in different forms.

Chapter 2

       My initial answers surprised me as well as the answers that took a minute to find. Things popped up for each category that I wouldn't have expected.

Chapter 3

         I like the idea of finding the right time and place to write, because I am certainly more or less productive depending on the environment. Making tea is one thing that helps me focus - not the tea itself, but the process. Then I feel like I can really get started and keep focused. Of course by the time I take a sip it's cold because I've been focused for so long!

Chapter 4

        I don't plan on collaborating, but I certainly appreciate the feedback from other people in my process. I have never considered collaborating with a sibling, but I know for a fact that my significant other and I have almost nothing in common in regards to our writing.

Chapter 5

     1. The description of an energy system is interesting: a credible, compelling pattern of human change.

      2. Pattern of change + difference to character  + connections = screenplay that is also a story

       3. Most of all - Small stories make a big difference.

For the CDS Format:

I have the most ideas for this, but not enough images for all of them so that will probably determine the end result. The primary one is the nigh my friend called us to tell us he was going to commit suicide, New Years Eve of 2010. It was an extremely intense night, and the series of events would be best told in this format I think.

For the Graphic Memoir:

This will probably be the time I chased a bear back to the mountains with my two friends so it wouldn't get tagged by animal control or get in any trouble.

Animated Short:

Brevity story

I found the first comic strip story on brevity that I have seen yet, and I was excited and surprised due to the fact that the curated works seem to only be literary writings.

The strip is short but strong, and strange at the same time. It took me a few reading to really start even trying to analyze it. I'm still not sure exactly what the author means to get out of it, but the emotions are raw and evident in the images and concise writing.

I think I really liked it for that reason: even though you might not gain full understanding of the author's intent, you can still relate to the emotions in the story.

Hippocampus Memoirs: 

Laughing in Navajo by Dorothy Brooks

This excerpt from a book strikes me as one of the most memoir-like stories I have read yet. Brooks has a simplistic yet beautiful writing style that drew me in for the entire excerpt, even though it was quite long.

The sub headings made it more interesting, but the depth of personality kept my attention even more. You can sense the fears and joys Brooks felt during the times which she is describing. It is honest and open, and that makes it interesting in itself.

Seek and Find by Lori Jakiela

This is more similar to the other short stories we have been reading for class. It is a bit on the dramatic side, but not at all in a negative way. The curt sentences about this mother's situation drew me in.

The self reflection, and self analysis Jakiela describes make the story feel very personal and display a struggle we can all relate  to. 

Audio Student Sample

The Graveyard Shift

This audio narration was great, Stephen's voice has a low melodic quality that added to the tone of his story. He begins with a descriptive scene in his new job, and the way he does it puts the listener in the bread factory with him. 

You can imagine the sunset as he is going in to begin his shift, and hear the tone of accusation and anxiety as he describes the clock: his enemy. I felt closure near the end, as i was hoping I would, when he finally quits this job that he hates, and the time he takes to return to a normal sleep schedule sounds stressful but also comes as a relief.

Moth Story

Franny's Last Ride by Mike DeStefano

What an incredible piece. Having an oral presentation of this piece made the entire experience. As I listened, the pain and emotion emanating from this man's voice was palpable, I was practically crying with him toward the end.

The first idea I have for a story is about overcoming family issues, and the fact that time heals wounds. It will be about my siblings and my dad's side of the family reconnecting.

There have been some very rough times, but this story will be the beginning of our family forgiving grudges. I have the perfect photo for it already!

Another idea is about a time when my best friend and I were put into a dire situation, and had to react. The circumstances were complicated, but we saved a life that night. I don't know if I will be able to find a photo to express that story, but I will definitely try. 

The difference between curated and self-published work is very obvious, but the content is very similar and very different at the same time. Some of the curated stories I did not enjoy, while others struck a chord. 

The same thing happened with the self published, but these stories seemed more personal.

I find myself drawn more into the reflective stories as opposed to the memoirs, but I might need to just keep reading.

I think the best part about stories is that you can tell it any way you want, format it any way, as a poem or run on sentence or just word by word. I was surprised by the creativity invested in the format of the works, and by the variety of shapes and sizes of the works.

This story gave me insight into shaping a story around an object that has come into your life, and I've never thought about it that way. It inspired me to consider what material things I have that could tell a story.

This one caught my interest because of the way it is worded. It is so repetitive, but kept me reading. It just worked beautifully.

This was short but so deep, I was moved by it. I would consider it a memoir.

This story has an extremely striking photo, which was what caught my eye, and a story that matched the photo in depth and thought.

Considering your own perspective as a version of the truth with which you can creatively tell a story is liberating, knowing that it is ok if it wasn't exactly how it went down, and maybe the details were hazy. If storytelling is an art, then we must take artistic license and fill in the haziness with what we think would complete the story in an interesting and fun way. 

I think even if no one is interested in reading the stories you tell, it will be worth it to tell them, even if just to hear them in your head and find your inner voice. Using digital media to tell stories will make it 100 times better, and makes the opportunity for creativity so much more exploratory! 

I'm 21, born and raised in Boulder. As you can guess based on that, I love hiking and nature and all of that good stuff. 

I have 2 dogs, who love to hike with me. These are them!