Remember, when you were a kid, and your mom or dad would tell you a bedtime story? That was the culture in most families. Now, the majority of us are subconsciously keeping it alive by reading bedtime stories to our offspring. In other words, story writing is the oldest way of sharing information, and one that is here to stay. It has taken on different forms over the years and is now part of the modern world thanks to digital storytelling.
Simple Digital Storytelling Definition
Also known as digital essays, digital documentaries, and a string of other related names, digital storytelling is the art of using short videos, usually two to four minutes long, to tell a story. Similar to traditional storytelling, storytelling in the digital age focuses on a specific topic and has a particular point of view. The only difference is that it combines computer-based tools such as photographs, animations, music, text, and, most commonly, a narrative voice to convey a story.
Although it only shot into popularity recently, digital storytelling isn’t a new thing. It has been here since the early 1990s when Dana Atchley and her counterpart began training others to create short digital stories. It has since grown into a famed movement and is now at the heart of today’s education system and even marketing for most businesses. This makes being a digital storyteller a rather lucrative job as there are just so many industries one could venture.
How to Make a Good Digital Story
Starting your first digital storytelling project soon, and you have no idea where to start? If so, then fret not because as intimidating as it may sound, storytelling in the digital age is something anyone can do. It only requires minimal computer skills. That said, below is a detailed guide to get you started on the right foot.
Create a Story Line
All mind-blowing stories start with an idea, and digital stories are no exception. Therefore, the first step to making a remarkable one is having a list of excellent digital storytelling ideas. If you don’t have one, then your first step will be all about brainstorming. The good bit is that these stories can either be fictional or non-fictional. Therefore your imagination is your only limitation as there are just so many ideas that you could turn into great digital stories. Some superb digital storytelling topics you could write about include:
- A love story, it could be yours or of someone else’s
- A story on a prominent society figure, for instance, a memorial story to pay tribute to a community hero or heroine.
- Accomplishment stories, for instance, it could be about your recent graduation or promotion. However, it doesn’t necessarily have to be about you.
- Recovery story could be about addiction or overcoming a particular tragedy
- A story about a significant event in your life.
- Discovery stories.
Research or Explore the Topic
Now that you have an idea of what to write about, the next step should be researching and creating an outline. This is a significant step because what you find out during the research is what gives life to your digital story. Researching is also crucial as it’s the only way to validate or avoid being biased in your story. This is especially important if you’re writing a non-fictional story that you’re passionate about, such as inequity in society. Create an outline to organize your ideas so your story can be sensible.
Create an Outline
An outline is essential as it helps you sensibly organize your thoughts and ideas, so creating the actual digital story becomes a walk in the park. Thereby, armed with knowledge about your digital storytelling topic, go ahead and create an outline and don’t shy off from being personal. Think of what makes your story unique, answer the who, what, where, how, and why questions and try to look at things from different angles when crafting your outline.
Get Down to Work
With your outline ready, now its time to bring everything you’ve been working on to life. Write your script, gather or create suitable images, find the right music or record your voice, and later put it together. While putting everything together, ensure you creatively incorporate the different elements of a good digital story.
Digital Story Telling Resources
While the steps above will help you create a bomb story, here is a list of digital storytelling websites and digital storytelling apps that you could turn to for a better grasp on this niche.
Top Digital Storytelling Websites
- Animaker class
- Boomwriter
- Digital films
- Motion comics
- Storybird
- Storyboard that
Digital Storytelling Apps
- Strip designer
- Book creator
- Comic life
- Pixntell
- Sock puppets
- 30hands learning
- Speech journal
Digital Storyteller Jobs
As noted earlier, digital storytelling is heavily used in the academic realm. It’s also increasingly becoming a go-to concept by most businesses in marketing. This means that while it’s relatively new, it’ll be a mainstream thing in the next few years, hence increasing the demand for digital storytellers. But this is not to mean you cannot find a digital storyteller job today. As mentioned, these stories are heavily used in the academic realm; hence, here lies countless opportunities.
So, where to find storyteller jobs? You could find great digital storyteller jobs on sites like:
- Linked In
- Glassdoor
- Indeed
You could also find a lucrative digital storyteller job by word of mouth. Therefore, talk to your friends about your interest in this field so they can keep you posted whenever an opportunity arises. Creative writing jobs are not so difficult to find.
Digital storytelling is slowly yet steadily becoming an intricate part of today’s world. The sooner you embrace it, the better you’ll be able to tap into the vast opportunities it presents.