Digital Story Telling 101 A Step by Step Guide to Creating a Digital Story Matt Sherwood, 2008 Permission granted to duplicate and distribute for educational purposes. Credit must be given.
Table of Contents Below is the list of available materials. Step Pages Materials Step 1: 2-9 o Digital Story Telling 101 PowerPoint o Digital Story: Rose Colored Tales from a Minnesota Childhood o Planning and Writing tutorial o Webbing Your Story worksheet Webbing sample o Outlining Your Story worksheet Outlining sample o Writing Your Story worksheet Story sample o Extra Outlining or Story worksheet Step 2: 10-14 o Storyboard Tutorial o Storyboard worksheet o Extra Storyboard worksheet Storyboard sample Step 3: 15 o Managing Program and Project Files tutorial Step 4: 16 o Managing Photos tutorial Step 5: 17 o Editing Images tutorial Step 6: 18 o Type Titles and Text tutorial Step 7: 19 o Customize Motion tutorial Step 8: 20 o Record Audio Narration tutorial Step 9: 21 o Insert Background Music tutorial Step 10: 22 o Save and Present tutorial Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 2
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 1 Using Photo Story 3 Create a Personal Narrative and Script Web Your Story o To begin a digital story, you must first plan. A good way to plan is to brainstorm all the remembrances of a particular event. A story web has been provided to make this easier. This can be used on the computer or on paper. Either way is fine. o See Webbing Your Story and example below. Outline Your Story A great way to start turning your story web into a story is to outline it. o Place numbers or Roman numerals next to the main events in your story web (I, II, II, etc.) o Place letters next to the smaller details that go with each major event (a, b, c) o Create an outline from these numbers on the outline worksheet provided. o The worksheet can be done on paper or on the computer. o See Outlining Your Story and example below. Write Your Story Finally, convert your outline into a story. Remember that this story will be oral and should sound good when it is read. It should be a working draft, that can be modified and revised as needed. o The story can be written on paper or on computer. o Writing the story on the computer will make editing, revising, and storyboarding easier to do. o See Writing Your Story worksheet and example below. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 3
Name Date Directions: Fill in the Story web in one of the suggested ways. It can be done on a computer or on paper. The more details the better. Webbing Your Story * Suggested ways to web your story 1.) Web setting, plot, characters, solution 2.) Web several different events 3.) Web the sequence of an event 4.) Web all memories from a period in your life. 5.) Add bubbles as needed. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 4
(Sample) Name Matt Sherwood Date 1/1/2008 Directions: Fill in the Story web in one of the suggested ways. It can be done on a computer or on paper. The more details the better. Webbing Your Story * Suggested ways to web your story 6.) Web setting, plot, characters, solution 7.) Web several different events 8.) Web the sequence of an event 9.) Add bubbles as needed. Sunnyside Elem o The Narc o Snowball o Learned lesson o Walking to school in snow Tougher life o Walking to school o Play in sun, snow, rain o No video games _Title_ Rose Colored Tales from a Minnesota Childhood Playing with friends o Danny o Chris o Adam o Windows o Hood o Woods o outside Neighborhood o Kick the can o Tag o Fun o Fights o Snow hill o Sledding Events o Window o Exploring o Tree house o Hood o Snowball punishment Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 5
Name Date Directions: Fill in the Outline in one of the suggested ways. It can be done on a computer or on paper. Use the details from the story web in one of the suggested ways. Outlining Your Story 1.) Put the main bubble ideas as the main points and the details as small points. 2.) Rearrange your points to tell you story in the order it happened and add details under each main event. 3.) Outline the setting, plot, characters, and solution. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 6
(Sample) Name Date Directions: Fill in the Outline in one of the suggested ways. It can be done on a computer or on paper. Use the details from the story web in one of the suggested ways. Outlining Your Story 4.) Put the main bubble ideas as the main points and the details as small points. 5.) Rearrange your points to tell you story in the order it happened and add details under each main event. 6.) Outline the setting, plot, characters, and solution. I. Introduction: Walking to school a. Snow b. Uphill both bays c. Exaggerating II. Life was not as easy a. Not driven to school b. Walked in rain, snow, etc.. c. School i. Narc story d. Entertainment i. No video games etc ii. Played neighborhood games 1. kick the can etc 2. argued with kids about games (fight) III. Life was slower on weekend a. Cartoons b. Didn t spend day away from home c. Played with friends d. roamed free and explored i. the woods ii. the hood story iii. the hood s tree house Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 7
Name Date Directions: Use your outline to write a rough draft of your personal story. Write it on paper or on the computer. Remember that your story will be heard by others, instead of read. Writing Your Story Don t worry too much about grammar and spelling right now. Focus on telling your story so that it is interesting, fun, or inspiring. Get your listeners attention right away. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 8
(Sample) Name Matt Sherwood Date 1/1/2008 Directions: Use your outline to write a rough draft of your personal story. Write it on paper or on the computer. Remember that your story will be heard by others, instead of read. Writing Your Story Don t worry too much about grammar and spelling right now. Focus on telling your story so that it is interesting, fun, or inspiring. Get your listeners attention right away. Rose Colored Tales from a Minnesota Childhood When I was a boy growing up in Red Wing, Minnesota, life was hard, and we were tough! My brother and I had to walk four miles to school in thick snow, and it was up hill both ways! Perhaps I m exaggerating a little, but life was not as cushy as it is today. None of us really looked at the world and demanded that everybody coddle us. We kids didn t really expect the same things as kids do today. For starters, nobody s mama drove them to school, not even when it was raining or snowing. We just bundled up, put on our boots and a warm jacket, and dealt with it. That walking to school routine gave my brother and I time to wind up and down before and after school. I m sure we complained about it plenty, but my parents were pretty tough too. They didn t want to have a couple of little sissy boys on their hands. School was tougher too. I couldn t get away with anything at recess because of THE NARC. That is what we called the yard duty lady. One time, when I was in second grade, I ignored the Narc s directions to stay away form the snow hill. That was a very bad idea, because she didn t have a special nickname for no reason. She made me grab the largest snow boulder that I could find on the snow hill and carry it over to the school building. She then sat me down and put the snow boulder on my lap. Looking back as a teacher, I actually kind of admire The Narc, because she really knew how to make a point. I stayed away from the snow hill after that. Entertainment was even tougher too. There were no video game systems, 24/7 kids TV stations, or nightly activities planned by parents. Instead we had to rally the neighborhood kids for a good game of kick the can, hide and seek, or tag. That took time, but it was worth it. Of course every evening ended in at least one neighborhood fight or spat, but remember, we were tough and we liked it that way. And after Saturday morning cartoons were over, nobody was making plans for us. That s right, there were no soccer games, football practice, baseball... Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 9
Extra Outline or Story Worksheet Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 10
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 2 Using Photo Story 3 Storyboard the Personal Narrative Once the writing is done, it is time imagine what the story is going to look like visually. To do this the following process should be done: o Divide up story into scenes using numbers, brackets, or paragraphs. o On a computer, copy and paste each scene onto the storyboard worksheet. o OR On paper, write each scene onto the storyboard worksheet, or correlate each scene with numbers from the first step. o Make a quick sketch of the picture you would imagine for that scene o If the image is going to be collected from a website, write in several search words that will help locate you locate the image. o It might even be possible to copy and paste images directly into the storyboard. o Keep in mind that small thumbnail images will not be a good enough quality to work in the digital story. However, they will work for planning purposes. o See Storyboard worksheet and example below. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 11
Name Date Directions: Use your rough draft of your personal story. Divide it up into scenes by deciding which sentences to group together in the script box below. Then sketch or copy a picture into the storyboard. You can use this on the computer or on paper. Storyboard * Suggested uses: o On Paper: Number your sentences in your story and write the numbers in script box. Sketch the desired picture in the sketch box o On a computer: Copy and paste the desired sentences into the script box. Copy and paste desired pictures into photo box. (or print and sketch) o Write out search words that might help locate photos for the digital story. Scene Sketch Search Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 12
Storyboard Worksheet: by Scene Sketch Search Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 13
(Sample) Storyboard Worksheet: Rose Colored Tales from a Minnesota Childhood by Matt Sherwood Scene Sketch Search When I was a boy growing up in Red Wing, Minnesota, life was full of adventure and mystery. I had a gang of friends and we had free reign over the neighborhood, forest, and streets. Life tended to be hard much of the time, but it made us tough! snow hill snowy street For starters, my brother and I had to walk two miles to school in thick snow, and it was up hill both ways Perhaps I m exaggerating a little, but life was not as cushy as it is today. None of us looked at the world and demanded that everybody coddle us. muddy boys snow play We kids didn t expect the same things as kids do today. For starters, nobody s mama drove them to school in the family station wagon, not even when it was raining or snowing. warm snow play snow station wagon We just bundled up, put on our boots and a warm jacket, and dealt with it. They didn t want to have a couple of little sissy boys on their hands. School was tougher too. I couldn t get away with anything during recess at Sunnyside School. That was because of the NARC! That was our nickname for the infamous yard duty lady. yard duty narc mean lady Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 14
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 3 Using Photo Story 3 Managing Files Once the storyboard is complete, the Photo Story 3 project can be started. Just follow the steps on each tutorial to create a digital story. o Open Photo Story 3. o Select Begin a new story or Edit a project if your project is already saved. o Click Next. In order to save the project, you must import at least one picture. This will be done in the next step. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 15
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 4 Using Photo Story 3 Manage Photos Once your personal images and website images have been gathered, you can import them into your project and begin arranging them as you would like. Once imported, simply drag the pictures left and right. Some non-copyrighted image sources are: o http://www.flickr.com or www.zoo-m.com/flickr-storm o http://picasaweb.google.com o http://www.photobucket.com Once you click Import, a window opens that allows you to browse your computer s files to find your pictures. To select all pictures, o Click on the first picture o Hold down the shift key o Click on the last image o Click OK button Notice the slider to reduce or increase the thumbnail size of pictures. These small arrows will scroll through the pictures throughout the process. Simply drag and drop photos to the left or right. When you finish arranging and editing photos, click Next to proceed. Do this each time you finish a step. Click Back to revise a section. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 16
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 5 Using Photo Story 3 Edit Images This phase of Photo Story 3 allows the user to fix and customize the appearance of images. It also allows the user to arrange the images in the desired order and give the images a uniform size by removing black borders. These buttons allow the user to quickly rotate, eliminate redeye, and make color adjustments. If any pictures are not a standard shape, the Remove black borders link appears. Those pictures are then located and cropped. When the Edit button is pushed, the user has the choice to Rotate and crop, Autofix or Add effects to images. The effects to choose from are: Black and White, Chalk and Charcoal, Colored Pencil, Diffuse Glow, Negative, Outline-Black, Outline-Grey, Sepia, Washout, and Water Color. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 17
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 6 Using Photo Story 3 Type Titles and Text To add titles, simply type them into the small text box to the right of the photo viewer. The picture effects can be modified here. Often the effect chosen can affect the visibility of the text. These tools adjust the alignment of the text. The AA button allows the font, color, and size to be customized. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 18
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 7 Using Photo Story 3 Customize Motion To customize motion, first enter the Narrate your pictures and customize motion section. Choose the Customize Motion button under the preview window. To preview changes, click on the Preview button. This button will appear on the remainder of the steps. On the Motion and Duration tab, choose a beginning and end point for the picture. Select a new time duration if you want to. Then scroll to the next picture with the small arrow and make changes. Next, click on the Transitions tab and select the desired transitions between pictures. Again, the duration of the transition can be chosen. Then scroll to the next picture with the small arrow to make further changes. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 19
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 8 Using Photo Story 3 Record Audio Narration To record your audio narration: o Set up your microphone or headset o Run the sound setup wizard o Select the picture to narrate audio on o Click the red dot button to record o Click the square dot button to stop o Click the Preview button to listen and view your audio narration o Click the curved arrow to undo your audio and record again. o When satisfied, click the small arrow to record on the next image. o Sound setup wizard o Undo recording o Stop o Record o Listen to recording o Advance to next image Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 20
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 9 Using Photo Story 3 Insert Background Music Background music can be added in the following ways: 1. Select Music that you have already downloaded. a. Click the Select Music button. b. Click Open when you locate your music file (mp3 or wma file). 2. OR Create original music using Photo Story 3. a. Click Create Music. b. Customize the style and characteristics of your background music. 3. Music will begin on the picture you have selected. Make sure to adjust the volume level after your background music is added. It should be about 1/8 to ¼ loud. While creating music, press the play button to hear your choices. Don t forget to preview. The volume often needs to be adjusted. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 21
Digital Story Telling Tutorials Step 10 Using Photo Story 3 Present Digital Story To save the digital story: 1. Choose Save your story for playback on a computer 2. Browse to where the project should be saved. 3. Click Settings and adjust. 4. Choose profile 2, 3, or 4. The playback resolution should be at least 640 x 480. 5. Click Ok. 6. To finalize your project as a movie file, click Next on the Save your story phase. After saving your file as a movie it is available to watch. Either watch it on the computer monitor, or hook up an LCD and speakers to present it to an audience. Tip: To enable the VGA port for an LCD projector, press [fn] f4 buttons, or right click on desktop for properties. Go to settings and enable. Digital Story Telling 101 Matt Sherwood, 2008 Page 22