Elements of Story

Element #1 – Point of View

Consider your audience as you plan your story. Why is it important for you to tell your story to them? What do you hope your audience will understand about what you have to share? Will you be telling your story in 1st person (more personal) or will you be telling it from 3rd person (more removed or detached)?

Take a look at the two examples and see if you can identify the purpose behind each story. What is the point of view in each? Whose voice do you hear?

The point of view of a story is essential to the harmonious conclusion of a piece that has kept the audience engaged and leaves them with a piece of the teller.  Often times the same story can be told from different points of view. 

“Making Salt” is an educational piece that is sharing the process of collecting salt.  It is meant to be impersonal and educational and it does that well.  It gives enough information to invoke curiosity in the process.  The second example left me wondering, what????  Although by the conclusion I was thinking, this is a nice piece that the students can share with their parents and giggle their way through at photos of themselves and their classmates.  If this was developed as a recap of a field trip, it does that very well, but there was little to no value for a disinterested third person.

Element #2 – Dramatic Question

See if you can find a dramatic question in the examples for this section. Is the question resolved in each movie or are you left without a resolution?

“Are We Making Guam Ugly?” poses a dramatic question, but the answer is inconclusive.  Obviously the students are tossing out metal, but there is no connection to illegal dumping or that what they are doing being wrong.  Perhaps in the context of the island this visual made sense, but the images presented showed a very narrow view of the problem.  My greatest challenge was connecting the happy music with the unhappy pictures.  A portion of the song set against some photos of the natural beauty of the island which would then transition to a less happy piece with the negative images would have supported the question better.  Also, having the students putting the junk into the truck would have been more positive.

The Seward Legend was fun, but it failed to present a question, so therefore no resolution was found.

 Element #3 – Emotional Content

This section has three examples of movies that deal with emotional content. See if you can identify the emotional paradigms behind these stories

All three of these clips provided strong emotional content, although each was on a different level.  I was particularly moved by the “What is a Stranger?” A traumatic story, but a creative way to deal with a real life issue.  I hope that the piece helped in the healing process for the students.

Element #4 – Voice

What impact is present when children's voices are used as compared to having an adult narrate this story?

What do you think about having the words included as images in the movies? Is this something that you would want to do with your students? Why do you suppose the author included these images?

There is a time and a place for each voice.  The aural connection is profound and when a limited number of senses are available to examine an item it is imperative that those senses be tuned in appropriately.  A young person narrating the story of an elderly person would have less impact than if they were narrating a children’s story.  However, clips and interviews with some people, even though they are meant to be in the first person, can be detrimental to a piece.  Not all voices are created equal and the tone and dictation of people need to be considered.  We see in each of these elements that they are all connected.  A poor choice in any one area can profoundly affect the overall result.

Element #5 – Soundtrack

I did not notice the question in this component.  Perhaps I’m overwhelmed with all the information that is provided.  I find the soundtrack to be the most difficult component, not only because of copyright issues, but also because I just don’t really notice music.  I’m more of a white noise person.  I will notice if a particular selection is inappropriate or if it suits the intent, but the selection is a key problem for me.

Element #6 – Economy

Look at the examples in this section and consider the decisions the authors made about length of clips, types of transitions and sequence of events. Are you able (as a viewer) to fill in the missing pieces?

Both clips filled the need, however if the clips were viewed without the accompanying text that explains the project one would be in the dark more on the second piece than the first.  Sometimes less is more, but just as often more is too much.  It is difficult to find the right balance.  Repetition is positive in storytelling, but even that is conditional upon the audience and the point of view.

Element #7 – Pacing

Have you ever listened to a really good story and noticed how the storyteller changes the pace throughout the story?

How about this example from a "Small School" in Alaska? While it contains very few spoken words, what comments do you have on the pacing of the story?

Are there areas that you would have liked to see sped up or slowed down?

How has humor been introduced in this story without the use of spoken words?

Both these stories were interesting.  I visited Alaska about 18 months ago so I had an unusual appreciation for these two selections.  At first view the first example moved slowly and provided too much detail to keep my attention.  The initial opening was catching, but the text was heavy.  The piece did pick up again after the historical context, perhaps a third voice in that section would have helped.

The second piece, “A small school,” was creative and fun.  Part of the video sections could have exercised more economy and been clipped as there was too much wasted time which resulted in an alteration in the pace and negatively affected the humorous aspect of the piece.  Having seen a moose in downtown Anchorage in the middle of March I thoroughly enjoyed the lighthearted look at life in the tundra.  There was a great use of props to convey their point.