Digital storytelling is something that is not new to me. I have been making videos for myself with my brother for as long as I can remember. Making videos for academics has always scared me though. Most of the videos I have created were considered sketch comedy or terrible lip syncing music videos of Katy Perry when I was a young boy. I had an obsession with Katy Perry, what can I say? My biggest and best creation was a video my brother and I created called Cheese and Crackers. It was a parody of Dora the Explorer and Boots, but for more adult audiences. I still have the video, but am too embarrassed to share it. That video was particularly special for me, because my brother and I could not drive so we biked around our area and filmed in places that were familiar to us. On page 10 of the pdf from "Place-Based Digital Storytelling" by Chisholm and Trent, I really like what Riley says at the end of the article in her interview with Ms. Trent, "I realize that it is what's connected to you at the heart, not just any random spot in the world." My brother and I filmed at places that we were connected to us and where we felt comfortable to film.
Last semester, I took an advanced writing workshop all about zines. I love creating and make zines and was heavily considering creating another one for the final this semester. For me, zines are helped me engage in my own writing. As long as I followed the prompt for the unit, we got to be super creative. The class got to design their own zine however they wanted and made it personal to the creator. Zines are a snapshot into someone else's life, personality, and experiences and I am all for them in my future classrooms.
The two digital media examples I picked are:
Freddie Gibbs and Madlib Tiny Desk Concert (Explicit)
Almost Friday Sketch Comedy (Explicit)
The Freddie Gibbs one is a short concert on the NPR channel that brings concerts to the comfort of your home. It is shorter than a normal concert, but it feels much more personal for the audience. I chose it because Freddie Gibbs and Madlib created two of my favorite albums and when I create music every now and then, I try to model my style after Madlib's production. The second video I picked was a sketch comedy video from a newer YouTube channel called Almost Friday. All of their videos make me laugh one way or another. Their form of comedy is a huge inspiration when I write, speak, or create Tik Tok videos when I do.
As for the classroom, the usage of multimodal composition will one hundred percent be allowed in my classroom. From Chisholm and Trent, they talk about metaphor, color, and space in their digital storytelling article. I honestly felt like those are crucial details in storytelling. Establishing metaphors is essential to storytelling like look at a great movie, they always have some type of allegory or metaphor to translate what they are trying to say. Colors make the piece interesting and the use of space creates a setting and mood for the piece. These three aspects provide a deeper meaning for students to engage in the story. In a world where digital storytelling has become more popular than print storytelling, we hold the tools for our students success.
Hey Eli,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your personal experiences, I particularly resonated with your phrase, "My brother and I filmed at places that we were connected to us and where we felt comfortable to film." I think it's so important to understand how location influences culture and identity, and it's a discussion that could lead to some great connections in a classroom!
Hi Eli,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sharing the Freddie Gibbs Tiny Desk, and would love to see the Cheese and Crackers videos you made with your brother. I think its cool that you created videos based on the world as you saw it, and I think that's what Riley meant when she said "its what's connected to you at the heart." You'll always have those videos and memories to look back on, and I think that's awesome!