Digital Storytelling

Last Monday, April 13,  I had the privilege of going to hear Carolyn Handler Miller, author of “Digital Storytelling, Second Edition: A Creator’s Guide to Interactive Entertainment”, speak at Maria’s Bookshop in Durango, CO. I was very excited for this talk, because as a graduate in Multimedia studies and an aspiring transmedia artist (I learned that term from her book!), it’s always great to find like-minded storytellers in new media…especially since I’ve moved away from the city to a realm that is no less artistic, but where more traditional art is the norm.

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to finish the book yet, and I’m sure I’ll post my thoughts when I do. But I asked a lot of questions during the talk, and afterward I usurped Ms. Miller’s time for almost another hour to chat about trends and innovation (she was quite friendly and welcoming). Some thoughts and ideas that I took away from the experience:

Breaking the Fourth Wall Goes Both Ways
I come from a theater background; it was my other choice for a college career before I had decided on multimedia. To me, “breaking the fourth wall” always meant that the actors would address the audience in a planned and scripted way (improvisational theater notwithstanding). Usually even when the audience is participating, they are being asked to perform specific actions that fit the confines of the play – The Complete Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) is a good example. But with interactive media, the fourth wall can be broken so that the audience member not only becomes part of the action, but can direct it as well. It’s a form of collaboration between author and audience that goes both ways.

Moral Choices Are the New Black
One thing Ms. Miller mentioned is that the newest fad in cinematic video games is for the player to be forced to make moral choices that affect the outcome of the game. I have seen this already with games like Fallout, Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, Bioshock, Oblivion, and even MMOs like World of Warcraft…but I hadn’t appreciated just how important this is from a storytelling perspective. Some of these choices are very difficult to make (if the player is fully engaged with the characters), and some have very obvious and definitive consequences while others are more subtle. But from a storytelling perspective, this may be the most important thing that interactive narrative can provide: a way for the user to not only become a part of the story, but to see how different choices from any fundamental moral perspective will affect the world, and what the results can be. In an open and responsive enough environment, it’s the ultimate “what if” machine. Sort of like Dungeons & Dragons, but with moving pictures. :)

Webisodes Are Bubbling
Webisodes are the new TV, as evidenced by the incredible amount of Hollywood and amateur talent getting into the game. It’s probably safe to say that in another generation services like Hulu will take over for TV, just as news sites are taking over for newspapers. Apparently, and not surprisingly, corporations are getting into the act by creating webisodes to promote products or services in an entertaining fashion. They remind me of Soap Operas, and how they too originally began as serialized dramas produced by soap manufacturers aimed at housewives who tended to be home in the afternoon. Who will be targeted by webisodic content as the medium grows in popularity? Is there a way to target a specific audience when time isn’t a constraint?

Transmedia Narratives Are the New Multi-Multimedia
I hadn’t heard of transmedia before, but I have seen it before without realizing it. Ms. Miller describes transmedia as being “when the same narrative storyline is developed across several forms of media, one of which is an interactive medium.” Transmedia intrigues me the most, as I find it a highly compelling way to tell a narrative.

I’ve seen Hollywood experiment with this before, especially in anticipation of a major motion picture release. Users can sign up at a promotional website, and receive text messages or emails from characters within the movie, essentially drawing them into the action, as with the movie Eagle Eye. Or the website itself might tell part of the story…not anything so crucial that the movie cannot stand on its own, but the additional medium offers a supplementary understanding of what has happened or will happen to the characters, such as with Requiem for a Dream or Memento. Not only is this marketing genius (the more compelling the content and the more willing the audience is to spend time with it, the better your brand is seared into the mind of your potential customers), but it’s a fantastic way to tell a story. Those who are interested only in the two to three hours it takes to watch a movie, or the hour a week it takes to watch a show, or the weekend it takes to read a book, are satisfied with the experience. But for those who want more background, more detail, and want to be in the know…they are given the option to feel like an elite member of a personalized fan club.

I remember back in school, some classmates and I were having a discussion about what we would like to do for a career after graduation. We sat huddled in the XandO cafe (now Cosi) on a winter night, cupping our foamy lattes and dreaming about the future. “I don’t know,” I remember saying. “Whatever I end up doing probably hasn’t even been invented yet.” Satisfied with my answer, but entirely unsure of how exactly that would happen, I sipped my coffee and thought about what kind of combination of media might interest me the most. I studied filmmaking, photography, web design, animation, writing, philosophy, psychology, mythology…anything that I thought might help me figure out how to make that thing that hasn’t been invented yet.

Well, I still haven’t figured it out entirely, but I’ve gotten closer. Lately I’ve been working with interactive e-learning modules that use video and animation to engage learners and create compelling narratives. All this is through work, so I can’t show any here, but it has been teaching me a lot. I’m also interested in webcomics and how that type of interactivity, where the reader fills in the actions between panels, can be enhanced/integrated with interactivity (more on that in later posts, I’m sure). But mostly, I want to learn how to tell a good story.

One big lesson I took from school, perhaps one of the most important, is that there is a difference between the medium being formed to suit the content…and the content being forced to fit the media. It’s taken me years, but I’m slowly learning how to train myself to say “this is the story I want to tell, now what is the best way to tell it?” rather than “this is how I want to tell a story, now what story would fit this kind of delivery?” Not that there is anything wrong with the latter, but from an art-making perspective, I think the former is more valuable. The latter should be reserved for fancy marketing techniques and buzz media.

I am tending to ramble into other thoughts now, but suffice it to say I enjoyed the talk and I am learning much from Ms. Miller’s book. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in digital storytelling, interactive or otherwise.