Digital storytelling is a method of sharing stories using digital technology such as images, videos, written text, oral narrations, and sound effects. It provides content creators with a creative platform to tell their stories. Learn more about the history and development of telling stories in our digital world.

1. Digital Storytelling
Mastering
Presentation By Caren Libby | Image Media, LLC
carenlibby.com 2022

2. Digital storytelling is a method of sharing
stories using digital technology such as
images, videos, written text, oral
narrations, and sound effects. It provides
content creators with a creative platform
to tell their stories.
What is Digital
Storytelling?
carenlibby.com
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3. The History
During the Stone Age, cave painting was a way
for people to communicate without being
present. Egyptian hieroglyphs were a writing
system that was comprised of symbols. Scribes
put them in tombs, temples, and papyrus dating
back to the Early Bronze Age.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle asserted that
stories, in particular poems, have a universal
narrative structure. His foundation of structural
analysis is the basis for many stories to this day.
His six principles of storytelling included plot,
character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle.
Aristotle
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4. Incident – share a personal
experience that will grab attention
Action – explain what action took
place to solve the problem
Benefit – describe the benefits of the
action
Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends
and Influence People was published in
1936. He had a magic formula for
storytelling that is similar to the
foundation of structural analysis. It was:
Joseph Campbell wrote The Hero with a
Thousand Faces. Published in 1949, it’s
a work that shares the structure of the
journey of the heroes that are found in
myths. His theory of the Hero’s Journey
has been applied by modern writers,
artists, and filmmakers.
The Hero's Journey
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5. Story Development
Storytelling holds our attention, creates
engagement, and helps us remember.
Stories build community and emotional
connection. It makes sense of information.
Storytelling is an ancient art and a valuable
form of human expression. Digital stories
use computer-based tools that focus on a
specific topic and point of view.
carenlibby.com
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6. Once upon a time…
The opening introduces the
audience to the characters and setting.
And every day…
This is typically what life is like in the
world every day.
Until one day…
An incident throws life out of
balance.
And because of this…
The central character (the
protagonist) starts to pursue a goal.
And because of this…
The first objective is met.
Until finally…
The goal is achieved (not always with
the expected result).
And ever since that day…
The meaning of the story is revealed.
The Story Spine
The Story Spine, originally created by
playwright Kenn Adams, is a tool for
creating well-structured stories from a
series of sentence fragments that prompt
responses. It’s also included on the Twitter
feed of former Pixar storyboard artist
Emma Coats. She shared some of her
wisdom about storytelling from working
in an animation studio.
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7. Visual Stories
Visual storytelling through imagery is a
powerful method for capturing the
attention of an audience. It can be done
with video, photography, illustration, and a
variety of other mediums. Pay attention to
the way that photographers, graphic
designers, and filmmakers use
composition, light, and color to create a
mood, evoke an emotion, and tell a story
with a sequence of images.
Five Tips for Creating Visual Stories
Know your audience.
Begin with the end in mind.
Be strategic in your use of visual elements.
Build content for the web.
Show and tell.
Know your audience.
Begin with the end in mind.
Be strategic with images.
Build content for the web.
Show and tell on your platforms.
Tips for Creating
Visual Stories
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8. carenlibby.com
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"Storytelling is the
most powerful way
to put ideas into
the world today."
– Robert McKee