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28: Digital Storytelling - an easy way for beginner filmmakers to tell their story

5/28/2022

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Lesson 28 from my course How to Kickstart Your First Documentary will help you get a different perspective and fine-tune your documentary into a multidimensional creation. In the last lesson I showed how scrapbooking can not only help you define your documentary but also help you research your subject and place it out visually in a very hands-on way. Taking this one step further is bringing to life your photos with an audio story or film essay. This is one way of using Digital Storytelling to kickstart your documentary.

One of the most beautiful digital stories I have ever seen is La Jetée, a 1962 sci-fi story about the fallout from world war three by the incomparable Chris Marker, French artist, filmmaker and documentarian. It was this work which drew me into the world of storytelling differently. 

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La Jetée shot book - Chris Marker. Image Royal Film Archive, Belgium

​Marker's work is fictional, the elements bring us into a space where the sound and music haunt and jar us into reaction against the black and white, sometimes ghastly and haunting images. Let's break this down to documentary and keep it simple.
  • Write the script you will record
  • Select the photos you will bring alive
  • Use location scouting for the best places to shoot your documentary stills 
  • Edit both together using a simple app such as Canva video editor ,which is free​​
Canva is wonderfully easy; it is simply drop, cut, paste. You will find clear video tutorials on their website. A great way to begin to understand the editing process.
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  • For good Audio sound use a Lavalier mic for your cell phone, or the Blue Yeti Nano Mic for your computer.


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Here is an example from a recent workshop that I gave on Digital Storytelling. Click on the image to view my short story about Philadelphia Carman who lived1803-1851.
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​In the next workshop I will talk about the PAPER EDIT, how it can shape our documentary film before it even hits the computer editing suite
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  • Do you want a face-to-face chat?
  • Do you need some extra help to shape your documentary?
  • Are you having problems starting out, not sure where to start?​
  • Contact me below with your questions

Have a great week, enjoy the creative flow. And see you in the next workshop.

Jeanne



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    Jeanne Pope

    Filmmaker, teacher, traveller and storyteller

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    1. How to find your doc idea
    ​2. How to find your approach
    ​3. Finding the Genre
    4.Creating hybrid docs
    5.Narrative storytelling
    for 
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    ​6. How to film an unscripted doc
    7. Tips and techniques:
    ​interviewing
    8.Why you need a release form
    9. How to use free archives 
    10. Why write a doc synopsis?
    11. Find funding for your doc film 
    12. What equipment do you need? ​
    13. Camera shots and techniques 4 beginners
    14. The Long Shot and how to use it
    15. The Long Take and how to use it
    16. Why you should use your smartphone
    17.Doc film ethics and your subject
    18. Ways to fund your doc film
    ​19.Research or no research ?
    20. Digital storytelling Part 1
    ​21. Don't-over think-your doc
    22. 10 tips to fine-tune your doc
    23. Don't let your idea slip slide away 
    24. Ethical codes for doc films
    25. Why a Pitch Deck is essential ​
    26.Scrap-booking & memory​
    27. Scrapbook-ing podcast 
    28. Digital-Stories 2​
    29. The Paper Edit
    30. Location Scouting
    31 How Genealogy & doc films merge
    32. 
    Reflection on why we create docs 
    ​33.early-bird-film-festival-submissions
    34. Find the right opening image 
    35. How to unblock your creative block
    36 How to create a Doc Proposal for funding
    37 Overcoming Camera Anxiety

    ​Other Links
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    JEANNE POPE - Documentary China Blog 2015-2019
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    Stanley Lewis Sculptor appreciation website by the FRIENDS OF STANLEY LEWIS
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"Thank you dear Jeanne. It is an honour to have your creative thoughts which are printed in this film. With your love energy, passion and creative thoughts and encouragement this film can have its own soul finally. Thank you so much". ​Tao Gu - Taming the Horse
"Jeannette taught me the tools I needed, never having made a documentary before. She gave so much time, patience to show me, guide me and share her creativity and skills with me."  Dr. Zou Qialing, Beijing Film Academy, Qingdao Campus

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