Digital Passages

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Course Description

Digital storytelling stands out for its directness of emotional expression and voice. In this course, students will help bring to life the reality of their individual experiences—past, present, and conceivable future—through digital storytelling.

Students will reflect on their lives prior to college as well as what they’ve experienced while in school. They will look inward, but also outward, since many students at Kalamazoo College have developed strong interests in a field of study and/or causes for social justice. We will look to see how their personal experiences have coalesced to influence their deep interest in a discipline, possibly interwoven with being a socially constructive and positive human being.

Stories will begin with personal, factual evidence that grows outward—from the specific to the general. Students then will make small pieces that relate their story using image and text or video and sound (utilizing easily accessible tools). The works may range from straight reportage to the experimental, from non-fiction to the allegorical. Their creative works will be designed primarily for, and dissemination through, social media. By imparting their story to an audience, it is hoped they will make meaningful connections between themselves and others.

Richard Koenig, Kalamazoo College, Spring 2015

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Still image sequence—tell a story

For their first assignment, students were asked to create a sequence of still images that tell a story—it could involve a person, place, or thing. While they could not rely on sound, voiceover, or text, they had to author a story, suggest a narrative. I asked them to look for small things that might carry meaning. Or, one might look at many disparate, small things—like individual notes of music, these things might coalesce into a whole when seen in succession.

This piece is by Lucy MacArthur.

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Audio piece—describe a place

Students were asked to use the recording device on their phone to capture sounds from a given location. (I downloaded an app to help with this: Sound Recorder Pro.) They were then to use Garage Band to mix a one-minute soundscape that provides the listener a sense of that place.

This piece is by Angela Fong.

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Video one—with no scripted dialogue

Students were asked to create a two-minute video with no narration or spoken word (no “scripted” words in any case). They were to tell a story of some kind with movement, gesture, and use of detail. I asked them to steer clear of personal reflection, as I wanted them to save that for their next two projects. I reminded them to keep it relatively simple—this will introduce us to the editing process.

This piece is by Octavius Sanders.

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Video two—Past, Present, Future

For this assignment, I asked the students to divide a video into three equal sections to represent their past, present, and future. I asked them to limit each section to one minute—or three minutes total for the completed piece. I suggested that they shoot objects, scenes (nature or otherwise), or insert images, of people/places/things that define these time periods in their life. I suggested they use images that represent your likes, dislikes, emotions, thoughts, events, and relationships that were/are significant during each period. Any kind of imagery could be used including textures or colors. For the “future” I suggested that they consider a few things…

How do I want to live my life?

What will I give to the world?

What will success look like for me?

They were to edit all the segments together and were given the choice to use sound or voice-over for this video. I also gave them the choice to transition from each time period to the next—or keep distinct with a partition of sorts, such as a black slide with or without graphics.

This work is by Brandon Siedlaczek.

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Final project: personal narrative

This project was to be the culmination of their work this term. After interviewing each other, as a way of getting an objective look at their lives (akin to a “stranger on a train” that one might open up to), students were asked to make a three to five minute film in the classic digital-storytelling technique. Using video, still images, and voiceover, to tell a story about their lives.

This is the final project of Daria Lewis.