Technology and storytelling
I recently came across with Storybird which is basically a website that allows you to create stories digitally based on a series of pictures you can choose from. Then you can add each picture to a different page, as in a real book, and star writing your own story. (http://storybird.com/)
Storybird has been identified as a fun collaborative storytelling website since it offers the opportunity for several people to work on the creation of one story. This is why this tool is perfect to work in classrooms.
The website has been working for a couple of years and nowadays more and more websites dedicated to the creation of original stories have been developed and received successfully. Xtranormal is a great example of the possibilities you can have when using technology for storytelling. (http://www.xtranormal.com/)
Now it is easier than ever to tell stories with high quality presentation and both, kids and adults, can do it. Having the access to these great tools have changed the way people tell stories. Storytelling has as well became a more collaborative process.
-Alex
TECH TREND - Experience the ShangHai Expo at home
Shang Hai Expo is a big global exhibition for cities all around the world to show their future city life to the world.
For all the people who can’t be there or can’t finish the whole event (COZ it is too big and the waiting line is incredibly long), this website gave all the audience a good opportunity to travel the expo online. For better experiencing different future cities’ life, the online expo provide different camera angels, lighting setup and 3D visual tour for audience to get into each building more real. -Jie
This Indie Musician's Album Is Also a Video Game
This is really innovative…
From Kotaku:
“We often talk about video game developers use music (in fact, just tonight we started listing the best music of 2011!), but it can be fun to look at how musicians incorporate video games into their work, as well.
Synth-pop musician Or Zubalsky has created a very cool new album that is designed to be played like a video game. The album itself stands on its own, but on his website, he has devised interactive music videos that allow viewers to click along with the music, lighting up a shifting backdrop while attempting to click on little Commander Video-lookin’ characters. Each one you successfully click will net you a few points, which in turn will let you unlock downloadable “packages” that give you a track from the album and a fun text file from the artist himself.
The other upshot of the “game” part of the album is that by playing it, you turn yourself into a strobe-light operator for the music video, which causes the still images behind it to shift and give a neat sense of motion.
The whole thing is very cool, and must have been a fun project to put together. Go check it out!”
Games need to reflect our high-paced way of life. That’s what Reiner Knizia thinks. And if there’s someone who knows about these things, it’s Knizia. He designed over 200 games. Mostly board games, for which he received numerous awards. Submarine Channel talked to the enthusiastic game designer about the new dynamics of today’s games.
From WIRED
Lance Weiler’s most recent project began with a simple yet provocative question: can a robot reboot education? To answer that question, Weiler collaborated with fellow Workbook Project contributor Janine Saunders in creating Robot Heart Stories with a team of more than 50 creative professionals.
For the project, students in a Los Angeles elementary school class and a Montreal media workshop teamed up to send Laika, a small female robot scientist, from Canada to California. As a team of award-winning photographers drove the robot across country, the 42 students fueled Laika’s journey with stories, videos and letters. Photographers and other artists brought the children’s work to life and, in turn, uploaded their work to the website.
http://www.droptheweapons.org/
This website is hosted by the Metropolitan Police in London and has an interactive game where you must decide your own fate through options like, ‘Take the knife’ or ‘Dont take the knife’ and ‘Don’t go to the party’ or ‘Do go to the party’.
The videos are hosted on You Tube, this is the first one,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFVkzYDNJqo
and was very successful when it was introduced in 2009.
You make selections in the videos themselves, which takes you to a new video - building the path of the hero. It is all shot through POVs so that you decide whether to be a cold blooded killer or a nice guy. It is also shot documentary style so that it is very realistic and chilling when things go wrong.
Interactive media doing a good thing!
Enjoy,
Daniel
‘Collapsus’ review - Daniel Nickson
Collapsus offers a new and exciting way to tackle the energy crises. rather than patronising the viewer or making them feel guilty for the way that they live their life, this multi-platform story world provides the user with the opportunity to explore the facts themselves and witness the possible outcomes for the future.
I found that the shifting between media was confusing at the start and required me to work out how to ‘move forward’ though the narrative. For instance, I was stuck for a short while when the ‘facts’ page takes over the animated page as I did not know how to get back to the actual story. But once I realised I had to guide the pages myself with my mouse, I didn’t make that mistake again. However, the fact that it happened detracted me from the actual journey in a way that was difficult to overcome.
I think that the opportunity to track through time via a timeline at the foot of the page is a problem. It enabled me to skip through parts that I did not like or that lost my attention - but by skipping forward I lost my way in the actual beginning/middle/end of the story itself. It also meant that the ‘hook’ was weakened as the natural flow of the narrative loses its pull.
My final critique is on the choice to chop between animation and actual footage. I feel that it is hard to imagine animated characters and real people living in this world. Whilst this is a matter of taste, I think that it is something to consider for future projects like this.
Overall, fantastic innovations in storytelling and makes me excited about what could come next.
Daniel
Remix challenge
This is a fantastic example of remixing two types of media to create something new and exciting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21OH0wlkfbc&list=PL12BD389EB39CE1C1&feature=plcp
It is a re-mix of Bert & Ernie from sesame Street with M.O.P.’s ‘Ante Up’.
With almost 8Million views on You Tube, it is hard to deny this meme hit a nerve.
- Daniel Nickson
An immersive movie experience by PS3
One take and no post-production!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrgWH1KUDt4
Taking your living room to the next level with PS3 home cinema
- Daniel
Siri's story
Normally, I wouldn’t think a technology like Siri would be able to be a part of “storytelling” however, in this husband v. wife video, Siri operates as the referee - pretty awesome!
Joanna
