Digital Creativity Discussion

This discussion comes from "Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community," by Joe Lambert - Chapter 9 "Designing in Digital: Working with Digital Imaging, Audio, and Video."

Summary of the Chapter

Lambert uses two pieces of work in this chapter as examples.  The first video is "Camaro Boy" by Robert Kershaw.  

In this video, Lambert brings attention to -

• Cropping of the Photos
• Use of the Frame
• Visual Pacing
• Panning and Zooming

Cropping of the Photos

During the video, Kershaw wants to spend a good amount of time discussing the first photo.  To keep his audience interested, he uses a method of cropping the visual areas of the photo for the viewer to focus.  Lambert believes this slow reveal of "One Picture Becomes Many Pictures," much like a puzzle being reassembled, is a way for the audience to engage in the visual aspect of the story.

Use of the Frame

Lambert brings attention to the restrictive frame that is the computer (or television) monitor.  He invites readers to challenge this limitation.  Lambert cites the example of Kershaw's work of the image of the photo being slightly skewed resembling a photo that has been tossed on a coffee table.

Visual Pacing

During the video, Kershaw uses a handful of photographs to tell his story, however he gives only two a good amount of screen time --  the first photo of Kershaw and the Camaro and the last photo of Kershaw as a child and his grandfather.  Lambert explains that these photos, while most important to the story, are viewed while the narrator wants us to pause during a moment of time.  These two photos are viewed when the pacing of time is slowed or stopped to consider a significant moment of life.  The other photos are shown in rapid succession to aid in the rapid movement of time in the story.

Panning and Zooming

Lambert brings attention to the last image Kershaw uses in his work - the image of the children and the grandfather.  Kershaw slowly zooms in on his grandfather and himself as a child.  Lambert explains that this is done to bring the viewer's attention to the two figures.  This zooming action reinforces the story of Kershaw and his grandfather, but also "zooms in" on the relationship Kershaw had with his grandfather.

The second work that Lambert uses is "Barcelona Marathon" by Roberto Gerli.

For this Lambert discusses "The Visual Treatment."

Visual Treatment

Lambert explains in "Barcelona Marathon" Roberto uses both still images and video.  Still images are used to introduce people.  Moving images are used for exploration and shift in perspective.  Roberto also uses dots - dots on the map, or dots formed by objects in the images.  Dots are used for connectivity of both people and places.

Mind Map

(www.mindmup.com software used)

Thoughts and Questions

In the beginning of the chapter, Lambert asks, "What makes good design in a digital story?" (105).  He brings up "defamiliarizing the ordinary" VS "cliche" which really stuck with me.  How do we start the process of taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary?  The concept reminded me of time spent in our Photoshop lessons at the beginning of the semester.  Something simple as changing scale, color or environment can transform the ordinary into something less so.  Lambert says, "you simply need to think about how in the choices you are making, you are challenging yourself to not go with what is blindingly obvious" (106).

At the end of the chapter, Lambert offers advice from what he has observed in his workshops: Deadlines are helpful to the creative process.  "We have found in our process, as well as in considering the processes of other artists, that often what is finished, polished and refined becomes over-polished and over-refined and lacks the directness and spontaneity of the initial drafts" (116).

Lambert also advises, that "intuition is the largest part of experimentation" (116).  

References 

Lambert, J. (2013). Digital storytelling: Capturing lives, creating community. New York, NY:                      Routledge.