by Marsha Little Matthews

July 3, 2019

The Summer 1 session of COMM 5333/MCOM 4333 Narrative Storytelling Across Media wraps up this week. Five weeks go quickly, especially when learning a new way to conceptualize narrativity and approach mediated storytelling.

Five undergraduate students with some experience in video and audio production and three graduate students, two of whom had no video or audio production experience and one who did, enthusiastically embraced the challenge.

The final project for this course was a 3-5 minute audio story approached with a documentary-style rather than a traditional news interview style. Elements to be incorporated/applied to create the stories include:

• William Labov’s Five Principles of Tellibility (Ryan, 2004)
  • Abstract
  • Orientation
  • Complicating Action
  • Evaluation
  • Result or Resolution
  • Coda (if used)
• Kurt Lancaster’s Concepts of Character and Dramatic Structure (Lancaster, 2013)
  • Dramatic Structure
    • Hook
    • Conflict
    • Climax and Resolution
  • Character
    • What does the character want?
    • What does the character do to achieve this?
  • Use of Music and Sound Effects
  • Editing – Rhythm and Pacing
    • Montage
    • Decoupage
    • Collision
    • Linkage
  • Tension and Release
  • Audio Design

Here are the stories produced by this summer’s students.

• Across the Land
  Producer: Logan Dickey
  Interviewees:  Kristen Smith, Taylor Cumston, and Kyla Kiser
  Transcript:  Across the Land – Script – Dickey

• Your Body is a Miracle
  Producer:  Aji Fatou
  Interviewee: Jim Boudin
  Transcript:  Your Body is a Miracle – Script – Sakho

• Sometimes Heroes Wears Tennis Shoes
  Producer:  Jhonniece Meeks
  Interviewee:  Henry Dorty, Jr.
  Transcript:  Heroes Wear Tennis Shoes – Script – Meeks

• Kinsey’s Drive
  Producer: Jennifer Meeks
  Interviewee: Mackenzie Woodruff
  Transcript:  Kinseys Drive – Script – Melton

• Most Interesting Dad in the World
  Producer:  Kevin Nourse
  Interviewees:  Nathan Burton and C. Burton
  Transcript:  Most Interesting Dad in The World – Script – Nourse

• Memories of Oil
  Producer:  Evan Pagitt
  Interviewee:  James S. Pagitt
  Transcript:  Memories of Oil – Script – Pagitt

• Small But Fierce
  Producer:  Mariah Smith
  Interviewee:  Haley Burke
  Transcript:  Small But Fierce – Script – Smith

• Laugh Like You Love
  Producer: Ryan Wilson
  Interviewee:  Brad Johnson
  Transcript:  Laugh Like You Love – Script – Wilson

References

Ryan, M-L (2004). Narrative Across Media: The Languages of Storytelling.Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska Press.

Lancaster, K. (2013). Video Journalism for the Web: A Practical Introduction to Documentary Storytelling. New York: Routledge.