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merely performing lines. You are narrating the story as you would tell it to a friend.
If you “posh it up” or use a manner of speaking which is not your own, you will spoil
it. Be yourself.
iii. The precise word count is less important than the rhythm with which the words are
delivered: For a story of two minutes, the script should be about 250 words long. Be
aware, though, that most Digital Stories benefit from pauses, gaps in the voice-over
where the pictures are allowed to carry the narrative by themselves. It can also be
useful to vary the pace of your delivery—slower bits and faster bits.
iv. In a two minute piece there is plenty of time to lose your way: A story is like a
journey and it is very easy to set off in the right direction and yet never reach your
destination. When you get to the end you should be able—as it were—to look back
over your shoulder and still see the place you set out from. So, while you are writing,
keep asking yourself: “What is my story about?” Do not include anything which
dilutes the story’s intention.
v. Think how few words and pictures you need to tell the story, not how many: There
is never any need to describe what the viewer can already see, or vice versa.
For example: let’s say your story includes a colour picture of a stylish middle-aged
woman with a big smile and bright orange hair. She is standing in a kitchen and,
though smartly dressed, she wears an apron. On the table in front of her is a rolling
pin and a lump of dough. Unedited, your voice-over might read: “My grandmother
was very stylish. She took a great pride in what she wore even though she was always
in the kitchen baking. She had a trim figure and dyed her grey hair bright orange.
She had a wonderful laugh and always smelt expensive.” (A total of 44 words).
Edited to remove detail which can be gleaned from the picture, the passage might
read: “My grandmother had a wonderful laugh and always smelt expensive.” (Just 10
words, a saving of 34 words). The point here is that it is only necessary to tell us
things that we cannot work out for ourselves and, even then, only things which keep
the story moving on. Always leave room for the viewer’s imagination to do some of
the work.
vi. And finally: Remember—there are no right or wrong ways of telling a story, only
clear ways.
“But no one is just like anybody else. No one, in fact is even who he
or she was ever supposed to be. No one was supposed to step out
from their fellows and stand alone to say their piece, to thrill those
who stand and listen with the notion that they, too, might have a
voice, to shame those who stand and listen because they lack the
courage to do more than that..”
Greil Marcus, 2001, “American Folk” in Granta 76: Music, London:
Granta.
(75 pages)
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