Guided+Practice

Overview of the process - How to prepare for developing a digital story
You will create a 2– 5 minute digital video story, told in first person narrative, told in your own voice [recorded script], llustrated (mostly) with still images and/or video, and with a music track added to enhance the emotional tone of your story. I have included several resources to help you through the process.

Here is an overview of the process of creating a digital story.

 * 1) Storyboard and Script development: determine your topic and write the story
 * 2) Record your narration of your story (audio recording and editing)
 * 3) Capture and process the images that you want to use to illustrate the story (image scanning or downloading and editing)
 * 4) Combine audio and images (and any additional video) into a timeline, add music track (video editing)
 * 5) Add Background Music
 * 6) Add Titles, Transitions, and Effects (Optional)
 * 7) Present or publish finished version of your story

For your first story, you will be using PhotoStory 3, a free, downloadable program that is easy to understand and to use. Download the PhotoStory 3 program and use the step-by-step instructions and video tutorials to prepare yourself to create your own digital story.
 * Guided Practice**

Download Photo Story 3
Click [|here] to download your free copy of PhotoStory 3. Run the downloaded file to install it on your computer. This download is straight from Microsoft, so the file is safe to install on your computer.

Step-by-Step Instructions and Video Tutorials
Use the following tools to enhance your in-class experience. It may help to run through all the video tutorials and try some of the steps before tackling the big project.

Video Tutorials

 * [|Tutorial 01] - Beginning the digital storytelling process, corresponds to pages 1-2 of the tutorial handout.
 * [|Tutorial 02] - Removing black borders from images, corresponds to page 3 of the tutorial handout.
 * [|Tutorial 03] - Adding text to a title slide or image, corresponds to page 4 of the tutorial handout.
 * [|Tutorial 04] - Adding your voice narration.
 * [|Tutorial 05] - Customizing motion with Pans
 * [|Tutorial 06] - Customizing motion with Zooms
 * [|Tutorial 07] - Fine tuning motion in your digital story
 * [|Tutorial 08] - Adding transitions
 * [|Tutorial 09] - Adding background music-mp3's
 * [|Tutorial 10] - Adding background music-onboard music
 * [|Tutorial 11] - Finishing Your Digital Story

Checklist for Digital Storytelling Project
other). Spoken dialogue is at the core of the digital story. || your instructor to use another tool. || audience. || coordinates well with the images. || Wordpress.com blog). || story fits into your unit. If the digital story is personal, the blog post contains a summary/introduction to the story and why you chose to work with the topic. || to the blog post containing your video. ||
 * 1. ||~  || The digital story is a story. It has a purpose, a narrative, characters (at least a narrator), and point of view. ||
 * 2. ||~  || The digital story includes spoken dialogue by you or by others (students, friends, classmates, children, or significant
 * 3. ||~  || The digital story is an edited and tested video file of at least 4 minutes in length. ||
 * 4. ||  || The digital story was created in PhotoStory 3, Windows Movie Maker, or iMovie unless you received permission from
 * 5. ||~  || The digital story has enough photos to support the narrative. These photos are appropriate for the story and the
 * 6. ||~  || The digital story fits one of the three choices listed on the project page. ||
 * 7. ||~  || The photos are of a high enough resolution that they do not appear blurry or pixelated in the final video. ||
 * 8. ||~  || The digital story contains audio that is generally free of hiss, distortion, and background noise. ||
 * 9. ||~  || The digital story is able to be heard at a reasonable, mid-level volume. ||
 * 10. ||~  || The digital story contains appropriate background music that enhances the storytelling experience for the viewer and
 * 11. ||~  || All digital media used for the digital story (including your own) is listed in closing credit, with the source. ||
 * 12. ||~  || The digital story has been uploaded to the Internet (on your YouTube account) and embedded into a blog post (on your
 * 13. ||~  || If the digital story is educational, the blog post contains any information necessary for a listener to know how the digital
 * 14. ||~  || The Digital Storytelling section of your unit page on the classroom wiki is filled out, including (most importantly) the link

Print Tutorial
If you prefer to work from a hardcopy, print the following tutorial:
 * [|Photostory 3 Tutorial] (PDF from Jakesonline.org)

The items below are additional handouts that you can use (all PDFs):
 * [|DS-Tutorial_Storyboard.pdf]
 * [|DS-Story_Boarding_Template.pdf]
 * [|DS-photostory.pdf]
 * [|DS-saving-PS3-project.pdf]
 * [|DS-copyright.pdf]
 * [|DS-photoshop-elements.pdf]
 * [|DS-photoshop.pdf]
 * [|DS-dldng+save_image.pdf]
 * [|DS-Take_Six+script_help.pdf]
 * [|DS-Tutorial_customizing+motion.pdf]
 * [|DS-previewing-PS3.pdf]
 * [|DS-Creating_Computer_generated_music.pdf]
 * [|DS-Adding_Narration.pdf]

Microsoft Information
Here are some links to Microsoft tutorials and examples.
 * [|Create your first photo story]