Technology has been used as a supplement for education since the 1900s, but as it progressed, people started using media not only to teach lessons but also to evoke different feelings and emotions.
In the 21st century, new types of technology were developed, and with the incorporation of different elements like audio, videos, and images, a new method came to the forefront, known as “Digital Storytelling”.
Now, you might be wondering how exactly you can create an exceptional digital story that captures the attention of the viewers, but before we can tackle that, we need to figure out what is a digital story.
What Is A Digital Story?
A digital story is a story that uses a wide variety of digital multimedia tools to bring a narrative to life. It can be used to retell a personal experience, explain a concept, make an argument, or recap a historical occurrence. They are exceptional in creating an experience using audio, video, and images.
Even though most digital stories are 2 to 3 minutes long, they require a lot of planning and effort. Once you figure out the basis of your digital story, you need to figure out the script and create the video.
Versatility is what makes digital stories shine among all other kinds of media, so don’t shy away from creating unique content.
4 Examples Of A Digital Story
Even though we have discussed what a digital story is, it might still be hard for you to understand the different aspects that go into making it, so here are a few examples of digital storytelling.
Check these amazing examples of digital storytelling or these storytelling websites to get inspired and create even more powerful stories.
1. BBC: Partition of India
Designed by the BBC, this digital story takes the reader through historical events between India and Pakistan. It takes the user through a journey over the last 70 years.
This design is beautifully simple: it’s interactive but it is super easy to navigate. It just feels so natural for digital story.
It uses a well-chosen full-page design to guide the user through the history. This makes it work extremely well and allows the user to jump through sections in consecutive order and learn about the different key events in chronological order.
This design is definitely a fantastic option for those looking for a modern storytelling website.
If you are interested in this kind of design, you can build your own by using a component called fullPage.js – Which this website by the BBC actually uses.
2. Bear 71
Bear 71 is an incredibly moving and highly interactive digital story that is centered around a real-life female grizzly bear that lived in the wildlife conservation offices from 2001 to 2009.
This digital story highlights how we are increasingly growing more dependent on technology and, at the same time, drifting away from nature and our realities.
3. Bandersnatch
Bandersnatch is unlike any other movie, tv show, and even digital story because it contains something so unique that it can create a completely immersive experience.
At first, it seems like a typical video game that lets you make choices on behalf of the character. But by the time you start seeing the actual impact of your choices, you are completely immersed in it.
4. Reverse Selfie
Many beauty brands have started to put out messages encouraging young women to embrace their bodies, but a pioneer of this concept was Dove.
One of their most moving digital stories was about a young girl that takes a photo and proceeds to layer it with multiple filters and distorts it until she fits the typical “beauty standards.”
Videos like these showcase the negative impact of social media and the beauty standards or the ideal body type that is splashed all over magazines.
How Do You Make A Digital Story?
Now that we have figured out what is a digital story, we can move on to how you can make one.
There are quite a few ways you can construct your digital story, but there are six major steps that most people follow when trying to create a digital story.
Step ### 1. Come Up With A Concept
The first step is trying to come up with a basic idea because your concept needs to not only resonate with the viewers but also make an impact on them.
Take time in this step, do not rush. It is the most important one, as the rest depends on the quality of the concept.
Step 2. Research Your Idea
Once you figure out the direction of your digital story, you need to thoroughly explore the topic.
You can plant implicit messages, use color theory and even explore your target demographic so that you can come up with an impactful creation.
Step 3. Draft A Script
Now that you have a little more understanding of the topic, you can begin to flesh out the story.
The purpose of this step is not to focus on the dialogues but rather on how clear the message is. Think carefully about how to transmit properly your concept idea.
Step 4. Map Out The Story
After your script is ready, you need to start visualizing how your story will look in action.
Many choose to complete this step using a storyboard which is great because you illustrate how your video will look and is a rough mockup of the actual thing.
Step 5. Gather Material
This is where your digital story starts taking shape. You create different aspects of the digital story and start choosing what exactly will be added to the final product. Later we will show some making tools that can help you in this step.
Step 6. Compile
Now that the footage is shot and the music is figured out, you need to smooth the rough edges of your digital story by editing, color grading, and adding subtitles and narration, if needed.
What Are Digital Story Making Tools?
There has been quite a bit of development in the technology department, and there are plenty of creative tools online that can aid you in creating high-quality digital stories.
1. Smilebox
Smilebox primarily focuses on creating digital invitations, scrapbooks, photo journals, and invitations, among other things.
You can choose over 1000 different templates, and each template is completely customizable.
2. Make Beliefs Comix
If you are looking for unique ways to create your digital story, then Make Beliefs Comix can help you.
You can create characters, talk through bubbles and even create communication between characters in this app. This is a surefire way to add interest to your digital story.
3. Storybird
Storybird collects artwork, illustrations, and animations from people around the world and encourages its users to use any to create new and unique stories.
Creating the stories is completely free of cost; however, you might have to pay a small fee to download them.
7 Elements To Make A Good Digital Story!
While many things can impact the creation of a digital story, seven main elements are often used as starting points for producing exceptional digital stories.
Learn more about How To Use Storytelling in Design
1. Creating A Point Of View
The perspective you choose to share in your story is immensely important because the viewers will be seeing everything from that character’s point of view.
This means that the relationships and the world you construct will be filtered through the narrator’s point of view.
2. A Striking Question
The question serves as the cornerstone of your story and is often the main conflict of your story, which is then resolved as the story progresses.
The question gives your story a lot of character, but more importantly, it serves as a director.
3. Content That Evokes Emotions
Emotions are a great way to connect with your audience and communicate a specific feeling and experience.
You can use emotions to touch on serious topics and powerfully impact your views.
4. Add A Splash Of Your Personality
If you want to connect with your audience, then you need to add your voice and your point of view to either enhance the content or make the content more consumable for viewers.
Personalizing your story is essential to give it realism.
5. The Soundtrack Has A Lot Of Power
Music is a great way to add depth to your story and can often support whatever emotions you are trying to express.
However, choosing the right music can be a bit tricky because the wrong choice can make your digital story look imbalanced.
6. Avoid Overstimulating The Viewer
It’s really easy to go overboard when you are adding content, but that can end up overwhelming the view and creating a lot of unnecessary distractions in your story.
This is why you need to be careful when choosing the content you want to include in your digital story.
7. Pacing
The pacing of the story helps the viewers digest the information while still experiencing the emotions the digital story is trying to invoke.
This is why your story needs to have a rhythm that is neither slow nor fast because both can cause the viewer to lose interest.
Mistakes To Avoid While Making A Digital Story
At this point, we have thoroughly explored what a digital story is, so the only thing that is left is discussing what mistakes to avoid while creating a digital story.
- Providing Too Much Information. Although it is natural to give as much information as possible, it can often overstimulate the viewer. This is why you need to figure out what aspects you want to include.
- Only Showing Your Achievements. Only showing your accomplishment will make you seem unauthentic and unnatural, so make sure to highlight some of your failures.
- Not Knowing Your Audience. If you don’t know your target audience, you won’t be able to create content that the audience can relate to. Knowing more about your audience can help you connect with them on an emotional level.
Pros And Cons Of Digital Story Telling
Just like everything, digital storytelling comes with its pros and cons.
Pros Of Digital Story Telling
- Stories can be a great way to build trust since you reel in clients by telling a good story instead of simply pushing your products onto them.
- Keywords have started to play a huge role in google ranking. So, when you create digital content, you can naturally incorporate keywords in the text and rise in the ranks without worrying about the frequency.
- When you create emotional video content, you can evoke a deeper response from the viewer. Thus, forming a profound connection between your products and the buyer or clients.
Cons Of Digital Story Telling
- The one major flaw of digital storytelling is that it doesn’t work instantaneously.
- Creating a good story requires quite a bit of investment.
- It can be exceptionally challenging to create high-quality and unique stories, so it will require not only a lot of time and money but also a lot of effort.
Create An Emotional Bond With Digital Storytelling
You’ve learned what a digital story is, its benefits, how to create a well-constructed digital story, and its pros and cons.
Now you can finally move on to create your very own story with all the key ingredients.
It will help you connect with your views, attract more traction, and even increase your sales.
