The Philosophy of Digital Storytelling.

Unlike the technical aspects of Digital Storytelling, the question of the content of a story is a lot less clear. Some practitioners are very dogmatic about the process, others produce work that can only very loosely be called a story.

Sometimes the completion of a high quality piece of work is all-important, other times the emotional and spiritual experience of taking part is what matters.

Rather than trying to come up with answers, Bristol Stories has produced a series of questions to ponder as you facilitate a workshop or make a story of your own. If you have some responses to some of these questions, please email them to BristolStories@watershed.co.uk and we may add them to this page.

1. Does a story need a title?
2. Can a story be told in sounds rather than words.
3. Would you watch a story with no pictures?
4. What if the narrator was telling someone else’s story?
5. Does it matter if the story is true?
6. Is the measure of the truth of a story to do with facts, or something else?
7. Could you produce a good story using just text?
8. What’s the difference between a slide show and a story?
9. Does writing a script make the story more or less “true”
10. How is a story different from a documentary?
11. Does the technology stifle the story?
12. Can a boring story be made interesting with sound effects and pictures?
13. Does the script strip out all the emotion?
14. Would the stories sound better if read by professional actors?
15. How does the choice of music change the “feel” of a story?
16. Does the story come across differently depending on the size?
17. What do your favourite stories have in common?
18. What makes a story seem long or short?
19. Does the choice of software alter how the story is told?
20. Is it easier to make a story in a group or on your own?
21. Is Digital Storytelling about the process or the product?