Schedule

Module 1: Storytelling Foundations

This short module introduces the course and provides some traditional Western and non-Western frameworks for storytelling that will inform the following three modules. Project: Personal Narrative (counts as a blog post).

Week 1: Foundations I (Meet 8/27)

Due by class time: Welcome quiz (complete online)

Agenda:

  • Course introduction
  • Syllabus Q & A
  • What is a Digital Story?
  • Twine

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 8/31, at 5pm): first blog post (see instructions on Canvas).

Week 2: Foundations II (Meet 9/3)

Due by class time:

  • Read Aristotle, Poetics, 1-22
  • Watch: West Side Story (available to rent on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, etc.)

In class:

  • Warm-up
  • Film discussion
  • Lecture: Aristotle & Western Traditions
  • Short film analysis

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 9/7, at 5pm): blog post.

Week 3: Foundations III (Meet 9/10)

Due by class time:

  • Finish Aristotle, Poetics

In class:

  • Warm-up
  • Lecture: Aristotle (cont’d) & 起承転結 (Kishoutenketsu)
  • Activity: practice with formats
  • Remediation: introduction to modules 2, 3, & 4

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 9/14, at 5pm): Project 1 (see instructions here).

 

Module 2: Text & Hypertext

This module focuses on how the affordances of the digital computer have changed textual storytelling. It covers the use of space and typography, the influence of code on text (e.g. variables), and how hypertext enables textual nonlinearity. Project: Textual Narrative (15%).

Week 4: Diagrammatic Storytelling (Meet 9/17)

Due by class time:

In class:

  • Lecture: Module Introduction & Diagrammatic Storytelling
  • Activity: Practice text-only storytelling with Aristotelian form & kishoutenketsu.

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 9/21, at 5pm): blog post. See Canvas for instructions.

Week 5: Text and Code (Meet 9/24)

Due by class time:

  • Expand and refine your textual experiment from the previous class (the Google Slides one) so that it forms a kind of micro-story or short scene, and bring it in today. You will be graded, so be sure to make significant changes from the previous week.
  • Experience THE TEMPLE OF NO
  • Experience Even Cowgirls Bleed

In class:

  • Lecture: Text as Code
  • Tutorial/activity: more hooks in Harlowe. Setting and using variables. Practice with these concepts.

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 9/28, at 5pm): blog post.

Week 6: Text Effects & Animation (Meet 10/1)

Due by class time: Explore animated text samples on Envato. Come to class prepared to discuss and write about at least three that you found interesting. Explain how the motion/effects of the text makes you feel, and how you could see it being used for storytelling. A good place to start is thinking about a story you’ve already read or composed for the class.

In class: 

  • Lecture: Animated Text & Text Effects
    • Discuss: animated typography trends
  • Activity: playing with transitions in slides
  • Activity/tutorial: text effects, transitions, and styling in Twine

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 10/5, at 5pm): blog post.

Week 7: Text and Hypertext (Meet 10/8)

Due by class time: Read The End of Books, by Robert Coover (free article online).

In class:

  • Lecture: Text and Hypertext
    • The Memex and nonlinearity
    • Special guest: Dr. Dene Grigar
  • Discussion & exploration (groups): how does linking change storytelling with words?
  • Activity: linking with Twine and combining text effects, hooks, variables, across multiple lexia
  • In-class work on Project 2

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 10/13 at midnight): Project 2 (see instructions here). Turn the project in on Basecamp by creating a new folder under “Project 2: Textual Narrative” and then placing all of your files there, including the reflection (the reflection should be in .doc or .docx format, please).

 

Module 3: Visual Storytelling

This module focuses on how visual storytelling works and how it has been harnessed by creators in digital environments. Research on the storytelling techniques of comics and cinema will help us to understand how these methods have been adapted for digital platforms and hypermedia narratives. Project: Visual Narrative (15%).

Week 8: Visual Storytelling (Meet 10/15)

Due by class time: Nothing.

In class:

  • Introduction to the Module
  • Thinking visually: symbol, icon, index

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 10/19, at midnight): blog post/story. See Canvas for instructions.

Week 9: Frames (Meet 10/22)

Due by class time: 

  • Read 2-107, Understanding Comics by Scott McLeod

In class:

  • Lecture: Storytelling with Frames
  • Activity: Comics & Storyboarding

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 10/26, at midnight): spend a bit more time working on one of your sample comics or your storyboard. Post it on your blog along with a brief reflection that features at least two direct quotes from Understanding Comics.

Week 10: Cinema Language (Meet 10/29)

Due by class time:

  • Watch Man with a Movie Camera (YouTube) — Get a sense of what this experimental film is doing and note any cinematic effects that stick out to you.

In class:

  • Lecture: Cinema Language
  • Activity: Youtube/TikTok analysis
  • Activity: revise storyboards

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 11/2, at midnight): polished Youtube/TikTok analysis (should draw on lecture).

Week 11: Data & Locative Storytelling (Meet 11/5)

Due by class time:

  • Project 3 draft: come prepared to workshop your concept for Project 3. It does not need to be complete, but it should be a work-in-progress (in other words, not still just an “idea” — have something to show). If you are working with film, you should have your target platform (e.g. TikTok or YouTube) chosen and you will have some partial storyboards or unedited footage ready to show. If you are working with sequential images, you should have chosen your platform and selected a few images already. Whatever your target format, you should bring a “pitch” of your story to help your group understand your goals.

In class:

  • Lecture: Data & Locative Storytelling
    • Special Guest
  • Activity: workshop Project 3

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 11/9, at midnight): Project 3 (see instructions here).

Module 4: Ergodic Storytelling

This module focuses on ergodic interaction in digital media. Ergodic works require “non-trivial” interaction from their users, and in many digital stories, these interactions involve user choice (or even input). We’ll begin with Bandersnatch and a return to early hypertext before spending time with modern ludic (game) narratives like those made in Twine. The module will ramp up to the final project, in which students will showcase their understanding of storytelling with text, image, and interactivity. Project: Final Twine Narrative (30%).

Week 12: Ergodicity (Meet 11/12)

Due by class time:

  • Find two (or more) DONGs that feature some sort of interesting interaction for you, the user, when you click, type, etc. Be prepared to share and discuss why they caught your attention. Pay attention to how you “felt” while interacting with them, and jot down some notes. If possible, locate information about who made the site and how (e.g. with 3.js, etc.).

In class:

  • Interaction gallery/brainstorming (Slack/discussion)
  • What is ergodic storytelling?
  • Ergodic vs. nonergodic narratives (activity)
  • Twine review and basic interaction tutorials
  • Practice / work time (chat with Richard about Project 4)

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 11/16, at midnight): blog post (see Canvas for details).

Week 13: Ludic Narrative (Meet 11/19)

Due by class time:

In class:

  • Reading discussion
  • Games and Storytelling
  • Game elements in Twine?
  • Check-in with Richard re: proposal if needed

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 11/23, at midnight): Nothing! Have a good break!

Week 14: Pry (Meet 12/3)

Due by class time:

  • Partial draft of final project.

In class:

  • Experience and critique Pry
    • Groups: Pry on iPad
    • Discussion: comparing notes on haptic interactivity
  • Final project conferences/Twine support

Due after class (by the following Tuesday, 12/6, at midnight): nothing.

Week 15: Wrapping Up (Meet 12/10)

Due by class time: finished draft of Final Project for review. This is worth quite a few points. Do not miss it. 🙂

In class: We will be workshopping final projects. This will be a chance to show off your work while getting some feedback that will help you make significant revisions for the final submission.

Finals Week

We will not meet during finals week.
Your Final Project is due on Tuesday, 12/14, by midnight.