New Dimensions of Storytelling

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‘Storytelling’, when this comes in your mind you get into the world of your granny tales where most stories started with a king and a queen. What you did those days was closing your little eyes and imagine a face of the king and a queen, you even visualized the story, that was the power of Storytelling which passed from generation to generation. Any time you tell a story to a friend or family member about an event or incident in your day, you engage in a form of narration. This gave a boost to narrative writing, which is a process of writing in which you deliver events, present situations that can be real or fictional. Won’t you love to know how this art has evolved and has become a wider method to communicate?

Let us first discuss what is the HISTORY OF STORYTELLING

Science says humans were animals living in caves, they had emotions and they always wanted to communicate. They created wall paints and figures on walls to tell a story and even frame fictions that their minds suggested.

The Chauvet Cave lives in the mountains of Southern France contains incredibly well-preserved cave drawings dating back to 30,000 years ago. On the walls of the cave, explorers found paintings depicting the prehistoric period. This was how they formed an unspoken and unwritten language to communicate. The cave drawings told stories about encountering mammoths, lions and rhinos. The paintings depicted their everyday activities of using homemade weapons and using every piece of an inch of an animal to survive. ( Source- Cortex, written by Matt Peters)

 The stories of fetching food and living were communicated through designs, it took around thousands of years to come to oral storytelling. The language was discovered and poems were written, which initiated writing stories and framing words.

“The Epic of Gilgamesh” was a story that started as an epic poem by the Sumerian King in the Third Millennium BC. This story was about a man named Gilgamesh and a “wild man” named Enkidu who befriends Gilgamesh after a fight, and they set off on a journey to find the key to immortality. Epic poems are referred to as such because they could fill a 500-page book by today’s standards, but because the Greeks were so passionate about the art of oral storytelling, these stories were written as poems to help the storytellers remember and perform the whole story.

Literature advanced, authors grew up and books were published. The way of writing evolved, people started writing about realities and myths, people started giving examples of real-life stories to seek change. These written pieces were then versed at the king’s palace, slowly the literate people used their skill of reading and started reciting books or mythological books to groups. This emerged as a good medium of explanation and lessons, children stories were written then and orated to them as a part of education. Little tales were written keeping children in mind.

Telling a story is a tangible example of how legends and myths make storytelling that is much more valuable to an audience.

STORYTELLING IN 21ST CENTURY

 When we discuss this in the 21st century, we have a wider means of communication available. The media is advanced and the coming of new media has added more wings to this communication world. What do we grab from media- news, entertainment, lifestyle, information and facts related to various sectors? We get these materials in numerous forms- Picture, Write up, Video or Audio. What stays with you at last, is nothing but the art through which the message was conveyed. The art of framing a picture or designing it, the art of writing, the art of visual presentation and the art of delivering orally. Today we have broadened in terms of using this art in various means of communication. So next we will be discussing in what ways storytelling art is used today –

1. Cinematography
2. Photography
3. Advertising 
4. Blogging
5. Personal Branding
6. Talk shows
7. Paintings
8. Performing Arts
9. News dissemination
10. Education
11. Awareness and Social or behavioural change
12. Digital Communication

• Cinematography– The collection of motion pictures and videos together to present you a message or deliver an outcome is all that cinematography does. You all have gone through some good documentaries, short films and feature films, they are the effect of great storytelling art. What you want to convey is expressed through people, dialogues, expressions and frames, these all together play a vital role in creating an impact. The best your story is, and the best you have expressed it, the last it stays in the minds of the audience. The good thing you can do is to prepare your storyboard and get ready with your right script. These video presentations not just help in telling a story but are used as a tool for awareness, education, entertainment, information and opinion- formation. 

• Photography– A famous quote says “ Every picture tells a story”, I believe one of the right facts is this. You pick any photograph, the expression, frame and the mood of the picture tells you a story. A good photographer is one who has learned the art of storytelling through his pictures. Today we frame wedding photographs, one of the beautiful memories in anyone’s life, the best smile is captured. Can you pick out the story behind each photo? Of course, you can, because those snaps have captured moments that include a story to share. Photography is one of common and tough means to tell a story because it is single framed and you have to picture everything in that single rectangular box.

• Advertising– This field is as vast as storytelling art dimensions are. Advertising is a method to promote service, cause, product or brand. The power to convince the target audience to avail the service, cause or product includes vivid processes like Marketing, PR Marketing, brand promotions etc. It is tough to persuade your audience by just showing them your advantages, storytelling plays a major role in attracting them and making them stick to your service or product. Storytelling lasts long, seeing this usage the advertising market uses various ways to communicate through ad films, influential marketing, customer feedback, testimonials, PR methods, blogging, marketing campaigns and the list is long. All these processes function well when stories are designed and conveyed properly. For eg- You stick to good ad films with a story rather than ads which directly speaks about the product or service. You follow bloggers with good storytelling and feedback techniques who promote particular services or products.

• Blogging– Digital advancement has brought this new way of passion that has turned to a good earning method. Even without earning, blogging is an effective method of marketing or communication. The blogs that affect you deeply are the blogs framed well in the form of a story. The blog which gives you freedom of powerful imagination creates a big impact on the readers. Blogging has become more facilitated with time. To know more about it I have written a blog on it, you can read the blog here.

• Personal Branding– Known personalities love to share their stories with their audience through different means like interviews, public speaking, blogs and social media handles and we as an audience love to know that. Not just known, even the people nearby use these methods to brand themselves in a particular way. Storytelling helps in creating that value and giving shape to your life story. Instagram pages are mostly used for such personal branding stories. As it is said, life is a story to tell, share and learn ( quoted by your blogger herself).

• Talk shows- These talk shows can be the famous ted talks, motivational talks, open mics, stand-ups, radio shows, Tv shows, online shows etc. Such shows are effective when the speaker is a good storyteller, you will enjoy and will wish to listen to them properly if they are perfect in their art. This boosts information, even motivates, influences, entertains and educates too. We spend time watching stand-ups and hearing those fictional or real stories, we laugh out loud or we get emotional or feel connected to that narration. That is the potential of the efficacious art of storytelling.

• Paintings– Though you find them drawn on a sheet of paper, the image itself was a story that has been presented with colours and lines. Painting is a form through which it gives independence to the viewer to visualize and react. It encourages the thought process and observational skills. It is as impactful as other means of storytelling. The colours used in the art also set the mood of the story, an artist knows how well which colour represents a particular mood.

• Performing Arts– When we say performing arts, it depicts drama, dance and music. Narrative writing forms are used in drama and acts to enhance the method of storytelling. Music has the power to heal and express, lyrics and the tunes together set the mood and have an effective power to tell a story. The Indie music form is based on storytelling format only. Today raps are impactful to spread a message or deliver a story.
• Dramas are written in a form of narrative writing and the characters, plot and vision of the story are scripted and presented by performers. The well the dialogues are written and expressed with expressions, the more powerful the vision creates an impact. The set, the dialogues, the expressions and the story jointly display the art well. 
• Today, the dance reality shows present the storytelling art through dance, the choreography plays an indispensable part in presenting the right story through dance. The set and the body postures set with right facial expressions delivers a powerful message.

• News dissemination– Well it is already called a ‘News Story’, which clearly states that an incident or happening is explained in the form of a story. Narrative writing is also helpful in terms of writing a news story. News stories on print or electronic are first reported with each aspect related to the incident or happening, the way of presentation differs with the medium. News is written as news articles, feature articles, presented as a bulletin, special news or a short news film. Narrative writing should be practised to make the article impactful and reader-friendly. The proper explanation of situations and characters provides a better report to the audience.

• Education– Not just today, but from ancient times, storytelling played a vital role in educating children and adults. If we focus on schools or institutes, the smart class is a good example of storytelling education. Primary education still pivots on those CDs, play-time, rhymes, tales and music to make children learn new things. Even in higher classes too, smart classes and the teachers’ way of teaching is effective in the form of narration. Fiction or real-life examples improves the method of learning.

• Awareness and Social or behavioural change– Change comes with better communication, and the communication can be made constructive with powerful narration. It is observed from older times, drama, dance and Nukkad Nataks had been used as a process of seeking change in society. Child marriage, population explosion and many other social changes are perceived through these communication methods only. The ‘ Public Service Advertisements (PSAs) broadcast on various media are examples of story narrations aimed for social change and awareness. COVID-19 has also been a topic of such PSAs in present days. One of which was acted by Akshay Kumar. – Watch . This ad has used the art of storytelling and making the audience aware of the importance of social distancing and wearing masks during COVID-19. I am attaching one more radio drama used for awareness of COVID-19- Check it here.

• Digital Communication- Digital media packs everything above inside it but the coming of digital media has broadened the marketing methods. Today it is the most operative way to communicate or disseminate information. Copywriting, graphics, animations and visual effects are most likely used in digital media and they are sprinkling the narration art more vigorously. This blog will be less to talk about the use of storytelling in digital communication. A single para is not going to do them justice. Podcasts, web series, short films, copywriting, creatives, caption stories, gifs and animations are various forms of digital communication. Digital storytelling is a term used for such file formats. 

Modern storytelling has a wide depiction.  Along with the traditional forms (fairy tales, folktales, mythology, legends, fables etc.), it has expanded its ways to discuss personal narrative, mythology,  politics,  commentary and shifting cultural lifestyle. As mentioned above, Contemporary storytelling is processed in fulfilling the educational objectives too. New add ons in the forms of media have created novel ways for the public to share, express and engross new stories.Sitting and discussing can make group communication strong and effective. We can even add Games with other digital platforms which are used in interactive fiction or interactive storytelling, and have given the wide imagination to relate with various stories and feel like an important character of this world. 

 As per Wikipedia, Documentaries, including interactive web documentaries, employ storytelling narrative techniques to communicate information about their topic. Self-revelatory stories,created for their cathartic and therapeutic effect, are growing in their use and application, as in Psychodrama, Drama Therapy and Playback Theatre. Storytelling is also used as a means by which to precipitate a psychological and social change in the practice of transformative arts.

I hope the above information shared must have aided you with some ideas related to the art of storytelling. I tried including each aspect in this particular blog but I may have missed many points because each dimension is vast and can make me publish a book on this single topic. But here is the crux of the entire dimensions discussed. For further queries or information, you can drop your comment or message in the chat box given at the right corner. Even you are free to connect with me on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.

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