Although I've already done quite a bit of reading and research into the subject of animation as a storytelling tool, I thought it would be a good idea to read further into the specific techniques associated with visual storytelling to help me pin point the key elements that make visual storytelling a success so I can develop my own successful narrative to animate.
Whilst I was researching for my essay I came across Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to Interactive Entertainment by Carolyn Handler Miller. Despite me not using any direct quotes within my essay, I do feel that it contains a lot of useful information that would benefit my exploration into creating an effective animation.
According to Miller (2004) a good story is made up of goals that are; specific; simple to understand; highly desirable; difficult to achieve. Miller (2004) believes that the "clearer the goal, and the more daunting the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving it, the greater the drama" (Miller, C, H 2004), which will ultimately lead to a more engrossing story, as the protagonist will have to give it their all in order to achieve their desires. With this in mind, I will have to consider what obstacles my character will ultimately face and how I will present these obstacles as difficult to overcome.
Not only this, but Miller (2004) states that character development and story construction are "fundamental building blocks of any type of narrative" (Miller, C, H 2004), thus implying that no matter what I decide to portray through my animation the character must show development and the narrative must build upon itself if I am to make the story engaging and interesting for my audience. In relation to this it is important that I remember that although stories don't necessarily follow set rules, they are "guided by internal conventions" (Miller, C. H 2004), so it is important that the narrative remains logical and consistent. This is a point that Greek philosopher Aristotle agrees with, as he believed that plot developments should be logical and grow naturally out of the action, that is to say only actions that would occur naturally out of the event happening should do so, as any other action would seem illogical and out of place making it difficult for an audience to follow.
Aristotle believed that there were two types of human motivation, the first being passion and based on emotion, and the other based on reason or conscious will. I mention this because Aristotle also believed that character motivation is the fuel that leads to action, and action is one of the most important elements of drama, thus, it is important that I consider how and why my character is motivated to do what they will do within my animation. It is also important that I keep in mind which motivation will be most logical to the situation to keep my story line clear and easy to follow.
According to Miller (2004), master storytellers (myth makers) built their stories upon "themes with deep emotional and psychological underpinnings" (Miller, C. H 2004). From this it is safe to assume that such stories were so successful because of the power that emotions have over an audience and how emotions could make certain events more memorable. This is supported by a study conducted by Jacquelyn Ford Morie who set up the Darkcon project, in which participant's emotions are recorded and monitored when presented with stimuli. The findings concluded that "you remember emotionally charged events better than neutral ones" (Morie, J. F in Miller, C. H 2004). Aristotle also believed that this was case and stated that the most effective dramas often left an audience feeling a sense of catharsis, or emotional purge and relief, which is similar to what Campbell (1949) stated occurs in a powerful myth.
With this in mind, I thought it would be useful to figure out which emotions were the most effective at engaging an audience and which emotions made the most entertaining stories. I found that tension appears to be the most effective at creating the most engaging and interesting stories, as according to Miller (2004) suspense keeps an audience drawn in, as we, as humans, have a burning desire to know how something will turn out. Placing a character in jeopardy appears to create the highest emotional response within an audience, thus making the narrative more memorable.
Taking all of my research into account I have managed to create a list of key factors I need to consider when I create my animation and narrative. These are;
Critical Story Path
- There needs to be an orderly system of logic to events happening.
- There are scenes that need to be experienced in order to achieve full story experience to reach a meaningful ending point that isn't haphazard.
Flawed Protagonist
- Creates a more relate-able character (makes it easier for an audience to connect with them).
Simple Character Design
- Helps the character to become an idea rather than an event.
- Makes it possible for an audience to merge with a character and project their own associations onto the character.
Emotion
- Can be extremely significant
- Helps to make the animation appear more real and adds richness and depth/ dimension to the narrative.
- Makes the overall experience more immersive and compelling, intensifying the connection between he audience and the material.
- Emotionally potent work is more memorable.
Backgrounds
- More realistic than characters
- Used to express atmosphere and mood.
Animation
- Can express abstract ideas
- Can be anything!
From here I feel that I will be able to create an idea for a narrative that is both engaging and immersive whilst demonstrating the ways in which animation is more effective at storytelling than other mediums.
Campbell, J (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford.
Miller, C. H (2004). Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to Interactive Entertainment, Focal Press, Oxford.
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