The Construction of Digital Narratives about Intangible Cultural Heritage

The art, or custom, of telling stories is as old as man has had language. The rise of digital storytelling coincides with the popularisation of computers and the internet in the late 1990s. And while there are obviously differences, what traditional and digital storytelling have in common is the eminent importance of the construction of the story. If that construction is weak, the story will limp along. In this module we offer you practical information that will help you construct stories that will help promote your intangible cultural heritage, with an emphasis on those you tell and share digitally.

Some people go crazy when they have to decide on the subject or topic of their story. You probably won’t be one of them, because the topic is broadly fixed: “intangible cultural heritage”. This is your premise. Next, you need to decide what you are going to tell about that topic (the plot), which might be more tricky. To this end you will have to think about why you want to tell about this very topic, what it means to you or the community, when did you discover that meaning, what is the reason to talk about this very topic now. But also the narrator (one person or more) and the perspective (talking in the first or third person?) from which you will tell the story will need your attention because this will affect what is told and how. In this chapter we take you through the first steps of shaping your story; the steps that will help you find your story.

In this chapter, we step-by-step help you develop your notes, thoughts, ideas, mind map(s), in short all the results of the first steps taken, into a storyline. It is important to always keep in mind the purpose of the story, which is to inform people in a catchy way about the chosen topic so that the information sticks and invites them to want to know or experience more. Structuring is key in this phase of the process!

Once you are happy with your storyboard, you can start creating your digital story. “Create” may be a confusing word, because the entire process you have gone through up until this point has been part of its creation. What we mean is that now you can start using digital tools to translate your storyboard to a digital story. Do remember: Digital stories offer the possibility to combine different story layers. This allows you to present information more efficiently and the audience to make connections themselves.