The Project:

Digital Story Presentations

HN 111 Spring 2012 Bungard

This project is designed to give you the opportunity to use 21st century technology to bring to life one of Ovid’s myths. You will work with your discussion group to create a Digital Story to share a story from the Metamorphoses. We have to remember that ancient poetry would have been performed rather than read in quiet. This project is an attempt to help us think about the gripping power of poetry using a medium we are more familiar with.

The Task:

Working with your discussion group, you will select one of the stories from the Metamorphoses that you believe will make an interesting 4-6 minute digital story. You should use Ovid’s own words, but depending on the length of the story, you may need to trim out some lines to make the story fit comfortably in a 4-6 minute span. Have one group member read the story out loud at a good pace (not too fast and not too slow). Remember that you may want to leave pauses after key words or phrases.

As you think about Ovid’s version of the myth, think about:

1. What are the key plot points?
2. What are the key emotions Ovid is trying to draw out in his telling of the myth (humor, sadness, desperation,

   love, etc)?

3. What kind of soundtrack would be appropriate if we were to make this story into a movie?
4. What kind of pictures do you see as you hear the story?

Preparation for the Project:

1. Read through your group’s story.
2. Edit down the story so it produces a script that can easily be read in 4-6 minutes. It is important not to rush

the audio part of this project. Your audience needs time to take it in.
3. Take notes concerning the questions above.
4. Now that you have a short narrative, think about how you might use digital media to highlight the key pieces

of information in your narrative. You really want to grip the senses of your audience.
a. Highlight key sound bites for the story.
b. Think about the kind of images that cue into those sound bites.
c. Think about sound or musical effects that can further enhance the sound bites.

5. Make any adjustments to your narrative that you think are necessary.
6. Record your narrative. Make sure that you are happy with the audio quality.
7. Gather images and music/sounds that will be key for enhancing your narrative.
8. Produce and polish your 4-6 minute story. Remember that this takes time. DO NOT LEAVE THIS UNTIL

THE WEEK IT IS DO! Timeline:

March 8th March 29th

April 23rd April 24th

Learning Objectives:

Before class, complete steps 1-5. There will be time in class to tinker with step 6.
Complete step 7. For our second Tech Day, you should have your recorded narrative, your images, and your music all in one folder. The second Tech Day will focus on editing issues.

Submit your presentations to me by midnight In class presentation of the digital stories.

1. Develop skills in expressing yourself through oral/visual communication.
2. Developing creative capacities to relate the ancient world to modern audiences.
3. Develop an appreciation for Ovid’s poetical style.
4. Become familiar with some basic tools for digital storytelling.