Potential narrative idea - 'The train station'

I've decided to write out a scene plan for a potential narrative. I've created a simple story line they is easy for me to follow and break down in to simple scenes to photograph. I do like the idea of a simple love story and hopefully I can recreate this, I will be using my iPhone and my Nikon D5100 with a tripod for certain scenes. A few of my scenes will be at a two different train stations and I will also be getting on the train and taking photos. On the in and outside of the train I want to capture movement so I will need my Nikon to capture those particular moments. As I will have to be moving quickly I think it might be easier to use my phone for some scene, this is a challenge that might make things difficult for me just means practice is perfect and I will learn from it.

'

This idea is for my digital narrative, from my earlier post Emeli Sande - Read all about it, I went in to detail about why I wanted to use her song for my narrative. I'm not sure if my idea and the song will go together, will just have to wait and see, I hope it does. I might have to consider other songs or change some scenes and actions within my narrative to make sure it flows together. 

I will be writing out my idea for my printed narrative, it will be from the girls point of view, so its the same story just from two different views and what happens to them throughout the scenes. I wanted to keep it simple for myself to follow and to keep to a story that my audience can keep up with and follow, I basically don't want it to be to complicated.. I want it to be effective and for people to relate to the situation and to also enjoy watching it, even if the narrative is as simple as two people meeting at a train station. 

Hollie xD

My first scene layout idea

Drag Queen Narrative

Looking through the Narratively website, I clicked on the shorts link and started browsing through the short stories, some had videos attached and some didn't. I came across this story titled 'Queens' by Anne Lagamayo, the small description above the video reads;

Sergio Conrad undergoes a transformation every night. Putting on foundation and dabbing glitter around his eyes, he becomes Digna Shei, drag queen extraordinaire, lip synching to Madonna and dancing onstage at Lotus Blue. 

The video is a series of images of Sergio Conrad transforming in to a drag queen ready to go on stage. The images are accompanied by a audio recording of him talking briefly about who he is and how it makes him happy. I was smiling when watching this video because he is describing why he enjoys dressing up in drag, he said once he starts his makeup he's like 'oh not again' but as he puts more makeup on the more excited he gets to go out and preform. The tone of his voice I feel was that of a happy human being who loves life and excepts himself for who he is, he says dressing up in drag is normal.. Normal is a funny word to me, what is normal? I understand that some people in this world still are very 'old fashioned' and don't understand or accept certain people because they are so different to themselves and how they see the world. I think normal is whatever you are comfortable with and what works best for you and in the end if it makes you happy, does it matter what some stranger says about you. Its a very tricky subject, but within every person whether they feel 'normal' or not they will always have a hobby or interest that they enjoy, their own life is a narrative, they might feel their story isn't that interesting and might not want to share it with anyone else, because they might not feel its important enough, but because it means something to them it is as every bit important as a worldwide news hitting story they may effective millions, the simplest stories are probably most effective because people always have common issues within every day life.

Researching this website has made me think more about what type of narrative I want to creative both in the digital and printed formats. I want to explore in to a couple of mini narratives, staged and not staged and see what I feel works best so I can come to a point where I have a solid theme to express my narrative project further.

Hollie xD

https://vimeo.com/67877045

Discovering the website 'Narratively'

Today I decided to come home and start researching about the word 'Narrative'. I've seen some people on other blogs post from the online Oxford dictionary or Wikipedia so I thought I'd research in to more depth to see what else I could come across. All I did was type in the word narrative and 1000's of web pages popped up, in stead of just shoving research on to my blog and just forgetting about it I came across this website in America - New York. The site is called 'Narratively' what caught my eye was these two pieces of text 'Human Stories, Boldly Told'  and below that 'Narratively is a community of talented storytellers who are devoted to uncovering and sharing in-depth local stories with a universal appeal'. I immediately wanted to click on this website and go exploring. What I was drawn in to was that they advertised local stories, everyone on the news we see celebrity stories, the government, what tragedies are happening all around the world, the weather, basically what I get from the news seems to always be negative news, maybe one small piece about a something positive, which I think is rather rare. When going through the Narratively website there are loads of different stories within different types of media to fit a particular piece, the fact that they are local stories makes them for me seem much more interesting then typical worldwide stories and events that I see on the news. I feel a stranger on the street can be more fascinating then a celebrity you see on TV and other medias. 'Normal' people I feel have a lot more creative and wild stories to share with you, but they do not feel the need to perhaps write a book about it or produce it in to a film or share a story to a newspaper for a bit of money and 5 minute fame. I feel personally these people can be more genuine and also the stories they tell could prove to be more positive. I want to research further in to this website and explore in to the different types of mixed media, who knows what journey I will go on with this new found idea, I could meet someone who has mind blowing story they are just ready to share. Narrative is everywhere I feel, I might not get the most in-depth story told to me, I could get some outrageous story that makes no sense, but never the less its still a narrative no matter the concept or person.    

About Narratively 

Narratively, named one of TIME's "50 Best Websites of 2013," is a platform devoted to original, in-depth and untold stories. We launched in September 2012.
Narratively slows down the news cycle. We avoid the breaking news and the next big headline, instead focusing exclusively on untold, human-interest stories—the rich, intricate narratives that get at the heart of what a place and its people are all about.
Each week, we explore a different theme and publish a series of stories—just one a day—told in the most appropriate medium for each piece. We might feature a long form article on a Monday, followed by an animated documentary on Tuesday, then a photo essay, an audio piece or a short documentary film. Every story gets the space and time it needs to have an impact—an approach we call “slow storytelling” or “slow journalism.” (Stay up to date on our latest stories by signing up for our weekly and weekender emails.)
Our community of writers, editors, photographers, filmmakers, illustrators, and designers have worked extensively for top media outlets like the New York Times, New York magazine, CNN, NPR, MediaStorm, the New Yorker and the BBC, among other innovative and experimental publications. And we’ve subsequently gotten press from leading outlets like Forbes, PBS, Yahoo! Finance and others.

http://narrative.ly/