Storytelling Critique

Slideshows
Slideshows are a very powerful way to get a story or message across to an audience. Slideshows produce a feeling that many times words cannot do otherwise. When I viewed the slideshow “Shattered,” I could see the agony in firefighters’ eyes, the horror on civilians’ faces and the effect of what a terrorist attack could do to not just one city but a whole country. If I were to read an article about the attack on 9/11 I would not get nearly the same gut sickening feeling I got when I looked at The Time’s slideshow. Slideshows are a great way to tell a story when the photos are going to have meaning. I think the slideshow would have been more affective if there were captions of what was happening at the time the photo was taken. Having instrumental music playing throughout would have also been a way to add more layers to the storytelling, without going overboard.
http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/shattered/

Live Chats
If someone were to tell me that live chats are a great way to tell a story I would have never believed them, until now that is. I have always viewed live chats as being more of a friendly conversation tool or a way to meet new people. After reading this article though I learned that live chats allow for open ended conversation with people all over the world. They are very interactive, giving people the chance to ask questions and retrieve answers. I didn’t know how much the readers help to shape the chats until reading this article. However; with the readers asking and answering questions the story can be altered sometimes too much. This can be a problem because the story can change so much that it no longer is true. Even though the links for the live chats didn’t work I have seen live chats before and think that they can be very useful if done accurately.

Animated Stories
When I think of animation I usually think of the cartoons I used to watch growing up. Nowadays, animation is being used more and more to tell stories that are not just for children under the age of ten. I think animation is a great way to tell a story when you are trying to get someone who does not know much or if any information about the topic you are writing about to understand it more clearly. The animation I think makes people feel as ease, similar to the way they felt when they were young and watched animated cartoons. Animation can also be used to help explain how something works in a more enjoyable way then just providing basic instructions. However; I don’t think animated stories should be used for more serious stories. The Tiger Woods animated story is a helpful way for people who don’t understand or have much interest in golf, better understand the game. The drawback of animated stories is that they are very time consuming and take longer to produce. This being said, I think animated stories should only be used when necessary and when they will not be out dated in days after being made.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/augusta/tour/flash/20010408_frame.html