Nora Paul

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Elements of Digital Storytelling a taxonomy of
terms and a lot of questions

• Nora Paul
• University of Minnesota
• Institute for New Media Studies
• npaul_at_umn.edu

www.inms.umn.edu/elements
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So many terms, so little clarity
Hypertext

• Interactive

Multimedia
Experiential
Multi-nodal
Immersive
Non-linear
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Project Goals

• 1. Establish a vocabulary.
• 2. Analyze current practices.
• 3. Test and measure audience effects.

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Elements of Digital Storytelling

• Media
• Action
• Relationship
• Context
• Communication

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Element 1Media

• Configuration
• Type
• Currentness
• Time/Space

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Configuration
Element 1Media
Single Medium Multiple Media Multimedia
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Type
Element 1 Media
Graphic
Video
Motion Graphic
Animation
Type
Sound Effect
Text
Photo
Audio
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Currentness Time/Space
Element 1Media

Currentness Live or Recorded
Time / Space Realtime or Edited
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Element 2Action
Content Action User Action
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Content Action
Element 2Action
Static Dynamic Combo
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User Action
Element 2Action
Passive Active Mixed
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Element 3Relationship

• Two Conditions
• Closed
• Open

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Open or Closed
Element 3Relationship
Linearity Customization Calculation Manipu
lation Appendage - Permanence -
Availability
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Element 4Context

• Two conditions
• Standalone
• Linked

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Linked
Element 4Context

• Technique
• Purpose
• Source
• Content

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Element 5Communication
Type Configuration Mode Currentness
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Element 5Communication

Communication
Mode
E-mail
One-way
Two-way
Chat
Forum
Configuration
Currentness
One-to-One
Many-to-One
One-to-Many
Many-to-Many
Recorded
Live
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Open Questions

• Current levels of use
• Need baseline measures
• Audience effects research
• Which combinations of elements work best
• Recommendations to practitioners
• When to deploy effort with new story forms

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Current Practices

• Study 1
• Method 20 experts
• 30 top online news outlets
• 2 weeks

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Current Practices

• Study 1
• Homepage Finding Overview
• Relationship Less than 1/3 utilized open
  content.
• Action 90 of homepage contents were static.
• Media Over half of the stories were single
  medium (print only).

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Current Practices

• Study 1
• Special Project Package Finding Overview
• Relationship Only 1/4 utilized open content.
• Action Most static or dynamic active.
• Media Virtually all multiple medium.

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Measurement of Effects

• Nonlinear Access
• Multiple Media (HTML) vs. Multimedia (Flash)
• Voices for the Land
• www.startribune.com/voices
• Motivation Recall Test/Discuss

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Measurement of Effects

• Findings
• High School Students (n25, ages 14-19)
• Multimedia 2x stories, but didnt finish them.
• Multiple Media group found stories they liked
  more easily.
• Multiple Media group easier to comprehend/understa
  nd/follow.
• Multimedia slightly better recall (not s.s.)
• Primacy Effect
• Viewed multimedia 1st wanted multimedia
• Viewed multiple media 1st 40s/60m split
• (Equivalent comfort level online usage, prior
  knowledge, gender, age)

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Measurement of Effects

• Findings
• College Students (n43, ages 19-25)
• Multimedia _at_3x stories, didnt finish
• Multimedia found stories liked more easily
  (voice)
• Multiple Media easier to comprehend, but
  Multimedia easier follow/understand
• Multiple Media better recall
• 3/4 multimedia (experience)
• (Equivalent comfort level online usage, prior
  knowledge, gender, age)

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Measurement of Effects

• Findings
• Senior Citizens (n17, ages 68-87)
• Equivalent viewing, complete story
• Equivalent comprehend/follow/understand
• Multimedia better recall (hard to read on screen)
• 1/2 multimedia (help 2/3)
• 3/4 wanted print newspaper version
• (Equivalent comfort level online usage, prior
  knowledge, age)
• (Gender _at_ 31 female to male)

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www.inms.umn.edu/elements

• Nora Paul Christina Fiebich
• Institute for New Media Studies New
  Directions for News
• npaul_at_umn.edu
  Christina_at_Fiebich.org