Storytelling in the 21st Century
Aaron Notestine
One of the greatest challenges facing artists of today deals with the relation of storytelling to technology. Dr. Kevin Brooks, the principle Researcher/ Technology Storyteller for Motorola, Inc., works to integrate storytelling into new and evolving technology. “We are such story beings,” says Dr. Brooks, “We understand everything through some kind of story. So when we’re hearing stories about technology, we engage both halves of our brain, the technical side and the creative side. That is what is required out of the storyteller, especially in today’s world.”
With the concern of modern technological conveniences like Youtube, Facebook and Wikipedia diminishing the quality of storytelling, Dr. Brooks shares, “People are still people. We’ve always made bad stuff, but now there is the “Look at me! Look at me! I’m just saying something and it’s not important!” Thankfully we have those who rise over that. They understand what came before and apply that in a modern context.”
In late April, Dr. Brooks engaged several groups at the Center for Design Innovation to create a game, business or performance piece by combining a medium of art with a current technology. The results varied from an interactive, virtual iTunes playlist, to a quilt embedded with fiber optics that would retain memories. “I found it interesting to look at my own work as storytelling,” shares CDI’s Systems Architect Richard Phillips, “It’s enabled me to discover more ways to interpret and deliver content.”
Dr. Brooks taught the groups one of his core principles for his own work, “New technology provides new ways of looking at and accessing story, the story itself doesn’t change.” One such example Dr. Brooks provided was Omnivisu, from Richard The of Germany, which projects your eyes onto a building after looking in through its glasswork.
Omnivisu, Richard The
Another, from Kimiko Ryokai of the University of California Berkley, titled I/O Brush, allows the user to copy colors, patterns and movement with a digital camera brush and paint with them on a unique drawing canvas.
I/O Brush, Kimiko Ryokai
The key to combining story and technology is simplicity. “Researchers tend to lock onto some idea and they bury themselves in that trying to get it to work,” commented Dr. Brooks, “Too often the research becomes research about research, they forget the human component."
Citing the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he continued, “It’s synergistic storytelling at its best. You have the enormous rolling LCD screens, human light costumes and more. That only comes about with synergy.”
But where to begin? It starts with listening, “We tend not to listen to ourselves, especially in academics. We listen with hidden agendas, intending to interrupt or prove our point. No one listens anymore. By just having someone to listen to you, you begin to listen to yourself. And you get better. Your brain works differently, your learning works differently. Being listened to is a dramatic key.”
Links:
Omnivisu: http://www.richardthe.de/portfolio/omnivisu/
I/O Brush: http://web.media.mit.edu/~kimiko/iobrush/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04v_v1gnyO8
Center for Design Innovation:
http://centerfordesigninnovation.org/web/index.html
Aaron Notestine is currently enrolled as a junior in UNCSA's School of Filmmaking as a Screenwriter. On top of three feature length scripts, he is currently working on a short animation thesis project to be finished his senior year.
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