1. Malcolm Roberts Wintec

2.  A short multimedia tale told from the heart  A combination of digital images, text, music and spoken voice which tells a powerful story.  Ingredients:  Story board  Images  Spoken voice  Sequence  Music  Transitions and effects  Cooked gently and then shared!

3.  Brainstorm ideas of your story  Write down your script to match your images  Start with a dramatic question  Write the sentences down on stickies ready for your storyboard

4.  The storyboard is what you plan to show  Match your images to your script  Work out the order  Make a series of sketches that represent the images onto the stickies  Collect images from scanned old photos, or digital camera images or from royalty free image sites on the web

5.  Discuss the ideas with others in a story circle  Take advice from others and revise your ideas as necessary  Go over the script until your are happy with your story sequence

6.  Suitable movie editors include: moviemaker, i- movie or Corel video-studio.  Import your images into the movie editor  Drag your images onto the storyboard in the correct sequence  Ideally your images should be resized in a 3:4 ration in an image editor such as photoshop or paintshop pro or paint

7.  Record your narrative track as separate sound files for each sentence  Record the sound files separately using software such as audacity or garageband  Or record the sound files in the video editor  Drag the sound files onto the storyboard  Adjust the image duration to match the sound files

8.  Look at each image and decide what visual effect you are going to add to the picture  Decide on the “Ken Burns” effect: to make the image come alive eg: (ease in) etc…  Decide on any video filters you may wish to use  Don’t over do the visual effects: each effect chosen should have a purpose  Keeping it simple is often the best……

9.  Choose a music sound track that fits in the mood of your story  Rip the music track from your CD or locate a royalty free music track from the internet  I-movie and Corel Video studio allow the user to easily import a musical sound track  Drag the sound track onto your storyboard  Adjust the volume to suit, ensure it does not drown out the spoken voice

10.  Preview your story  Make any alterations to suit  Make sure your story is perfect in terms of  Timing  Clarity of sound  Images are clear  Transitions are appropriate  Your ‘story’ is told

11.  Burn your story to disc or movie file  Be prepared to wait as this process often takes time  Share your completed Digital Story with friends and family  Start planning your next digital story…..