The decision to tell this story
This story is the result of an assignment for a graduate level English course I enrolled in for the Winter 2014 semester. Starting out, I didn't know which story I would tell because, like most people, I have so many that I could share. After completing the first couple of assignments and visiting some old photo albums, it became increasingly obvious that my twins' journey had to be the first digital story that I tell.
The process of developing the story
Choosing the right story to tell was challenging starting out, but once I knew which story to tell, the rest fell in place fairly easily for me. For the most part, the story was created using my iPad. The images were all photos from scrapbooks, photo albums, or digital pictures that we already had at home. The digital images were simply transferred electronically to my iPad through Dropbox or email, and I used the camera on my iPad to snap pictures of the photos that were in albums and scrapbooks. The videos were saved in my cell phone and emailed to my iPad to be added to the project. The content is arranged to progress though the growth of my boys from their beginning to present day (2014). The script was developed from my heart and came to me as I selected the images to include in the story. I decided to keep the words simple and give just enough so that the viewer understands what is happening with overwhelming them with too much information. Joe Lambert's Seven Elements of a Successful Digital Story helped me determine the appropriate pacing, content, and sound. The song Someday by Rob Thomas was the perfect song to add emphasis on the message of the project. The melody and the lyrics fit the emotional content and pacing of my story. To put it all together, I used the iMovie Application on the iPad; it made editing and publishing smooth and seamless. I uploaded the video to YouTube from the iMovie app once the video was complete, and now I am able to share the video with anyone by providing the link or sending them to this website.
Reflection after the story
Although this story started off as an assignment for my English class, it developed to mean much more than a grade to me. I enjoyed every moment of putting together this story in a new way to share with the world. This will serve as a way to tell my kids their story when they are older and a way to even share with my grandchildren someday. There are many other events from my past that I plan to compose and share as digital stories in the very near future.