Exclusive: The New Touching Stories App Brings Four Interactive Films to the iPad
“How many times when you’ve been watching a movie have you just wanted to reach out and poke an annoying character? Maybe help a fleeing victim by making them run just a little bit faster? A new interactive experience by production company Tool of North America uses the capabilities of the iPad to allow viewers to do just that as they interact with–and seemingly change the outcome of–live-action video. Part video game, part immersive entertainment, Touching Stories is available today as a free, downloadable app…”
“Mister Rogers frequently told his audiences, “It’s hard not to like someone once your know their story.” I latched onto that phrase the first time I heard it because I think it delivers a powerful business lesson.
People connect with stories that move them and most every business can and should tell a story that helps prospects and customers connect at a deeper level. I truly believe the Internet, while making it easy to find information, has left us craving real connections, with real people, and the companies they serve.”
This has the makings of a very nice site and resource.
“All too often, we teach students how to write and record digital stories without first teaching them how to create a story worth telling. It’s important to not only teach students how to use digital tools to record, film and photograph a story but to also make sure that the story they’re telling is ready for an audience.
So, how do you help students tell stories that are interesting? Stories that are well organized, creative, interesting, and vivid? This site and the resources you’ll find here are a collection of ideas and projects to help you do just that. ”
Where the real action happens!
“In this witty and eminently readable book, Bert O. States rethinks both the meaning of dreams and the relationship between dreaming and the telling of stories. Dreams he says, constitute a private literature of the self, and–despite their seeming lack of order or structure–can help us to understand the very nature of shared literature….”
“We would read what we were interested in. For me, a lot of times that did involve some kind of conflict and struggle and death. I mean, I don’t know, I can’t explain to you why I was interested in that from an early age. But for example, one of my very favorite books when I was like nine was this small hardcover book in some kind of historical series about World War II. It was about the Dunkirk boat lift where—and I‘m probably not remembering the details right—you had the British army in full retreat toward this French beach. They were in real trouble from the Germans. And all these boats came from England, fishing boats, everything—they came across to rescue these soldiers. Something about that resonated with me so much. I’m sure that’s the kind of dramatic narrative that still resonates for me. It’s still the kind of thing I think about when I’m writing now.”
“A simple concept that is repeated again and again to and between writers. Show, not tell. Show, not tell. In writing, your prose should be of such quality and precision that it fades into the background and the images, scenes and interactions that you are describing on the page spring to vivid life in the readers minds’ eye.”
“In any case, I could not put the book down. I flew through the thousand pages without a sweat. It’s amazing to me how on the one hand, some 120-page amateur screenplays require monumental acts of willpower to get through them and yet, on the other hand, there are giant, thousand-page books that are hopelessly addictive. Why is that?
What is it about one story that makes it addictive and another one arduous? How can a writer hold a reader’s attention so intensely for so many pages?
While I didn’t agree with every idea advocated in the book, I’m not here to impose my own political or philosophical ideas. I’m here to talk about the craft of writing, and I must admit, there were some fabulous approaches to the art of storytelling that are worth mentioning.”
The iPhone apps throwing light on best-selling books
“Anyone can replicate the experience of reading a physical book in an app. Our feeling is that just isn’t very exciting,” says head of digital George Walkley. “With Iain Banks and Martina Cole we’ve tried to provide added value and extra material for authors who have very passionate followings.”
At Canongate, Franklin is impressed with Little, Brown’s new app. “What is cool is that they’re getting it to directly interact with a print edition,” he says. “It’s very clever and something we’re looking to do.”
3 Things Oil Spill Execs Could Learn from an Irish Storyteller
A fascinating piece on Sean Buvala’s site.
“The distilled wisdom of generations is shared through stories in Ireland. Realistic reporting takes second place to imaginatively embroidered narratives. The Irish find that storytelling is an entertaining and effective way to teach important lessons. The Gulf Coast might be enjoying its prime tourist and fishing season if decision-makers from BP and the federal regulators had listened to more stories.”
Great storytelling – get inspired by… Google
She’s right!
“This is from Google. (Hat tip to Grace for the video.)
The average nonprofit has 100 stories at least this compelling.
We have to get better at telling them!
Get inspired to do more, better storytelling:”
Striking a chord with storytelling in Derry
Idea Hacking is a terrific idea!
“The idea of the event was to take a look at one big theme (in this case storytelling) from lots of different angles. With TV producers, animators, graphic designers, authors and performance poets all giving their take on what storytelling means to their work, the hope was that everyone of the 70+ attendees would be able to pick up something useful to use in their own work.”
BRAND ENGAGEMENT: Cultural Storytelling and Walking the Talk
A post from earlier this year but if you’re into organizational stories and you haven’t read it, you’ll want to.
“The highlight was a presentation made by Frank Hauck, which, via a series of short and compelling stories from his 20 years with the company, brought to life (and reinforced) who EMC is as a company and as a culture.”
Visual Storytelling via the InfoGraphic
This is a neat post from Lou Hoffman.
“I got the SlideShare religion because the platform simplifies the blending of words and visuals in storytelling.
But there are a number of ways to bring visuals to the fore, such as the infographic.
I was particularly impressed with the savvy displayed from a company called Infegy in creating an infographic on the vuvuzela, those pesky horns providing the “lovely background music” for World Cup matches.”
June 30 – Immersive Storytelling
You might want to put this one on your calendar.
“The Metanomics Masterclass Series examines best practices in immersive development. This episode, on Immersive Storytelling, brings together a panel that will provide insight into the the use of narrative and story in virtual worlds and game environments. An exploration of the cross-over between narrative approaches in games, and the unique approaches to story in a user-generated environment like Second Life.”
Marketing Schools with Stories
A nice followup post on Kathy Hansen’s site.
“One of the threads that unites each contribution to the book is an emphasis on telling the story of a school. But while storytelling itself is timeless, the tools which we use to tell these tales have evolved. Take for example the web. For Willows, the digital world opens doorways into new ways to share our story. As he notes, “No longer limited to printed words on a page, we have access to rich and varied media that provide new dimensions to the stories we are seeking to tell. This opens up for us huge new opportunities. ”
