This week we started with a basic introductions to each other, Dan, and the class. We also were introduced to what this course will be about, and basically, it is questioning “what is story now?” I interpret this as asking what a story is in this day and age, and how it has progressed, changed, and developed over time. How can we use what is available to us in the present age to improve the way a story is told? How have conventions and assumptions about story telling been altered and re-invented? How can multiple platforms be used to tell a story and make it more engaging? We will explore the answers to these questions as the semester goes on, but something we looked at in our first class was a Ted Talk by Andrew Stanton titled ‘The Clues to a Great Story.’

What I liked the most about this Ted Talk was that Stanton made so many claims about what makes a story great, and every time he did I sort of had an “ah ha” moment, where I could see where he was coming from and agreed with what he said. Stanton questioned the audience with:

• Have you constructed anticipation?
• Have you made me want to know what happens next?
• Have you created honest conflicts?
• Can you evoke wonder?
• And have you made me care?

And with each question, I could think of a movie where the screenwriter had done just that. And coincidentally, I really liked those movies. I myself had never really identified “oh, I really care about this character, that’s why this is a good film…” but to have someone literally state what makes a good story had me thinking, ‘yeah, how obvious’. The power the scriptwriter has and the covert way in which they manipulate audiences emotion is something which I will be interested to explore.

In the second class of this week, we listened to War of the Worlds (1938). What was so good about this audio piece was the many ways in which the story was told: the news stories, music, silence, interviews etc. Sometimes the use of silence was more powerful that the sounds.

Overall, I have a positive outlook on the rest of the semester and am looking forward to what’s in store next.