I often read people are in the filmbusiness because they love storytelling. But what is storytelling?
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation or instilling moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and arena. The term "storytelling" can refer specifically to oral storytelling but also broadly to techniques used in other media to unfold or disclose the narrative of a story.
To me storytelling is something natural which came through all the stories I have digested in my life. And those have been many - at school, church, at home through books and TV and of course cinema.
At filmschool many directors where charmed by the book "Story" written by Robert McKee. If you like to study more about screenwriting or stories this work might help you on your way. The link below is to a free PDF download of the book.
https://dn790001.ca.archive.org/0/items/RobertMcKeeStorypdf/Robert%20McK...
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Great topic, Willem Elzenga. "To me storytelling is something natural which came through all the stories I have digested in my life." Me too. I put stories and experiences from my life in my scripts, and sometimes I don't realize it right away. I thought of a sitcom idea that's about an experience in my life. I just have to figure out the story. Thanks for the pdf.
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I'm of the belief that storytelling is innate in humans and therefor a necessity for humnakind. Joseph Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces explores this beautifully and is the basis for The Hero's Journey (which Stage 32 has amazing education on). That's why even way back in the day, some hunted dinosaurs and some guarded the cave and some drew on the wall - society needs those who "draw on the wall". Incidently, studies found that in those old caves, the drawings were usually in the most acoustically vibrant parts of the caves so enhancing the story telling experience has always been a part of it. That's why I love stories and storytellers and how this community on Stage 32 brings storytellers together.
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I don't know the hard mechanics about storytelling but I think of it as an art that's as natural to us as breathing. One of my teachers at uni said that it's so natural to us that we've been processing stories since we were babies, we just did it without words.
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I’m fascinated by the ancient Navajo who handed down stories whilst sat in circles & the art of prehistoric cave dwellers @ Sam mentions to Shakespeare, onto more recent writers and today’s authors. Stories are part of the fabric of every day life giving substance and meaning over mere survival. Teller and audience interact evoking human feelings psychological and physical. Story is not necessarily planned, structured or epoch. EG Someone on the tube may just recall their day but it’s a recollection from their unique viewpoint. Hard to imagine a world without story whether truth or fiction. It’s a tool to educate, cause question and entertain.