Final Project Author’s Statement

My project was based on folklore and inspired by Disney princesses. I wanted to create a project that incorporated little-known stories that I was familiar with and put into a familiar presence online. Instead of multiple blog posts, like my Lost City of J, I wanted to keep the story on one blog post for a better read. In addition to a single post, I added a short animation video for the beginning of the story. I tried finding free online animation makers online, but the specifics of the animation I wanted was not available. Trying to find another way to make a simple animation with skills, I tried my hand at MSPaint. It was really hard to draw a straight line, so I drew a background on a piece of paper, took a picture and added my own drawings in MSPaint. That process was easier and simpler than using online animation makers. In the animation video, I added my own narration to establish the setting of the story.

Throughout the story, I added links to drawings of what I envisioned princesses would wear. I linked them on to another website I created as inserting them into the story would distract the reader. I also added a link to an online music beat I made using Incredibox. I looked online for free software that would allow me to create my own music. The free audio that was available was not exactly what I was looking for and I could not upload songs I already own to remix them. Incredibox was a fun animation music generator that, with enough practice, made a decent song. I wanted to create a song that exemplified the fight between the two sisters.

Of Alexander’s five digital storytelling themes (serial structure, personal presence, social framework, multiple proscenia, and platform affordances), I think my project best uses multiple proscenia and social framework. My project could be argued that it uses all five themes. It has a serial structure where you can watch the short animation video and has a story. I incorporated my own culture into the project and the platform affordances allow other people to see what I have done. The affordances of the internet allow me to show different parts of the story in different ways. Since my project is online and available for all to see, anybody can access it and comment on it.

I want my audience to know that there are many different stories of princesses and magic all over the world that do not fit in with the traditional Disney princess storyline. Currently, Disney is expanding on their storytelling abilities to conform to modern feminism so they are branching out from their traditional princess line.

My short animation is very similar to the Digital Story Video Exercise that I did for class. Animation took too much work in the short period of time and the lack of resources available for free online convinced me to make a DSV. I will link an example of one of my own DSV.

The Rejected Princesses website also inspired me to do an unconventional princess. While my story greatly differs from the original, I toned it down so everybody of all ages enjoys it. Rejected Disney Princess aims to tell stories of miraculous women throughout history that the company Disney would not want to monopolize. The creator, Jason Porath, used to work at DreamWorks Animation. He started joking about the “Least Likely” princess and soon it became its own thing. A website and 2 books have been created because of all the exceptional and alternative women in history. The women progress from family friendly to murder and other similar atrocities. The reaction to these women has created a lot of discussion and interest in women from other cultures and times. Digital storytelling has helped people discover new women in history that are worthy to have their own story. While my own princess is not included on the website, there are a plethora of other women that others can check out. My princess is similar to the Rejected Princess because of who my princess is. Many people –whom I’ve met- do not know where Indonesia is. Geographically, my princess is already rejected because there is not a market for an okay princess in a country that no one knows of. In my story, the princess also reconciles with the antagonist, her sister. The ending is different because I want my audience to know that there are many different perspectives and solutions to solve a problem. All solutions are not the same, but it is not a good enough reason to throw a person in a dungeon. Problem solving and compromise are important growths for both of my characters. My princess is also different from the Rejected Princesses because of the origin of my story. The women in Rejected Princesses are based on real women, while mine is folklore. I think my origin gives me more flexibility to change the story into my own. Not a lot of research has been done on my princess because of my previous knowledge of the culture and what I wanted to take from the story.

While reading one of Bryan Alexander’s posts for class, I was interested in KNIGHTTIME and the use of audio and pictures in storytelling. There is the option to stream or download a section of the tale. Pictures and a short synopsis are also included in the page. I wanted to do something similar to KNIGHTTIME, but my story is very short instead of a serial like KNIGHTTIME. Instead of narrating the whole story, I narrated the beginning –kind of like an old man telling a story to a young traveler in a movie. My project is similar to KNIGHTTIME in that it incorporates multiple proscenia to display a story. A difference is that KNIGHTTIME is a serial story, one that took much time and effort to create. My project has links that take the reader out of the story instead of placing them in the text. I chose to make that decision as my post was already lengthy, but I also thought that the photos or video takes the reader out of the story.

The use of other media in Snow Fall by John Branch captured my eyes. Another aspect of digital storytelling I wanted to incorporate was the interaction between the story and accessories. The average reader may not be a ski fanatic and reading is a different experience than watching. Snow Fall incorporates these two elements to give its readers the ability to visualize what the victims might have felt while being caught in an avalanche. While scrolling down the page, images and videos move or start to differentiate itself from other journalism. The graphics caught my attention and I wanted to create a more personalized reading in my own project. My own project did not incorporate audio or visuals embedded in the post but replicated as much as I could to create a more dimensional story. Someone can click the first link in the story and read the post instead of watching the video. Another person can click on the audio link and listen to the sweet sounds of beat box while reading the story.

My project is very amateur-ish, but it does not mean it is bad. It still needs a lot of work, but it also means that anyone can start online and create something. While I do not see myself going into animation, I enjoyed creating my own scenes and costumes for my story. Many times in film, TV, or video games I think on the improvements a medium could do to make it more intriguing. I liked creating something that was mine to show online. My project also brings Eastern (?) traditions to a Western platform that could open up possibilities for new stories in the future.

In Murray’s book Inventing Medium, she talks about the affordances that are available to us through media. On page 16 she writes, “Our media make us human by externalizing symbolic thought so it can be shared. Media of representation extend the range of shared attention…” One of the affordances of the internet is its encyclopedic and participatory characteristic. I have heard about Lutung Kasarung when I was younger, but I could not recall the exact story. Online there were many posts and information about the story and how it evolved. Traditionally, the story was told orally through many generations and years before being put to words on paper. Every rendition of the story spoken will be different than the previous, but there was no way to check the facts. Having everything posted online makes it easier to keep track of what changes were made and what other variations were told that were passed down. I could read what other people have written and created my own story from the other stories written. This is a demonstration of Lutung Kasarung’s encyclopedic affordance. The participatory affordance that helped me was the number of people writing about it. Without writers putting their works online, available for everyone, I would have created a different story. I could reference between writers and what were similar and different. Some stories included the mother and other didn’t. Some stories had the father alive, while others had him killed. Smaller aspects of the story changed but the basic structure of two sisters, a monkey, and love were consistent in each rendition.

Criticisms have also been made about the internet’s encyclopedia range. Nicholas Carr in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” reminded me of when I wanted to recall the story of Lutung Kasarung. I could not remember every detail and I immediately turned to the internet to find information about the story. Fifty years ago, could I have remembered a story from my childhood without any help at all? I don’t know. All I know is that I can choose to remember what I want to remember. The most important memories will stay in my mind while I can forget the experiences and facts about others. What stuck out to me most in the article was that “the Net’s influence doesn’t end at the edges of a computer screen.” I did notice that I do not have the strength to stay on one page for long. Even while watching TV or reading a book, I often return to my phone to play a game or check on my email. This could be detrimental to my own well-being in the future, but I also know that the internet frees up my time. I can find a solution to a problematic laptop without extensive knowledge of building a PC or finding someone to fix my computer. The internet frees up my time to do other things. While working on my project, I experimented with different online software. I wanted to create a short animated video with Indonesian designs, my voiceover, and my drawings. The available software could not incorporate all my wants for free. Instead of paying money to have an easier time creating, I chose to take a long time to create what I wanted. Google might not be making us stupid or lazier, but it is making me more creative in my obdurate self.

After publishing my final project, I was still unhappy with my dresses for the princesses. In Jason Mittell’s “Wikis and Participatory Fandom” article he writes that wikis are drafts. In the event I wanted to add more dresses or more terrible animation videos, I have the opportunity to do that. I think one of the affordances of my project is that it is not permanent. If I ever wanted to change the story or add something new to my project, I can. One of the characteristics of digital storytelling is being able to change direction in the middle of a project. The author can gage whether they are getting appropriate feedback and make the necessary changes. I know that Indonesians are a touchy group of people, and in the event, someone is angry at my writing, I can take it down or change it.