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As we discussed in class yesterday, there are some key qualities that are found in successful stories:
1) A narrative arc (conflict, crisis, resolution)—especially in fictional stories. Another way to think about it: a beginning, a middle and an end.
2) An angle (some specific point or response to a specific question)—especially in journalistic stories.
3) Specific details that illustrate universal themes—found in all stories that resonate with wide audiences.
With these qualities in mind, as well as the basic requirements of Project 2 (15 images, text), share your story ideas here in one or two paragraphs. Just describe your subject and tell us how you intend to craft it into a story. Or give us a short summary of your story and describe the pictures you will pursue.
Do this as soon as possible so I can respond. Also, let’s treat this like a workshop. That is, read the other story ideas and comment on them if you feel you have something to contribute.
Remember, the project is due next Thursday so it would be ideal to shoot this weekend! I will give you feedback publicly, on the blog, so be sure to check back for my response.
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I’m thinking about using the photos I take to tell a narrative. I would really like to find a small clothing store and get close ups of the clothes, maybe have a girl in the story doing a lot of shopping/retail therapy. Since that is not very interesting I am still looking for the climax of the plot-maybe her credit card doesn’t have enough money for it, or she is shopping for a date that get s cancelled or she wears her new outfit out in the rain. Any thoughts/suggestions?
Comment by Isabelle Powell March 4, 2009 @ 11:45 PMFor my story, I want to show a student attempting to skinny dip in the fountain outside the Koury Business Center. Bored one night, she and her friends will decide to do stupid things, and she’ll be on a dare. When campus security shows up, all of her friends will scatter, leaving her alone to get in trouble.
My plot is pretty simple, so I might try to do this without any text, but I might have to later. I want to start with a simple story so that I can tell it well, but if it gets more complex as I start to take pictures, I’ll go with it. I already know that I will use several pictures in one frame a couple of times.
Comment by Erin Bacon March 5, 2009 @ 1:34 AMThe story that I am going to show is the playing of a board game where the competition between all competitors is fierce. Tempers flare as for the duration of the game all friendships are thrown aside. What I intend to show with the pictures is the intensity of the players throughout the game and all the key points that can help them win the game.
Comment by Michael Balderston March 5, 2009 @ 2:16 AMFor my project I want to profile two different towns that each Elon student is familiar with: Elon and Burlington. I want to take photos of both towns and tell a story about each town. I want to show my viewer how Elon and Burlington are so different from one another but still manage to be close to one another and occupy the same area. I want to show an accurate potrait by focusing on what each town is made up of: the people, the buildings, the hang out spots, the enviornment surronding it, etc.
Comment by Kelly Bednarski March 5, 2009 @ 4:08 AMMy pictures of Burlington would focus mainly on how the town is very old fashioned and starting to become a little run down and date in some areas. I would take pictures of old shops in the downtown area, rusty bridges and railroad tracks, old-fashioned gas stations and soda shops, and some junkyards that have old pieces of Burlington’s history inside them. I would contrast these pictures with pictures of Elon’s campus and town. I would take pictures of the buildings on campus, go inside some of the newer buildings like Colonades and the Buisness Center, take pictures of the brick pathways and well groommed lawns, and take some pictures of the shops and restaurants that make up the town.
The overall goal and story I would like to tell is how each town is unique in it’s own way and how each town is moving in different directions, Burlington staying in the past, while Elon is moving to the future.
I by no means want to make one town look better than the other one, but rather use the differences of each town to get my story and points across to the viewer. I really want to show how each town has it’s own qualities that make it different and how interesting it is to live in an area that has two places that are moving in such different directions.
My first idea is a narrative arc that has to deal with conflict, crisis, and resolution. I am planning on teaming up with a friend of mine and covering the reactions of a student when late for an exam. I will capture photos of my friend the night before the exam absolutely cramming all the information into her head. Then, I will build off that with a photo the next morning of her panicking and the time in the background. The rest will be shots from different angles providing step by step emotions until she finally completes the test.
Comment by Chris Leko March 5, 2009 @ 9:38 AMMy second idea is to take shots of various beautiful things on campus. They may range from students simply walking around the campus to beautiful flowers. I will show the beauty of the everyday world we ignore and end it off with a question. “What will the world look like tomorrow? Pay attention.”
I have two story ideas. They are both loosely based on my own life experiences and those of my friends. The only problem is that I am having an issue adapting the first one so that I can photograph it here at Elon.
The first story is about a boy and his girlfriend. The girlfriend goes to visit the boy at school and they are extremely happy to see each other. They are so happy that they get on the subway and go in the wrong direction. The both realize this after four stops going the wrong way and decide they need to get off immediately. The girl hops off as the doors slam shut leaving her boyfriend still inside the subway. Her bag and shoe are partially caught in the door and the subway begins to move. She bangs on the window and tries to pry the door open with her bare hands as the subway picks up speed. Her bag and shoe are ripped free and she is left alone with a huge black mark on her clothes. Alone at the sketchy subway stop, the girl frantically tries to call her boyfriend and ask him what do to. Her cellphone doesn’t have service. She tries until the call goes through and he tells her to go to the next stop. She gets on the next train and arrives and the next stop but doesn’t see her boyfriend anywhere. All the trains depart and she is left alone. She calls her boyfriend and the finally realize they are both at the same station but are on opposite sides of the track. They are relieved and finally get on the next train together and go back in the right direction.
I love the above story but don’t know how to adapt it for Elon. I was thinking I could use the BioBus but I don’t think it has the same effect…
The second story, that I could easily photograph, would be about two young teenagers, a boy and a girl. They are best friends and eventually date for a while. They are very close and do everything together but go to college and do not see each other very often. Months pass and they finally run into each other, catch up, and relive old memories. A few weeks later the girl is completely devastated when she gets a call that her best friend and old boyfriend was involved in a terrible situation after a party one night and is in a coma. The boy ends up not making it through the night. The girl is sad and confused, and hates that everything she owns reminds her of her old friend. Eventually the pain begins to decrease and she realizes that instead of being sad she should live life in her friend’s honor by being herself and enjoying life to the fullest.
For the second story I would take pictures on campus, at the nearby graveyards and probably at several restaurants or a mall off campus.
I don’t know which one would be better or if the first one could be adapted to fit at Elon.
Comment by Alison Schiffli March 5, 2009 @ 9:58 AMI am planning on doing “A Day In The Life Of A College Student.” I am going to cover what it is like from sun up to sun down as a college student. The twist? Instead of using words to describe the events in each frame, I’m going to use lyrics from Beatles songs. EX: The first frame will be a kid waking up early for class and the words will be “Good Day Sunshine” from the song of the same title. Think Across The Universe but less trippy
Comment by cking17 March 5, 2009 @ 11:49 AMI want to tell a story about life and making decisions. The story is about a girl who graduates, gets a job and realizes she might be missing out on things that life has to offer. Living a fairly sheltered college experience, she realizes this, as she’s being fired from her job, packs up her car and hits the road. Along the road (i’m driving to Charleston, SC this weekend) she manages to meet some interesting people, in cool places that help her grow and see that there is so much more that the world has to offer. Even without a life plan or job in corporate America, there is still some wonderful things in the world. I really want to try and capture these things on film.
Comment by Allie Ziegler March 5, 2009 @ 12:06 PMFor my story, I’m thinking about some type of conflict between friends. Something that happens quite often, probably conflict over a boy or something. It will have some comedy, but substance too as well as a juicy plot. Something similar to “John Tucker Must Die.”
Comment by Shante' Barnwell March 5, 2009 @ 12:39 PMI think I’m going to try to document a relationship between a guy and a girl. The photographs will all be different phases in their relationship: they meet, first date, fun things, the climax will be a big fight, then showing both of their reactions to the fight, working it out, and the resolution is that they worked everything out in the end. I’m still currently in the planning progress so I know it’s kind of vague, but I’ll work on it. Suggestions?
Comment by Kierstin Coatney March 5, 2009 @ 1:12 PMThe story I am in the process of creating is about a dwindling relationship. The main characters will be a guy and a girl, Pierre and Juanita. They’ve been dating for some time and the relationship has reached a dead end. Juanita is tired of his crap and she’s not going to take it any more. The climax is a scene in the living room where the two are arguing loudly, he storms off in his car and ends up crashing into a pole. His life is dead, just like their love.
Comment by Tavianna Williams March 5, 2009 @ 1:19 PMStory 1: I plan on following either one of my roommates or good friends one night when they go out to the bar. This will include what they do before the bar, what they do at the bar, and what they do when they leave the bar. Hopefully I can get some pictures of them playing pool, dancing, fighting someone, dancing or talking with girls.
Story 2: Follow one of our players on our club baseball team the day leading up to a big game. What they do to get ready for the game, any types of superstitions that baseball players usually have, how they play the game, intense moments during the game, and the celebration of winning.
Comment by Nolan Elingburg March 5, 2009 @ 1:50 PMRight now I’m finding it difficult to make a story first and then take pictures. I’m leaning towards taking as many pictures as possible and having a story come out of what I’ve shot. This weekend I am going to the beach for a Sweet Signatures retreat. The natural setting and the energy of all of us I think will provide a good theme. I want to relay something that is natural and exudes positivity.
Comment by Anna Hunsucker March 5, 2009 @ 11:10 PMFor my story I am planning on profiling my roommate who is a volunteer firefighter. I hope to follow him on a call, but if not I will follow him at the firehouse. I would like to get pictures of the firehouse, the truck, obviously. I want to show what they do with their down time at the firehouse if they are not running calls. Maybe take a look at all the different equipment they use and maintain.
Comment by Sean Callaghan March 5, 2009 @ 11:27 PMSo sorry this is late, but I do have an idea for my project.
Comment by Sam Baranowski March 5, 2009 @ 11:28 PMI was planning to do a news-style informative story on the production of Phoenix14 News. On Monday night, when the show airs, I will follow reporters on live shots and editing. Then I will also get shots of the studio before the show, when it is dark and empty, and then when we go on air and it is light and high-energy. This allows for some really creative shots with the on-air light, the control room, telepromptors and the other technologies and people involved in the behind-the-scenes process
Im thinking about doing a story that goes through doors. The first picture will be of a larger area, like an apartment but the door will be open. The next picture will be inside the door with another door open, revealing slightly what’s in the next room. I will really have to plan out a good location if i want to make this good, but it will all lead up to a box. In the box will be either a severed hand or something someone would want to hide, but shocking. I don’t even feel words to be necessary but the photography will have to be spot on to show what I want to show.
I will either do that or think of something over the weekend to do, Im kind of in the brainstorm stage still.
Comment by andydispensa March 6, 2009 @ 2:22 AMI am in the process of creating a story that takes place in a laundromat. There are two central characters are regulars at this dump. Both characters have sort of fallen through the cracks in society. I’ll make them seem tired, listless, barefoot, rough looking.
Comment by Mandy Bowman March 10, 2009 @ 6:38 AMThen one day while they’re doing their laundry they notice one of the machines ALWAYS eats their clothes.
They are in the middle of a conversation (venting about how frustrating it is to have one’s clothes eaten by a dryer) when a foot pops through the dryer!
A man emerges from the dryer. He decides to have a picnic right then and there. Afterwards he storms the front door and out into the world.
Our two characters peer into the dryer. Do they hop in??
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Comment by esodsenly December 12, 2009 @ 3:30 PM