‘Brightness and Contrast’ will empower local people to make engaging ‘digital stories’ about what is special about where they live in rural Warwickshire.

 

Storytelling is perhaps the most ancient art form, originating in the circle of the campfire. Digital storytelling is its computer age expression. The storytellers themselves create the digital stories, typically around two minutes long by recording their story and editing it together with photographs. Lighthearted or serious, digital storytelling is an immensely enjoyable and sociable activity which can produce an intensely moving and compelling way of communicating.  As well as celebrating popular local places, traditions, personalities, events, history or myths, digital stories are also an ideal medium for working with harder to reach communities, all of whom have stories to tell but limited opportunities for having their voices heard.

 

The Rural Media Company has devised a highly effective model for delivering digital story projects in rural settings. The project would include training for trainers, to ensure the widest reach of the activities and result in an extensive range of stories representing many sectors of the Warwickshire community, eg the farming community, Gypsies and Travellers, rural young people, those with disabilities, ‘newcomers’, local flora and fauna enthusiasts, local historians etc

 

As well as enriching local events, they can be emailed to friends, family, colleagues and decision makers, used as publicity material for local organisations or initiatives and for tourism. Digital stories can be shown in combinations for different audiences, presenting multi-faceted insights to rural life, and therefore excellent for use in schools, at meetings, presentations and conferences and as digital appendices to reports and proposals. Importantly of course they form rich content for websites thus building links within village communities and between villages themselves, locally and globally.