Rule #3 Share it with an Audience

Another rule in The Five Obstructions is that Leth must show his films to Von Trier and be present for his critique (they drink champagne and eat caviar for every showing). Von Trier is Leth’s audience. The embodiment of his critic increases the pressure but also fuels Leth’s labor to impress his friend.

A similar dynamic took place in our independent class. Having a group created an audience, and encouraged the peer-pressure to show up with a product that was interesting. Additionally, sharing with a group pushed us all to experiment with new techniques, subjects and processes. It also helps the creator better craft a story because you can see how the public receives the message.

When you witness how people watch your videos, when they lose interest, how their body-expression changes and what they tell you about it, you become much more aware of choices in your craft.

Holding critique sessions with a consistent audience is one of the most effective learning tools for digital storytelling

Having a study group proved to be a rich learning opportunity to explore digital storytelling. For a novice like me, it was a great opportunity to experiment and accelerate my learning with video production. It was not only fun, but challenging. There were times where I was unable to produce something of quality and I was aware of my shortcomings, but each week was a new chance to try something new out. So there.

Related posts (automatically generated)

• June 24, 2008 -- Three Rules for learning Digital Storytelling (Part II)
• June 22, 2008 -- Three rules for learning digital storytelling (Part I)