I’ll admit it, when my friend Natasha Freidus first described what she did for a living, working for Creative Narrations, I kind of glossed over. Have you ever heard of Digital Storytelling? I had trouble grasping the concept and the applications at first. Little did I know a few months later I’d be making my own digital story.
When Natasha said she would be offering a Digital Storytelling workshop locally, I was interested in learning more about it. I enjoy making scrapbooks and online albums, but I’ve never made a video myself. Browsing through some of the examples on the Creative Narrations website, I saw that the common format is to have someone tell a concise narrative, in their own voice, while integrating images, sound, and presentation techniques. That didn’t seem too hard. I joined the five other participants in a chilly room at the back of a gallery in Roujan, France, at 9:30 am for the first of three all-day workshops.
Most of us didn’t know each other, but Natasha quickly warmed us up by getting us talking about some quotes about stories/communication. Not everyone came with a story in mind, but ideas began to bubble up, and the group was supportive and reassuring – to be honest, it felt a bit like group therapy. Did I have a tale to tell? We discussed ideas for the participants’ narratives, and watched Natasha’s examples of other digital stories, and I realized that there are infinite stories inside of each of us that would lend themselves to this medium.
The story of how I decided to start Renestance is a personal one but with a commercial application, and it seemed like a good one to share. After all, I once had a dream of moving to France, myself, and love hearing about how other people ended up here. I look forward to making these workshops available to Renestance clients and helping them discover a new way to tell their stories.
Dennelle is the President of Renestance and a bilingual American who’s lived in France since 2000. She loves so many things about France, its language, culture, geography, quality of life... that she started a business to help others realize their dreams of living in this incredible place.
All articles by: Dennelle Taylor Nizoux
