History and development

We have been telling stories since time immemorial. While storytelling has been here for a long time, the function of storytelling has stayed the same; convey history, social cohesion, information, news, art, and entertainment. Legends, sagas, fairy tales, and fables were told. All these stories are about history, life, and understanding the world we live in.

Storytelling originated with visual stories, such as cave drawings, and then moved to oral traditions, in which stories were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.

Now, due to the use of advancing technologies such as the printing press, the camera, the internet, and its’ social media platforms, the way we tell others’ stories and keep ourselves informed about current topics has changed storytelling forever.

Types of Storytelling

1. Oral Storytelling:

The origins of storytelling have been traced to over 30,000 years ago, where even in the earliest civilizations, groups of people would gather around in small circles and spread stories that have passed down cultural beliefs, memories, and ideas. These stories were told in circles and were influential in bonding groups of people and helping them realize the truth about the world.

2. Visual Storytelling

Visual storytelling is stories told primarily using media such as photography, video, and illustration. The goal is to drive emotions and engage intercommunication to motivate an audience's action.

3. Written Storytelling

Writing storytelling is the art of putting words on a page to tell a story. There’s a difference between writing and storytelling. For it to be storytelling, it still needs to follow the story structure. Stories are about characters that transform through a journey.

4. Digital Storytelling:

Digital storytelling is a fairly new term. At its most basic core, digital storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. This includes the idea of combining the art of telling stories with an assortment of multimedia, including audio, video, graphics, and web publishing.  Digital stories often present in compelling and emotionally engaging formats and can be interactive.

Who are Storytellers?

Storytellers are often found in all walks of life. At the start of the 20th century, the storytelling person, the homo narrans, received more scientific attention. Attention was paid to the whole story repertoire of a storyteller and the influence they had on their audience. Later, the so-called performance research also became important, or the 'nomination'. In modern story research, the whole storytelling process has become central: narrative personality, repertoire, performance, audience, and meaning.

However, a storyteller isn’t only limited to the creative fields that we’ve been accustomed to knowing about. The truth is, storytelling is everywhere, especially in the business world. The ability to tell stories that inform, persuade or inspire supercharges every part of company building. In fact, some of our greatest leaders are natural-born storytellers.

Storytelling in Business Commercials

Dramatization: Within a billboard and within a TV commercial, a short, poignant play is performed. The advertising format allows a situation to be justified, dramatized, and slightly exaggerated.

Understandability: Advertising formulates messages in such a way that there's no misunderstanding about what's said. Any reader or viewer should understand what it's all about without an excessive amount of effort. That's why tons of research has been done into the comprehensibility of texts and campaigns. Rhetoric and symbolism are vital points in communication.

Recognizability: It's all about getting readers and viewers curious about the message. Through highlighting and exaggerating recognizable traits, the recipient seems personal to be addressed.

Aspects of a Story

CHARACTERS

A character is a person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in the action of a story.

SETTING

Where and when is the story set? The setting represents both the physical location but also the time (i.e. past, present, future) and the social and cultural conditions in which the characters exist.

PLOT

The plot consists of the events that happen in the story. In a plot, you typically find an introduction, rising action, a climax, the falling action, and a resolution.

CONFLICT

Every story must have a conflict, i.e. a challenge or problem around which the plot is based. Without any type of conflict, the story will have no purpose or trajectory.

THEME

The theme is the central idea or belief. It’s the idea that the author is trying to convey across.

Why do People like Stories?

Stories are incredibly important due to our nature to share our experiences. By telling and listening, we process events and learn to understand opinions and events that shape the world around us. Stories can make information better to remember: We have difficulty remembering abstractions, but we will more easily remember an honest story. Stories give life to experience. Stories create events in our memories that are memorable to others and ourselves. By telling a captivating story with your own personal design, you create a so-called Story Appeal, which pulls and holds your audience’s attention. Rather than just providing information, you give your story a message and a purpose. Stories provide us with recognition which makes us in no time to be ready to make links between the image we see and our own experiences and interests.

HOW DOES ELON PRODUCTIONS HELP?

At Elon Productions, our goal is to tell people’s stories. We believe that everyone has a story to tell, and it’s our job to find those stories and tell them in a captivating way.

We know that there’s not one way to tell a story. Which is why, listed below are some of the examples of the ways that we have used the different storytelling methods mentioned above to convey the story that needs to be told.

FILM

Tailor Shop - A true story about an Italian Tailor that relives the memory of an old love.

PHOTOGRAPHY

MUSIC VIDEO

Commercials

So we ask you, what’s your story?

Article written by: Giovanni Pugliese