Digital Stories and Me...

To Be Or Not To Be... Queer from storycentre on Vimeo.

Brad's digital story is about his battles with homosexuality as a child. He shares a story that is not at all unfamiliar. I like how Brad jumps right into the heart of the matter. The first picture he uses, a picture of a young boy, helps to emphasize the potential impact of his "gift." Furthermore, it can be very difficult to speak about personal differences in such an open forum. Brad uses storytelling to bring a different kind of voice to his experience. The "gift" he offers is supported by his speech and the pictures he uses. I also like that he uses sketches to offer more support for his digital story. Even more, I like the image of the burning match that is blown out. The match represents the light he found in a new friend, but it also represents that particular friend's death. Coming out is a very difficult move in most circles, but I think Brad has done a successful job of conveying his own story.

Love Has No Gender from storycentre on Vimeo.

Chase's digital story also deals with coming out. However, he takes a different approach. He eases into the story by introducing a picture of his grandmother, presumably. As I mentioned earlier, these stories can be difficult to tell in an open forum. I think this may be strategy on his part to reduce the potential negative reactions by the viewers. If this is his aim, I think it is affective. The title is supported nicely by the images used to emphasize his point. I like his technique of layering images over images as this also helps to support the "gift". Ultimately, I think Chase also does a great job of conveying his story digitally.