Making Diamonds Out of Dust

I can still recall the words I never fail to tell my mom before going to bed, “Story telling, story telling, story telling.” Ever since I was young, I have always been hooked on storytelling. Then, new technology started to rise, the impossible was made possible, and so my fascination grew.

Humans are natural storytellers. Storytelling existed in all civilizations through time. It involves passing on knowledge from one generation to another. Being in the 21^st century gives us the satisfaction of living with the new and improved way of storytelling – digital storytelling. This is the practice of combining narrative with digital content which includes images, sound, and video to create a short movie that is almost always combined with a strong emotional component. Digital storytelling, with the help of technology nowadays, opened up doors for experimentations and innovations.

The Snowfall project of the New York Times has been said to be the future of online storytelling as it combines text, graphics, photography and loops video in a parallax scrolling form. After going through different snowfall-like projects, I settled with the most unique case I have encountered in terms of plot and elements – Pitchfork’s Glitter in the Dark (http://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/reader/bat-for-lashes/). But before anything else, what is Pitchfork in the first place?

 Pitchfork Media, commonly referred to as Pitchfork, is a Chicago-based online music magazine which has created a series of multimedia interviews as part of their ongoing ‘cover story’ section. What’s more interesting is that Pitchfork’s articles are extremely tailored to the artist or band that they cover. Another unique thing I have noticed about Pitchfork is that the use of graphics, typography, colors, and animation styles of each feature matches perfectly with the subject.

Unlike cliché romantic stories told online, Pitchfork’s Glitter in the Dark by Laura Snapes is about the story of recording artist Natasha Khan, better known as the musical act “Bat for Lashes,” and how her past shaped and helped her to become at peace with herself through all the struggles she went through.  

While stories are shared to the world through blogs and articles, Pitchfork goes to a whole new level with creativity in telling the story. Unlike normal things we see online, Glitter in the Dark is distinctive as it layers multiple shots in the background that changes as you scroll, as if an actual photoshoot is taking place. Each time you scroll down, you see Natasha Khan coming to life, moving from one position to the next, showing various expressions and telling a different story.

The shots of Khan range from full body to intimate close-up shots which allow the audience to feel the subject which makes everything more exciting. The sharp eye contact of Khan in her close-up shots transcends the initial view of her image and allows readers like me to establish that personal connection. These images are powerful as they draw us in, keep our interest, and give us time to view the entire image as the eyes of her portrait look into our eyes. When I first saw the photo, I felt a connection with Khan as if I was sharing the moment with her. It’s hard to describe in words the feeling that it does need words to explain it... because we just. feel. it.

The color also adds up to the uniqueness of the whole piece as it uses a monochrome effect – using only a black and white theme. Colors can be terribly distracting in some images and can also take the focus away from the subject. Almost all photos in the piece are portraits. Because of this, I think that taking out the color of an image lets the subject, Khan, in this case, speak for herself. I find these photos amazing because they are raw, stripped back, honest, and most important of all, they allow the subject to show the person she truly is. Black and white may sound boring, but I’d say that there’s more than what meets the eye. There are so many shades in between and I really love how the photographer deals with the challenge of bringing them all out in Khan’s images. The creative process of using black and white images is so artistic as if molding clay where you can shape it into a myriad of shapes. In fact, black and white images can be strong with its high contrast and powerful impact or they can also be so soft, gentle, and subtle which conveys a different tone and mood.

Another unique thing about Snapes’ Glitter in the Dark is that Khan’s music plays in the background while one is reading and scrolling through the story of Khan. This is not something that is common to stories posted online and what easily caught my attention was the ambiance the music adds while I was carefully reading the singer’s story. The music speaks a lot about what Khan was going through. It starts from a mellow tone which engages the reader in her emotions and lets the reader know that even if Khan is struggling and facing difficulties, one will know that she is trying to fight and survive. The music goes upbeat in the middle of the song and after this part, I was in awe. I was teary-eyed. The lyrics do contribute to the over-all digital storytelling experience. My favorite was when Khan sang the last line of her song “Lilies” which says, “Thank God, I’m alive.” Even after all the storms in her life, at the end of the day, she still manages to look at the bright side of life and thank God for everything, for bringing her that far.

How the whole text was organized and arranged is also something to dwell on. The patterns on the screen allow interaction with the narrative and full-screen strips of alternating text and image. After every chapter of Khan’s life, a quote from her is emphasized which makes the story itself livelier.

"I got really fed up with seeing women naked and feeling unempowered by it so, for the album cover, I didn't shave my legs, or dye my moustache, or pluck my eyebrows."

This, by far, is my favorite quote from Khan. Quotes like these which are placed in between the narratives also serve as attention grabbers and lessen the reader’s chance to get bored. These quotes are short yet strong and they bring about the most important key points that the author wants to share to the world.

The graphics, typography, and animation styles also follow the story’s theme. The font is simple, basic, and blends well with the topic.  Ample white space and simple contrast makes the text appealing and easy to read. Khan’s page really does glitter in the dark in classic black and grey hues. All in all, Glitter in the Dark is considered an innovation as it goes far from the norm. It gives the readers a new experience through the use of its designs and parallax form that also allows different reactions from the readers. As previously said, what sets this case apart from the other stories posted online is the innovative photography which creates a stop-animation feel. As you move through the article, images of Khan move with you as well. Things like this do not usually happen in just any other article. It gives the readers a new perspective and attracts them to the piece.

Unlike famous singer Taylor Swift’s blog, Khan’s case is unique because of the innovations and the graphics used. While the fact that Taylor Swift is widely known makes people read her posts, the new elements present in Khan’s story clearly shows how these can attract more and more readers. The layout and effects applied in Khan’s case is not something familiar to the world. As a result, people tend to go for the new trends and those that give them a different experience. This proves to show how digital storytelling changes and improves storytelling.

Other Pitchfork articles cover the same topic - centering on an artist or band. Daft Punk (http://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/reader/daft-punk/), for instance, also uses particular graphics and effects based on its theme. Daft Punk uses jolty, robotic animation to introduce new elements to the readers and makes an impact through these. It also uses  'techy' font and style for the text which moves from a binary presentation through to letters on scroll. Like Glitter in the Dark, the experience upon encountering and reading Daft Punk as a whole submerges the reader into what is effectively the branding of the group.

Another similar story that touches on the same theme is No Heroes by Laura Snapes (http://pitchfork.com./features/cover-story/reader/savages/), author of Glitter in the Dark. Like the interview with Khan, alongside the interview of the Savages, the designs and execution also maximize the potential of the cover story and the experience goes a long, long, way. The features of this case uses the same principles as those that are used in the previous stories but in its own unique way, also makes an entirely different effect.While the man appears to be a GIF, the words are somehow distorted making the readers also feel what the man is actually going through.

It is an undeniable fact that people nowadays are exploring the potential within digital publishing in order to make online storytelling even more exciting. They make the most of new technologies so as to elevate content. Time will come, I believe, that people will forget about what it feels like to have the paper under their fingers. When such time arrives, the content for sure will faultlessly include striking animation, interactive narrative flow, and astounding design which will leave readers in awe of the things they read, see, and experience online. Imagine going through articles and cases with these types of innovations, and try to ask yourself, how far could digital storytelling take us? Through creativity, thoughtfulness, and innovations, we are able - we are able to make diamonds out of dust.