Using only still images to create "traditional" digital stories with iMovie, where the voiceover is scripted in advance. Requires some fiddling with the length of clips, but the result is well worth it.

1.
Digital
Storytelling
with
iMovie
QuickStart
Guide
by
Fred
Mindlin
Associate
Director
for
Technology
Integration
Central California Writing Project
http://ccwritingproject.org/
fmindlin@gmail.com
1. Start
with
the
script:
no
more
than
one
page,
double-­‐spaced
(~400
words,
roughly
four
minutes
when
spoken
aloud).
Using
the
rule
of
thumb
that
about
100
words
take
about
one
minute
to
voice,
you
can
shorten
the
word-­‐length
limit
even
more
to
make
projects
easier
to
manage.
2. Collect
or
create
still
images
to
illustrate
the
story:
require
at
least
twelve
images
for
a
four-­‐minute
story,
or
three
per
minute.
That’s
a
minimum
–
twice
that
many
is
even
better,
so
students
have
more
choice
and
flexibility
if
an
image
doesn’t
work
as
well
as
they
hoped.
3. Storyboard:
use
a
script-­‐focused
storyboard,
rather
than
a
picture-­‐
focused
storyboard,
to
keep
student
voice
foremost
[example
at
end];
have
students
insert
rough
estimates
of
how
long
each
section
will
take
to
read,
and
the
total
for
their
whole
piece
4. Setup
iMovie:
on
first
launching
iMovie,
default
preferences
are
set
to:
1
Central California Writing Project http://ccwritingproject.org/

2.
Put
a
check
mark
in
“Show
Advanced
Tools”
and
“Display
time
as
HH:MM:SS:Frames”
so
the
General
Preferences
look
like
this:
2
Central California Writing Project http://ccwritingproject.org/

3. Then
click
on
the
next
“Preferences”
tab,
“Browser,”
which
will
look
like
this:
Change
these
settings
to
3
Central California Writing Project http://ccwritingproject.org/

4.
5. Start
a
new
project,
and
import
your
images.
6. Arrange
the
images
in
the
order
to
put
them
on
your
Storyboard.
7. Click
on
the
tool
wheel
in
the
first
clip,
and
set
the
length
of
time
it
will
display
to
at
least
one
minute
longer
than
you
estimate
your
entire
script
will
take
to
read.
8. Click
on
the
tool
wheel
in
the
last
clip,
and
again
set
the
length
of
time
it
will
display
to
at
least
one
minute
longer
than
you
estimate
your
entire
script
will
take
to
read.
9. Click
on
the
microphone
symbol
4
Central California Writing Project http://ccwritingproject.org/

5.
and
then
on
the
first
clip,
and
record
your
voiceover.
This
should
come
in
as
a
green
or
purple
file
below
the
clip.
10. Now
comes
the
hardest
part:
as
you
playback
your
voiceover,
you’re
going
to
adjust
the
length
of
time
each
clip
displays
so
that
the
transitions
from
one
image
to
the
next
occur
where
you
want
them
to.
Notice
how
there’s
a
pop-­‐up
window
above
the
playhead
that
shows
you
exactly
where
you
are
in
your
piece:
Use
that
info
to
continue
adjusting
your
clip
lengths
to
match
up
with
where
you
are
in
your
voiceover.
The
last
step
will
be
to
reduce
down
again
the
extra-­‐long
timing
you
set
for
the
last
clip.
This
is
left
for
last
so
that
you
never
dip
below
the
total
length
of
your
voiceover
–
iMovie
will
start
cutting
your
voiceover
short
if
the
total
length
of
time
that
the
clips
are
displayed
drops
below
the
total
time
of
the
voiceover.
More
resources
will
be
available
on
the
CCWP
website
as
we
develop
them…
5
Central California Writing Project http://ccwritingproject.org/

6. Some
helpful
resources
on
the
web:
Sources
for
copyright-­‐friendly
materials:
http://copyrightfriendly.wikispaces.com/home
40+
Resources
&
Tips
for
digital
storytelling:
http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/2012/02/08/engaging-­‐learners-­‐
through-­‐digital-­‐storytelling-­‐40-­‐resources-­‐tips/
6
Central California Writing Project http://ccwritingproject.org/

7. Script Template for a Digital Story
Courtesy of Dr. Helen Barrett
http://electronicportfolios.org/digistory/prepdigstory.html
Who is the audience for my story?
What is my dramatic question?
Script (what I will read and what participants will hear) Images and name of
sound file
7
Central California Writing Project http://ccwritingproject.org/