PROJECT PLAN

EXPRESSION MODULE
COLTON GONZALEZ, 11/14/19

DESCRIPTION
Storytelling as an art form is one that allows people to escape. It
makes people close their eyes and imagine another world entirely, or
even the same world, but ever so slightly different. From poems to
epics, haikus to the Odyssey, everything ever written on paper or
typed in a document can change someone’s entire perspective on
the world. This, however, is limited to their imagination within their
own mind. If only it was easier for people to express it to others in
the way that they see it.

PROJECT MEDIUM (MULTIMEDIA)

My chosen form of media would be some form of creative story. I

would write a story pertaining to the subject of the assignment that
would be read and enjoyed as a short story. This short story would
explain through the narrative how technology would help people see
the world.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF MULTIMEDIA

Using a story, people can build a virtual world based on the vision of
the story. The writer could design an entire world from scratch and
allow for people to see the story in action for what it really is to
them. This would allow people to even further enjoy their favorite
stories, or even modify the story they are experiencing.

POTENTIAL CHALLENGES OF MULTIMEDIA

This would take a lot of resources. Resources that are not usually
available to your average writer. Writers have a vision, but not the
knowledge of how to bring that knowledge to life within an actual
space, virtual or not. Programs and design engines would need to be
created to assist story writers in properly showing their ideas to
others.

DRAFT / COMPLETED PROJECT OUTLINE (OR STORYBOARD)

The plan is simple, in that all that really needs to be done is the
story. I will write out a short story detailing a future classroom
scene, most likely a history or ELA class, which will use advanced
forms of modern technology to assist the class. The classroom will
be barren, apart from the chairs and headsets used to enter the
virtual world, and the students and teachers will put on these
headsets and sit in these chairs. This will transport them into a
virtual medieval world, where the students will learn about medieval
life. This represents a form of storytelling; the teacher is describing
and using technology to teach kids about the medieval world.

ARTIST STATEMENT

While I could talk about how technology will affect the future of
education and how I feel about that myself, what I would rather talk
about is how it will affect storytelling and my current thoughts on it,
as I am not an education major. When it comes to storytelling, there
are many different forms and ways of doing it. The classic way,
obviously, is to write a story. Normally, a story would contain a plot,
a narrative, some characters, a setting, etc. Some stories can be told
simply in a few sentences, some are epics, like Beowulf or the

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Odyssey. Some stories take multiple books and poems to be fully
told, and even then, questions are left unanswered. A more
unconventional story is one told by a piece of art, such as a
sculpture or painting. Sometimes they are combined, a picture or
painting with a story attached. Whatever the medium, stories are
told and written as escape routes from the real world. Technology
would be able to further enhance that, just as it does today. Virtual
reality is a means of doing something that you wouldn’t normally be
able to do or going to a place you could never get to in a million
years. Virtual reality is used today for gaming, education, expression,
and many other things, so who’s to say it won’t be improved upon in
the future? One day, instead of just putting on a headset, we could
put on a body suit and use full body motions to fight, move, and
explore all sorts of real or fantastical places. These kinds of ideas are
where storytellers can thrive, as they can use technology to take
what they have stored away in their heads and put it all into one
package for someone to experience. They can write out a story,
design a world, and put it all into one place for people to fully enjoy.
Crazy as it seems, this is exactly the kinds of stuff people would
jump for, whether its because they think its fun, or they just want to
escape a grim reality for a little while.

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 Kalin looked around the stark white room, the light unbearably bright to his
senses. He was ushered forwards with a few other kids and sat in one of the learning
chairs. The silvery headset gleamed and shone against the white walls and uniforms of
the teacher mechanics. Kalin picked up the headset and glanced it over for a moment
while everyone else just put theirs on, including the teachers, He sighed heavily. He
wasn’t used to this kind of stuff where he came from. This was the rich people’s way of
learning...A teacher came by and nudged his shoulder.

“Kalin, it’s time. I know it’s hard, but this is how we learn here. I promise you’ll
like it.” Ms. Jay said, a teacher who was helping him transfer. Kalin sighed again and
nodded a bit, which made the woman smile before going to her own chair and put on her
own headset. Kalin soon followed suit.

He opened his eyes to an open field covered in rows of colorful flowers. They
danced in the light winds that nipped at his nose. The rest of the class had already went
on ahead, so Kalin had to run to catch up. Ms. Jay smiled as he arrived and continued her
herbology talk about what each flower was and why they grew so nicely in the field.

It was mere seconds before the scene suddenly changed, going from a vibrant
scene of beautiful nature to a busy Medieval market. His school uniform had become
those of a common Eurpoean peasant in the hills of England.

The students roamed about, talking to natives and guards while Ms. Jay helped
Kalin strike up a conversation with a knight in classic shining armor. The knight was
brash, but informative, most likely the coding getting to work and making the knight
answer all of the questions they had to ask for today’s class. Kalin knew this would
happen, and that’s why it bummed him out. This looked real, but nothing acted real. The
knight would’ve brushed him off before he even got a phrase out, and yet here he was,
talking to him and asking some of the dumbest questions about Medieval England.

In the end, he sighed and jotted down the rest of his notes. He got all the answers
he needed from the knight, who trotted away on his massive war horse. He joined the
rest of the class as they went on a final tour of the small town and learned about
architecture and cathedrals and all that. Kalin didn’t care all that much at this point.

He’d seen it all before.

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 As you can see, using this technology would allow for all kinds of people,
especially children, to learn about history, locations, and many other things in a
controlled, virtual environment. This, in turn, expands the forms of expression in the
world, as writers can use the same technology to build their own stories and worlds.