Telling Stories in New Ways: Making the Past Accessible

Given the current political climate and dwindling public financial support for humanities and social sciences, it is impractical to continue restricting the venues for communicating our message to traditional paper and conference settings. The situation is compounded by the aversion on the part of some academics to engaging a broader audience. However, with the development of new and cheaper film technology, the ability to tell stories and reach a broader audience with academic research is expanding. This presents us with an unprecedented opportunity to control and communicate our message to a much wider audience. The once prohibitively expensive media of film has become much more affordable and accessible. Indeed, laptops and PC’s now come standard with some basic video editing software and everyday items from phones to cameras are equipped with high-definition video cameras. Using the film “Cahokia: Native American City of Mystery” as a starting point for panel discussion, I will explore the use of new media and film to tell stories that engage multiple audiences. The Cahokia film represents the more elaborate end of the spectrum and was shot entirely in HD and meets PBS Red Book Broadcast Standards for content, including a running time of 28 minutes. Funding for the film was secured from a number of sources including private charitable foundations, state agencies, and local historical societies. Filmmaking poses some unique challenges and requires thoughtful adaptation of content. Telling stories on film requires more than merely reading a conference paper over some video images. I propose to use the example of my experience as a first time filmmaker to discuss some of these challenges and the opportunities offered by new media.