In the 创意写作 bachelor program’s fourth month, 多媒体讲故事 students are introduced to the creative structure of the visual medium and explore the different ways their writing can be brought to life for an audience.

“多媒体讲故事 is the perfect class for me. It's the class I was born to teach because I'm a big-time multimedia storyteller,课程主任克里斯托弗·拉姆齐说, whose industry experience includes 25 years in broadcast television and the creation of an internationally award-winning web series.

他在新闻编辑室工作的时候, Christopher discovered his passion for storytelling and learned to focus on how to tell a story effectively in quick strokes. “I think what I learned in the newsroom was to tell the story fast. You’ve got to be able to tell a story in a minute and get: Who? 什么? 当? 在哪里? 你必须得到所有的信息. 然后它必须有某种联系. 这里面肯定有人为因素. 你必须与观众建立联系.”

学习ing to connect with audiences is something the instructor focuses on in his four-week course. 在课堂上, students are tasked with drafting a piece of flash fiction (a very short story) and evolving it over the month into a multimedia asset. “Everything you learn, everything you use in flash fiction, you're going to use in longer pieces too. 多媒体叙事, we're taking that piece of fiction and moving it forward into another form of media, whether that's video or doing a lot of experimenting with 播客ing or creating six-word story posters using Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator,他说.

在过去几年里, 克里斯托弗通过写作实践了他的建议, 导演, 还在制作他的网络剧集, 微创手术. 在世界各地的节日上声名狼藉, the pandemic project has become not only an achievement for the writer but something he can use to teach students how to take a story and create something that transcends words on a page.

“It's been a great journey and is something that I can teach my students how to do. 我可以给他们看, ‘嘿, you have the tools on your computer to create an award-winning series, 短片, 播客, 无论.’”

The instructor’s successful web series also proves to students that they don’t need a major investment to create something substantial, 说, “There are a lot of opportunities right now to find an audience, 绕过守门人. I think the days of Hollywood being the end-all is not true anymore. You can find your audience, you can build your audience.”

满帆 students aren’t the only ones benefitting from Christopher’s willingness to share his industry knowledge. In his volunteer work, he donates his time to the Boys & Girls Club of America as a Professional Practicing Teaching 艺术ist through a grant from the 华莱士的基础 which encourages kids ages 11-18 to engage with high-quality arts such as dance, 音乐, 摄影, 和艺术.

在这个角色中, Christopher supports the development of students who may not be introduced to the fine arts otherwise. “这对我来说意义重大. 我是说，艺术改变了我的生活. I see it changing 满帆's students’ lives,他说. “Even if you're not going to pursue a career in the arts, 它对于解决问题仍然很有价值, for all different types of skills that you can build.”

无论媒介还是学生, Christopher encourages leaning into your strengths and sharing your story. “是的，这很可怕. You're putting yourself out there, but do it here,他说. “I know the fears that you have, and I know that we all suffer from imposter syndrome. 我们都有，我知道那是什么. 你得跳过去. If you feel compelled to tell a story, [满帆] is a great place to do it.”