Filipino stories and art

• This learning resource module explores stories and storytelling within the context of media arts.
• It emphasizes the importance of stories in Filipino culture and heritage, and looks at various story structures

Module Objectives

• Identify storytelling principles, structures, and styles.
• Describe story elements from local stories, rituals, and folklores.
• Create a story using graphics and photographs.

What is Storytelling?

• Storytelling in Filipino culture is a way of telling, cataloging, and preserving our stories, histories, heritage, and values.
• "Lola Basyang" is synonymous with stories and folktales in the Philippines, originating from Severino Reyes' character in Liwayway Magazine in 1925.
• The National Storytelling Network defines storytelling as an ancient art form and a valuable form of human expression.
• Storytelling defined as the interactive art of using words and actions to reveal the elements and images of a story while encouraging the listener's imagination.

Key Aspects of Storytelling

• Interactive: Involves interaction between the storyteller and listeners, connecting the teller and audience directly.
• Uses Words and Language: Can be spoken (e.g., Filipino, Cebuano, English) or manual (e.g., Filipino Sign Language).
• Uses Actions: Includes gestures, vocalizations, and physical movements.
• Presents a Story: Involves the presentation of a sequence of related events with a beginning, middle, and end, and a main quest or challenge.
• Encourages Imagination: Listener imagines the story, creating images, actions, characters, and events in their mind.
• Storytelling builds societal bonds.

Elements of a Story

• Character: The "thing" the story is about which can be a person, animal, or inanimate object.
• Setting: Where the story is located, defining the context and helping the audience understand what is happening and why.
• Plot: The sequence of events that the audience is being told as well as the beginning-middle-end of the story.
• Conflict: A major hindrance or obstacle that the character needs to achieve.
• Theme: The underlying message or "deeper meaning" of the story.

Plot Elements in Storytelling (Freytag's Pyramid)

• Exposition: Setting the scene, introducing characters, and establishing their "normal" life.
• Inciting Incident: The event that triggers the character into action, disrupting their normal life.
• Rising Action: A series of tasks or challenges the character overcomes to move the story forward.
• Climax: The turning point where the challenge becomes almost impossible to overcome.
• Falling Action: Resolving the events after the climax, exploring the consequences and lessons learned.
• Resolution: The end of the story where the audience understands whether the character achieved their goal, resulting in a happy ending or tragedy.

Philippine Festivals and Rituals

• The module transitions to Philippine festivals and rituals as forms of storytelling.
• The Philippines is known as the "Capital of the World's Festivities" which hosts big and small festivals.
• Festivals and fiestas are occasions to give thanks and celebrate life, bring families and communities together with feasts and performances.

Types of Festivals

• Religious Festivals: Closely tied to the practice of a faith or religion.
  • Sinulog: Celebrated in Cebu in January to honor Santo Niño de Cebu.
  • Moriones Festival: Celebrated during Holy Week to commemorate St. Longinus.
  • Eid'l Fitr: Celebrated by Muslims worldwide and commemorates the end of Ramadan.
• Cultural Festivals: Celebrations of the traditions of a particular place, tribe, race, or people.
  • Panagbenga: Held in Baguio in February, reflecting the history, traditions, and values of Baguio and the Cordilleras.
  • Pahiyas: Celebrated in Lucban, Quezon, as a harvest festival giving thanks to San Isidro Labrador.
  • Rodeo Masbateño: Celebrates the cattle industry in Masbate since 1992.
  • T'Nalak Festival: Held in South Cotabato, showcasing the cultures of tribal communities and indigenous peoples.
• Contemporary Festivals:
  • Malasimbo Music & Arts Festival: Organized in Puerto Galera, Mindoro which focuses on jazz and environmental issues.
  • Cinemalaya: The Philippine Independent Film Festival encourages the creation of new cinematic works by Filipino filmmakers.
  • Clark Hot Air Balloon Festival: An aviation festival in Pampanga.

Festivals vs Rituals

• Festivals: celebrated by a community and centered around a certain aspect of that community.
• Rituals: a series of actions, activities, or behaviors that are followed or performed for a particular purpose generally in order to anchor something cultural, functional, or societal .

Visual Storytelling

• Visual storytelling relates a story or narrative through visible means or visual media.
• Involves using photographs, illustrations, or videos, enhanced with graphics, music, voice, and other audio.
• It involves the use of graphics, images, pictures, and videos to connect and engage with audiences and listeners so as to drive action, and interaction.

Types of Visual Storytelling

• Short Form: short films, explainer videos, short documentaries, and micro-vlogs on platforms like YouTube, Tiktok, and Facebook.
• Swipe Card Stories: using video, images, emojis, and/or text mostly on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram Stories.
• Data Visualization: graphs and charts that communicate data and information.
• Photo Essays: photo essays are visual stories that present a narrative through a series of images.
• Structured Articles: also known as “Listicles” which encapsulate content into “bullets” or chunks of information
• Memes: humorous or interesting content that is shared rapidly on the internet.
• Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality: AR and VR are the latest upcoming trends in media and communication.
  • Augmented Reality (AR) projects graphics and elements onto the real world using a camera and some specialized apps.
  • Virtual Reality (VR), immerses the viewer into a totally new world produced using computer graphics.