act3 is a communication strategy and design firm that specializes in telling stories.

This blog is our story laboratory, a way to poke, prod, and take a closer look at the stories we see, the stories we tell, and our own assumptions and knowledge about why stories work (or don't). The goal is to better understand what makes a story connect with people, and how to tell better stories.

Like any blog, it's an evolving concept. We hope you'll follow along.

September 28

The Ken Burns effect

This week marks the debut of the Ken Burns’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, airing Ken Burnson PBS. While the series features stunning footage of the titular parks, there’s much more to it than just “nature porn” — in his signature style, Burns tells the unlikely stories behind how the parks came to be.

In “10 Questions for Ken Burns,” the filmmaker answers questions from Time magazine readers. Most of the questions are about the National Parks and his other documentaries, but two questions that relate to Burns as a storyteller stand out:

What first led you to film?

Lindsey Smith Hull, ROANOKE, VA.

My mother died when I was 11. Several years afterward, my father let me stay up late at night to watch movies on TV, and I watched him cry for the first time. He hadn’t cried at her funeral, and I suddenly at age 13 or 14 realized the huge power of film, that here was the place that he felt he could express emotions. I vowed right then and there that I wanted to be a filmmaker.

And …

What is your opinion of Michael Moore’s style of filmmaking?

Tamara Newman, BAYVILLE, N.J.

God bless Michael Moore and anyone else who wants to pick up a camera and try to tell a story. It is a lot harder than you think.

:: Posted by Eric Ratinoff ::