digital story

The Knock

Synopsis: This story is about a strange knocking on a bedroom door late at night. The camera investigates and discovers it is best not to answer the door.

I captured the video footage and recorded subtle sound effects, including quiet taps and background voices on my iPhone 16. Video editing was completed using iMovie and Canva, Audacity was used for sound design.

Sound Assets:

Creepy Dark Atmosphere by Universfield, downloaded from pixabay, licensed under CC BY 4.0 and pixabay content

soft knocking on wood door by mrrap4food, downloaded from freesound, licensed under CC0 1.0

Knock on Door by tcurless, downloaded from freesound, licensed under CC0 1.0

Chant_Deur01.wav by BartjeBral, downloaded from freesound, licensed under CC0 1.0

TV glitch by humanhasbeenneutralized, downloaded from pixabay, licensed under pixabay content

Flashlight Clicking On by baidonovan (freesound_community), downloaded from pixabay, licensed under pixabay content

Video Assets:

Glitch effect by Luis Quintero, downloaded from pexels, licensed under pexels license

Tv Effect, glitch effect, technology by RAHADstudio, downloaded from pixabay, licensed under pixabay content

Thumbnail for Youtube:

night horror movie by Visual Karsa, downloaded from Unsplash, licensed under Unsplash license

Ghost Frequency

Synopsis

After her brother mysteriously vanishes, Delilah Clarke, a young sound engineer, discovers a hidden frequency that allows her to hear voices from the other side. As she deciphers the messages, she realizes her brother is trapped in an alternate dimension—one created by an experiment gone wrong at the radio station where he worked. With time running out, Delilah must use her unique ability to uncover the truth behind the Ghost Frequency before it consumes her too. Script

Script

(STATIC BUZZ. GLITCHED WHISPER. THEN… SILENCE)

DELILAH (V.O.):

They said he ran away.

They said he quit.

But I know my brother better than that.

(LOW, DISTORTED FREQUENCY UNDER VOICE. SHOT OF A RADIO DIAL TURNING.)

I found the tape a week after he disappeared.

Buried in the static… I heard it.

(DISTORTED WHISPER: “Help me.”)

They say frequency is just vibration.

But what if sound—can carry souls?

(GLITCH EFFECT. FLASH OF HER BROTHER’S FACE.)

He was working on something.

A sound experiment. Unapproved. Dangerous.

(QUICK CUT: SPINNING REELS, A RADIO ANTENNA FLASHING IN A STORM.)

The deeper I listen,

The more I lose track of what’s real.

(SCENE: DELILAH STANDING IN FRONT OF AN OLD RADIO STATION. WIND HOWLING.)

But I won’t stop.

I won’t let him fade away.

(STATIC SCREAM. SUDDEN SILENCE.)

Even if it means…

I disappear too.

(SCREEN FLICKERS TO BLACK. LOW HUM RETURNS.)

Media Assets:

  • Glitch & Static Effects: Radio waves, distorted sound bites, white noise with hidden voices.
  • Dark & Gritty Cinematic Footage: Abandoned radio stations, dimly lit apartments, strange technological glitches.
  • Thrilling Sound Design: Layered whispers, reversed messages, eerie hums creating tension.
  • Unsettling Visual Transitions: Flickering screens, corrupted video files, and surreal distortions symbolizing Delilah’s descent into maddness.

Voiceover: Narration written and recorded by the author (Chrislene) using personal recording equipment.

Created using Canva for video editing, with video clips and audio sourced from Canva’s internal content library. All assets used under Canva’s Free/Pro Media License.
Website: https://www.canva.com

Fair Use: One static image briefly used as narrative illustration; altered, transformed, and justified under the Code of Best Practices for Online Video.

Reflection I – Choosing the Story

When we first started this digital storytelling project, my heart was fully set on creating a story around Yaah Nevah Essien, a Haitian Disney Princess. That concept is incredibly meaningful to me—it’s a long-term dream of mine to bring a Haitian heroine to life in the animated world, where our culture, spirituality, and beauty can be seen and celebrated on a global scale. However, as I began to plan for this class assignment, I realized that executing that vision the way I truly want would require far more time, resources, and world-building than I currently have space for in this course. It’s not a project I want to rush or do halfway, so I made the decision to save that dream for a larger platform in the future.

Instead, I pivoted to “Ghost Frequency,” a supernatural thriller that allowed me to explore my love of psychological storytelling, horror, and sound design. This story still pushed me creatively, especially with building suspense through visuals and audio. I enjoyed playing with glitch effects, eerie audio layers, and creating a haunting atmosphere. It was exciting to step into a darker narrative and build something immersive and cinematic. This process reminded me that while I may have many stories to tell, each one has its own time and this one, for now, was the right fit.

Reflection II – Creating the Story

Creating this video was both a challenge and a creative joy. At first, I intended to use AI-generated images from Leonardo.Ai throughout the entire piece to bring my dark, surreal vision to life. However, I quickly realized that recreating consistent characters and environments in Leonardo was more difficult than I expected. The platform’s variability in visual style made it hard to generate a cohesive story world—especially for a narrative like Ghost Frequency, which relies on visual continuity.

Because of that, I shifted to building the project in Canva and focused on using B-roll footage, overlays, and atmospheric images that still matched the tone I wanted. This decision gave me more control over the pacing, visual clarity, and eerie mood I was going for. One of my favorite parts of this process was layering audio over the visuals—playing with static, whispers, reversed tones, and glitch sound effects to create an immersive and unsettling vibe. It truly felt like I was scoring a mini thriller.

Even my little sister got intrigued while watching me edit—asking questions and getting spooked by some of the whispers! I think for the final version, I’ll add a full voiceover, which will bring even more depth and urgency to Delilah’s story.

Reflection III The Final Product

I’m proud of the end result—I feel like I was able to visually and emotionally convey the story I had in my head. It surprised me how much I was able to create within Canva, especially combining AI visuals, glitch effects, and layered sound design. If I had more time or advanced tools, I would love to animate actual characters and scenes to bring Delilah’s world to life in a more dynamic way.

Overall, I’ve learned that digital storytelling is truly a process, and it’s rarely perfect. It takes revision, creative problem-solving, and flexibility. But when everything starts to come together—even in a rough cut—it’s incredibly rewarding.

Reaching the Finish Line

“Reaching the Finish Line” by Alex Bowman is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Reaching the Finish Line is a story about a dedicated triathlete training for their first Ironman race. The story follows the highs and lows of their training journey, from early morning swims to grueling bike rides. It’s told from the athlete’s point of view, capturing their inner dialogue and the physical and emotional challenges they face along the way.

The voiceover was recorded by me, using Windows Voice Recorder. The majority of video clips were taken from Pexels.com, but some others were taken from Pixabay.com. The song that I chose to include, I found under the Motivational section of UpBeat.io’s website. I also chose to use an audio clip from Freesound.org of a crowd cheering at the start of the race. Similarly to my other assignments, I used DaVinci Resolve with YouTube export settings to edit the audio and video clips together into a cohesive story.

Video Credits:

Shoes Laces Tying” by Evagd02 is Licensed under PixaBay Content License

Man Walking Outdoors” by Kampus Production on Pexels licensed under CC0

Swimming Pool, Swimmers, Swimming” by xat-ch is Licensed under PixaBay Content License

Man Riding a Bicycle in a Road” by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels licensed under CC0

Man Riding a Bicycle” by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels licensed under CC0

A Sweating Man Resting on the Bench in the Locker Room” by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels licensed under CC0

Close-Up View of Man’s Face With Sweat” by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels licensed under CC0

Boy with Bruises on Hands and Face” by Cottonbro Studio on Pexels licensed under CC0

A Person Massaging His Leg” by Kindel Media on Pexels licensed under CC0

A Man Taking A Rest On The Gym Floor” by ShotPot on Pexels licensed under CC0

A Man Running In The Beach Shoreline” by Pressmaster on Pexels licensed under CC0

27.01 – Corrida de Reis 2024 @Bruno Leão D” by Banco de Imagens SEL-DF on Pexels licensed under CC0

People Running In A Race” by Dale Phelps on Pexels licensed under CC0

Marathon Runner in Tropical Setting” by Eduardo Holanda on Pexels licensed under CC0

Close up of Checkered Flag” by Philip Wels on Pexels licensed under CC0

A Man Running on the Sidewalk” by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels licensed under CC0

A Man Checking His Pulse Rate After Exercising” by Kampus Production on Pexels licensed under CC0           

A Man Walking Besides An Abandoned Railway” by Honye Sanges on Pexels licensed under CC0

A Man Walking On The Lakeside Water” by Artem Podrez on Pexels licensed under CC0

Music Credits:

Nature” by Hey Pluto! is Licensed under Uppbeat Content License

Sound Effects:

Crowd Cheering – Soft Cheering 2.wav by GregorQuendel was Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

The Power of a Teacher- Final Assignment

This story is the story of a teacher who worked hard to teach her kids. This video was compiled using ClipChamp and the audio narration is all by me. ClipChamp is by Microsoft and allows you to have layers of media. You can use it to create audio, edit video and picture clips. It also allows you to create rolling credits and a title slide.

Music

Barrage by Speck licensed under Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 from CCMixter

Nothing stays the same by Reiswerk licensed under Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 from CCMixter

Fragments Of Fate by Skye Jordan licensed under Attribution 4.0 International from CCMixter

Photos

Student Teacher by BES Photo licensed under Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 2.0 from Flickr

Student Teacher by BES Photo licensed under Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 2.0 from Flickr

Student Teacher by BES Photo licensed under Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 2.0 from Flickr

Student Teacher by BES Photo licensed under Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 2.0 from Flickr

Student Teacher by BES Photo licensed under Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 2.0 from Flickr

Grades by Meagan licensed under Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 from Flickr

current lesson plan by Meagan licensed under Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 from Flickr

Untitled by Franklin Heijnen licensed under Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 from Flickr

Untitled by Franklin Heijnen licensed under Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 from Flickr

school bus by Graham Cairns licensed under Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 2.0 from Flickr

“School’s out for Summer!“ by Christopher Webb licensed under Attribution 2.0 from Flickr

Day 26 – “The Ringing Bell“ by Tylor Long licensed under Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 2.0 from Flickr

Unblocking the Muse

“Unblocking the Muse” by Kaleah Gonzalez licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Synopsis: This is about a struggling artist who is facing a terrible creative block. She must find the will to finish a painting that would either make or break her career due to an impending deadline. The story is told from the artist’s perspective and follows her journey as she works through inner turmoil and creative struggles.

Media Assests: Original video and audio except for background music.

Software Used: Adobe Premiere for editing. GarageBand for voice recording.

Citations: Downloaded from CLASSICALS.DE

Variations – 06 – Cinematic Orchestral Arpeggio Trailer” by Gregor Quendel licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Cinematic Piano Fairy Tale Intro” by Gregor Quendel licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Cinematic Modern Orchestral Trailer” by Gregor Quendel licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Symphony No.3 in E Flat Major Eroica, Op.55 – IV. Finale Allegro molto” by Beethoven licensed under CC PDM 1.0.

Symphony No.2 in D Major, Op.73 – IV. Allegro Con Spirito” by Brahms licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Ms. Jenn Explains: The Law of Conservation of Energy

“Ms. Jenn Explains: The Law of Conservation of Energy” by Jenn White, licensed under CC BY-SA

Synopsis: Ms. Jenn explains the Law of Conservation of Energy by giving examples of energy transformations and energy transfers.

Video Creation: This video was illustrated and narrated by me. The stop motion video was created using Stop Motion Studio. The sound was edited using GarageBand. Final edits of the video were made using Canva.

Sound Credits: Music found on Freesound.org

“Children’s Day–positive and cheerful (short version)” by AudioCoffee, licensed as CC BY-NC 4.0

“Ukulele and Love Bird” by emjaydabayou, licensed as CC0 1.0 Universal

Image Credit: At :14 seconds into the video, there is an illustration of Earth’s layers. I used a reference image to illustrate this and found it on Vecteezy.com.

“The Structure of the Earth” created by Yusuf Demirci

“The Structure of the Earth” is used for educational purposes as a visual example of Earth’s layers and is considered fair use under Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This falls under Category 2 in Code for Best Practices in Fair Use for online video, “Using Copyrighted Material for Illustration or Example.” Demirci’s illustration is used as a guide to create one of the illustrations in this video. No other licensing information was found.

A Lie Remembered: On Misinformation

“A Lie Remembered: On Misinformation” by Emily Bowlin and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 International. This work is a derivative of the full list of works cited below.

Synopsis: Whether born from a careless thought or a missed joke, misinformation personified knows that it was made to be shared. Determined to grow, we follow misinformation on its mission to become so pervasive it will live forever, in whatever form.

Programs Used:

Title Card: “A Lie Remembered: Title Card” is a derivative of  “Internet map 4096” by Matt Britt, downloaded from Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.5 Attribution 2.0 Generic. Text was added using Canva to this image to create the title slide.

Audio: Audio is combination of ambiance, sound effects and voiceover that have been spliced and edited together in Audacity for the final project. All sounds except the voiceover are from freesound.org.

Video and image assets grouped by download site for “A Lie Remembered: On Misinformation.” Images and videos may be cut, cropped, separated from audio or reversed as they appear in this final video.

The Library Cycle

The Library Cycle by Sara DeRoo is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Synopsis: This story follows the life of a library book from acquisition through removal from the library collection. The story will be told from the perspective of the library book.

Media: All media used from this project was used in concordance with their respective creative commons licenses with the exception of the audio, Also sprach Zarathustra, which exists in the public domain in the Unite States as of 2020.

Production: I exclusively used Canva for video editing. I also used Audacity to snip the section of Also sprach Zarathustra I wanted to use instead of uploading the entire song to Canva.

Image Citations

Video inside a library by pixabay (creative commons by CC0 1.0 Universal)

Positive woman unpacking box at home by SHVETS production (CC by Pexels License)

in the process by Asheboro Public Library (CC BY-SA 2.0)

A person is reading a book in front of a shelf of books by cottonbro studio (CC by Pexels License)

Person Holding Black Rectangular Book by Kaboompics.com (CC by Pexels License)

Dog Looking on Book by SHVETS production (CC by Pexels License)

Close-Up Shot of Two People Holding Hands Together by cottonbro studio (CC by Pexels License)

Woman Getting Glass of Red Wine from Bedside Table by cottonbro studio (CC by Pexels License)

Woman Standing on the Cliff by julie aagaard (CC by Pexels License)

Girl Sitting on Beach by Peter Fowler (CC by Pexels License)

Woman Wearing Blue Jacket Sitting on Chair Near Table Reading Books by George Dolgikh (CC by Pexels License)

A woman sitting on a bed in a room by cottonbro studio (CC by Pexels License)

A person is reading a book while sitting in a chair by Esra Afşar (CC by Pexels License)

Pile of Covered Books by pixabay (creative commons by CC0 1.0 Universal)

A Video of a Lighted Candles by Leeloo The FirsT (CC by Pexels License)

Lighted Candles with Blurred Background by ROMAN ODINTSOV (CC by Pexels License)

Stock Clip art from Canva.com

Audio Citations

Library with Light Chatter by calebowenw (CC BY 3.0)

Also sprach zarathustra BY Richard Strauss (Public Domain FROM Internet Archive)

TreeTones by J.Lang (CC BY-NC 4.0)

The Bookmark

The Bookmark by Leslie Boydstun. CC by 4

The Bookmark explores the idea that a few kind words can create a massive impact, and that small acts of kindness can add up over time to create something big.

Created in iMovie (10.4.3)

Video and Images from Pexels, free to use via Pexels License:

Video and Images from Pixabay, free to use via Pixabay License:

Original Footage:

  • “Bookmark” by Leslie Boydstun, CC by 4.0

Audio:

Ripples of Kindness

Synopsis:

This digital story recounts a transformative experience when I witnessed a stranger’s act of kindness that inspired me to pay it forward. The story illustrates how a simple gesture can create a ripple effect, encouraging others to spread kindness in their own lives.

Media Credits:

Text Overlays and Video Editing Software used by: Microsoft Clipchamp

Sound effects downloaded from Pixabay:

Cars Honking Sound by storegraphic is licensed under CC0 1.0

Talking People by szalonegacie (Freesound) is licensed under CC0 1.0

Music downloaded from Pixabay:

Beautiful Memories by PURNANAND_WASAVE is licensed under CC0 1.0

Images Created with Microsoft CoPilot:

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Young woman holding yellow roses on a bench in a busy city. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Older man handing a flower to a young woman on a bench in a busy city. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Water drop creating ripples. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Young woman gardening in the city while wearing a volunteer shirt. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Young woman serving food in a city building with other volunteers. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Young woman in a busy city signing up to volunteer. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Young woman wearing a volunteer shirt in the city with a group of people. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Stranger showing kindness to an older man. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). A busy city street with people rushing by. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). A busy city street where people are busy and ignoring each other. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). A girl on a bench by herself near a busy city street where people are busy and ignoring each other. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). A woman alone on a bench near a busy city street where everyone is busy and ignoring each other with her hands on her head looking distressed. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). An older man handing a flower to a young woman who is sitting by herself on a bench in a busy city where the other people are busy and ignoring each other as an act of kindness. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Title image for “Ripples of Kindness”. AI-generated image.

Microsoft CoPilot. (2025). Image portraying random acts of kindness. AI-generated image.