DIGITAL MITRA
LEARNING MODULE - 1
Introduction
We at Plan India believe in the power and voices of young people. Through our
work with young people especially girls we know their stories alone can create
impact and positive change towards creating a gender equal world.
Plan India through its work is impacting 20 million girls and young women
through gender-transformative programmes and influencing public policy. We
take pride that we have created an environment conducive for girls to learn,
lead, decide and thrive in the communities that we work with. We measure our
effectiveness by the victories of people, especially children and girls, as
powerful drivers of change. We have seen heartening shifts in mindsets and
discriminatory practices, led by changemakers who are transforming their own
lives as well as that of others.
As technologies advance and become easily accessible, Plan India seeks to
train girls to use smartphones as the main tool in producing impactful stories on
issues that matter to them and to their communities.
Digital Mitra Learning Module is a comprehensive guide aimed at empowering
young people through practical knowledge and tools on digital storytelling.
Through key concepts, tips, and activities on taking photos and videos, creating
digital content, writing for social media, and inclusive reporting, we hope that
the Learning Module will help shape the youth to be better storytellers,
advocates, and agents of change.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Module 1
About Digital Mitra 4
What is Digital Storytelling? 5
Learning Mobile Photography 7
Learning Mobile Videography 18
Learning Blog Writing 26
Exercises 29
MODULE - 1
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About DIGITAL Mitra
Plan India is committed to advancing rights, equality and justice
for all girls and young women through gender-transformative
intervention in inclusive and quality education, household and
economic security, sexual and reproductive health services and
rights, maternal and child health, safety for girls, child protection,
nutrition, early childhood development and resilience in
emergencies.
Digital Mitra is Plan’s initiative to equip young girls with the
understanding and knowledge of Digital Storytelling and help
them in bringing positive social change and gender equality.
Through this project, we seek to enable them to identify and
highlight gender-related issues such as child marriage, child
labour, menstrual hygiene, girl child education etc. using a Digital
Storytelling approach. Apart from gender, the project focuses on
imparting fundamental knowledge of content creation and online
publishing tools which includes photography, videography, blog
writing and using social media platforms.
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What is Digital Storytelling?
When you are able to share stories, inspiring events and
positive changes around you with the audience through
the use of media that includes photos, videos, audio and
even text, that’s when it becomes digital storytelling. Think
of it as a channel to the rest of the world which allows you
to share your unique experiences, challenges and
solutions to various important issues related to the rights
of girls and young women.
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Why is storytelling important?
For one, stories inspire us, they create an emotional connection between people.
Through these connections, we are able to share stories of positive change in the
society, talk about inspiring events, acts and people who make the world a better
place and discuss how to bring impact into everyday life. Stories also help in
connecting us with new people who are doing something great and we can learn
from their example.
How do you begin to tell your story?
● You begin by identifying the core of the story
● Next, you’ll define the audience of your story by asking questions like
Who will see your content?
How old is your audience?
Where do they live?
● Now arises the main question, what are the mediums of your story through
which you will share it with the world?
There are 3 basic ways of doing it. Photos, videos or writing about it in a blog
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Learning Mobile Photography
Smartphones have made it
easy to click pictures which
serve as a visual
reference to the story. Primarily
you can do 5 types of shots.
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1 EXTRA WIDE SHOT
This helps to establish the scene for your story. It also shows
the main character against the background.
2 WIDE SHOT
This shot is wide enough to bring the protagonist into the
focus with just enough background to set the scene.
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MEDIUM SHOT
It shows the subject from the waist up and is meant for
character.
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MEDIUM CLOSE-UP SHOT
It shows the subject from chest-up to capture the reaction.
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5 CLOSE-UP OR TIGHT SHOT
This shot fills up the screen with the subject’s face and is
meant to capture the subject’s reaction or emotions closely.
Rules of Framing a Photograph
Modes - There are two primary
modes of capturing.
Landscape
Portrait
Perspective means the creative angle of
clicking photographs.
Symmetry means keeping the
lines in the image aligned.
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lighting is essential
Best time to shoot is
Time your
at dawn and dusk.
photographs for the
These are the
best lighting.
golden hours.
Avoid shooting in Use natural light
harsh daylight. sources for taking
pictures.
Capture photos with Creative use of
pleasing silhouettes. shadows.
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Exposure is the key
Use the exposure
bar to adjust the
Tap on the dark area brightness.
Press the focus
and balance the point to lock focus.
exposure till you get
the desired
exposure.
The processing time Press the shutter
of images depends button and keep the
upon the light falling phone still for a few
on your subject. seconds.
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How to tell stories through pictures?
Start small and Use characters and Keep the viewer
progress with more people in your engaged by
photographs. photographs. creating mystery.
Establish the
geography first if Keep pictures that
needed. capture slice of life.
Retouching photograph application
Photoshop Picsart
Express
Snapseed
Lightroom Vsco
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TAKING PHOTOS DO’S AND DON’TS
DO’S
Decide what you want to shoot by
focusing on one subject at a time.
Keep the aspect ratio at 4:3 or 16:9.
Always wipe the lens before
clicking pictures.
Always use the camera app on
your phone and avoid using
applications with in-built camera.
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DO’S
Try to click pictures in natural or
artificial room light. Avoid clicking
photos without enough light.
Always be aware of your
surroundings.
Look for the unusual or create what
you imagine instead of plain point and
shoot.
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DO’S
Rule of Thirds: Imagine the screen is
divided into a grid of 3x3 and place
your subject within the grid according
to the demand of the story.
Try to click pictures when your
story is in action.
Avoid elements like garbage or clutter in
the background that may spoil the look
of the photo.
X
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DON’TS
If your photo looks too bright and the
colours don’t look sharp, you need to
adjust the brightness by long pressing the
subject and lowering the parameter.
When the subject in your photo appears too
dark, it happens when there’s a source of
light right behind the subject. This can be
corrected by long-pressing the subject to
adjust brightness.
Avoid clicking photos that leave excess
space above the head, or to the right and
left of the subject. Similarly, take care not
to cut the head of your subject.
Do not zoom to get a closer image,
move closer or crop later.
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Learning Mobile VIDEOS
Another interesting way to tell stories is through videos. Videos
are used widely on social media as the audience enjoys watching
videos. Videos appeal to the public as they capture the action in
motion and make the storytelling wholesome and impactful.
Vertical format is useful for posting on Instagram or Facebook
stories, or Snapchat.
However, before you start shooting, it is important to know some
basics that will help you produce better quality videos.
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BASICS 1 The right way to hold your phone is always
horizontal. Horizontal format is useful for posting
on YouTube, Facebook feed, and other video
streaming sites like Vimeo.
2 Checking the camera settings to make sure you
have the required brightness and exposure.
3 Understanding the Aspect ratio, which is the ratio
of width to height in an image or a frame. It is
denoted as 16:9.
4 Making sure the frame rate is set at 24 fps
(frames per second).
5 Learning to shoot the video in slow motion for
added impact.
6 Ensuring that the audio captured is clear and
loud enough for the video.
Pre-Production Process
Referencing
1
Finding the
characters 2 Scripting
3 Location
Scouting 4
Mood Boarding 5 Task List 6 Scheduling 7
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How to do scripting?
Script is a piece of written content that defines the flow of a video from start to
end. It can have dialogues or just simply a few lines on the major topics being
covered in the video.
Prefer to write the script in active voice, for example, you can write ‘I am
going to the village today’ instead of ‘A village visit was done by me’.
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When writing your script, here are some
questions you should ask yourself
What is the
main point of
your story
Who are the
characters
What photo or
video to shoot
for the script
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Shooting a video
Always look into the lens and not at the
screen if using the front camera.
Do a vlog style hand held shot if you’re
walking and talking.
Set up the camera if you’re talking about
something serious and important.
Choose quiet places to shoot
talking content.
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Now let us learn about some
commonly used terms for video
shoots
A-ROLL
It is the main content that you shoot for
your story. For example, if you want to
shoot a video showing your visit to a
library. A-roll will be the main video
of your visit.
B-ROLL
It is the extra content that you shoot. For example,
shooting your subject in different settings
Shots to be taken other than your subject in them
Shots that help your story
Camera movements and angles (Pan, tracks, tilt)
Duration of each shot
Transitional shots (Timelapse, sky, birds, water,
sunrise, sunset, etc.)
SOUNDBYTE
It is the main audio of an interview
shoot.
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If you wish to interview someone
for your video, you should know
about these things
How to conduct Where should your Angle and framing
an interview? subject look? for the interview.
Let your subject finish
their sentences.
Length of the There should always
interview. be a few seconds of
gap between your
question and their
answer.
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First step is to watch the content that you shot.
Decide the best and most important shots.
Listen to the audio carefully and achieve clear
audio. Or you can also add music to it. Make a
decision on whether you want a slow or a fast
video and edit accordingly.
You can also use editing apps like:
Power Director Filmora Go KineMaster Viva Cut Pro Adobe Premiere Vlogit
Intro Maker Canva
(for introduction) (for thumbnails)
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Learning BLOG writing
People have been writing blogs for quite some time. These include articles or any story in
the written format. You can use it to share opinions, highlight issues or even provide
solutions. Usually blogs are 700 words long and include photos and videos for clarity. You
can post your blogs on sites like Instagram, Wordpress or Facebook.
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the structure of a blog
Title
The main heading of the blog is the title, for example: ‘A visit to a
nearby village, is your title here.
Idea
Idea covers two questions- what is it that you are writing about and
why are you writing about it? For example, you can write a blog
about your visit to the village and you’re writing it to tell other people
that they can also visit a village to meet other people and know more
about the world.
Story
It focuses on the details about your topic.
Small topics
Learning Mobile Your blog can have multiple small topics related to the main
idea. For example you can talk about ‘way to the village, ‘what
you saw in the village or ‘your favourite activity to do in the
village.
Message
Your blog should contain a message to the readers, here,
it is to encourage others to visit the village and learn more.
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Some key takeaways of telling your
story through blogs
Keep the
Write in
title short.
present tense.
Write
Avoid difficult according to
words. the audience.
Answer questions
Be friendly in
like who, what,
your words.
where, when, why
and how.
Avoid copying
Use bullet from someone
points. else. Write
original.
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Exercise: Photography
Create a photo story of your choice using following
methods:
01 Landscape picture
02 Portrait picture
03 Unique angle shots
04 Create a story in a picture
05 Retouch all the above
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Exercise: Videography
Create a video story of your choice using following
methods:
01 Audio visual scripting
02 Shooting
03 Audio recording
04 Using B-roll
05 Adding music
06 Adding text
07 Exporting the final output
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Exercise: Blog Writing
01 Write a 500-word blog on any topic that
interests you
Submit the task at
[email protected] 31
Task in blog
About Plan India
Plan India is a nationally registered not for profit organisation striving to advance
children’s rights and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact in the lives of
vulnerable and excluded children and their communities.
Since 1979, Plan India has improved the lives of millions of children, girls and young
people by enabling them access to quality education, healthcare services, protection, a
healthy environment, livelihood opportunities and participation in decisions which affect
their lives.
Plan India is a member of the Plan International Federation, an independent
development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and
equality for girls. Plan International works in more than 75 countries worldwide.
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Plan India
1, Community Centre, Zamrudpur, Kailash Colony Extension
New Delhi – 110048, India
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