Everything in the story supports the purpose of the story. I had a chance to listen to the lecture "Mickey's 10 Commandments: Tools for Dimensional Storytelling" by Orrin Shively, VP Product Development and R&D for The Walt Disney Company on April 16, 2010 at UGA. The lecture revealed some of the important ideas for design and storytelling from one of the most powerful storytelling companies on the planet.
- Know your audience.
Know where they come from, how they like to do things, how are they changing
- Wear your guest's shoes.
Be there to understand, What are the distances they have to walk (think of the massiveness of the park), how parents will deal with a tired child?
- Organize the flow of people and ideas.
How to set up story telling in 3 dimensions? Where are you going? How are you getting there? Hoe do you progress the flow? (Aiming destination - Threshhold - Immersed in destination)
- Create a weenie (visual magnetics, icons).
Create a focal point (A castle, church), centric, Start telling stories with icons: Icons indicate where they are and why they are here.
- Communicate with visual literacy.
Each element has a part in the story. Every single detail needs to support the story.
E.g., Color: manipulate warm and cool colors to accentuate.
- Avoid overload.
No same amount of density. Focal point (fireworks at night other lights are dimmed) Balance in sound, colors, and objects
- Tell one story at a time.
One princess at a time, Advertisement, commercials pitch one thing to sell. One idea at a time. Thematical consistency (bug 3-D glasses at the Bugslife theater)
- Avoid contradiction.
Consistency. Homogenity. Not contradicting with each other. A sense of familiarity, Decompress. The main street Victorian style? Go with Victorian.
- For every ounce of treatment, provide a ton of fun.
Learning in an approacheable and consumable way.
- Keep it up.
Maintain the quality, experience for each person. Rides look shiny and safe like new after 20 years of use.
