The Science of Story Telling

If you enjoy this blog entry and would like to read more or want to read about some different aspect of what we do, then why not drop a note in the comments box at the end and let me know what you'd like to read next.

When my good friend, orator and highly well-read gentleman, Nigel Gant, first stepped on set into the Museum of Stories he said, very quietly, "I am standing inside somebody else's imagination, it's humbling to think that!"   Actually Nige, it's humbling to be the person whose imagination you so willingly agreed to bring to life ... but let's leave the mutual appreciation there.    Throughout the day I noted that between filming sessions, whenever Nigel was sent outside to get some fresh air (it was well over 30 degrees on set on the hottest weekend of the year!) he would doggedly read, re-read, recite and practice the lines word for word.  

"Perhaps you don't have to be word perfect if there are phrases that give you trouble?"  I suggested.  

"Oh no!" he insisted "A lot of trouble and thought has been poured into writing this, I must do it justice and get it right." (I am abashed)

As you know I am a scholar, a PhD and an eternal student of all things human.  I love history, psychology, physics, maths ... you know?!  So, I would go so far as to suggest that our dear Nigel, without realising it, has understood an important scientific principle of good storytelling.  The science of what happens deep inside your brain makes for a fascinating study;  When you listen to a story that’s being told, or read, to you the auditory cortex of your brain become activated to receive the sounds and tones and interpret what is being said.  Engaging with a story also fires up your left temporal vortex (I fell like I'm writing an episode for Star Treck now!!). Your left temporal vortex is the region in your brain that receives and interprets language. This part of your brain is also capable of identifying overused words or clichés and allowing you to understand the point without becoming bored by repetition or annoyed by the over-use. An innate understanding of this is why the most skilled storytellers are careful about the language they use, employing a host of literary techniques to keep your brain engaged.  Sitting in the shade on that hot sunny day I joked about how my frequent use of alliteration was challenging Nigel's skills, but I also admired how he set the paces and poetic rythmns of the story as he told it. 

And once your temporal vortex is activated other regions of the brain soon begin to participate in the process too!  When you are immersed in the story you begin to feel some kind of emotional engagement with what is being said because the frontal and parietal cortices have been stimulated. Have you ever noticed how descriptions of food will also stir up your sensory cortex so that you feel hungry and can almost smell or taste what the storyteller is describing?  Passages that describe movement or action will get a response from a bit of your brain called the central sulcus (yup, I'm pretty sure that's a Dr. Whovian monster!), actually, the central sulcus is another primary sensory motor region of your brain. Indeed, just thinking about running can activate the neurons associated with the act . . . try it, some hypnotherapists and psychologists reckon you can actually lose weight by thinking about exercise but I've never managed that!

Researchers also tell us that this kind of brain activity can continue on for several days.  This goes a long way toward explaining why what we perceive as "good stories" stay with us, often in great detail. Additionally, stories also improve our ability to recall any information embedded in them. Scientists and psychologists suggest that people can recall facts up to 22 times more efficiently when those facts were heard as part of a story. 

Furthermore, all this brain activity will also bring about changes within other parts of your body. As I'm sure you're aware, if you listen to (or watch) scenes of high action or tension, the stress hormone cortisol is released into your bloodstream.  This, in turn, leads to you becoming more deeply entrenched and responsive to the story as it unfolds.  Apparently, more stories which are more heavily character-driven, that is where the characters are more prominent than events or plot points,  will cause the release of oxytocin into the blood. This is also called the “empathy” hormone because it helps people to bond with other people.  Unsurprisingly it's the same hormone that's released into the bloodstream of breastfeeding mothers.
Speaking of mothers - there is a lot more I could say on the science of storytelling and its relationship with childhood.   If you are interested and would like to read more on this then why not make a comment on this blog so that I know what you'd like me to tell you about.  

Nigel diligently studying his lines to get the words and the rhythms exact -
it's so hot he has a wet towel on his head!

". . . so too, so beautiful boy!"

Telling stories by candlelight in the Museum of Stories

How to make a film . . .

How to make a film?

Step One:
Go off on your own with a pad and a pencil and have an idea for a story.

 Write it down (It doesn't have to be beautifully finished just grab the basic characters, plot points and events)

The reason you don't have to worry too much about the finer details at this point is because it will be completed by the director when he does his storyboards, decides what he can and cannot film on location, and works out what his actors can and cannot do!

Of course, if you want to present the story as a book then you'd better get writing in depth and find yourself a great editor to make it perfect with you.

Step Two:

Walk up to a) a Film Director or b) a Director of Cinematography or c) (and this would be preferable), a multi-millionaire who is one or both of the other things.  I went for option a).

Having approached the film director, or whomever, you then need to talk about your story in such a way as to appeal to their imagination and coax them to say "ooh, yes! We could make a film of that!"

Of course, at this stage, you will be thinking small and uncomplicated thoughts about a few people making a nice video like the ones you make with your mobile, or even like the ones your dad used to make with one cine camera in the back garden!

Step Three:

Take a deep breath .... the director will now bring into being a whole crew of people with the most amazing sets of terrifying talent and technical skills. 

They will walk about confidently saying things like "oh yes that can be made to fly!" and "Oh, I can airbrush that!" and before you know it they'll be looking at you like you're some kind of Industry Executive ... just smile and say yes a lot, they like that!

Steve Locsy is an unbelievably visionary special effects makeup artist - the fantasty demon monsters in Heartsfelled couldn't be being given their faces by anybody better - Steve is launching his own theatrical and film sfx makeup business and we are just privileged beyond belief to have him on our crew.
I'll feature Steve and each of the crew members individually in later blogs.

 Hair Dresser Mark Brown is another person with the gift of creative vision - not only does he do the best gentlemen's hair in all of Bedfordshire, but when his imagination is sparked he turns ordinary folk into fantasy characters as if by magic ....

Heeeeeeere's Nealy.  What a special and beautiful soul NEaly is.  She has trained in makeup and beauty but is now setting out her stall to become a tv and film makeup and special effects makeup artist with a special interest in scars and injuries (think about all those hospital programmes and the myriad of film and tv series where she could ply her trade).
Nealy is in training but raring to go and again it is a genuine privilege to have her on our crew.

Jack Wilderspin is a director in the making.  I cannot wait to do a blog about Jack in his own right.

For us he is working as cinematographer alongside our Director of Cinematography Zak Wylde Holland.

I will tell you about our actors and other good things in Friday's blog.  In the meantime here is a "Show Reel" from Jack.  If you don't know (and I did not) showreels are what actors, cameramen and directors create to show their styles and skills. ..... Enjoy:

(may contain strong language etc.)

I am truly looking forward to writing individual features for each of our team - Nigel  and Julia, Pete, Tina and Zak, and all the wonderful folk you see in this blog and many more!

If there is anything you'd love to know - do leave me a note or ask a question.

Brother Scuttle's Reflections... Pulling Teeth!

Hello again my friends,

Richard has kindly allowed me some time once again to put my ghostly memory to work and take a trip back into the past...

I must say I'm getting used to your way of life here in the future... Even though my beloved Priory is no more! Still I can wander the Streets of Spalding as a ghost and observe what I can of humanity, which I find very entertaining...

Horseless carts, boxes you speak into, boxes that copy your every movement and utterance, boxes that generate visions from other realms... This 'Web' people speak of? That is the most terrifying thing of all, and once again I observe Richard and his wife spending hours pouring over this 'Web' from yet another box... I don't believe in Magic... never have, there is a reason for all this as Richard has tried to explain...  I think my time is not ready for all this jiggery pokery!

Today Richard had to go to the 'Dentist' or tooth Doctor as I discovered. He seemed to feel no pain or discomfort through the ordeal...  Good for him!

I remember Brother Simeon at the Priory... He pulled out bad teeth and enjoyed every moment of the suffering of others. Mercifully I only ever had to have him pull one of my teeth, but it is said my cries could be heard all over Spalding and beyond into the very fens!  I was told that his predecessor, Brother Maurice actually kept the teeth he removed! Even in God's good name could he be that foul? But it appears that you have drugs and medicines to reduce pain in your time, which can only be good. Richard says he's a martyr to his teeth... I never quite understand what that man is on about half the time!

Anyway it's raining today and quite miserable... I think I'll nip back to the netherworld or go and see Heartsfelled to swap a yarn or two... Pity I can't drink ale anymore, you should have seen me and him back in the day! Ha ha ha...

Oh, due to 'human error' in the last blog I just wish to confirm that I was born in 1068 the son of a Norman and a high ranking Saxon and went into the Priory at 15 to study and prepare for my vows.

Wishing everyone a very happy Weekend,


Brother Scuttle.

The Ghosts of Times Past! Video clip

The opening sequence of our film is designed to introduce you to the setting within which storyteller Heartsfelled exists.  You'll see the ghosts of times past going about their business because every life is a potential story and each one has, in some way, influence the storyteller in his trade. 

Our ghosts span some 1300 years. The building of Ayscoughfee Hall was completed around the year 1451.  It sits, grandly, in the town of Spalding, alongside the River Welland which runs through town. Of course, the site was occupied before this hall was started, although it is hard to say exactly who or what was there.  The important Spalding Priory was across the river opposite Ayscoughfee and was there at the time the hall was built.

Heartsfelled the storyteller occupies his “Museum of Stories” in a magical, slightly secret place which can, if you know how to look for it, be accessed through Ayscoughfee Hall and Gardens … but only if you know how to look!

So, when we created “The Ghosts of Times Past” to introduce our ageless, timeless storyteller Heartsfelled, the people who have lived their lives in this place readily represent a goodly, broad, cross-section of those who might have influenced stories and storytellers across time.  Anywhere you go in this human world, If you step through the right gateway, at the right moment in time, and if you keep your eyes and your mind open to all of life’s rich possibilities, if you let yourself see the rich reflections of the layers of lives past, and the ghosts of different times . . .

The first ghost we see in the sequence is the scampering Brother Scuttle (watch this blog for little posts from the ghost of Brother Scuttle - he’s quite a character and full of interesting information).  Brother Scuttle was born in 1068 and entered the Priory of Spalding when he was 15 years old.

And what about that elegant lady in her cream lace gown with parasol, strolling and reading among the ancient yews?  Well, she is almost certainly a ghost from the turn of the 20th century - late Victorian to early Edwardian. Don’t you love her summer hat?

The next we see is a beautiful, flaxen-haired lady that we would most likely describe as “Viking” although her heritage could actually be Anglo-Saxon … as she would have been running her errands during the time of the Danelaw sometime between the mid-ninth and the mid-tenth century.

Aaah, Sense and Sensibility!  See those two Regency coquettes running and giggling through the grounds!  They will have had their fun around the beginning of the 1800s at the time when people like Sir Christopher Wren, Capability Brown, Wedgewood, and Chippendale were shaping things.

And keep an eye on the background - see our Edwardian Gentleman, Mr. Seaton, stroll along a rather poignant path in front of the spot where a war memorial now stands to commemorate the bravery of those involved in WWI and WWII - perhaps even his own son or grandsons. What a handsome ghost he is.

Back in time next, to some time around 1540 where we see the ghosts of two golden haired Tudor children scampering through the maze with their handsome m’ma in the background to the left and a very elegant young tudor lady strolling along behind in the far background.

Our next ghost, from around 1910 - Just look at that sumptuous Edwardian walking suit and hat (all hand stitched).   What a purposeful walk she is on. I wonder where she was going . . .

My how I love the Victorian gardeners of 1890, Tom and Dan.  If ever there was a story being told, I think they really appreciated the grounds around the lovely Hall and were proud to be looking after it.  I wonder what they were saying?

Next . . . a little glimpse of the Victorian cook making her way to the kitchens at the back of the Hall.

It’s 1710 at the front entrance of the Hall and we see, perhaps that’s  Maurice and Elizabeth Johnson sweeping through the door in their finery.  Maurice was a famous antiquarian and the founder of the Spalding Gentlemen’s Society.  If you don’t know about the SGS do look it up.

And finally, from around the 1860s, we see a young Isabella Johnson seeming to approve her own portrait in the library area of the Hall. She seems a little shy - for a ghost!

There were other ghosts but if we’d filmed them all then you never would get to meet Heartsfelled!!  So this is our selection - people from times past. Every time has its stories and storytellers. Maybe next time!

As the film narrator says:

Anywhere you might go in this human world, If you step through the right gateway, at the right moment in time, and if you keep your eyes and your mind open to all of life’s rich possibilities, if you let yourself see the rich reflections of the layers of lives past and the ghosts of different times - then you might just come across a little bit of magic that has been spinning around our world since the very beginnings of time.

Because when time began – the Storytellers were born!

And the Story Tellers are ancient, traversing time and space and in an intricate dance all of their own.  They are the keepers of Fīfmægen (fif-meyhan), that’s magical power!

The Storytellers are the keepers of fīfmægen, and it is their place in this world, to this very day, to be weaving the secrets of men and telling the magical, mythical tales of mankind.

But will you look?

Are you prepared to see into the shadows that run deep under the trappings of our modern society?

Are you prepared to listen with your heart for the voice that goes unheard?

Step through the long forgotten door . . .

Brother Scuttle's Reflections

Hello All,

Richard here, focus of 'Brother Scuttle' our resident ghostly, but very friendly and jolly
Heartsfelled Monk... Scuttle is a bit confused by the 21st Century, so I better pass over to him before he gets a bit grumpy! Over to you Brother!

What? Oh yes...  What ever is this Blogging? Sounds more like flogging to me! Those Normans were good at that I can tell you! I saw a few floggings in my time... The old Priory Bell would sound and a crowd would gather, no moving pictures or books then to entertain us!  Then the Normans would severely flog the miscreant outside the Priory gates...

But my beloved Priory has gone! Nothing much left at all now, just noise, hustle and bustle from horseless carts and too many people rushing about... Horrible!!!

I say those Normans... I'm half Norman myself and was two years after the conquest. By the time I entered the Priory King William I was still on the throne and Ivo Tailbois was looking after the interests of Spalding. His wife took much interest in our order and as a result the Priory grew into quite a powerful concern, far outgrowing those dunderheads at Croyland! Ha, they never got over that, and never allowed us to gain status as an Abbey...

As a cleric I was here, there and everywhere, so I was given the nickname 'Scuttle' which has stuck like fresh cow dung to thatch... Oh well, I have certain advantages and am treated very well, so I can't complain.

Then I suddenly find that I'm not only dead, but alive and well as a ghost channelled by this Richard fellow...

And I'm starring in a 'moving picture' called Heartsfelled! Actually I'm pleased. I knew old Heartsfelled back in the day and he can spin a good yarn or two I can tell you. You never know I might be brought back to star in a few more of these things... Who would have thought it?

Here's my role, scuttling into Ayscoughfee Hall with an urgent message...


Anyway I'm off back to the Netherworld to get a bit of sleep... I'll flog, er sorry, blog you again later!


Erm... yes, Thank you Brother Scuttle. More from him soon...


Richard.