My Digital Storytelling Journey

Reflective Journal: My Digital Storytelling Journey
Student ID: 202425204092
Name: Wangyi(王艺)

1. The Process of Creating Digital Stories
   Stages & Tools Used:
   Brainstorming:
   May Day Travel: Jotted down key moments (e.g., hiking, local food) → Doubao generated scene descriptions from keywords.
   Little Red Riding Hood: Used DeepSeek to brainstorm plot twists (e.g., "What if the wolf was misunderstood?").
   Scripting:
   Dragon Boat Vlog: Wrote bilingual narration (Chinese for emotion, English for clarity) → DeepSeek refined English transitions.
   Media Gathering:
   May Day: Combined phone footage + Doubao-generated landscape images (prompt: "sunrise over mountain").
   Little Red Riding Hood: Created AI art of the forest with Doubao (prompt: "dark enchanted woods, red hood visible").
   Editing:
   CapCut for all projects: Synced music, added subtitles, used split-screen for Dragon Boat Vlog’s cooking segment.
   AI Tools Purpose:
   Doubao: Generated images + video captions (saved 3 hours vs. manual design).
   DeepSeek: Translated Chinese scripts to natural English (Little Red Riding Hood), improved grammar.
   CapCut AI: Auto-captions + background noise removal (for vlog voiceovers).
   Challenges & Solutions:
   Challenge: Doubao images mismatched the May Day video’s mood.
   Solution: Tweaked prompts 5x (e.g., changed "crowded scenic spot" → "peaceful morning lake").
   Challenge: Syncing audio in Little Red Riding Hood’s English narration.
   Solution: Used CapCut’s beat-detection to time animations.

2. Writing Enjoyment
   Initial Emotions:
   Excitement for Dragon Boat Vlog (love food/culture!) but nervous about Little Red Riding Hood’s English creativity.
   Turning Points:
   Frustration → Pride: When DeepSeek transformed my basic Chinese plot into poetic English ("The wolf’s eyes weren’t cruel, just lonely").
   Anxiety → Joy: Seeing Doubao’s AI art bring my May Day memories to life.
   Collaborative vs. Individual:
   Prefer individual projects—complete control over creative vision (e.g., choosing Little Red’s dark twist).
   Surprising Joys:
   Scripting Little Red’s diary-style English monologue felt unexpectedly powerful.
   Using CapCut’s filters to create nostalgic moods in Dragon Boat Vlog.

3. Writing Growth Mindset
   Skill Development:
   Technical: Mastered CapCut effects (keyframing, audio ducking).
   Multimodal Literacy: Balanced AI-generated art (Doubao) with original footage.
   AI Collaboration: Learned to "direct" AI tools (e.g., forcing DeepSeek to simplify complex sentences).
   Future Applications:
   Use Doubao for rapid visual prototyping in future projects.
   Apply DeepSeek’s translation tricks for bilingual storytelling.

4. Writing Self-Efficacy
   Baseline Confidence: 2/5 (feared English writing + tech). Past feedback: "Your ideas are strong, but execution needs polish."
   Post-Workshop Confidence: 4.5/5! Creating a full English story with AI support proved I can bridge creativity + technology.

Key Insights & Suggestions
Main Learnings:
AI (Doubao/DeepSeek) accelerates creativity but needs precise "briefing."
Emotion > perfection: Raw phone footage (Dragon Boat Vlog) resonated more than polished AI art.
Writing in character (e.g., Little Red’s diary) unlocks authentic voice.
Suggestions for Future Workshops:
Teach prompt engineering for visual AI tools (e.g., mood/style keywords for Doubao).
Share workflows for blending AI + original content ethically.
Include a "tool showcase" where students demo their favorite features (e.g., CapCut tricks).
"I entered this workshop doubting my tech skills. Now I see tools like DeepSeek and Doubao as creative partners—they didn’t write my story; they helped me tell it louder.