TED Talks, Joe Sabia: The technology of storytelling

Joe Sabia: The technology of storytelling

Ladies and gentlemen, gather around.

I would love to share with you a story.

Once upon a time in 19th century Germany, there was the book.Now during this time, the book was the king of storytelling. It was venerable. It was ubiquitous. But it was a little bit boring.Because in its 400 years of existence,storytellers never evolved the book as a storytelling device. But then one author arrived, and he changed the game forever. (Music) His name was Lothar, Lothar Meggendorfer. Lothar Meggendorfer put his foot down, and he said, "Genug ist genug!" He grabbed his pen, he snatched his scissors. This man refused to fold to the conventions of normalcy and just decided to fold. History would know Lothar Meggendorfer as -- who else? --the world's first true inventor of the children's pop-up book. (Music) For this delight and for this wonder, people rejoiced. (Cheering) They were happy because the story survived, and that the world would keep on spinning.

Lothar Meggendorfer wasn't the first to evolve the way a story was told, and he certainly wasn't the last. Whether storytellers realized it or not, they were channeling Meggendorfer's spirit when they moved opera to vaudville, radio news to radio theater, film to film in motion to film in sound, color, 3D,on VHS and on DVD.There seemed to be no cure for this Meggendorfer it is. And things got a lot more fun when the Internet came around. (Laughter) Because, not only could people broadcast their stories throughout the world, but they could do sourcing what seemed to be an infinite amount of devices. For example, one company would tell a story of love through its very own search engine. One Taiwanese production studio would interpret American politics in 3D. (Laughter)And one man would tell the stories of his father by using a platform called Twitter to communicate the excrement his father would gesticulate.

And after all this, everyone paused; they took a step back.They realized that, in 6,000 years of storytelling, they've gone from depicting hunting on cave walls to depicting Shakespeare on Facebook walls. And this was a cause for celebration.The art of storytelling has remained unchanged. And for the most part, the stories are recycled. But the way that humans tell the stories has always evolved with pure, consistent novelty.

Joe Sabia: The technology of storytelling Joe Sabia: Die Technologie des Geschichtenerzählens Joe Sabia: The technology of storytelling Joe Sabia: La tecnología de contar historias Joe Sabia : La technologie de la narration ジョー・サビア：ストーリーテリングの技術 Joe Sabia: A tecnologia da narração de histórias Джо Сабиа: Технология повествования

Ladies and gentlemen, gather around. |||Versammelt euch| Senhoras e senhores, se reúnem.

I would love to share with you a story.

Once upon a time in 19th century Germany, there was the book.Now during this time, the book was the king of storytelling. ||||||Jahrhundert|||||||||||||||| Era uma vez na Alemanha do século XIX, o livro. Agora, durante esse tempo, o livro era o rei da narrativa. It was venerable. ||ehrwürdig Era venerável. It was ubiquitous. ||allgegenwärtig ||onipresente But it was a little bit boring.Because in its 400 years of existence,storytellers never evolved the book as a storytelling device. |||||||||||||||entwickelten||||||Medium Mas era um pouco chato. Porque em seus 400 anos de existência, os contadores de histórias nunca desenvolveram o livro como um dispositivo de contar histórias. But then one author arrived, and he changed the game forever. |||Autor|kam|||||| Mas então um autor chegou e ele mudou o jogo para sempre. (Music) His name was Lothar, Lothar Meggendorfer. ||||Lothar||Meggendorfer Lothar Meggendorfer put his foot down, and he said, "Genug ist genug!" |||||||||suficiente|é| Lothar Meggendorfer pôs o pé no chão e disse: "Genug ist genug!" He grabbed his pen, he snatched his scissors. |griff zu||||schnappte||Schere |||||pegou rapidamente|| Ele pegou sua caneta e pegou sua tesoura. This man refused to fold to the conventions of normalcy and just decided to fold. ||weigerte sich||sich beugen|||Konventionen||Normalität|||||sich beugen |||||||convenções||normalidade||||| Este homem se recusou a desistir das convenções de normalidade e apenas decidiu desistir. History would know Lothar Meggendorfer as -- who else? --the world's first true inventor of the children's pop-up book. ||||Erfinder|||||| - o primeiro verdadeiro inventor do mundo no livro pop-up infantil. (Music) For this delight and for this wonder, people rejoiced. |||Freude||||Wunder||freuten sich |||||||||alegraram-se (Música) Por esse deleite e por essa maravilha, as pessoas se alegraram. (Cheering) They were happy because the story survived, and that the world would keep on spinning. |||||||||||||||sich drehen

Lothar Meggendorfer wasn't the first to evolve the way a story was told, and he certainly wasn't the last. |Meggendorfer||||||||||||||||| Whether storytellers realized it or not, they were channeling Meggendorfer's spirit when they moved opera to vaudville, radio news to radio theater, film to film in motion to film in sound, color, 3D,on VHS and on DVD.There seemed to be no cure for this Meggendorfer it is. ||||||||kanalisieren|||||verlagerten|Oper||Varieté|||||||||||||||||||||||||||Heilmittel||||| ||||||||canalizando|espírito de Meggendorfer|||||||vaudeville||||||||||||||||||VHS|||||||||||||| And things got a lot more fun when the Internet came around. E as coisas ficaram muito mais divertidas quando a Internet chegou. (Laughter) Because, not only could people broadcast their stories throughout the world, but they could do sourcing what seemed to be an infinite amount of devices. ||||||verbreiten|||auf der ganzen Welt|||||||Beschaffung||||||unendlichen|eine unendliche Anzahl||Geräte ||||||||||||||||obter informações||||||||| (Risos) Porque, não apenas as pessoas poderiam transmitir suas histórias ao redor do mundo, mas também conseguiram obter o que parecia ser uma quantidade infinita de dispositivos. (Смех) Потому что люди не только могли транслировать свои истории по всему миру, но они могли делать это с помощью, казалось бы, бесконечного количества устройств. For example, one company would tell a story of love through its very own search engine. |||||||||||||eigenen|| One Taiwanese production studio would interpret American politics in 3D. (Laughter)And one man would tell the stories of his father by using a platform called Twitter to communicate the excrement his father would gesticulate. ||||||||||||||||||||Unsinn|||| ||||||||||||||||||||excremento||||gesticularia (Risos) E um homem contava as histórias de seu pai usando uma plataforma chamada Twitter para comunicar os excrementos que seu pai gesticularia.

And after all this, everyone paused; they took a step back.They realized that, in 6,000 years of storytelling, they've gone from depicting hunting on cave walls to depicting Shakespeare on Facebook walls. Und|nach||||||||||||||||||||darstellen|||||||||| E depois de tudo isso, todos pararam; Eles perceberam que, em 6.000 anos de histórias, passaram de representar a caça nas paredes de cavernas a representar Shakespeare nas paredes do Facebook. And this was a cause for celebration.The art of storytelling has remained unchanged. ||||||Feier||||||unverändert|unverändert E isso foi motivo de comemoração. A arte de contar histórias permaneceu inalterada. And for the most part, the stories are recycled. But the way that humans tell the stories has always evolved with pure, consistent novelty. |||||||||||||konsistenter|Neuheit Mas a maneira como os humanos contam as histórias sempre evoluiu com uma novidade pura e consistente.

And they remembered a man, one amazing German, every time a new storytelling device popped up next.And for that,the audience --the lovely, beautiful audience --would live happily ever after. |||einen|einen Mann|||||||||Erzähltechnik||||||||||||||||| E eles se lembraram de um homem, um alemão incrível, toda vez que um novo dispositivo de contar histórias aparecia em seguida. E por isso, o público - o público adorável e bonito - viveria feliz para sempre. (Applause)