Tonight I went to the library and followed Leeper's suggestion to re-read the stories we all heard as kids, The Chronicles of Narnia. Of course, I stared with the actual beginning, not the second book, as Hollywood would have you believe. I must say, I absolutely love when books get made into movies (though I'm usually disappointed). I like seeing one person's visual take on a novel. My favorite adaptation has been Peter Jackson's with Tolkien's work. Much of the plot was left untouched and brilliant cinematography made it fun to watch. However, the Narnia movies are crap.
Since I was little, I've been interested in telling stories, but I would always have this weird, pointless inner-debate about whether a book or a movie would be a better way to tell a story. Now, I know there are strengths and weaknesses in both, and it would depend on the type of story you wanted to tell. I would definitely have to say I prefer experiencing art in its original format. For example, the LOTR movies are among my favorite films, but you can't beat the books. Same with Harry Potter. Star Wars, however, I believe were movies first. I'd try to read the novelizations of the movies when I was younger, and they were nothing but shot-by-shot, play-by-play crappy writing.
The question I have for a room full of filmmakers is this: what's your ideal (not favorite) way to tell a story? Through film or good writing? It may seem like a silly question in a digital media class, but for some reason I wouldn't be surprised by either response.
Personally, I prefer to tell a story by writing. While filming can be a very rewarding process, writing does not take as much technicality. When writing a script for a film, you have to specify everything for the people who don't know what you're talking about. Not to mention organizing all of the camera angles. In a story, the reader just gets taken on a journey, and you're free to say whatever you want.
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