99 Ways to Tell a Story by Matt Madden

99 Ways to Tell a Story really breaks down the fundamental principles of constructing a scene, highlighting just how many different directorial approaches there are to consider. My primary interest when it comes to animation is visual storytelling. I firmly believe that, as artists, communicating messages and encoding meaning in visuals is infinitely more effective than through words and sounds, which is why I want to explore the visual language to it's fullest in my own work. Part of what drew me towards Matt Madden's book '99 Ways to Tell a Story' was the concept of approaching the same scenario in different ways. Part of what attracts me to animation is not only the ability to tell stories but also the ways in which artists approach creating stories. Often I find that the way a writer or director approaches and constructs a scene in the context of their respected medium more interesting than the scene itself. As a creator I would definitely say that I am more interested in constructing vessels for stories than constructing stories of my own.