In case you need a refresher on MUSE, it's both an interactive online course and a physical set of tools (custom notebooks, a poster, and story blueprints) that are designed to guide you through the same step-by-step process that Stillmotion uses every time they set out to tell a story. That same process has helped the company win five Emmys (and land some incredibly prestigious corporate clients), and it was instrumental to them when they crafted their first feature documentary.
Here's the new introduction video for the MUSE pilot program:
The MUSE pilot program officially launched in June of this year, and over 1000 people have joined. Since that time, Stillmotion have culled feedback from this original group, done additional research, and have added several new features and enhancements to the course. Here's what you can expect from the current version of MUSE, in addition to everything else that is already included.
- Guided Challenges. A way to practice all of the core storytelling concepts, one challenge for each Pillar of story, and then get personalized feedback when you complete a challenge.
- Muser Community. The biggest thing those inside the course wanted was a way to connect with other Musers, people who share the same language and have the same understanding of story. We’ve custom developed a forum that is integrated throughout the course as a way to discuss and connect with others Musers globally.
- New Content. A handful of meticulously crafted tutorials are also being added. New videos about the importance of listening in storytelling (and how to do it better), the history of story, the 6 Essential Plot Points, and more.
There have also been some hints from Patrick and the Stillmotion team about where MUSE is headed in the future. While nothing is set in stone yet, a version of MUSE specifically-designed for narrative screenwriters is in the works — the team is collaborating with a world-renowned screenwriter to help produce this content — as is an interactive app that guides you through the entire storytelling process from start to finish. No word yet on when these will be released, but they're definitely in the works.
The MUSE pilot program still costs $497 for two full years of membership, and it is currently open through September 30th, or whenever the roughly 250 remaining spots sell out (probably less when you actually read this). This is the last time that MUSE will be open for registration in 2015, so if you're interested, head on over to learnstory.org and get signed up. And if you want to learn more about the type of content that you'll get access to by joining, check out the exclusive excerpt we posted in June.
Source: MUSE
