Multimedia Reporting Fall 2016
A Blogs@Baruch site
Check in about final projects
In-class production for those who are ready to begin
Discuss ways to combine various multimedia elements
Examples:
Photos and audio:
Where Beauty Softens Your Grief
Mostly photos:
Multiple videos:
Video and audio:
Photos and video:
A little of everything:
What does “multimedia” journalism mean and how is it changing?
Traditional forms like writing, radio and broadcast have moved online and can complement each other when it comes to telling a complete, dyanamic story.
Snow Fall: revolutionary in 2012, now this type of interactive multimedia-heavy layout is fairly common.
The old forms of traditional media still exist, but they have adapted to new methods of delivery and consumption.
Radio stories on the air –> downloadable/streamable podcasts
TV news –> online video (compositional framing changes, video length changes, formatting optimized for mobile)
Newspaper-style photography and landscape orientation –> Instagram and Snapchat (portrait orientation contains more information)
The availability of online multimedia content has also made aggregation easy (tweet roundups, etc.) and helped to create a click-driven economy. Twitter and other social platforms have changed the way news breaks.
Latest trends:
–Snapchat and Instagram stories
-Facebook Live
With video, we build on the compositional techniques of photography with one obvious additional element: Motion.
How does video storytelling for the web and mobile differ from TV and film?
How important is audio?
When is narration necessary?
Sometimes, you can let the subjects of your video tell the story all on their own — as long as you edit with care, presenting what they’ve told you in a way that makes narrative sense. Non-narrated videos feel more organic. There’s no disembodied voice stepping in and you don’t have to insert yourself into the story.
But sometimes, for clarity’s sake or for stylistic reasons, narration is necessary, or text .
Narrated videos
Non-narrated videos
Shooting Your Video
There are two main components to any video: your interviews and your B-roll. The rules of composition we learned for photography (thirds, colors, patterns, symmetry, etc.) all apply here, but you also need to keep an eye out for motion. Tracking shots involve following the action with your camera, while static shots involve keeping your camera still while you let the action go in and out of the frame.
What is B-roll? And what difference does it make?
Things to keep in mind while you’re shooting B-roll:
Things to keep in mind when you’re shooting your interviews:
The Five-Shot Sequence
Shooting Your Video
There are two main components to any video: your interviews and your B-roll. The rules of composition we learned for photography (thirds, colors, patterns, symmetry, etc.) all apply here, but you also need to keep an eye out for motion. Tracking shots involve following the action with your camera, while static shots involve keeping your camera still while you let the action go in and out of the frame.
There are two main components to any video: your interviews and your B-roll.
What is B-roll? And what difference does it make?
Things to keep in mind while you’re shooting B-roll:
Things to keep in mind when you’re shooting your interviews:
Pitches for your video will be due next class. Your assignment is to shoot a 60-second to 90-second character-driven, non-narrated video about a person with an interesting profession. This will be a quick turnaround assignment, with the one and only version (no rough draft) due in two weeks, on November 16. You will have another opportunity to revisit video journalism in your final project if you so choose.
Monday Nov. 7: Pitch workshop
Wednesday Nov. 9: Five-shot sequence exercise and video editing tutorial
Monday Nov. 14: In-class production
Wednesday Nov. 16 In-class production, videos due. Pitches due for final project.
Final project draft due: Nov. 30
FINAL PROJECT
Your final assignment will be a multimedia story on the topic of your choice. Your project must contain two of the three main media elements we have learned this semester so far, plus a written portion of about 500 words that ties those elements together. Remember that these elements should complement each other and help flesh out the story, rather than doing exactly the same thing but in a different medium.
Recording Narration for a Radio Story
This is also known as “tracking” your story.
Tutorial: GarageBand and Audacity
Check in on progress of radio stories. Workshop and brainstorm as needed.
Share photo essays with the class.
Next class, Wednesday 10/19: Radio scripts due
Updated syllabus: multimedia-reporting-syllabus-johnson
The highlights:
Wednesday October 19 – Radio script due
Wednesday October 26 – Final radio story due, and video pitch due
Wednesday November 9 – Video draft due
Wednesday November 16 – Final video due, pitch for final project due
Wednesday November 30 – Final project draft due
Monday December 12 – Final project due
Introduction to Audio Reporting:
Here are some basics you’ll want to keep in mind as you set out to collect sound:
Choose your environment wisely. Be aware of your surroundings. If you interview someone under a subway track, your recording will be impossible to understand. Pick a relatively quiet space. A little background noise is fine and adds atmosphere – except for music. Music makes editing difficult, so avoid it if at all possible.
Check your batteries beforehand. It’s a real bummer when you start interviewing someone and realize you only have ten minutes of life left on your recorder or phone.
Cell phones off. Yours and theirs. If you’re using your phone to record, make sure it’s set to silent.
Don’t forget your nats. Natural sound is a crucial element of any audio piece. Think about what sounds will most effectively place your listener in the scene. Footsteps, dishes clinking, phones ringing. Don’t be afraid to get in there and get close. Music is fine to use as a nat sound.
Don’t forget your ambi. Ambient sound, also known as “room tone,” is the background noise of wherever you happened to conduct your interview. It could be the chatter of a cafe or it could be what seems like the total quiet of an office or somebody’s living room. You’ll want to record about 90 seconds to two minutes of ambi for every interview you do so that you can run it under your narration.
Headphones in. Monitor your sound while you’re recording so you can make minor adjustments if you’re holding the mic too close or too far away. You also don’t want any background noises to show up surprisingly loud on the recording, when if you’d just been listening you would have known to turn off the air conditioner.
Ask open-ended questions. Yes or no questions won’t give you good long responses filled with usable quotes.
Get close, but not too close. Putting a mic right up against someone’s mouth can result in popping and crackling sounds on the recording. Make sure to test your equipment so you know roughly where to hold your recorder for optimal sound quality.
Keep quiet while they’re talking. Active listening is a fantastic skill for a journalist to have, but if you keep murmuring “Uh-huh,” “Yeah,” and “Sure,” while they’re answering your questions, you won’t be able to use the material. Stick with smiling and nodding.
How to Write a Radio Script
Sample script: islammombasa_johnson_2
Radio version: Raids and rehabilitation: Kenya’s dual fight against Islamic extremism
For radio, you’re writing for the ear, meaning you need to use shorter, simpler sentences than you would if you were writing for print or online.
Pacing is important. You need to keep things moving and let the story “breathe” because listeners get bored if they hear one voice for too long. Actualities (also known as sound bytes or quotes) should be no more than 15-20 seconds each. You can edit and condense them slightly if people are rambling or have lots of “ums,” as long as it doesn’t change the meaning of the quote. Your narration can go a bit longer, but keep it as concise as possible.
The purpose of your narration is to provide background information, set up your sound bytes, and then transition out of them.
Your stories should be three to four minutes long, with actualities (quotes) from two to three different interviews, and at least one or two natural sounds. (You can have multiple quotes from one person but probably not more than two, or mayyyybe three very short ones due to time constraints.)
Finally: Tutorial on Zoom microphones
Update on scheduling:
We will be having a guest speaker on Monday, meaning we will not be able to schedule in production of your photo essays that day. This means that I will be giving you production time on Wednesday instead, and that your final photo essays will be due by END of class on Wednesday next week, not by the start of class.
For next class:
Our guest speaker will be WNYC’s Jim Schachter, who will be having a discussion with you about the state of multimedia journalism. As prep for next class, there are a couple of things he’d like you to do.
For the rest of class: Continue editing photo projects
Scheduling:
Final drafts of photo essays will be due by class time on Wednesday, September 28, meaning we will not have class time dedicated to production that day. (We will spend class time viewing the finished projects together.) Our last class dedicated to production time will be Monday the 21st, so it will really be important to have most/all of your photos done by that day so you can take advantage of the school’s computers and programs for editing.
If for some reason you’re still shooting on Monday night or Tuesday and don’t have editing programs at home, let me know and I’ll see if I can arrange for some
Discuss your next assignment: Radio
Pitches will be due the same day as your final photo essays, September 28. I know that’s a lot happening at once, but because the following week we’ll be having class Wednesday and Thursday and not at all the week after that, I want you to have time to properly develop your ideas.
Your assignment will be to report and produce a three- to four-minute narrated radio story on a topic that relates to the election in some way. You will record natural sounds, interviews, and your own narration, and edit it together based on a script you will write. Start thinking about potentially sound-rich stories that are relevant to issues that have been arising with this presidential campaign.
Sample story: Aceh Punks
Tutorial:
Assembling your photo essays using Google Slides (formerly known as Google Presentations).
An Introduction to DSLR Photography
In-class assignment: Photo Scavenger Hunt
An image that captures at least one of each of the following elements of composition (some images will include multiple elements):
We will critique each other’s scavenger hunt images in class on Wednesday. You may check out a school camera if you will also be using it to work on your photo essay this week (remember that they are limited in number) but you are also welcome to use your own camera or your phone for this assignment. If you would prefer to leave early and do this assignment in your own neighborhood or out and about in the city, you’re welcome to, but make sure you send me your images by midnight tonight.
What you need to know about Assignment #1: Photo Essays:
Photo essays should be about 10-12 photos long, with clear and detailed captions.
The first edit of your photo essays will be due Monday September 19. We will have class time devoted to photo editing and production.
Final photo essays due: September 28
Here are some basic rules and guidelines of composition in photography to keep in mind as you start developing your eye:
1. The Rule of Thirds.
If you pay attention to only one element of composition, the rule of thirds should be it. If you start shooting with this “rule” in mind, your pictures will look a lot better immediately.
The general idea is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. If you place the main points of interest in your photo where the lines intersect, or along the lines themselves, your image will be far more visually interesting than if you just put the subject smack in the middle. Studies have shown that composing photos this way draws the human eye far more effectively.
2. Use color.
Black and white photography is a beautiful art form, but in photojournalism, most of the time you’ll be shooting in color. It helps to know what combinations of color to look for if you want your images to really pop.
You probably recognize this photo. Known as Afghan Girl, it is one of National Geographic’s most iconic images and was taken by color master Steve McCurry. One of the reasons this relatively simple picture is so stunning and so well-known is the colors: red and green, which fall on opposite sides of the color wheel.
Opposite colors, paired together, can make each other look more vibrant. Notice how the green of the girl’s eyes is picked up by the wall behind her and set off by the rusty red of her scarf.
Images with variations on the same color, known as monochromatic images, can also be quite striking:
3. Capture the decisive moment.
“The decisive moment” is a term that was coined by renowned photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. It refers to that fleeting instant that photographers love to capture: When someone leans in for a kiss, when a soccer player connects with with the ball, or when a protester throws a rock. If you aren’t ready with your finger on the shutter, you’ll miss the moment. If Bresson had taken this photo a split second earlier or later, it would have been a very ordinary photo of a man walking through a puddle.
Another decisive moment, this one also by “Afghan Girl” photographer Steve McCurry.
4. Leading lines.
Leading lines are lines that move the eye from one part of the image to another part, or sometimes out of the image. They add a sense of drama and perspective, so it’s always good to be on the lookout for roads, bridges, fences, shorelines and the like.
5. Symmetry and patterns.
Symmetry and patterns exist everywhere, both in nature and man-made sights. Looking for repetitions and symmetries, while staying alert to things that then break those very patterns (especially on the thirds!) is a sure way to make an arresting image.
6. Layers.
Another great way to make sure your images are visually interesting is to keep an eye out for what’s happening up close, in the middle distance, and far away. Think in layers. If you can frame your shots so that interesting things are happening in the background as well as at your focal point five feet away, you’re onto something.
Layers will be one of your greatest tools as a photojournalist, because layers add context. They tell a story.
This is a famous photograph by South African photojournalist Kevin Carter. He won a Pulitzer Prize for this image, which showed the effects of the 1993 famine in Sudan.
“Photojournalism” means you’re telling a story, not just taking a picture.
7. Get close. Then, get even closer.
Photographer Robert Capa famously said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” Proximity with your subjects makes for more powerful and intimate photos. Don’t be afraid to get right in someone’s face with your camera. It may feel intrusive and strange at first, but a huge part of being a reporter is engaging with people and making them feel comfortable.
What’s the process like? How do you go about shoving a camera in someone’s face?
For analysis: The Week in Pictures
So… how to construct a photo essay?
Unstoppable: Meet the Dancehall Queens of Brooklyn
Finally, here’s An Introduction to DSLR Photography.