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?
- Need to be CLOSER to your subject. Web videos are smaller and more compressed.
- 40% of online viewers leave in the first 20 seconds. Another 40% leave after a minute. So you have 20 seconds, max, to grab your viewer and make sure they stick around. Ideally less than that.
How important is audio?
- Good audio is of paramount importance. If you have low-quality video and good audio, the video will still be watchable. If you have gorgeous visuals but terrible audio, it will not.
- Tips for gathering 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:
- Shoot more than you think you’ll need.
- Get a variety of shots. Close-up, medium, wide, detail shots, static shots, tracking shots.
- Use a tripod whenever possible. If you don’t have one or you’re shooting in a mobile, chaotic situation, be resourceful about stabilizing your shots.
- Think about your interviews and let them inform your B-roll shooting decisions. Look for shots that illustrate what the person is talking about.
- Hold your shot longer than you think you need to. A good rule of thumb is to hold it for at least 10 seconds.
Things to keep in mind when you’re shooting your interviews:
- Frame the shot with your subject on one of the horizontal thirds, angled so that they’re looking slightly INTO the frame. Have them look at you, not at the camera, so be mindful of where you are sitting. It’s a bit intense when someone looks directly into the camera.
- If you’re working with a translator, be mindful that the subject will want to look at them, so make sure they are positioned in the ideal place to draw the person’s gaze.
- Prioritize good audio.
- Make sure their face is lit, but not too harshly.
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:
- Shoot more than you think you’ll need.
- Get a variety of shots. Close-up, medium, wide, detail shots, static shots, tracking shots.
- Use a tripod whenever possible. If you don’t have one or you’re shooting in a mobile, chaotic situation, be resourceful about stabilizing your shots.
- Think about your interviews and let them inform your B-roll shooting decisions. Look for shots that illustrate what the person is talking about.
- Hold your shot longer than you think you need to. A good rule of thumb is to hold it for at least 10 seconds.
Things to keep in mind when you’re shooting your interviews:
- Frame the shot with your subject on one of the horizontal thirds, angled so that they’re looking slightly INTO the frame.
- Have them look at you, not at the camera, so be mindful of where you are sitting.
- If you’re working with a translator, be mindful that the subject will want to look at them, so make sure they are positioned in the ideal place to draw the person’s gaze.
- Make sure you’re getting good audio!
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.