A night with Oscar
Posted on February 25, 2007
Quite a few nice video pieces in tonight’s Oscar presentation.
Maybe I’m thinking about video more now because of the blog discussions, I don’t remember them being so creative in years past. I particularly like the Ennio Morricone film score montage where the music notes jump from the page and help act as transitions.
I hope they publish some copies after the show so I can save them for inspiration.
As for newspaper coverage, I’m such a fan of what USATODAY.com does with their red carpet photo gallery. Vote for how you rank the fashion and instantly see how your views compare to other readers.
Hmmm … for a site set in L.A. and dedicated to award show coverage, I’m disappointed with latimes.com’s The Envelop. I have a feeling it’s a much nicer print publication than online.
At this point, washingtonpost.com’s Academy Awards page is a far better presentation for the Web.
And holy cow! Nytimes.com has a ton of content on their awards page.
Red hot rails
Posted on February 25, 2007
Richard Hernandez at mercurynews.com put together Red hot rails, a multimedia piece about how the nation’s railroad tracks are red-hot. He shot and edited the video and produced the Flash interface and interactive graphic. You can read about his progress on the project here.
(Note: I like how Angela Grant isn’t afraid to be critical in her critiques. So I’ve challenged myself to do the same. Here goes … )
>> First off, Red hot rails is truly a lovely presentation that I will use as inspiration in my own work. Richard has a done a great job his first time creating all of the pieces solo. I especially like how the rollovers on the links along the top and in each thumbnail photo work. The design is clean and the transitions between screens flow smoothly.
>> One place I don’t like the transition effect was in the “photos section.” Too much going on just for the sake of having movement, and it started to get a bit annoying. I’d like a next and previous button on the large photos, also.
>> One place I don’t like the design is on the video page. Other than reading left-to-right, I don’t get a sense of the hierarchy, and the text is way too small to read.
>> I like how a static graphic was made interactive, but it could have been made that much better with some audio narration.
>> Maybe I’m missing something, but why the numbers on the sections?
>> Then there’s the video — something Richard’s obviously quite talented at producing and editing. It’s so nice I hate to criticize it.
Now is a good time to make a confession: I appreciate video and understand its importance and increased popularity this past year. As an online journalist I fully support it, but as a reader, I’m not a big fan.
See, I’m a “Web skimmer.” Seriously, I have ADD when it comes to Internet surfing and particularly when it comes to video. It’s so hard for me to concentrate for more than a couple minutes unless the content is something I’m very interested in or the way its told grabs me from the start.
All of the video in Richard’s project is beautifully shot, but honestly I got about 1/4 of the way through “Take a Ride on the Alameda Corridor,” and I got antsy and found myself wanting to click away. I’m not sure why. Was the intro tone too artsy for me? Maybe. Because when the narrator kicked in, I was surprised, but it kept me in the piece.
“The Capitol Corridor,” on the other hand, grabbed me right away with the integration of text from the start. I like this style a lot and it works with the intro in the video story that’s tough to illustrate otherwise.
Given how most of these pieces that we all are doing are in one Flash package, we can’t tell how other readers are using these special reports. Are they lingering on the video? Or do they take a peek and move on? I hope we’re not patting each other on the back for content that no one else is noticing. Hopefully readers will do as I did and tag the whole thing to watch when they have some time to curl up and digest and enjoy the great work that video journalists are creating.
(*Note: After writing this, I noticed that Angela wrote a critique of this project, too. You can read her review here.)
Good reads for 02.22.07
Posted on February 22, 2007
Ack! Too busy to update, so I’ll let other bloggers do the work tonight. ;) Here are some links worth checking out:
>> HOLY Roanoke! Need a job? from MultimediaShooter; good mini-q&a with roanoke.com multimedia editor Seth Gitner in the comments section.
>> Innovate your life from Innovation in College Media.
>> MediaStorm Produces ‘Ivory Wars’ for National Geographic; beautiful piece produced by Brian Storm and Pamela Chen.
>> Angela Grant’s critiques of NPPA individual and team audio slideshow entries for January.
>> Really old school multimedia from Matt Waite; I’m looking forward to seeing what he and Craig Pittman create.
>> Mail & Guardian Goes Web 2.0 in Pictures from Amy Gahran via Poyneter’s E-Media Tidbits; LOVE the widget idea.
>> NYTimes.com debuts first user video feature from LostRemote.
>> Why does NPR sound so unique and other useful links from Journerdism.
A people torn
Posted on February 20, 2007
Want to know how multimedia can be fully integrated in an online story? Take a look at this new package by StarTribune.com.
Mindy McAdams says:
“The design of this package — both visual and functional — is a milestone in multimedia journalism. It is the most successfully integrated online journalism package I have ever seen.”
Here, here.
It has a beautiful, clean, easy-to-navigate interface, and the content is DEEP here. Lots of audio, slideshows and video.
And I agree with Mindy that the best part of all is that the text integrated with the project. When going to go through all the effort to make a special design, why do sites using the usual nav for the stories? Not here. There’s no clicking away or pop-ups for the stories. (NOTE: A couple of sites are experimenting with this, too — RockyMountainNews.com with The Crossing and sptimes.com with 48 hours on the inside).
Hooray!
As a reader, I now can access the parts of the story the way they are best told: either as audio or stories or video, etc.
Again, I love looking at the producers of a project. A lot of players on this one, and it shows in the quality of the presentation. This obviously took a lot of coordination and time — I’m curious about how much time was reserved for/dedicated to the online presentation. Kudos go to:
Online producer: Regina McCombs
Reporter and audio: Sharon Schmickle
Photographer and audio: Jerry Holt
Online designers: Dave Braunger and Jamie Chismar
Audio producer and editor: J. Pinkley
Photo and audio editor: Vickie Kettlewell
Online projects editor: Robyn Dochterman
Online design editor: Jamie Hutt
Video: Regina McCombs
Monrovia video: Dr. Barret Fisher
Additional video editing: Vanessa Gertz
Copy editors: Jim Foti and Holly Collier
Research: Sandy Date and Roberta Hovde
Nation and world editor: Dave Peters
Print designer: Colleen Kelly
Newspaper projects editor: Laurie Hertzel
I predict this isn’t the last you’ll hear about this project, and I hope we’ll continue to see papers experimenting with the all-inclusive presentations.
It all comes down to journalism, part 2
Posted on February 18, 2007
In his latest post “A desperate plea,” Richard Hernandez is calling for photojournalists to “shake things up” after he reviewed what he thinks is a disappointing batch of NPPA multimedia entries this month:
“I was shocked at how we, yes, me too, have become so lazy with our storytelling. All we seem to be doing is TELLING, not showing!”
He goes on to say:
“Let’s grab this opportunity to be risky and take chances. My desperate plea to all of us is to experiment. So what if we fail. Now is the time to fail. We have the power right now to show the industry how we want to tell stories. And we better hurry. So what if we fail, then we can go back to the well traveled path. Don’t wait for the ‘glass office’ folks to give you a mandate on how things should be done. Do things the way you think they should be done and SHOW them that people are watching and appreciating the work, because believe me, if you can SHOW people great stories, they keep coming back for more.”
It’s an excellent post obviously derived from a clear passion for the industry. And by looking at the comments generated, others feel the same.
I agree, too. I brought up a similar point last week, and I think some of us are starting to feel frustrated that it’s taken a while to get to our ideal. Nearly all of us struggle with resources, technology, experience or a combination of all three holding us back. We’ve been treading water for many years with spurts of greatness and a whole lot of potential.
Roger Richards hit the nail on the head with this comment:
I believe the limiting factor for most of us right now are the lack of resources and time being allocated to visual and interactive storytelling by newspaper publishers. Some are beginning to ‘get it’, but most clearly do not.
And Hernandez is right: The “glass office” folks are taking notice of online video. Now is the time to play — and fail. I hope shooters and multimedia producers take his challenge to push their creative boundaries.
But I also agree with Zach Wise and Seth Gitner who commented on Richard’s post: At the same time, we need to be challenging ourselves in non-linear storytelling. THIS is where Web video can blow past TV video in both presentation and value.
As we continue to develop audio, video, google maps and databases and then figure out how to best interweave them into a story (here’s an example of what I’m talking about.) I truly think we’re sitting on the tipping point where soon we’ll be able to look back and see how far we’ve come in creating multimedia.
The blogroll
Posted on February 17, 2007
The X Degree is almost a month old, and I’m celebrating by putting together a blogroll (now added to the homepage and permalink pages sidebars).
The goal is to pass along nods to some great blogging out there, and help me organize a little. I’ve been filing everyone in my Google reader, and wow, that list is getting LONG fast — a testament, I think, to all the thought-provoking discussions.
(Note: I found a blogroll tool called Feevy on Innovation in College Media tonight; it looks great on their site (look for the colored avitars along the right sidebar). Bringing in the actual entry of the blog prevents the list from becoming wallpaper. Very nice idea. I might play with it soon.)
I started this blog for a few reasons:
>> I can’t seem to get into or afford any seminars, so I’m hoping this will help me network and learn more about multimedia tips, tricks and industry happenings.
>> It’ll keep me updated on projects that excel (and don’t) in online storytelling so I can push myself and the newsroom to create better projects.
>> I have some things to say about my work and what we do as multimedia editors and producers to create interactive storytelling.
This thing takes a lot of time, but it’s already paying off in my work and professional development. Sort of like owning a cellphone: How did I ever get by without it?
Multimedia can’t be a one-(wo)man show
Posted on February 15, 2007
I love this post by Matt Waite, staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times.
He had an idea for multimedia today, and the Web team was too busy (I know how THAT is!) to produce it. So what’d he do? He gathered, edited and produced an audio clip.
He didn’t just tape some audio. He put the whole package together.
Bravo!
Here’s what he’s learned:
“But if you want to get and keep a job in journalism today, keep this in mind: The words ‘not my job’ should never leave your mouth. If you find yourself saying that audio (or video, or online, or multimedia) isn’t your job, time to stop and think. If you’re always useful, they can’t get rid of you.”
All this talk about how newspapers need to focus on the Web is fabulous news. Print reporters, editors and managers are finally getting it. Well, sort of … many are trying to make this transition with the same organizational structure and resources. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, however, is making some BIG changes.)
If newsrooms aren’t prepared, though, all the excitement and great ideas generated during this rush to produce more Web content are going to hit quite a bottleneck when they reach the Web editors.
Gulp.
Now we have a stressed out Web team and frustrated reporters.
So let’s not forget that we all work for the same team. We shouldn’t have an us vs. them attitude. We’re journalists. We gather facts and report. Print and online are just the delivery methods.
Web editors, and specifically the small multimedia departments, can’t do it alone. Chipping in to create an audio package (like Matt did today), shoot and edit a video interview or post a blog entry or breaking news, really IS a part of your job. And not only the reporter, but the Web team and the entire media outlet will reap the rewards.
Hiccup!
Posted on February 14, 2007
This funny story has a serious twist: A 15-year-old St. Petersburg, Fla., girl can’t stop hiccuping:
“Something like 50 times a minute, she hiccups, a staccato sensation that resembles a smoke alarm with a dying battery. Her mother, Rachel Robidoux, thinks Jennifer sounds like a barking chihuahua.”
Take the “When is it worth it” quiz on this one, and you’ll find you’ve got the makings of a multimedia project.
Sptimes.com chose to do so with an audio slideshow.
Cute and entertaining; the producer had fun with the timing of the photo placement. Nice use of the photos that could seem way too repetitive, but they don’t here. And using this format illustrates how funny the hiccups are at first and how completely annoying they quickly become.
Honestly, this isn’t nearly the best audio slideshow I’ve seen, and I’m not so sure about the “special report” tag at the top of this piece, but the content certainly made me stop long enough to write about it. Mission accomplished, I’d say.
Have a tip for her to to get rid of her hiccups? Sptimes.com set up a message board so you can help.
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Update: Matt Waite, staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times, blogged about how he pitched in on this now national story by gathering, editing and producing an audio clip of reader tips and reactions to the story.
And Angela Grant brainstorms some ways they could turn this into a package. I like this idea of hers especially:
“I’d like to see an animated graphic of the physical reasons people hiccup–why the diaphram spasms.”
The Crossing
Posted on February 13, 2007
I’ve had my eye on The Crossing, by RockyMountainNews.com, for, well, 19 chapters now.
This is gorgeous. The interactive pieces transition so nicely. Chris Schneider’s photos are beautiful. As are Tim Skillern and Laressa Bachelor’s high-quality videos; so moving some made me cry (the family and archive news footage help make these pieces successful).
I especially like how the Flash interactive is integrated at the top of the page.
While the extra info isn’t directly integrated into the text, they’ve come the closest I’ve seen to bringing all the content together and allowing the reader multiple entry points to all of the pieces.
They’ve also listed the whole team, with contact info, on all the pages. Interesting Web titles here:
* Reporter: Kevin Vaughan
* Photographer: Chris Schneider
* Video: Tim Skillern & Laressa Bachelor
* Page designer: Armando Arrieta
* Web designer: Ken Harper
* Web producer: Forrest Stewart
* Web developer: Chris Nguyen
* Copy editor: Dianne Rose
* Photo editor: Dean Krakel
* Imager: Marie Griffin
* Interactive editor: Mike Noe
* Project editor: Carol Hanner
When is it worth it?
Posted on February 13, 2007
Laura Ruel and Nora Paul report on the “beginning efforts to research and evaluate story design effects on news audiences” in “Multimedia storytelling: when is it worth it?” (Link found via Angela Grant)
Hmmm … just the question I’ve been asking myself as I try to tread water amid ever-growing requests from my newsroom for some sort of multimedia component to go with print stories.
This is just the beginning of the reports, so I’m looking forward to learning more. Here’s the nutgraph of what they’ve found so far with the Digital Story Effects Lab (DiSEL) study:
“What the research does seem to reveal is that the highly interactive content results in more time spent online with the material and a greater level of reported “enjoyment.” In addition (and counter to some other studies which show a negative impact) the Flash version seemed to help people recall the information being presented. So, if your goal in presenting a story – particularly one that has potential for a long “shelf-life” – is to entertain, inform, and keep people online longer, then investing in a creative, interactive presentation could be well worth the effort.”
Excellent. This all helps confirm what I learned when I started working with online news and multimedia elements back in 1999. In their present form, they’re sticky, fun, and educational.
Wait, though. The supporting research (Eyetrack III findings) does contradict DiSel (as noted above):
It was found that with both stories, individuals had better recall of the names of people involved and the locations of specific story events if they read the text version.
Aha! I’ve got an idea … why not bring the static and interactive together?
I’ve blogged about this before, but I still think the best solution is one where the user choices are integrated.
For instance, in the NYTimes example they used of Al Hirschfeld’s obit, take these multimedia elements and add them to the static page. Let the user get the easy-to-recall facts and still explore the video and audio slideshow segments without having to make a choice in what they’re going to view.
It shouldn’t be an either or. It should be a whole package. Wouldn’t you then accomplish ALL your goals?
I have to agree with Mindy McAdams’ post Missed the vision, ignored the visionaries. Journalism has been spinning its wheels.
This OJR study is useful, definitely. But I hate to say that it would have been equally useful back in 1999.
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