2. Multimedia Defined
• Multi=Many, Media=Primary means of
communicaiton
• Collective use of many media types to convey
information
• Text, audio, graphics, video, photographs,
3. Audience Trends
• Pew Research Study in 2010 showed that
▫ 34% of Americans visited an online news source in the
previous 24 hours
▫ 34% listened to radio news
▫ 31% read a daily newspaper
▫ 44% got news through one or more internet or mobile
source
• 2010 Neilson Report showed
▫ 99% of video was still consumed via television
▫ Mobile video users grew by 57% in the previous year
4. Practicing Social Media
• Backpack Journalism
▫ Single professional that could create complete
multimedia packages alone
▫ Fell out of favor pretty quickly because
Too hard for one person
Too time consuming for one person
▫ BUT….journalists do need to be adaptable. Need
to know a variety of skills
▫ Above all they need to have good editorial
judgment and a good sense of storytelling
5. Multimedia Success
• Develop strong writing skills
• Understand how stories are best told over
multiple platforms
• Develop proficiency with as many tools and
software as possible
• Be flexible, adaptable and versatile
• Be able to mine data
• Understand the role of digital asset management
• Be able to assess the multimedia potential for a
story and pick the most appropriate form
6. Collaboration
• Different types of collaboration
▫ Reporters, photographers, information graphics
artists, page designers, etc. collaborate on stories
▫ Broadcast organizations team reporters and
videographers up to collaborate
▫ Collaboration occurs across print, broadcast and
online organizations (Trib & WPXI)
Often called convergence instead of collaboration
7. Convergence
• Newspaper and television stations often
converge
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Cross Promotion (teasing)
Cloning (PPNS)
Cooperation (cross posting or sharing info)
Content Sharing (working together on stories)
Full Convergence (sites designed to hold both)
8. Collaboration
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Identify team members and skill sets
Appoint a lead/project manager
Conduct a brainstorming meeting
Clearly define the project/story
Use a story planning form to stay on task
Clearly define the responsibilities of team
members
7. Establish immediate and final deadlines
8. Establish a clear workflow and file management
9. Check in with project manager and teammates
while working
10. Share info among teammates
9. Rules for Collaboration
• Remember that disagreeing does not have to be
disrespectful or contentious. Value opinions.
• Make sure that everyone has the opportunity to
express their opinions
• Realize that not everyone is going to always be
happy
10. Planning Multimedia
• Multimedia is warranted when there is enough
depth to warrant a layered approach to the story
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Photo Galleries
Photo Slide Shows
Audio
Video
Infographics
11. Planning Multimedia
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Take advantage of the Web’s non-linear layout
Design each piece to stand alone
Don’t include redundancies unless necessary
Don’t overedit in the early stages
Keep web writing in mind
12. Questions for assessing multimedia
1.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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Can the story be broken into chunks?
Does the story describe a process?
Does the story have a lot of figures/statistics?
Is there an emotional narrative?
Are there dramatic visual moments?
Does the story contain a lot of history?
Is there a potential for animation?
Is there a potential for interactivity?
13. Navigation & Interactivity
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Plan to work across platforms
Keep navigation simple
Design buttons large enough for fingers
Include cues so users know it’s working
Put controls in logical places
Integrate multimedia content with text
14. User Experience
• Usability
▫ How easy interfaces are to use
▫ Methods for improving ease-of use
• Usability testing
▫ Provides developers with important feedback
about effectiveness of a site
▫ A 5-person test is capable of revealing 80% of
problems
▫ 15-person test reveals nearly 100% of problems
15. Reading on the Web
• People read about 25% slower
• They scan pages to find areas of interest
• Text draws them more than pictures (eye track
research proves this)
• Online readers read an average of 77% of a story
• Web is an active medium, readers are engaged
• People are reading more and more from phones
16. Writing for the Web
• Requires informative, concise headlines
▫ Online headlines have no friends
• Summaries of a story are needed that link to full
versions
• Bold text to highlight important words
• Short paragraphs are best
• Bullets and numbered lists work well
• Subheadings are great
17. Blog writing
• Develop a writing style and tone appropriate to your
subject material.
• Post often, even if your posts are short.
• Allow your readers to comment on your posts
• Make your opinion known
• Link like crazy
• Write less
• 250 Words is enough
• Make Headlines snappy
• Write with passion
• Include Bullet point lists
• Edit your post
• Make your posts easy to scan
• Litter the post with keywords
18. Blog writing tips
1. Ask a Question
Opening your post with a question is a rhetorical device, which
creates curiosity and encourages the reader’s mind to begin
thinking. Thinking equates to active engagement with your
writing…winning situation.
2. Share a Short Story or a Great Quote
Quick stories tend to make people laugh. Everyone enjoys a good
laugh. The story, or anecdote, will immediately establish the
main point of your post. A quality quote from a recognizable
authority or famous person also work wonders in capturing the
reader. It can hold their attention in those first few critical opening
seconds.
19. Blog Writing Tips
3. Stir the Imagination
A reader needs a strong mental image so they can properly engage
with your post. You must use wording that will produce a visual in
the mind’s eye. Creating visual imagery is one of the most
powerful things you can ever do as a writer. Try using words
such as “picture this,” “imagine,” “do you remember when,” etc.
4. Use an Analogy, Metaphor, or Simile
Analogies, metaphors, and similes are quite powerful devices when
it comes to telling a story in a single sentence. What better way
to capture a reader’s attention. These devices also serve as a
catalyst to provoke mental imagery that allows readers to tell a
story to themselves.
20. Blog Writing Tips
5. Shocking Statistics
Interesting facts or tidbits are a great technique and an easy
way to start your post. People love interesting data, but only if
it is truly unique, startling, or even shocking. The statistic
should also be directly relevant to the point of your post as
well.
Blog Headlines
Should be searchable.
“Online headlines have no friends”
21. Setting up your blog
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Wordpress.com versus Wordpress.org
Themes
Pages, Posts, Categories, Tags
Inserting links
Inserting media
Embedding video
22. Photojournalism
• The use of photos began in the late 1800s
• The New York Daily Graphic published the first
halftime photo in 1880
▫ A Scene in Shantytown
23. Photojournalism
• Space has always been a limitation for print
publications.
• The rise of the photo/audio slideshow
presentation is one of the most significant
changes photojournalism has experienced
• Print stories are typically presented one of two
ways
▫ In combination with a story
▫ As a stand-alone visual story or photo essay
25. Tips for Photo Essays
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1. Find a topic: Photo essays are most dynamic when you as the photographer care about the subject.
Whether you choose to document the first month of a newborn in the family, the process of a school
drama production, or even a birthday party, make your topic something in which you find interest.
2. Do your research: If you document a newborn’s first month, spend time with the family. Discover
who the parents are, what culture they are from, whether they are upper or lower class. If you cover the
process of a school’s drama production, talk with the teachers, actors and stage hands; investigate the
general interest of the student body; find out how they are financing the production and keeping costs
down. If you photograph a birthday party, check out the theme, the decorations they plan on using, what
the birthday kid hopes to get for his or her gifts. All of these factors will help you in planning out the type
of shots you set up for your story.
3. Find the “real story”: After your research, you can determine the angle you want to take your story.
Is the newborn the first son of a wealthy family on whom the family legacy will continue? Or does the
baby have a rare heart condition? Is the drama production an effort to bring the student body together?
Or is it featuring a child star? Is the birthday party for an adolescent turning 13, or the last birthday of a
dying cancer patient? Though each story idea is the same, the main factors of each story create an
incredibly unique story.
4. Every dynamic story is built on a set of core values and emotions that touch the heart of
its audience. Anger. Joy. Fear. Hurt. Excitement. The best way you can connect your photo essay with
its audience is to draw out the emotions within the story and utilize them in your shots. This does not
mean that you manipulate your audience’s emotions. You merely use emotion as a connecting point.
5.Plan your shots: Whether you decide to sit down and extensively visualize each shot of the story, or
simply walk through the venue in your mind, you will want to think about the type of shots that will work
best to tell your story. I recommend beginners first start out by creating a “shot list” for the story. Each
shot will work like a sentence in a one-paragraph story. Typically, you can start with 10 shots. Each shot
must emphasize a different concept or emotion that can be woven together with the other images for the
final draft of the story.
26. Photo Tips
• Use rule of thirds
▫ http://vimeo.com/14315821
• Identify key moments and don’t let them pass by
• Change angles and points of view (long,
medium, close up and squat or stand on table)
• Make sure that the subject stands out from
background
• Make sure lighting is appropriate
▫ Avoid flat frontal lighting. Instead light subjects
from the side or back
27. Photo Tips
• Look for leading lines in the composition
▫ Move the eye from one point to another
• Use depth of field to create dimension in an
image
▫ Sharpest point of the image.
Shallow DOF occurs when the nearest object in an
image is sharp
Large DOF occurs when further objects are sharp
• Make sure there are no distracting elements
28. EIA Assignment
• Watch the following video (1 hour, 30 minutes)
• http://www.lynda.com/Photography-Lightingtutorials/The-Elements-of-EffectivePhotographs/76333-2.html
▫ Username hstarr@pointpark.edu
▫ Password communication2014
• After watching, take 5 photos and bring them to class
next week
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Rule of Thirds
Lighting from side or back
Depth of field shallow
Depth of field long
Leading line
