Intro to multimedia 2014 4
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This document provides an overview of multimedia and multimedia skills. It discusses how multimedia combines multiple media types like text, audio, graphics and video. It also examines trends in how audiences consume news and video on different platforms. The document outlines skills needed for multimedia work like strong writing, versatility, data mining and digital asset management. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration between different media professionals. Rules for effective collaboration are presented. The document also provides tips for planning, creating and writing for multimedia, including photo essays, blogs and social media.
Intro to multimedia 2014 4
- 1. Intro to Multimedia Spring 2014
- 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 ▫ ▫ ▫ ▫ ▫ 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 1. 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 • • • • • Photo Galleries Photo Slide Shows Audio Video Infographics
- 11. Planning Multimedia • • • • • 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. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 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 • • • • • • 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 • • • • • • 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
- 24. Photo Essays • Became popular in the 1930s • Life Magazine photo essay in 1936
- 25. Tips for Photo Essays • • • • • 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