(photo: Kyle James)

An online multimedia story is a combination of video, text, photos, audio, graphics and interactive elements where each aspect complements the others. It allows a reporter to draw on the strength of each medium to tell a more compelling story.

But making a multimedia story really shine requires forethought and planning. Even before going out to report, journalists need to think about how they’re going to approach the story, when they’re going to use video, text, sound or photos, and then tie everything together to create a cohesive package. onMedia’s Kyle James has tips on doing the prep work to make sure your multimedia story is a success.

Playing to their strengths

Really good multimedia storytelling is more than just posting a video or a graph alongside a text story on a website. It’s about taking advantage of the characteristics of each medium to present the different aspects of your story in the most engaging way.

I find it’s best to sit down at the very beginning and divide the contents of the story among the different media. I ask myself: “Would this aspect work best as a short video, or should I take pictures or maybe write a couple of paragraphs?”

When I’m breaking things down, here’s what I keep in mind:

Video: Best for action and movement, shows what is happening (a protest, a fire, a person cooking, a dance performance). Can capture emotion well and good for strong quotes (eyewitness to a significant event, person recalling a tragedy). Video really draws people in.

Pictures: Good for capturing a specific, important moment, especially if it’s emotional (a reunion of long-lost siblings, soldier returning from war). Photos are good for showing places, environments and things that don’t move (buildings, landscapes). People can study pictures, unlike with video. That old cliché “a picture is worth a thousand words” still rings true in many instances.

Audio: Conveys emotions, feelings. The voices of experts can give your story credibility. Background (ambient) sound, especially if combined with pictures, can give a good sense of place. Audio works best when combined with pictures or video.

Graphics: These work well providing complex information in easy-to-understand ways. Stories with lots of numbers and statistics can benefit from graphs, showing trends or relationships (clothing exports over the last decade, wage growth). Diagrams can show how things work or how something came about (where floodwaters reached, how the bridge collapsed). Maps show where the story unfolded and can be layered with interactive elements.

Text: The written word works well for abstract, complicated aspects of a story. It’s the place to provide background and analysis, as well as headlines and photo captions. Many multimedia producers save text for the information that can’t be conveyed with video, audio, pictures or graphics.

If we’ve got video of an event, why would we simply describe it with text? Video’s power is showing action, so we should use it. Pictures of people overtaken by powerful emotions or recordings of their voices talking about their experiences are going to be very compelling. Yet an opinion piece on a policy or development or an analysis what has been learned in the wake of an accident might best be suited for text.

Writing it down

Since I can’t keep all this in my head, I need to write things down.

Click here for a planning list that helps you organize your thoughts around a story and how you want to cover it. It asks for things like a working title, a short story synopsis, conflict/tension involved, the main characters, who you’ll interview, and what works best with video/audio/pictures/etc.

Those who are more visually minded might want to write up a chart instead. The picture below is a quick sketch of possible elements of a multimedia story that I’ll call “The Bridge.” While this isn’t a real multimedia project, the story is true. In 2010, a stampede on a bridge in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh during a big festival killed 350 people and injured 750 others.

In this instance, I’ve made headers of the main media elements and put in aspects of the story that could fall under each. The arrows between some of them point out aspects of the story could have several elements. For example, the hourly timeline would be an interactive graphic that would incorporate text and pictures.

Assembling a storyboard

Now that you’ve got the elements figured out, you will want to create a rough storyboard of your project. A storyboard is a sketch of how the story will be organized and laid out on the screen. It’s a good idea to do a sketch of the opening page of your multimedia story, the first thing users will see, and then subpages or sections as well.

I’ve quickly drawn up mock-ups for the landing page and one inside page.

On the landing page, the first screen people will see on coming to my story, I’ve sketched out (very roughly) the title and the kind of picture I think I’d like.

I’ve put a space for some text to give us the very basics of what happened (remember, text is good for background and context), and then a possible navigation menu with four categories.

I could add a video or more pictures. But right now, I don’t think I want much more on my opening page, so I’m going to keep it simple.

This second page is where users land if they click on the first link in the navigation column, and we go to the background page. I’m using text because it’s good for context, video because we might find some footage of the actual stampede, a map to show users where things happened, a timeline to take us though the day of the tragedy, and eyewitness accounts from people who were there that combine pictures and audio

A storyboard is not only a good organizing tool, it can help point out things you might have missed. It can also help show you if you’ve actually got the resources and time to do all the things you want to do.

Storyboards aren’t written in stone, they’re just guides. You might well start changing things around, or adding and dropping elements, after you begin doing your reporting and seeing what great material you get or what’s not going to come through after all.

Things to keep in mind

• Multimedia stories are multi-dimensional, they use different media elements that complement each other
• They require planning and forethought
• Start thinking in a non-linear way. Instead of “first part” and “second part,” think “this part” and “that part”
• After preliminary research, start thinking about the different media to use – draw on the strengths of each
• Come up with a rough storyboard – you can always change it as you go along

For more onMedia posts on multimedia, see

Visual storytelling and moving beyond ‘multimedia’

A look at what the New York Times is doing with multimedia

The test of the multimedia storytelling app, Stellar

Written by Kyle James, edited by Kate Hairsine

Among his equipment, professional cameraman and documentary filmmaker Christian Parkinson has a small point and shoot digital camera, which he uses to produce quality films for broadcast. He talks to onMedia about his experience of working with compact cameras.

At the moment, Parkinson is using the Canon S110 (pictured above). It shoots full HD and although it won’t take an external microphone, the audio is “pretty good” if you are standing close to your interviewee, Parkinson says.

That’s good news for journalists who want to start producing video stories and are looking for an affordable equipment.

“The technology is now at a level where someone anywhere in the world with a little bit of money in their pocket can go out and make TV,” he tells onMedia.

While covering Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in 2013 for the BBC, Parkinson used the Canon S110 to produce a short news feature about people attending the service at FNB stadium in Soweto.

The image quality produced by a compact camera obviously isn’t as good as a professional broadcast camera and getting the exposure right in difficult lighting situations can be tricky, Parkionson says. But there are often advantages that outweigh the loss of quality when using a small camera.

“I can be filming with it where I’m not meant to be filming or where people would be very uncomfortable if I pulled out the big camera,” he says. With a small camera, “no one even blinks at me.”

“I can even walk up to people and start talking to them filming. And they might give me a funny look but they are not bothered by it. They don’t think you’re a serious journalist so therefore they are more relaxed and you get a real answer from people.”

Sense of immediacy

In another video filmed in Turkey, Christian guides the audience through the former French embassy in Istanbul. In the opening shot, he films his feet as he walks. In the next shot,  he’s holding the camera out in front of his face and introduces the story directly into the lens, which is  an advantage of a lightweight camera. Straight away you see the difference in this form of video journalism and storytelling – the journalist is more agile and the audience gets a sense that they are right there watching events as they unfold.

Practice makes perfect

Parkinson believes equipment is no longer an obstacle to making films. However, he says, equipment alone isn’t going to make you a filmmaker. You need to learn some basic skills and the best way to do that is get out there and practice with whatever equipment you can get your hands on.

“The technology is not as important as the storytelling experience; knowing what works, how to frame a shot and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the tool that you’re using,” he says.

“I think that is just practice and experience and there is no shortcuts for a lot of this stuff. I wish I could give people a sort of bullet point of shortcuts that will make them brilliant filmmakers but unfortunately it is just trial and error.”

If you are interested in more of Christian’s thoughts on using small cameras, take a look at his website and blog where he writes about camera work and video journalism. Christian has recently published a new e-book Camera Confidential which is packed with advice about working as a camera operator and video journalist.

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Using graphics in your video, and using them well

Written by Martin Vogl, edited by Guy Degen

Photo: flickr/gywst

Infographics can enhance a visual story’s appeal and are extremely helpful in presenting complex information in an easy-to-understand way. Now, it’s easier than ever to use graphics in your videos thanks to more advanced and user-friendly software. OnMedia’s Kyle James takes a look at how a production team from Indonesia used graphics effectively in their award winning video feature.

Journalist and editor Andi Muhyiddin had an important story to tell, one that suited itself well to his medium, television. He wanted to tell the story of Indonesia’s Citarum River, once a gently flowing waterway west of Jakarta, now considered by environmental groups as one of the most polluted places in the world.

Citarum is now a chemical dumping ground for area textile mills and a rubbish bin for many of the five million people who live in the river basin, although some of them depend on the river for their water supply.

Muhyiddin knew he could get powerful visuals as small boats glide through what seems to be a landscape of trash. But he also needed to present statistics on the severe pollution—how much waste goes into the river, what kind it is, what effects is it having on the waterway itself and the region’s environment. As those familiar with TV know, the medium isn’t naturally suited to presentations of a complicated numbers. It often needs a little help, and that’s where the infographics came in.

You can watch Muhyiddin’s video below, which was a finalist entry at the 2013 German Media Development Awards.

Clarity and variety

Muhyiddin had specific goals in mind as he was thinking out how to structure his 10-minute package and use graphics.

Andi Muhyiddin

“All stories on television should be easy for the audience to understand, which is why we need graphics,” he said in an e-mail interview from Jakarta, where he is an executive producer at Berita Satu TV. “[Graphics] help the audience understand the message when the existing video is not enough. Also, they make the package more attractive and add variety.”

And given the short attention spans of today’s audiences, good graphics are a good way to keep your audience from reaching for the remote.

If you watch the Citarum video (and I would highly recommend doing so; it’s well worth the ten-minute time investment), you’ll see that Muhyiddin starts off with overhead black-and-white shots of the river and surroundings, accompanied by fairly dramatic music. He then presents a few statistics in simple, clear text: it’s the most contaminated river in the world, 400 tons per day of cattle waste goes into it and 25,000 tons of domestic waste. The text appears almost as if it’s being typed out, as if on an old Teletype machine. But there’s nothing old fashioned here.

Sometimes all the words in a short sentence fade but one, which then moves to a different position on the screen and is incorporated into a new sentence and new statistic. At one point, a title changes from white to almost blood red. The presentation is dynamic, keeping the audience interested while getting across the newsworthiness and seriousness of the issue.

“Like video, graphics should tell the message effectively,” he said, and dynamic ones are more attractive to the viewer than static words on the screen.

Towards the end of the feature, Muhyiddin used pictorial graphics (starting at 8’42”) to depict deforestation, soil erosion and sediment build-up, ground-water depletion and the waste from cattle, factories and households that regularly enters the river.

Moreover, in areas where literacy rates are lower, these kinds of non-textual visuals that present data clearly ensure your audience is really getting the story.

According to Muhyiddin, it’s best if a producer works with someone with strong experience in graphic design or art, such as Dimas Noegroho, the “best graphics artist in my office,” he added.

For Noegroho, putting together a good package involves good pre-production, including getting the designers on board in the early stages. How information should be presented graphically should be figured out during the scripting and storyboarding process, he said. It’s shouldn’t just be an afterthought.

The tools

Noegroho himself uses Adobe products such as Illustrator, Photoshop and After Effects in his work. For 3D modeling, he uses Cinema 4D Studio, 3ds Max and Viz Artist.

These software packages aren’t free, and they’re pretty complicated, requiring a good deal of training, he said. But for simpler graphics, especially static images, there are many websites that offer data visualization and infographics tools for free. Noegroho recommends visual.ly, which has partnered with big names like Showtime and Al Jazeera.

Other free options include Blender, free and open-source software for 3D animations. Gimp is a free program similar to Photoshop and Inkscape is the free counterpart to Illustrator. Check out this list of some of the best free graphic design software out there today.

For a video project similar in scope to the Citarum project, Noegroho said if everything were planned out in advance, he would need about three weeks to a month to get the graphics in place.

“Basically, we’re delivering data, but not just giving numbers,” said Noegroho. “The infographics explain the whole chronology of the problem step-by-step and how it came about.” That way, he added, people get the data in easy-to-digest bites which build up to present the bigger picture at the end.

Research done at Indiana University in the US found that animated graphics offer a way to keep viewers watching and to help them remember stories better. But the study cautioned about text graphics used alone. It found that while text can help viewers remember information in difficult stories, it often doesn’t hold viewers’ attention.

So Muhyiddin’s own solution, adding movement to the text, appears to have been a good solution.

Author: Kyle James

(Click on the Playlist above to watch the four feature stories produced during the workshop by the teams from NBC, MBC-TV, Muvi-TV and Multi TV.)

Following the recent workshop in Namibia, DW Akademie Project Manager André Surén talked to onMedia about how the African Stories team are training crews to produce stories in a reportage style that strives for more dynamic filming through moving the camera and following action.

How do you train camera operators to achieve this more dynamic style of reporting?

AS: Most of the camera operators that we train on African Stories already know how to do the basics such as filming a sequence in 5 shots.  So, the big challenge for them is to sort of forget a little bit about some of the things they have previously learned. It’s a different style of camera work. We try to explain to them that camera movement needs plenty of practice and we need to do some practical exercises with them. That gives them a chance to try this new style a couple of times. Then we analyze it and say to them, ‘Look here and there you have to go in more close to the face’ or ‘Here and there we have to take one step back to see more of the whole scene’. After a while they really realize that this is a totally new style of filming and they’re usually very surprised. And we’re talking about camera operators who have had a lot of experience – they really start to learn new things.

What sorts of practical exercises help them to achieve good camera movement to follow action?

AS:  For example, the first exercise we do is usually a very simple situation and straightforward to do. For instance someone enters a cafe, orders a coffee and then the waiter brings a bill and receives the money. At first it’s challenging for them to film. But after a while they begin to understand that ‘Okay I film there, then I go this way, then need another shot from the other side’ and so on. That’s easy, but it starts to get more difficult if the action is really going fast. For example, if people are meeting each other, greeting, chatting for a while and then they GO. And they realize ‘Wait a second this is really hard because I had everything in my mind to do this, and then that and then this over shoulder shot, and a shot to one face, and another into action, and a closeup close above the hands’ or whatever. And they see that action can go very fast and they have to react quickly, it can be a bit stressful and you need to do it very fast. But we advise them carefully and say ‘Look if you miss one shot that’s fine, go to the next one’. Just be cool, be calm and follow it. And if something really doesn’t work, then you can interrupt and can say, okay lets please do it again. [Watch an example of a camera operator practicing below]

Do camera operators get a bit flustered or stressed during the training?

AS: Before we go out on location and film we train them to be relaxed and calm and to have special camera settings that makes it more easy for them for to shoot a variety of shots. Usually this more of a wide angle and a longer depth of field that allows to them to keep what they need in focus. On our Sony Z7’s we set the iris to something like F5.0 or F5.6. These small technical and planning points are important and help them not to be so stressed on a shoot.  Of course, they have to observe the basics too – checking the location for available light, checking the sound and analyzing any variables in the location before that start filming. And, if the action goes very fast, we tell them to take it easy, slow down and concentrate on what’s important. After the second and third exercise they tend to start understanding the need to be calm and they have to follow their shots. If they miss something it’s not the end of the world. I work with each team during the first couple of practical exercises, and actually help direct their movements.

So are you actually physically guiding a camera operator to perform these moves?

AS:  Yes, if I see that there is a need for it I do it definitely. And all of the camera operators are usually very comfortable with this. For example, I could see that one camera operator was not really doing very good closeups, so I guided him carefully to go in closer and to then follow the action to get wider shots with smooth movements.

What is it about these types of long feature stories and reportage style that is really challenging the crews?

AS: Lots of things. The planning starts before going out on location for sure. The research, knowing whom to interview, what kind of locations you can expect even though they may look different. But we talk together with the producers and show them how to organize themselves, how to structure their story. If that works, then the film that they want to produce is in their minds already before going out shooting. Of course nothing is written in stone. If something changes on location, fine no problem. But if you’ve got a good story and production plan then it’s easy to change your own structure. The teams have all done this on previous courses. They know things like aiming to have a good strong first picture to open their story. Or, remembering what was the last shot in the previous location and then thinking carefully about the first shot in the next location. Yes it is challenging for them but in the end they really understand that if you have this detailed planning, you get everything, you won’t miss anything, and the editing is also much faster.

What tips would you have for camera operators who want to try to achieve this sort of technique ?

AS:  They can practice by trying to film simple situations and capture 5 shots on the move. So I would suggest to ask their friends if they could film them greeting each other, or sitting and talking or whatever. So you film the scene and the interaction.  Your movement might be say a long shot, a medium shot with a different angle, then you need a different angle and a close-up of the hands, and shots to show the interaction between the two of them. Then you might move to film just the faces only.  And you try to make all the movements very, very smooth. Then edit the shots together and see what your sequence looks like. Again, it comes down to planning and practice.

What about from the other side, for producers and reporters, who need to work with the camera to try and achieve that type of look, what advice do you have for them?

André Surén

AS:  Nothing works without teamwork. There was an interesting example during African Stories. One producer said: ‘I do not need anyone, I make the decision and they have to follow it’. And after African Stories he changed his mind completely, saying ‘Nothing works without teamwork’.  And this is really important.  You have to communicate your story idea with the camera operator. You have to explain the length of the film, who you intend to interview and the different locations. They must work closely together. And this is challenging for them from the beginning because they needed more time, more advance planning, talking and organizing, but in the end they will really understand that the post-production will be much more faster and everybody is happy afterwards because they got what they needed. Communication is very important for teamwork. During African Stories we want the camera operator, the reporter or producer and the editor all working together.

But what about the humble monopod?

From getting a high shot over a crowd to supporting a camera, a monopod is one of the most useful tools that should be in your kit bag.

And whether you’re working with a camcorder, a digital camera or a smarthphone, read on to find out more about using a monopod and adapting it to your filming needs.

What is a monopod?

As an extendable pole with a standard camera mount, monopods don’t really come in vastly different shapes, but more in different sizes.

Monopods are lightweight and usually made from either of carbon fiber or aluminium. Typically the monopod has four or five sections that extend like an antenna or telescope and lock off by twisting or with a lever.

All monopods will have at least the standard 1/4-20 screw to mount a camera or camcorder. This will also give you the option of adding a ball head to tilt or rotate the camera.

If you are intending to use your monopod for video work then it would be worth investing in a good fluid head to attach to your monopod.

Take a look at this introductory video from Lynda tutorials to see more.

Standing tall

Ideally a good professional monopod usually extends to least 170-180 cm which should put a camera, smartphone or camcorder in the range of most people’s eye level.

That’s important for photographers and particularly videographers who might be using monopods to record an interview.

Shorter but just as good

Shorter monopods might not stand as tall as their big brothers, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do the same work.

If you are standing and need your camera to work at eye level, say for an interview, you could simply place the monopod on a chair or table to increase the working height.

Or, you could use a clip-on pouch on a belt which will means you’re starting from around waist height.

A shorter monopod also has the advantage of being lighter and more compact for carrying around.

Using a monopod

The monopod offers you much improved stability over hand held and it’s one of those tools that can be easily adapted to your style of photography or filming to achieve a variety of shots.

Monopod as shoulder spar

Here are some ideas to get started.

Go high – extend your camera above crowds to film over people’s heads.

Hold it steady – support from the ground up to avoid shaky sore arms when filming.

Hand held support – even when collapsed, a monopod offers a simple way of making a camera steady. Try using the monopod as a basic steadycam support.

Shoulder support – with a ball head, a DSLR or camcorder can be tilted back 90 degrees so a monopod can be used as spar to rest on your shoulder, or try tucking the monopod under your arm.

Look at me – VJ’s or mobile journalists can use a monopod for a quick and steady piece to camera. Adjust the monopod and camera to your required height and hold the monopod at arm’s length from you.

For more ideas and shooting tips with monopods, check out this tutorial from the Vimeo Video School.

Monopod Mania from Vimeo Video School on Vimeo.

What else should I know about monopods?

Costs: There are dozens of monopods of all sizes to suit every budget: from 30 – 300 Euro.

Variations: Here a couple of different types of monopods or camera supports to consider.

Manfrotto and Benro produce professional monopods that not only feature a fluid head to mount a camcorder or DLSR but retractable feet – effectively turning the monopod into something like a tripod that can stand up right on its own and support smaller cameras.

And for something completely different, check out the Ballpod.

Filled with a bean-like filler, this silicon bag is not a really a monopod but great variation of a camera bag support. It can be shaped to make a stable support on uneven surfaces or cramped spaces to support either a small DSLR camera or something else such as a LED light.

Author: Guy Degen