Journalism Training Blog

Last week, Mark Hiland, senior director of digital operations for The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com, talked to us about telling the best story in the best way. We spent our time going over a few multimedia options: slide shows, videos and Flash packages.

When deciding whether a story needs a multimedia element and which kind of multimedia to use, consider these questions:

1. How much time do you have? How long will it take to produce?
2. What are your resources in terms of people, equipment, programs, etc.?
3. What is the shelf life of the project, and is that shelf life worth the time it will take to produce?
4. What opportunities will users have to control what they are seeing, hearing, etc.?

Slide shows are often a quick, easy option. One person can create and edit a slide show. The shelf life varies depending on the subject, and users find them easy to use and somewhat interactive. Only use sound if it is compelling.

Videos are more time consuming (for good videos, consider planning, shooting and editing time). Extensive training may be required, and equipment varies from Flip cameras to expensive professional cameras, mics, lights, etc. The shelf life varies, and interactivity is pretty limited.

Flash projects are very time consuming, so they should have a long shelf life to warrant the time put into creating them. Considerable staff hours and resources will be needed. These projects can require text, photos, video and graphics, and they are as interactive as you make them.

With time, resources, shelf life and interactivity in mind, choose the medium that will tell your story in the best way. Always keep your story in mind! That’s the whole point, after all.

Tips for shooting great video:

• Shoot sequences of shots. About 25 percent of your shots should be wide, 25 percent should be medium, 25 percent should be tight, and 25 percent should be even tighter. For each shot you’re getting, get all four types of shots.
• Hold each shot for 10-15 seconds — this will help in the editing process.
• Don’t zoom or pan. This doesn’t work online — it often stops the video from playing and annoys the viewer.
• Be aware of lighting.
• Shoot cutaways — these are transition shots. Find related shots away from the focal point of your video. That way, if you want to show a person in his house and then in his car, you’ll have a transition shot to put in the middle.
• Prepare a shot list before you shoot. Plan for opening and closing shots, cutaways, sequences, natural sound. Do the interview first, then you can map out your story and make sure to get all the shots you need.

Tips for interviewing:

• Plan for it by researching the topic. Don’t leave your readers/viewers with unanswered questions.
• Ask open-ended questions. (Tell me about …, describe for me …, why, how)
• Keep questions short and concise.
• Don’t editorialize or use leading questions.
• Pause between an answer and the next question (this will help during editing).

Here’s a video I shot over the weekend after receiving all of these tips. I’d love to hear your feedback: