Online Journalism

Visual storytelling was the focus of Steve Buttry‘s talk. He shared with us his blog, The Buttry Diary.

Steve Buttry

He said he’d use some examples from his blog post  from the previous time he talked to Klein’s class. He said he’d also use some new examples.

He started with examples using maps as a gateway for storytelling. He used StarTribune.com’s 13 Seconds in August which was about the 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River. Then he showed Des Moines Register’s Parkersburg tornado map. Both of these stories used maps in order to present the stories, videos and pictures. Lastly, he showed us The Times-Picayune’s Last Chance, which was about Louisiana’s disappearing coastline.

Buttry showed us how satellite photographs were used in The New York Times’ Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami to show all of the destruction.

He also showed us President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address by David Bergman which Gigapan images of the Inaugural address. People can zoom in and see themselves in the picture. The Glastotag idea at The Glastonbury Festival 2010.

He mentioned Storify and using it in a hard news story. Like when TBD’s Dave Jamieson’s “Snow wreaks havoc on D.C., Virginia, Maryland roads” story.

Twitter has helped Buttry “become a better writer” and even helped his ego due to all of the user interaction.

With all the technologies out there, most of us are feeling a little nervous when trying to implement them. This was obvious by  most of the questions that were asked. Buttry said it’s good to feel that way and a sign that you should jump on it.

He says to always be curious despite any barriers. Whether they’d be language or fear,

“Ask a question, however difficult it may be,” said Buttry.

Steve Buttry

Reporting has changed with innovation.

                -Can’t just interview people. You need to gather sounds and video.

Many websites work on innovative ways to present stories.

Example

Example 2

-“You can sometimes tell a story with words in audio than written words”

Innovations give control to the users

“Thinking of all the possibilities on how to present a story changes the reporting of a story.”

Q: What makes a story important enough to take the time to create these kinds of stories?

A: For example the story in MN about the bridge was the towns story of the year. Now it is also important to understand creating these stories now makes it easier to recreate similar stories or formatting for the next stories. Next time around it will not take as long to create the story.

A lot of good information from Steve Buttry’s presentation. What is to be taken away is possibilities are endless. There are always interesting ways to present various types of stories. The goal is to interest the consumers, and tell the story with the most accuracy and detail as possible.

“Feeling uncomfortable should be a red flag which urges you to jump in it might be good for you”

Steve Buttry, Director of Community Engagement at TBD visited our class on Tuesday, March 22. He showed us a lot of great interactive sites that can be used by electronic journalists. Check out some of the links below – the stories are interesting, but the way each story is told is even more amazing!

13 Seconds in August: The 35W Bridge Collapse

• It’s one story, made up of dozens of personal stories!
• What can you hear? News reports, 911 calls, interviews, ambulance sirens, press conferences, police radio traffic with dispatch
• What can you see? A combination of graphics and photographs showing the whole bridge that collapsed August 2007
• PRO: You can start the story wherever you want – it’s a self-guided tour

“As a writer in traditional journalism, you have control. But in digital storytelling, we’re sharing more control.” – Steve Buttry

Parksburg Tornado: The Aftermath

• It consists of before, after and present pictures of homes in Parksburg, Iowa
• A story unfolds with simple mugshots of flattened homes and footages of surveillance video cameras when the tornado occurred

“You can see how a simple map and a different way about thinking about storytelling can become a different vehicle for storytelling.” – Steve Buttry

The Rise and Disappearance of Southeast Louisiana

• It’s a reporting about what has happened to Louisiana’s land in the past

“I’m a good writer, but there is no way that I could write a paragraph about the way Louisiana’s land is disappear the way the map tells the story.” – Steve Buttry

Accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

• An interactive map that unfolds the disaster Japan is currently facing
• Viewers have full control of what they want to see on the map by sliding the screen back and forth

“Again, you have to give up some control for the users.” – Steve Buttry

Obama’s Inaugural Address

• An image of the inauguration
• Can find and identify people

“It’s not one picture, but thousands taken with a Gigapan camera.” – Steve Buttry

Steve Buttry’s Tips and Memorable Quotes

• “Journalists should learn some of the tools (Flash, HTML) to make their stories better.”
• “Shifting into the unfamiliar digital territory was a little scary, but it was also exciting as hell!”
• “You’re not going to grown or develop new skills without being uncomfortable.”
• “It [Twitter] made me get to the point faster… It made me a better writer.”
• “Always be curious… If a question occurs to you, ask somebody – even if you don’t speak the same language. Someone around you will help you… Ask the question, no matter how difficult it may be.”
• “My best rule in journalism is to never say ‘No’ for somebody else.”
• “Don’t let obstacles become excuses.”
• “I’d rather be beaten on something that is true than spread rumors.”

Summary: Video provides a compelling medium for telling a story. Quality can range from the highly produced to a grainy web cam, depending on whether it appears on broadcast television or on the Web. The quality versus quantity debate is irrelevant in online journalism, a compelling video does not have to be aesthetic perfection.

Photo provided by Cal State L.A.

Everyone has access to a video capturing device, whether it is a professional camera, or the camera on a cellphone. A shaky, grainy video clip has the same impact as a professionally edited piece if the content is compelling. Learning some basic techniques in planning your video will help in making your video content all the more engaging.

Plan your video

• Different projects warrant different approaches: Breaking news will consist of a series of short clips, while an investigative piece will be more of a documentary style.
  • If you are recording breaking news, you may not not be able to catch the event as it happens, but you will be able to gather witness reactions and environmental footage.
  • Investigative pieces or documentaries allow you to have more control. You need to decide who to interview and where you want to shoot. Because of this, storyboarding will be an important tool in organizing your piece.
• Storyboarding: Storyboards are rough sketches that help organize a multimedia piece. Storyboards consists of boxes moving from left to right with visual representations of the end product. A detailed explanation can be found here.
• Mix up your shots: A common mistake that beginning videographers make is moving around and zooming in and out excessively. Avoid giving your viewers motion sickness by recording a sequence of clips at different, yet fixed angles.
  • Wide-shot: Good for giving the viewer the full scene.
  • Medium shot: Gives the viewer a normal view, good for filming two-people or a person doing something.
  • Close-up: Good for focusing on one subject.

Voice in video

Learning to be an effective interviewer is important. One should be able to build a rapport with a subject by showing knowledge about the subject or event in question. Building a rapport before you start recording is optimum. While interviewing, use visual cues such as nodding your head to convey interest. Above all, keep your voice to a minimum in the footage, the point is to hear what the interviewee has to say.

• Using voice overs: You can control your story using a voice-over, and it is an effective tool in providing background content to an image efficiently.

Practice visual storytelling

Some tips in telling a visual story effectively.

• Define your story in 20 seconds.
• Have a beginning, middle and end.
• Use short clips, don’t bore the viewer.
• Stick to one central idea.
• Characters make the story. Better characters equal better stories.

Publishing video online

The proliferation of Web sites such as YouTube, Metacafe and Vimeo allows anyone to publish a video online. Uploading is easy, and many of them can handle HD quality video. Create an account and using your email and start uploading.