The power of multimedia storytelling

I narrated my exploration through several good examples of multimedia storytelling. I could tell you about my multimedia experience, but I wanted to show you. Enjoy.

*Transcript of narration*

So today we’re going to look at the use of multimedia tools to tell stories. And what better way to conduct this exploration than through a multimedia presentation.  

This story on U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism’s website called “The Transition to digital journalism,” details the benefits of multimedia storytelling. It explains that the enjoyment of good narrative is hardwired into the human brain, and digital technologies offer a range of possibilities. 

The article says, “Rather than undermining the traditional narrative, the Internet is an opportunity to experiment with multi-dimensional storytelling and new narrative approaches that provide context and depth and also are more compelling and engaging.”

The key to any type of storytelling these days, is knowing which medium to pick to tell different parts of the story.

Let’s check out this example provided by the Berkeley article:http://www.boston.com/news/specials/kennedy/

It has the look of a well designed book, but the images are more than just still frames, this one is a two-minute-long video giving us a sneak peak into Ted Kennedy’s early life and it goes nicely with the descriptive intro.

At the bottom we see other parts of Chapter 1, like the historic pages of the Boston Globe. I have opened the one of Kathleen Kennedy’s death, and JFK getting elected. 

Each chapter has an intro video, along with a text intro and then each section of the chapter has other multimedia elements, like slideshows, video archives as well as more text.

Overall I like it. Lots of great info, great visual elements, good narrative. The only criticism I would have is that the sections within the chapters could flow more fluidly. They may have been going for that effect, so that rather than scrolling from page to page, the viewer can explore, kind of like how I went straight to the newsprint archive. 

That’s the beauty of multimedia, I suppose, that we’re no longer restricted to linear storytelling. We can weave in and out, following basic categorizations and looking at what peaks our interest most at any given moment. 

I actually prefer multimedia stories that take me on a journey I can follow without too many sidetracks that take me in different directions. 

One of my favorite multimedia stories is “The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie” which follows two jazz singers who left little trace but some profound tracks. 

Check out the intro. 

You get the feeling that you are hearing and seeing things that only a few privileged get to encounter. Beautiful use of audio with graphic elements to accompany it.

Then you are treated to a beautiful narrative carefully unraveling the mystery behind these two women and the other characters surrounding them. You are uncovering the mystery along with the writers, each image, each interview and audio file.

The next multimedia element is audio of a researcher explaining his work and the visual is artistic with jazz music in the background.If you notice, with this story, each element stands alone so you focus on that before moving to the next thing. The text is clean with few distractions on the side, when you are listening to audio or video you must stay on that section to watch it. You can click on the in-text audio files and they will play as you read if you choose.You also get the feeling that you’re seeing the whole picture. Since it is about how little everyone knows about these artists, each photo, tidbit, feels precious.

The thing that I love about this story, other than the music, is the fact that it tells the story perfectly. You can’t just look at the videos and know the story, you have to read the text. But the text wouldn’t be enough either, you need the music, the interviews and photographs as well. I can’t imagine the story told any other way — I think that’s the key factor in recognizing any great multimedia story.

But not all multimedia stories need to be so dynamic. This one appears in the magazine, it reads like a magazine story, plus some really great multimedia elements.

In a basic news story, multimedia can help direct people to the information they need and want in the way they most prefer it at the moment.

Take for instance, this story, also in the New York Times, about the unrest in Ferguson. 

It contains short video clips, slideshows, a live update box, featured comments, a link to a timeline, more video, and a link to a graphic Q and A.

There aren’t too many or too little graphic elements, each adds its own value. Some can be seen on the same page and others we can choose to explore if we’re looking for more details. It’s perfect for a constantly breaking news story. We can read the general story, see footage, photos, a timeline so we can see how the situation has unfolded, and look at a map and other graphics so we can see the situation in different contexts. 

The conclusion is multimedia can be great, we are seeing it more and more and when done right it can take us on an informative and alluring journey into the unknown and unexplored.