During this week I took a course on NewsU called Five Steps to MultiMedia Storytelling. I learned a lot from this course, especially since I had never really heard of multimedia story telling before.
During the course I learned that the best multimedia stories are multi-dimensional. They include action for video, a process that can be illustrated with a graphic , strong quotes for video or audio, and/or powerful emotions for still photos and audio. They use the strengths of each medium to tell the story in a way that draws in readers. They are also non-linear which allows readers to choose which elements to read and when to read them.
Before you start to write you story create a storyboard which is done in three parts:
- Define the elements
- Identify the media
- Storyboard the concept
Since before taking the course I did not know a lot about multimedia story telling a lot of what I learned really surprised me. I had no idea that when going out into the field you had to bring so much equipment. It really surprised that technology wise you have to bring DV tapes and microphones. Some other basic needs that surprised me when taking the course were that you have to bring rubber bands, backpack vest, and a pocket knife with you while in the field. Some of these things I felt were a little bizarre to bring while obtaining news.
Overall I learned a lot but there are a few things I would like to learn a little more about. I would like to know a little more about how to edit your story and actually putting it on the web. The course did not go into much detail about how to actually produce your story after it is written as well. I felt that they could have provided a few more examples at the end of the course for me to understand how to create a multimedia story as well.
