Audio Slideshows: Soundslides or Final Cut?

Since 2005, Joe Weiss' revolutionary Soundslides software has enabled newspaper Websites to produce audio slideshows -- and paved the way toward multimedia and videojournalism. For the first time, picture stories could be narrated -- by the reporter, the photographer, the subject -- and even augmented with natural sounds.

Its low cost and ease of use have made Soundslides enormously popular. But now that more photographers are shooting and editing video -- which itself has become more accessible and affordable -- they've been producing audio slideshows using Apple's Final Cut Pro or Adobe's Premiere Pro.

The Spokesman-Review's Colin Mulvany, a multimedia trailblazer, writes on his Mastering Multimedia blog: "I cannot say building an audio slide show is easier with a video editing program, but it does afford you some added features that are hard, if not impossible, to replicate in Soundslides."

He then goes on to share invaluable lessons and shortcuts he's learned while producing audio slideshows in Final Cut Pro, and takes you through a step-by-step process for making your pictures look and flow better. He also intelligently addresses such issues as cross-fading:

In Soundslides the default is to add a cross-fade to every image. I see a trend away from this as more people edit in video programs. Most of the time I just use quick cut between photos. It took me a while to break the cross fade habit, but now I see how much better a show flows without all that cross fading. It also makes it easier to edit to a beat in the audio.

Mulvany also cautions against going overboard with the Ken Burns style of zooming in and out of photos. There are occasions when you'll want to take advantage of the ability to create motion with a static image, but as he notes, "you don't want to make the viewer seasick."

Mulvany shot, edited, and narrated a terrific video story about the quirky "One of a Kind in the World Museum." As you can see below, it's essentially an audio slideshow in a video player. Given the static nature of museum objects, which are at the heart of this piece, he made excellent use of Final Cut split-screen features to enhance the use of motion on still images -- something that would not be possible with Soundslides.

Also, video players make it easier to embed and share multimedia stories, as we've done here:


Read Colin Mulvany's blog here. What are your thoughts and experiences regarding audio slideshows? Do you prefer the ease of using Soundslides? Or is it worth the extra effort and expense to produce them as videos in Final Cut?

Why Don't More News Websites Supersize Pictures?

Print newspapers no longer have the physical space to accomodate large images, but high-speed internet and cheaper bandwidth certainly enhance the feasibility of big pictures on Websites.

And yet we rarely see news organizations put big pictures to good use. (Frankly, even in the heyday of print newspapers, when space constraints were less of an issue, big pictures were a rarity, and narrative stories told with a series of pictures even rarer still.)

Gradually some news sites are indeed launching big-picture galleries -- but most focus on individual shots (e.g. "picture of the day") and not a series of images on a unified theme that are sequenced to tell a tale with a dramatic arc.

Storytelling with still pictures, a la Life Magazine, sometimes feels like a lost art form. True, the advent of Soundslides software enabled audio-slideshows -- but most of those are nothing more than photographers talking about their pictures, or pictures of people talking about themselves. Rarely is the medium's potential for dramatic narrative -- complete with you-are-there natural sounds -- fully realized.

But even media organizations that aren't yet willing to dive into multimedia are still puzzlingly standoffish about using large-format photography for narrative stories... even now that bandwidth is no longer an issue.

Glowing exceptions include the Boston Globe's Big Picture, the Chicago Tribune's Assignment Chicago, the New York Times' Lens blog, the Los Angeles Times' Framework blog.

Spokane's Spokesman Review is the latest to join the bigger-is-better club with its Picture Stories. (We can hardly call it "jumping on the bandwagon," since it's still a relatively rare phenomenon.) Their staff's visual journalism guru Colin Mulvany succeeded in badgering the powers that be long enough to finally make it happen. (Read Mulvany's account on his Mastering Multimedia blog.)

Because Mulvany spearheaded the paper's forays into videojournalism, their Web gallery features not just big pictures but big picture stories. So while raindrops shot with a 60-mm macro lens make great eye candy, from our perspective it's memorable stories that make supersizing their images a worthwhile endeavour . For example, Carissa’s Journey (pictured above) tracks an 18-year-old girl battling cancer through her senior year in high school -- including her prom and graduation ceremony. That's a big story, best told with lots of big pictures.

What stories should your newspaper be telling on its Website with big pictures?

Looking Back at the Volcanic Ash of May 1980

Spokesman-Review's Colin Mulvany produced, and Jim Kershner wrote and narrated, this powerful thirtieth-anniversary retrospective, "Looking Back: Mount St. Helens Comes to Town."

Note the excellent use of archival black-and-white photographs, intelligently orchestrated (in a multi-panel array) to a well scripted VO narration and subtle music soundtrack. Cumulatively they tell a decades-old story that still looms large in local lore. To feel and breathe that volcanic ash, play it full screen:


UPDATE: Read Colin's behind-the-scenes story.

Finding the Frame: New Watering Hole for Visual Journalists

Clipped from: findingtheframe.com by clp.ly

 

Here's a new opportunity for videojournalists to critique each other's work. Spokesman-Review multimedia guru Colin Mulvany has launched a Website that enables his colleagues throughout the industry to get feedback on their projects from "expert visual storytellers."

It's called Finding the Frame, and Mulvany envisions it will become "a gathering spot where multimedia journalists can receive feedback on their videos, audio slideshows and multimedia projects from industry professionals and fellow visual journalists."

The plan is to have onboard as many “expert” volunteers as possible that have solid foundations in video storytelling, audio slide shows or Flash projects. This pool of reviewers will peruse the submitted links of multimedia in the “Story Pool”. If they decide to comment on a story, it will then become public on the Finding the Frame home page where anyone else is free to give added feedback.

So why do this?

While most publications have driven head first into the online world, multimedia storytelling is still in its infancy at many newspapers. Unfortunately, not all people tasked with producing multimedia received adequate training or had the financial ability to attend a multimedia storytelling workshop. Many multimedia producers are self-taught, having picked up bit and pieces of knowledge along the way. Many photojournalists are struggling with how to tell an effective video or audio slideshow story that is different from the traditional still picture story.

Our hope is that Finding the Frame will begin to address the need for feedback and in turn, help multimedia producers improve their storytelling. Just read some of the comments by reviewers so far--you’ll be impressed. The professionals that have signed on as reviewers are the some of the top in the industry. If they critique your story, please thank them for giving up some of their precious time to help out a fellow visual journalist.

What we need is for enough producers, multimedia editors and photojournalists who have a solid experience with multimedia storytelling to step forward and share some of their knowledge with those that are looking for constructive, honest feedback.

So far about a dozen videos have been uploaded for review, and topnotch practitioners are volunteering their services, including many whose own work has been showcased on KobreGuide.com. Among the accomplished panelists: Chuck Fadely (Miami Herald), Peter Huoppi (TheDay.com), Eric Seals (Detroit Free Press), Will Yurman (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle), and KobreGuide's very own senior editor, Kathy Strauss.

If you want to improve by learning from the best, or feel qualified to help others learn from your insights and experiences, Finding the Frame should be your next stop. Says Mulvany: "We hope over time that this will become the place where great conversations about multimedia storytelling will take place."

TV News vs. Videojournalism: A Case Study

It's often tough to describe the difference between a TV news report and a videojournalism story. Because of the different demands of each medium -- both the way that the video is shot and edited, and the way that it's experienced by their respective audiences -- it's rare that they even cover the same subjects.

However, when a TV reporter and a videojournalist do happen to cross paths, it's illuminating to watch how they each handle their assignments.

Such is the case with this story about a retreat for wounded war veterans, which was covered both by Spokesman-Review multimedia staffers and a TV news reporter for Spokane's KXLY TV news. The videos appear on their respective Websites. The newspaper version is a bit more than twice as long.

Spokesman.com videojournalist Colin Mulvany noted other differences on his Mastering Multimedia blog:

My most recent project “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon,” is yet another collaboration with Spokesman-Review reporter Kevin Graman. We spent a couple of days at a retreat for local wounded war veterans.

Local TV news (KXLY) showed up just after we did. They grabbed a few interviews, shot some b-roll and were gone in 30 minutes. We stayed 48 hours and shot a dozen interviews. When I watched the TV version of the story, I was actually impressed.

They defined the story quickly, gave viewers the pertinent information with context from the injured soldiers. The writing was brisk, and snappy. But as I sit here seven days later, I have not much recollection of their story. It didn’t really stick with me.

I think the narrative, from both the veterans and the reporter voiceover in my video, go much deeper. I tried to keep the pace moving by editing in strong sequences of action between the talking heads. In the end, I can’t say my edit is any better. It’s just a different way to tell the same story.

Tell us, what differences do you perceive between the two styles? Which do you prefer?

***
The TV News version:



"Local veterans getting much needed retreat: The transition back from the battlefield for veterans is by no means a walk in the park, but for one week some local veterans are given a chance to try and put their bad thoughts behind them. KXLY4's Dave Erickson reports." (1:58)

***
The Videojournalism version:


"Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: The Veterans Outreach Center and the Spokane Valley Fire Department bring 20 severely wounded combat veterans together to share their experiences during four days of healing at the Pinelow Retreat Center in Deer Lake, Washington." (4:15)

Take a Tablet and Call Me in the Morning

Could the Tablet be the cure-all for the journalism biz?

More specifically, will a thin magazine-sized iPhone-like device give online videojournalism the boost it needs?

Bill Gates and Microsoft gave it their all, but failed. Maybe it was the timing.

Amazon's Kindle has caught on with text readers, but lacks visual spark -- not to mention all those cool 99-cent apps.

According to PC World, TechCrunch just released conceptual drawings of the prototype for its Web tablet project, called the CrunchPad (above). The simplified device is a touch-screen tablet designed specifically for Web surfing, video chat, and light e-mail use. Here's a demo:



Alas, TechCrunch is no Apple ... and now the 800-pound gorilla itself is confirming what has long been rumored. According to the Financial Times, "Apple is racing to offer a portable tablet-sized computer in time for the Christmas shopping season, in what the entertainment industry hopes will be a new revolution."

The device (right) is expected to be launched alongside new content deals, including some aimed at stimulating sales of CD-length music, according to people briefed on the project. The touch-sensitive computer will have a screen that may be up to 10 inches diagonally.

It will connect to the internet like the iPod Touch – probably without phone capability but with access to the web, and to Apple’s online stores for software and entertainment.

The entertainment industry is hoping that Apple, which revolutionised the markets for music players and for phones, can do it again. “It’s a portable entertainment device,” said one entertainment executive. “It’s going to be fabulous for watching movies.”

Book publishers have been in talks with Apple and are optimistic about being included in the computer, which could provide an alternative to Amazon’s Kindle, Sony’s Reader and a forthcoming device from Plastic Logic, recently allied with Barnes & Noble.

“It would be a colour, flat-panel TV to the old-fashioned, black and white TV of the Kindle,” one publishing executive said.

Apple does not appear to have briefed film studios, but Hollywood executives said they would be willing to contribute more content than is now available over iTunes.

The machine would reportedly cost around $800.

Surely you can see the implications for newspapers and other media outlets here.

Spokesman-Review multimedia guru Colin Mulvany could, and ruminated at length on his Mastering Multimedia blog:

These touch enabled tablets could seal the deal by forcing print journalism to go mostly digital. [It] makes me wonder if this will be the disruptive technology that sends print newspapers down the black hole for good.

A touch enabled tablet... would allow me to view text, multimedia and video in ways the smart phone struggles with today. I think of the applications of a tablet for photojournalists. Being able to download photos from their cameras to a tablet, then quickly tone, caption and send them back to the newspaper would be great. Having to lug a laptop in the field is true pain. This is a market segment that is only getting started. It has the strong potential to disrupt not only newspapers, but magazines as well.

Consumers, if they embrace these new touch-tablets, will have their news pushed to them at lightning speed. They will be connected to everyone and everything. They will choose how to shape their digital lives by deciding what news feeds and publications to subscribe to.

Where mainstream media outlets have shed their most talented people, those same workers are going to be the ones that will build the new journalism of the future. My guess is that it will be built around these new web tablets and handset devices. Monetizing the content will be foremost on the minds of these new digital publishers. Freed from the cost of presses, ink and newsprint, a new publishing model will develop.

News content is going to change, too. Web tablets are not just text readers, but will be multimedia hubs. Music, video, photos, animation, interactive graphics are going to be what consumers will gravitate to. It will change how journalists tell their stories. For many of today’s journalists, this new paradigm will be the deal breaker. For others, these new opportunities will present unique challenges that will drive the future of digital journalism to new and exciting heights.

Why Not Abandon Expensive Film for Affordable Video?

Colin Mulvany, pioneering multimedia producer at Spokane's Spokesman-Review, recently participated in a panel discussion with local documentary filmmakers, and felt like a fish out of water. Why? Because he's a video guy, and his fellow panelists were devoted to 16mm film.

More to the point, they were devoted to spending years writing grants to raise money to pay for film stock, processing, and post-production costs. Mulvany, on the other hand, has to knock out videos on time-crunched newspaper deadlines -- for a tiny fraction of the expense.

As he reports on his "Mastering Multimedia" blog:

I had to wonder why so many filmmakers stick to using film when high-def video is available for next to nothing. When I asked: “Why not chuck expensive film stock and just go video?” the response was almost universally: “It's the look we like, it's the tradition.”

Funny, that’s the same thing I heard when still photographers were transitioning to digital. I can honestly say now that my images look way better than anything I shot in my early years shooting Tri-X black-and-white film or, God forbid, Kodak high-speed 400 iso negative film.

High-definition video is opening up new opportunities for documentary filmmakers that would otherwise be missed if someone were waiting years to get grant funding to produce it on film. I understand there are still costs, but wow, what one person with decent video camera skills, a laptop and Final Cut Pro can do now. When I look at all the credits on a documentary film, I have to wonder if three-fourths of the names are really needed.

One must wonder if a new wave of documentary filmmakers, freed from the legacy of film and film schools, will focus their small video cameras on stories deemed too risky financially for traditional documentary producers to bother with. I think the film festival circuit is about to get a fresh shot of creativity from a growing legion of former newspaper videojournalists.

Mulvany's full commentary here.

5 Newsrooms that Mencken Wouldn't Recognize

Talking Points Memo, Gawker Media, Daily Telegraph, Spokesman Review, and the (two-person) Valley Independent Sentinel.

Take a guided video tour of each with Nieman Journalism Lab.

Will Newspaper Video Survive?

Colin Mulvany, multimedia producer at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, ponders the future of videojournalism in his Mastering Multimedia blog. He notes that there are ample reasons for pessimism, but then encourages a surprisingly optimistic outlook:

Newspaper produced video is at a crossroads. As many U.S. publications turn inward to focus on their traditional print products, many online producers are wondering if they should continue to invest the extra time it takes to shoot and edit video. It’s such a crazy time to be a visual journalist. Newspaper photo staffs are being slashed and devalued, as publishers try to protect what’s left of their bottom lines.

Video was hot a year ago, but now, as newspapers gut their newsrooms, the resources devoted to video storytelling are being scaled back. Many wonder if video storytelling has a future at newspapers.

I believe it does. ...

Read Colin's survival plan here.

Foreign Fare -- Plus Fun

Our top picks on KobreGuide this week have an international flavor, and represent big changes taking place abroad:

• India's Fast Lane to the Future: A new superhighway linking its four major cities is bringing old and new India into jarring proximity... for better and worse. (National Geographic)
• Empowering Women in Afghanistan: A quiet revolution is gaining pace far from the Taliban insurgency. Women are uprooting traditional gender roles by taking the wheel in leadership positions. (New York Times)
• Catherine's Secret: During the civil war in Uganda, Catherine Ojok spent several years as a sex slave of a senior rebel commander. (Washington Post)

Also new: A remarkable video slideshow that presents the causes, emotions and real life experiences of a tragedy of unspeakable pain and extraordinary cost:

• The Fire Within: A border wildfire killed 7 illegal immigrants and critically burned 16 more. One year later, we experience the aftermath of that tragedy. (Los Angeles Times)

However, not all videojournalism is doom and gloom, as these freshly posted upbeat stories demonstrate, both from the Spokesman Review:

• Flying Trikes: Take to the skies in a new sport called aerotrekking with pilot Denny Reed.

• Playing Army Guy: Paintball enthusiasts say their sport is about adrenaline rushes and having fun -- and only hurts for a little while.