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What is the Vancouver Project?
Like many good ideas, the Vancouver Project came into existence thanks to twothings: (1) good conversation and (2) a ew beers.In this case, it all started with the recognition that journalists now havean unprecedented number o tools to tell stories in cool, new ways (think:instant witter updates; behind the scenes, multimedia blog posts; audience- journalist communication; live, viewer photo editing; etc) – yet the journalismcommunity has yet to truly put these unique orms o story-telling to use inone collective eort. Tat’s where we come in. Tis project outlines a ‘new media’ approach to in-depth, visual journalismthat we hope to execute at theVancouver 2010 Olympics. We are looking topartner with various journalism, multimedia and visual organizations to getthe to gear, talent, and access needed. Troughout the proposal, we reerencenumerous sources, inspirations and platorms, by way o example. Tese show how various parts o this plan have been successully done beore.
 This projectis not invention, but innovation.
Purpose of this Document
 We hope to introduce you to our idea with the goal o nding partners, sponsorsand supporters. Tis rough drat can, and will, be rened as much as necessary.
Please consider this a starting point for discussion.
Overview
 Te Vancouver Project is a web-based, multimedia production (Las Vegas Sun’sFor Want o Water) with an emphasis on ‘behind the scenes’ and live updates. Te nal product would be a single multimedia production which coveredthe Vancouver Olympics rom unique perspectives (MediaStorm’s ‘Dritless’).Moreover, it would be constructed o various, individual stories, broken intochapters, which share unique and untold and behind the scenes perspectives onthe games (Luceo Images’ ‘Still Hoping’).Specically, chapters would be built around dierent stories o individualsinvolved with the Olympics: athletes, press members, employees, local citizensand general audience members as they experience the Olympics. Tis would dier rom the standard V presentation, which simply showsthe viewer the general audience perspective. Moreover, the entire productionprocess would be blogged and tweeted so that the audience could witness andparticipate in the construction o the piece (Newsweek’sVisions o ChinaBlog). We believe this would be a rst o its kind, pulling ideas rom numerous websitesand building o multimedia platorms established by other multimedia groups. Te team would be made up o approximately 15 multimedia journalists witha special ocus on photojournalism and ‘new media’ (twitter, blogs, etc). Ideally,
VANCOUVER
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PROJECT
Project Contact Info
Joey Baker
Andrew Burton
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The Vancouver Projectis a chance to proveyou’re cutting-edge.
We’d like to cover the VancouverOlympics with a “new media”approach. We want people tohave a “behind the scenes” viewof the games, rather than thestandard audience view point.This desire comes from a growingdemand for greater access, betterunderstanding of events, andfewer barriers placed between journalists and viewers.
 
Daily Site Content
Daily Review Blog Posts
Daily wrap-ups rom the team. A good example o this isNewsweek’sVisions o China Blogthat was created or theBeijing Olympics. Tese reviews would also vary between writingand multimedia videos and interviews (Ex:Kashi, Kashi, Kashi).
Twitter
Keeping audiences up to speed on what events the team iscovering, production timelines, sneak peaks and general musings,all at the speed o thought.
TwitPic
Pictures to the audience via witter or images seconds ater they happen. iPhones make this easily available, as is demonstrated by Chase Jarvis’Daily iPhone Photo.
Raw Takes
Live photos streamed via WiFi CF cards, uploaded toFlickr by backroom editors, then edited to viewer-rank preerences. Agood example o this isEd Kashi’s Mediastormpiece.
Flipbook
Use the ickr avorite system to allow the crowd to edit.Encouraging users to look through a raw take, and using Flickr’s‘avorite’ system to pick their selects. Te photos with the most‘avorites’ are the take. We’ve not seen this idea tried beore.
Social Bookmarking Integration
Integration withDigg,delicio.us,  witterlinks/other social bookmarking sites. Painting the internet with our coverage.
Q/A time (live chat)
Vancouver Project team chats with paying customers at set timesduring the day (more details below).
Final Site Content
 Te goal is to have one package with many chapters that show unique and dierent aspects/view o the Olympics. Tis couldbe organized chronologically (Choosing A President) ortopically. Tis package would be constructed o photography, video, audio and motion graphics (Little Red Riding Hood), which would combine to tell a unique and innovative story o  what the 2010 games were.
Athlete’s View
Stories o athletes should encompass all aspects o their Olympicexperience. Ideally, we would like to tell the stories o athletes who are compelling or both their physical ability and their ownpersonal and emotional journeys. Building o the idea that athletesare rst humans with personal stories, then athletes. Bringingthe viewer into an athlete’s training schedule (Magnum’s PaoloPellegrin’sMagnum in Motion), traveling to the games, livingin the Olympic village, preparation or competing, ater parties,etc. A more complete look at the Olympics athlete which goesbeyond simple event coverage and a 15-second lie story.
Photojournalist’s View
 Tis chapter would be very similar to our daily activities,and would show what it is like to be a member o the press(Newsweek’sVisions o China, at a multimedia level such as LA imes’ Photographer Rick Loomis’Iraq: News In ransition). Tere is a proven demand or this type o content.How do photographers make their images?How did they visualize the shot? When does luck come in?
Citizen’s View
 What is it like to be a town local? What does it look like or your town to be transormed?
Pre/during/post Olympic Experience
 Te town being built up, torn down: seeing local lie transition inand out o the event. (Luceo Images’Kevin German)
Audience/Family Member’s View
 What is it like to be the parent o an athlete? When your child succeeds? When your child ails? What is it like to be a child and watch your avorite athlete?
Less time needs to be invested in these stories.
Employee’s View
 Te underbelly o the OlympicsHow does the host town handle crowd ow? Garbage?
Security Issues
 Were there any threats? What is being done to prepare or such an event?
Less time needs to be invested in these stories.
VANCOUVER
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PROJECTINNOVATIONS
“We have no shortage of goodinventions. What we need are betterways to bring them to customers.”-Michael Schrage
the team would be a group o photojournalists who are lookingto bring a unique eye to the Olympics (Luceo Images’Kevin German) and the various perspectives covered. Te team wouldneed to be ‘new media’ saavy (ie: blog, twitter capable), passionateabout the project and united in the project’s goal.
Why Do It
 Te Vancouver Olympics are positioned at a unique point in time.It will be the rst Olympics in which multimedia creation (video,photo, audio, motion graphics) is easy to accomplish thanks to video-capable DSLRs, small audio recording devices and the increase o online multimedia (à laMediaStorm,Story4, and Weyo). Furthermore, we believe that there is a demand rom the MillienialGeneration or this type o behind the scenes access. Tis is therst generation to grow up with the web and adopt social mediasites such as Facebook and witter. We are trend-setters in socialmedia, and as our generation leads, others around the globe ollow (comScore  witter rafc Explodes).  Tis new, social media paradigm has brought the demand orparticipatory, conversational, product creation.Customers now  expectexplanations or how and why things were created, along with immediate connection to the creators o content. Tis demandor behind the scenes branches out into all orms o media; moviesets now require entire making-the-movie documentary crews,etc. We believe this demand comes rom an audience desire tobreak down barriers between the viewer and creator – makingcontent more, raw, available and personal, while still producing ata proessional level.Furthermore, these demands are particularly prevalent in thephoto industry. Te instant success o Te New York imesphotojournalism blog, ‘Lens,’ proves this. We desire to create thesame type o ‘this-is-how-we-are-doing-it’ eel to this project(another excellent example o LA imes’ Photographer Rick Loomis’Iraq: News In ransition). We believe the Vancouver Olympics will oer a unique window toexplore and test these belies.
Our Target Audience
Our target audience is net-savvy, internet users (o any age) who weexpect to engross themselves in our product as the Olympics progress. We will compete with any other media outlet, but our product willoer a substantially dierent point o view. Asking the viewer to‘come along or the ride,’ and ‘help in the creation,’ while oeringnew content, is a strong customer pitch.Moreover, we will create a loyal an base, which will act asactive participants during content creation. An exampleo excellent an loyalty can be seen throughNPR .On an individual level, photographerChase Jarvishascreated a phenomenal an base solely out o his own loveor social media. His blog is ranked in the top ten photoblogs, where he consistently encourages outside-the-boxthinking, daily (iPhone) shooting and user input. We want to do the same.For this project, an active anbase includes: Commentingon recent blogs and work; Flickr Editing; Posting linkson blogs, twitter, etc; Paying or premium services, etc.
Distribution
Our initial plans or spreading the word on the VancouverProject’s website includes guerilla marketing, “press release”emails/blogs/tweets aimed at media-industry-websitesand contacting magazines, blogs and industry experts.I successul, we also believe the nal product could beproduced and sold as a DVD.
Potential Obstacles
Video Rights
NBC has air-tight video rights worth millions o dollars. Tey have every right to restrict the recording o video, butthey’re going to nd that very hard to do with the swatho new DSLRs that can record HD video quickly andeasily. Tis is an issue which will be worked out during theVancouver Olympics.
Budget
A problem, considering we have no money, right now. We are going to need something in the neighborhood o $400,000 to pull this o.
Time
 We’ve got about hal a year to pull this o. Tat’s no smalleat. Everything rom media passes to training a team stillneeds to happen.
Advertisers
 his is unproven ground. Advertisers need to beconvinced that this is a viable chance or uniqueadvertisement opportunities.
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