Media and Information

Literacy
Quarter 2 – Module 9:
Producing Multimedia Content
 Lesson
Producing Multimedia
1 Content
We have had a lengthy discussion of the different dimensions of media. This time
around, we will have shorter lessons in preparation for your final performance task.

Integration is the key concept for this lesson because we will now look into the
different dimensions of information and media as a whole and analyze them based
on some given standards. We will explore the process of creating content and
disseminating it through relevant platforms. Through these examples, we hope to
reach the expected goal of contributing meaningful content in social media, and to
realize this, we got to start planning now.

What’s In

Let’s review the different dimensions of media and information. Identify the
dimension most related to the items below. Write text, audio, visual, motion or
manipulative.

_____________ 1. Rubik cube _____________ 11. infographics

_____________ 2. truck _____________ 12. modelling clay
_____________ 3. hip hop beat _____________ 13. mp3
_____________ 4. script _____________ 14. century gothic
_____________ 5. photograph _____________ 15. AAC
_____________ 6. FLAC _____________ 16. zoom
_____________ 7. rule of thirds _____________ 17. rolling shot
_____________ 8. sans serif _____________ 18. haptics
_____________ 9. game app _____________ 19. ttf
_____________ 10. tilt _____________ 20. point of view

Are you positive that you will get a perfect 20 here? If you are in doubt, I suggest that
you review the previous lessons.
 What’s New

Prior to the discussion of our topic today, it is imperative that you must familiarize
yourself with the typology of media language. Understanding the definite end of your
discourse through mass media is of the essence to determine the rudiments of your
interpersonal correspondence.

Gets n’yo? O Malabo? Just think: if you’ll talk like that with your tropa in a party,
they’d think you’re possessed. Hirap e. May binabagayan ang salita. ‘Pag nagpost ka
sa FB at anlabo mo, asa ka pang magka-likes. Suwerte mo na pag naging meme ka.
Kung hindi, nganga ka lang dun.

Ito ay sa kadahilanang napakahalaga ng pagpili ng angkop na wika sa

pakikipagtalastasan, at upang masasabing tama ang iyong pagpili, kinakailangang
kilalanin kung sino ang makikinig sa iyong mga pahimakas.

Ok, enough of this. I guess you find it awkward to switch from technical English to
casual Taglish to formal Filipino, not this time when you well know that this module
is supposed to be in conversational English.

We cannot say that one language style is better than the other. It all depends on who
is at the other end of the conversation line. What good would it do to be as eloquent
as Shakespeare or as endearing as Huseng Sisiw, when we are talking to toddlers
who befriend Barney and Dora? Media content may be formal or informal, exclusive
or universal and this must be reflected on the different media components of your
content. We cannot say that one is better than the other, as they are of equal footing.
Formal media like webinars, newscasts, textbooks, documentaries, and the like are
as important as their informal counterparts, like vlogs, video games, texting, and TV
variety shows. What matters is that the content must have the ability to connect to
the defined audience and serve its purpose.
 What is It

What’s Cooking?

The process of producing media content, whether traditional or new, is long and
tedious. Take for instance the actual process of writing distance learning modules: it
takes hundreds and even thousands of man hours to plan, write, illustrate, layout,
review, edit, review, reedit, finalize, and print one learning module before it is packed
and handed to learners. After that, more time is needed for the users to read the
materials and give feedback to the publishers, who will then find means to enhance
content for further use. Indeed, the quest for quality content is practically endless.

I tried Googling the phrase “how to produce good media content” in search of a good
material to share, and I ended up seeing dozens of articles to choose from. I
encourage you to check out those websites if you have available internet connection,
but in case you don’t, here are factors to consider in producing a good content.

1. Establish your THESIS STATEMENT

This may look like a piece of your Practical Research subject but establishing
the thesis statement is the first concern of any storyteller. Every content has
a story, even if it is not text based. The content is the message the source
wishes to inform the audience, and this must be clear at the very start. Before
creating a content, think first: what message do I want to impart to my
audience?

2. Know your AUDIENCE

These are the people you are conversing with through your work. Identify their
preferences, their level of understanding, their biases, their manner of
thinking. For instance, there are a hundred and one strategies of creating an
instructional material in science, but the strategies are reduced and organized
if you give focus to a particular group, say for instance Grade One pupils,
which obviously do not have the level of understanding of senior high school
students.

3. Determine your PURPOSE

Once you have identified your audience, you must determine the purpose why
you are producing a content. Do you want to entertain, teach, correct wrong
perceptions, call somebody’s attention, advertise, make an appeal, etc.? You
 may combine purpose, for instance, your content may be entertaining and at
the same time, informative; you may advertise a product and call the attention
of your audience about a certain social issue. However, if you are dealing with
a simple or short content, limit your purpose to one or two, or you might end
up presenting a hodge-podge of ideas and confuse your audience.

4. Choose your STYLE

What will be your approach in relaying your content? Definitely, you must be
guided by the profile of your audience and the nature of your platform. Decide
on the genre that you will employ. Would you go for an academic discussion
or a storytelling session? Would you relay your song through hip hop or
through rock? Would your audience find infographics more appealing than
comic strips? Is face-to-face focus group discussion already allowed, or would
a discussion via Zoom more feasible? Would a short narrative film be better
than a documentary? Check the platform through which you will
communicate with them. Does your audience rely heavily on social media for
information? What app do they access most? In case your audience do not
have access to new media, what traditional media do they prefer most?

5. Think of an INNOVATION

Today’s generation is always in search for novelties – things they have never
seen before and ideas that are fresh and new. Back in New Year’s Eve 2000,
when all nations attempted to celebrate the new millennium with a
tremendous twist, performers from Australia performed an extraordinary
production number right on top of the Sydney Opera House. That was a new
sight to behold, very apt for the turn of the century. As you plan your work,
think of new possibilities. Open new doors; think out of the box.

6. Decide your LANGUAGE

A person’s foreign language hits the mind; his or her native language hits the
heart. Would you rather stimulate the thinking of your audience, or would you
want your content to be heartfelt? But then, a common language spoken by a
vast majority across nations would ensure maximum understanding. Would
you go for this idea?

7. Explore other OPTIONS

Is a single medium enough for you to inform, or would multimedia help in

gaining wide audience? Remember that media convergence is a trend. If you
follow a certain vlogger, you will notice that aside from YouTube, he or she will
use Facebook, Instagram and TikTok as alternative content platforms, some
even publish books, appear on TV and speak over the radio. Do you intend
your content to be delivered that way also?
 8. Think of what others can GIVE back.

This is not about getting paid for your work; this is all about the effect on your
audience upon viewing your content. Consider this: netizens will not shower
you with emojis just because there is a button available to react. They will do
so because they appreciate the message you wish to convey. Consider yourself
as an advocate of change for the community and for the world through your
content.

So what’s cooking? Get the first letter of the words in all caps and you will get…
TAPSILOG! I hope the code will help you remember the concepts that you can use as
you plan for your project. Remember: for you to ensure reaching your communication
goals, you must strategize.

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Healthcare
(EHC) continuously fund research to improve information dissemination of their
health advocacies. In one of their research, AHRQ and EHC were able to come up
with four effective communication techniques (2012). Below is the table of the
techniques and their corresponding effectiveness.

Technique Definition Observations

Tailoring the Communication Tailored communication delivered
message designed for an via print or the Internet is more
individual based on effective than nontailored
information from the communication in increasing
individual. knowledge and changing behavior.
Effect sizes can vary based on
length of follow-up, variables
tailored, type of behavior,
population studied, and number of
intervention contacts.
Targeting the Communication Communication that is targeted to
message to designed for audience segments is a strategy
audience segments subgroups based on used to make information more
group membership or relevant based on group
characteristics such membership characteristics.
as age, gender or sex, Characteristics can be determined
race, cultural by role, demographic, or social
background, psychological variables. Meta-
language, and other analysis shows its practice is more
“psychographic” common in large-scale
characteristics such communication efforts due to its
as a person’s potential effectiveness.
attitudes.
Using narratives Communication Narrative forms of communication
delivered in the form increase information processing
 of a story, and increase the persuasiveness of
testimonial, or messages; people become
entertainment transported into a situation that
education. can enhance emotions, attitudes,
and behaviors.
Framing the Communication that Messages framed as emphasizing
message conveys the same the benefits of preventive action are
messages in alternate significantly better than loss-
ways (e.g., what is framed messages, although the
gained or lost by difference is small.
taking an action or
making a choice).

What’s More

Stages of Production in Multimedia

After all that has been discussed, we are just in step one. This goes to show that
careful planning is the key, not just to achieve our set communication goals, but also
to facilitate our production process. You don’t want to end up with useless materials
at the end of your production, do you?

Basically, production of multimedia has three stages, pre-production, production

and post-production. If you are a creator, you must pass through these stages to
ensure the quality of your content and maximize your time and resources.

Smith (2019) explained the stages of production in multimedia in the context of small
business. The six steps she enumerated are practical because it is close to what you
can actually do, given all the limitations that we have. As you read along, consider
the situation of content creators working for a client.

Pre-Production Stage
1. Planning Meeting

This kicks-off the multimedia production process. The main goal of this stage
is to unify the project team members in a common vision for the project and
to lay out the lines of action each member must do.

2. Creative Brief and Script Writing

 A creative brief is a short, yet detailed summary of a company’s background
and the campaign goals it aims to achieve (Turits, 2019). This may be used
for any type of project and may serve as a blueprint for all creative content
projects needed.

Since most multimedia projects entail a story, scriptwriting comes next in the
process. A good script will serve as an outline for content creators to convey
the prescribed message to the specified audience within the definite time.
Scripts may be full detailed or may come in the form of sentence outline.

3. Storyboarding to Tie the Elements Together

The ideas laid out in a script needs to be concretized through images and
sound. Thus, to accomplish this, content creators need a story board.

A storyboard is a visual
representation of a film
sequence and breaks down
the action into individual
panels. It sketches out how a
video sequence will unfold. A
storyboard is similar to a
trial-run for your finished
film, video, or commercial,
laid out in a comic book-like
form. (Studiobinder, 2019)

A storyboard panel for a

scene includes a sketch of the
visual elements, the voiceover
or title text, and any
production notes. It guides
"Storyboard" by FngKestrel is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
the process, keeps everyone in
check and gives structure to
the project. (Smith, 2019)

Production Stage

4. Production and Designing the Visual Aspects

During the design stage, designers take over the visual aspects of the project
to determine how it looks and feels. Aided by the storyboards, the production
staff create graphics, shoot photo stills or videos, record sound, and collect all
necessary images. Design is always done with an eye toward the audience.
(Smith, 2019)

In my team’s experience in making short films, proper planning results to a

well-executed production stage, allowing us to economize our time and
resources in the process. Documentaries normally take a longer time for
shoots, because the script only serves as guidelines and the creators rely on
actual, unrehearsed and spontaneous footage that characterizes the
documentary genre.
Post-Production Stage

5. Review and Editing

This is also called the post-production stage, and it is the most complex of the
multimedia development process. All the sound and visual components are
combined in a logical sequence. Editing a one-minute content can even take
hours depending on the requirements specified in the storyboard. Creators
who specialize on same-edit videos such as those done in weddings and other
social occasions need intensive planning and technical preparations to
produce the required product. The client always has the final say on the look
of the content, that is why rounds of client review and editing may also
happen.

6. User Testing

During this stage, test members of the audience use the multimedia piece
while team members observe. Depending on the goals of the project, the staff
might observe users' reactions or have them answer questions to see if the
project hits the right marks. After user testing, there are usually further
adjustments to the project. Once the team and clients are satisfied, the project
goes out for distribution.

For instance, the children’s TV show

“Sesame Street” has been a proponent
of early childhood development
worldwide, and many countries have
obtained franchise for this show to
come up with their national versions,
like “Batibot,” its Filipino counterpart,
which came out in the 1980s. Before
airing an episode, the producers must
test it with a group of preschoolers to
gauge its formative aspect. As a result,
stories and characters change, such as
Cookie Monster, the character to eats
anything. To educate preschoolers on
healthy eating habits, episodes were
created under the “Healthy Habits for
Life” curriculum, with Cookie Monster "Cookie Monster Avatar" by @NonprofitOrgs is licensed
learning about “sometimes food” and under CC BY 2.0
“anytime food” (Merrill, 2019).