Multimedia Storytelling

Dr. Aisha Essam

 Where are we?
• Introduction to the Internet & Digital journalism
• Digital Publishing process
A. Plan & launch a website
B. Content Creation:
1. Finding & creating ideas
2. Gathering information
• Searching the internet & social media
• Verifying digital content
• Contacting, Interviewing.
• Verifying Human sources.
3. Writing for the Web
4. Adding Multimedia
 Browsing Time
• https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2021/07/endur
ing-tuhoe-te-urewera
/
 Features of Online Content
• Immediacy
• Multimedia
• Interactivity
• Innovation
 Lecture Overview
• What is multimedia storytelling
• How multimedia storytelling is changing
• How to multimedia storytelling
• Tips & tools for multimedia storytelling
 What is multimedia storytelling
• A multimedia story is narrative content that uses
video, images, or audio (or a combination of all
three) to tell a story 
• It is presented on a website in a nonlinear format in
which the information in each medium is
complementary, not redundant.
• can include data visualisations, infographics,
slideshows, social media posts, interactive maps,
animations, games and VR elements and many other
visual and audio elements. 
 What is multimedia storytelling
• Nonlinear:
• the user chooses how to navigate through the elements
of a story.
• He doesn’t have to follow a certain order.
• Not redundant:
• text is not repeated in video or audio or data but each
element adds something new to the story.
• The key is using the media form that best present each
part of the story in the most compelling and informative
way.
 What is multimedia storytelling
• In most web content: media is few static images,
that are added later.
• In multimedia stories: media is fundamental to
how the narrative is conceived and created.
• Each part could be a stand-alone:
understandable on its own, but produced in a
different media, that are then collected into a
multimedia package.
 Why Multimedia storytelling?
• Leads to stronger emotions
• Captures audience attention for longer
periods
• When interactivity is added it engages users,
because they actively participate in the story
by scrolling, clicking, and rolling over the
content. 
 How Multimedia storytelling evolved?
• PAST: it was difficult to build a truly immersive
multimedia story:
• Low internet bandwidth
• Inefficient web browsers
• Complex tools: you needed help & expense of
photographers, developers & web designers
• NOW platforms & tools have been developed
• making it easier & quicker
 Choosing a story
• Best multimedia stories are multi-dimensional
• They should include
 action for video
 Process or statistics to be illustrated by graphic (ex “how
tornadoes form” or “how this new surgery works”)
 someone who can give pithy quotes for video or audio
 strong emotions for still photos & video
• That’s why most multimedia stories require the reporter to go
into the field & report the story face-to-face with sources
 StoryCanvas helps planning for Multimedia Stories
https://medium.com/@Journalism2ls/introducing-the-storytellin
g-canvas-d2e3165a8ca2#.
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 Planning your story
 Criteria you should consider when planning:
 Who is the multimedia story intended for?
 What special benefit does the user get from your story?
 What content fits those people you want to target?
 How does the story fit into your overall online content?
 What feedback and communication options should it
offer?
 What is already available online, and how is your
offering different?
 Planning your story
Brainstorm for ideas under the main story: write everything
Discuss & Evaluate each idea: u may vote
Think of ideas for interactive options:
Users expects interactivity online. Think of ideas that will enable users
to interact with your story or with your sources, or with other users.
Ex on a drug addiction story
• Make it possible for those affected to contact each other via your
website
• or to contact experts mentioned in the story
• Background information such as statistics and medical facts could
be put in interactive graphics, where the user would click to select
and view the information that s/he wants.
 Planning your story
Make an outline for different content parts:
Ex of an outline for a drug addiction story:
• Causes
• Effects
• Therapy
• Prevention
• Discussion (users forums)
• Contact with experts

• order it from the user perspective

• You will use this outline later as a menu or navigation bar to allow the user
to choose: What interests him/her most? what would s/he like to read first?
 Planning your story
Develop a Storyboard
• A storyboard is a visual outline of the story that organize different content
parts and multimedia elements.
• It is like a sketch to organize the story both in content & multimedia.
• Gather as much information as possible to put together the storyboard.
• This means:
 Do preliminary interview with the source(s) for background
 Ask & Get a basic idea of what to expect in the field
 Search for anything the sources have published
 Collect as many available visuals — photos, videos, maps & graphics — as
you can from your sources or from the Web to get an idea of what the
story’s components may be.
 Track down any previous stories on the topic — print, video, radio or Web.
 Develop a Storyboard
• A storyboard helps you:
• Define the aspects of a story within available time & resources
(equipment, assistance) or how you have to modify the story to
adjust to your resources.
• Organize & focus your story
• Decide which medium to use for each part
• help point out what is missing in your story

Ex of a sketch storyboard (before reporting) next slide.

 Develop a Storyboard
1. Divide the story into its logical, nonlinear parts, such as:
(Finalize your content outline after you gathered information)
• a lead or nut paragraph, addressing why this story is
important
• profiles of the main person(s) in the story
• the event or situation
• any process or how something works
• pros and cons
• the history of the event or situation
• other related issues raised by the story
 Develop a Storyboard
2. Match content to format
Match each part of a story with the medium that best conveys it.
Decide what pieces of the story work best in:
 Video. 
 Still photos 
 Audio
 Graphics
 Map
 Other interactive options
 Text
Multimedia stories take advantage of the strengths of each medium
 2. Match content to format
Video to
• show action (teens skateboarding, high school wrestling, a chef
cooking),
• capture strong quotes (witnesses at an accident site, a cancer
survivor talking about her ordeal)
• hear and see a person/place central to the story
• take viewers somewhere they couldn’t access (behind the scenes at
a concert) or places they would want to visit (the World Cup).
• Show what may be complicated or challenging to explain through text
alone.
• The perfect medium for interviews, first-person narrations, and
expositions/revelations.
 2. Match content to format
Photos:
• more dramatic and don’t go by as quickly as video
• capture strong emotion: a mother reunites with a long lost
child
• A key moment in time: someone talking about losing their
home
• to create a particular mood
• Still photos used in combination with audio also highlight
emotions.
• Panorama or 360-degree photos, especially combined with
audio, immerse a reader in the location of the story.
 2. Match content to format
Audio to
• capture compelling quotes (a veteran
talking about the battlefield, a mother
talking about a child)
• tell “ambient” sound (a crowded restaurant,
stadium cheers, construction noise, gunfire)
 2. Match content to format
• Decide whether the audio
 work best with video?
 be combined with still photos?
 standalone? 
• Good audio is critical
• makes still photos & video seem more intense
and real
• Bad audio makes video seem worse & detracts
from the drama of still photos
 2. Match content to format
Graphics
• show how things work (technical, scientific processes)
• simplify complicated processes (how a law moves through parliament, how
a new surgery works)
• Simplify complex data (employment figures, population percentages in
cities) in charts and diagrams
• In an easy-to-understand format
• Graphics go where cameras can’t go: into human cells or into space
• Sometimes graphics can be a story’s primary medium, with text, still photos
& video in supporting roles.

• Ex of graphic use https

://elements.evonik.com/markets-and-regions/Collagen-Facts-and-figures/
 2. Match content to format
Maps: Does the story need a map? 
• A location map?
• layered with other information?
• GIS (geographic information systems) & satellite imaging are imp
tools for example to visualize crime rates in each area
• Interactive GIS can personalize a story in a way impossible with text
• Ex: letting readers pinpoint things in their own cities or
neighborhoods
Timelines
• to present chronologies
• Might be combined with photos or other media
 2. Match content to format
Text
• Captions for photos, videos and audio.
• History (in combination with photos, timeline)
• First person accounts
• to describe a process (in combination with
graphics)
• What’s left that cannot be put into other
media
 Blue
• Text & visuals should complement each other
• If contradictions occur, readers will be annoyed &
distracted
 2. Match content to format
Other interactive options
Interactivity means giving the reader both input and control in a
story. 
• By making the story nonlinear, you’ve introduced an element of
interactivity, because the user can choose which elements of a story
to read or view and in which order.
• Give readers input into a story by including online forums or chats,
• Using Interactive games: the user can construct his/her own story.
• Ex: A newsite let people help plan a waterfront redevelopment
project with an online game in which they placed icons on a map
of the waterfront showing where they thought parks, sports
fields, restaurants, shops and so on should be located.
3. Make sure the information in each medium is complementary.
• Different medium (text, audio, video should complement each other)
• There should be no repetition:
• Just a little overlap is okay between media, and among the story’s
nonlinear parts (ex: different pages, sections)
• To invite readers to explore other parts of the story
• To make it consistent.
• When the user sees the following text on the screen, the previous one is
gone. Core statements need to be repeated. Otherwise, you leave the
user puzzled: Am I still in the right place here?
• Like radio, Because the online user does not have the entire hypertext
sequence present, repetition of headline, of parts from lead and teaser
help him to understand the page that is currently in front of him.
 Develop a Storyboard
• After breaking a story down into its elements – both in terms
of content & the different media you could use – you need to
reassemble all that into a storyboard.
• On a sheet of paper, sketch out what the main story page
will look like and the elements it will include.
• What’s the nut-graph?
• What are the links to the other sections of the story?
• What’s the menu or navigation bar for accessing those
sections?
• What multimedia elements will be on the main page as the
establishing visuals?
 Develop a Storyboard
• Then do the same for the other pages, sections in your overall
story
• What is the main element on each page/screen and what
other information should be included there?
• What video, audio, pictures or graphics would best tell this
part of the story?
• Ex: interview or profile page
• Quotations, personal photo, slideshow of life major
events.
• Ex: Debate
• Contradictory statements contrasted with each other.
 Startpage
• The opening screen comprises a headline, nut
graph, an establishing visual (can be a
background or central photograph, a slide
show, a video or an animation), and then
moves to the other parts/pages.
• Start page might contain an overview of the
individual articles.
• Parts should be able to standalone.
 Develop a Storyboard
• A rough storyboard is just a sketch, a guide.
• You may change things after you go into the
field to do your interviews and other
reporting.
 Storyboarding activity
• Take a newspaper feature story and sketch out
a storyboard of all the content elements in it,
and the multimedia possibilities if it were to
be posted online, and how you might break it
up into a storyboard.
 Browsing Break
• https://stories.wateraid.org/climate-stories/
 Into the field
Do on-site research, not just online research!
• What can I research about the location in advance? online or
by telephone?
• Who can I talk to on site? Which admission permits do I need?
• Which details do I have to research on-site?
• Which elements are suitable for audio or video conversion?
• Which settings do I have to film to be able to tell the story with
moving images?
• How else can I visualize the theme (geo-tagging, animated
graphics, cartoon…)?
Into the field: Minimum Equipment
• Smartphone with a good camera
• Apps to control camera settings
• Apps for mobile processing &
editing
• External Microphone to plug in
• tripod
• Powerbank batteries, chargers;
connecting cables, power cables
• External light
• Mobile Internet access
 Using Mobile for Video Content
• Switch the phone to flight mode before
turning it.
• Tidy up memory so that enough memory is
available.
• Clean the lens.
• Let the phone guide you to find exciting
camera angles.
 Into the Field
• Don’t forget your equipment
• Always work with storyboard in mind
• Is this the video part? then shoot a series
of sequences
• Is this the part for still photos? Then focus
on framing and shot composition…
 Into the Field
• Think of doing interview twice or in two parts:
• one in the field while the person is an action
doing the thing he/she is speaking about,
• another in quiet, more controlled area, ex:
office where he/she would describe his/her
actions and comment on them.
• Sound in the field might be noisy and might hide
the words. So you may use some of it and get the
rest from the more quiet setting.
 Into the Field
• Be flexible: visual or interview opportunities
may pop up. Go for them and don’t hesitate, if
you miss the visuals, other elements might
not be able to compensate.
• Ask for graphics: scientists/researcgers might
have good ones on their computers/phones
 Back home or office
• Review you videos, images & label them right
afterwards, select those that will be edited.
• Write notes on the sequence of shots
• Transcribe interview to start building text and
to decide on audio.
• Highlight strong quotes when transcribing.
• Write notes on any changes of storyboard.
• Gather any further information you will need.
• Edit media & compose graphics
• Write the lead, nutgraph, captions and blocks
of text.
• Start assembling.
 Editing & designing
• Finalize your story board.
 For each part of the story
 For the flow or navigation of the story (the whole
structure, chronologically or what?)
 Which media are centerpiece (displayed most of
the time) and which are secondary?
 Put the most imp. parts to the top (people, places)
• Work with templates: save time & effort, focus on the
components. Shorthand as template.
 Photos
• Excellent & accessible way to bring your multimedia story to life
• Use them to replace 1000 words/ complemnt text.
• Look for vivid, high-quality, & eye-catching photographs
• use them to break up your text
• Crisp, clear photography is a must.
Anything grainy, blurry, or low quality will be bad for your
multimedia story.
• Get great stock photography from sites like 
• Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/
• Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/
• Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/
 Mastering Photography
Moblie Photography playlist on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNPG8V2-8n2bMLrcJp1DBq90wLUOtBpr4

• 6 Mobile Photography Tips you must know

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHvFHRPLvII&list=PLNPG8V2-8n2bMLrcJp1DBq90wLUOtBpr4&index=1

• More Mobile Photography Tips you must know!

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA3ETgH3BMg&list=PLNPG8V2-8n2bMLrcJp1DBq90wLUOtBpr4&index=5

• Tips to shoot Portraits

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3BAQ66I0pA&list=PLNPG8V2-8n2bMLrcJp1DBq90wLUOtBpr4&index=7

• STORY-TELLING with Mobile Phone

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keVH-hauBu4&list=PLNPG8V2-8n2bMLrcJp1DBq90wLUOtBpr4&index=9
 Selecting Images
• No page without a picture
• Individual photo: illustrate a mood, introduce a story, a character
• 360-degree, panoramic view: macro – for place and context
experience
• Image series: achieve high click rates.
• either as a picture gallery: gives the user an overview in the form of
thumbnails before s/he can enlarge individual photos with a click.
• A linear form of presentation, in which the sequence of the images
is determined from the beginning, the user has to follow it.
• Slideshows with audio track
• Inexpensive alternatives to videos
• Must be in sequence to tell a story
 Selecting Images
• A photo must be selected according to its
informative value and not an artistic or
decorative purpose.
• But it also has to be of good quality.
• Portraits of people are more suitable than
group photos
• Clearly recognizable objects are more suitable
than photos that pose puzzles for the viewer.
 Editing Images
• Label/name your image with a descriptive word.
• Decide if you would use grayscale.
• Edit image size so it won’t affect you site speed. (JPEG, WebP)
• Add tags and descriptive titles to images.
• Write clear captions.
• Photos used for news articles should never be over-edited or
manipulate the viewer in any possible way.
• Apps for mobile editing (check if they are still free):
Lightroom, Photoshop light, Snapseed, Square fit, Unfold and
VSCO.
 Writing Captions
for photos, videos & graphics
• 1st sentence of the caption describes what the photo shows,
in the present tense, and states where and when the photo
was made.
• 2nd sentence of the caption gives background on the
event/person or describes why the photo is significant.
• In parenthesis, put the name of the photographer and
agency.
• Try to keep captions to no more than 2 concise sentences,
while including the relevant information.
• Try to anticipate what information an editor or reader will
need.
 Video
• They bring subjects to life in a way that a
photo cannot.
• Don’t make the video too long. Multiple,
shorter videos of up to 2 minutes can be quite
impactful and are more likely to hold your
audience's attention than longer ones.
• Must show an aspect of the story not
something unrealted.
 The 5-shot rule to storytelling
• 1st shot: shows detail and action, attracting the attention of the viewer.
• 2nd shot: shows “who” is acting.
• 3rd shot: resolves the situation by showing the whole scene.
• 4th shot: one looks over the shoulder of the person acting.
• 5th shot: can be freely selected, or the subject starts talking.
• Don’t cross the axis of action (the line of action)

Ex: filming a cook cutting onions,

• the first setting is a close-up of the onion being cut by the knife.
• The second shot shows the cook’s face close up
• the third is a full shot of the situation
• the fourth shot looks “over the cook’s shoulder”
• The last setting can be freely selected, or the cook starts to speak.
 Video
For online videos:
• Keep talking heads to minimum
• Less reporter voice-overs & stand-ups.
• Cover audio with B-rolls (any shot other than
talking head, with the subject in action, or the
environment he/she is working on.) When
selecting B-rolls focus on what is being said on
the accompanying audio.
 Video
For online videos vs. TV:
• Calmer visual language, higher narrative speed.
• The visual language should become slower (take
into consideration bandwidth)
• At the same time, the narrative tempo increases
(speakers might go faster like on youtube).
 Video Editing Software
• Wideo's for beginners, has a user-friendly interface.
• Adobe Premiere Pro for someone with video creation experience

Free editing tools

• iMovie (Mac)
• DaVinci Resolve:
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve#

Free Video Stocks

• https://www.pexels.com/videos/
• use stock video for enhancement, not as the bulk of the content.
 Video Editing Software
• Compress your videos to enable faster page
loading & a better viewer experience.
• Handbrake and Clipchamp (which you can also
use for video editing) are both popular tools
to handle file compression.
 Video shooting with your mobile
• 10 Mobile Videography Tips For Beginners
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nG7pAXRgvE

• Filming with a Smartphone

• https://www.mojo-manual.org/storytelling/mobile-journalism-
video/filming-with-a-smartphone
/

• Video Editing Apps for Mobile (check if they are still free): VN,
KineMaster, Capcut, Alight Motion
 Audio
• Don’t underestimate audio’s effect on a multimedia story.
• a snippet of an interview
• an environmental addition (think the roar of a crowd or nature
sounds)
• or even a short musical introduction
• High-quality is a must (exception to very old recordings)
• Use subtitles when needed
• Can also be used to highlight imp. points.
• Avoid using music as background, unless part of the story itself.
• Soundcloud and Soundcite are both great options for hosting audio.
• Adobe Stock offers plenty of royalty-free stock audio clips and music.
 Try it
• https://soundcite.knightlab.com/
 Some Legal Aspects with audio and video
recordings
• Copyrights: look for creative commons or free
content.
• The rights of personality protection: blur victims
if they wish to.
• The consent of the recorded person is required,
with restrictions for public events.
• Children may only be recorded with the consent
of their parents.
 Group Assignment
• In groups, you will produce a scrollytelling multimedia story in a feature format using
Shorthand which might include a combination of these elements:
• text
• video
• audio
• Individual Photos
• photo slide
• data visual
• interactive
• You have 2 weeks: till Dec 26
• I have online office hours to review your storyboard or any help you need. Pre-schedule via
whatsapp.
• 1st week: sketch storyboard, go into the field & capture, transcribe, register and try shorthand
• 2nd week: edit your footage, write, prepare data visuals & interactives, assemble and publish.
• Deliver a group report detailing who did what.
 Details
• This assignment consist of two parts:
• 1.) a text article formatted for the web
• 2.) accompanying multimedia
• Your article and your multimedia should complement each
other, but each should also be able to stand alone on its
own. For example, if someone only reads your article or only
views your multimedia, s/he should still able to understand
the story.
• Use the text for the story basics, information, and links to
additional resources. Use your multimedia feature to add
vivid color to your story.
 Details
• Your feature will be assessed on the following:
•    original reporting (interviews, events attended, information
gathered)
•    quality of the writing and presentation
•    effort
•    completion of each required presentation elements.
• Multimedia will be assesed on the following:
• quality of media
• its presentation
• It fits with other parts of the story
• effort in reporting
• overall content.
 Details
• Your article must contain both of the following:
• 1. A 1000 – 2000 word text formatted for the web
•    clear, descriptive headline using key-words
•    strong lead
•    organized story structure.
•    quotes from two (2) people (with full names and a phrase that connects them to
the topic) that are relevant and interesting
•    hyperlinks to more information
•    short paragraphs or subheads to break up large sections of text
•    five key word tags.
•    compelling story topic.
• Free of typos, grammar, spelling or punctuation errors
• 2. Multimedia component
Select multimedia that is the best way conveying information. It must contain original
reporting and content, not simply aggregation or reproducing what has been done by
others.
 Tips to save time
Pick an easy, reachable story you are interested in or familiar with (you might
choose one that doesn’t have a relation with your website theme).
Plan & research very good & put back up plans.
Assign roles: you are 10:
1. one to take photos, select
2. two to record video & audio, cut imp parts
3. Another two to do interviews (reporters)
4. One to gather & select background information
5. One to write & edit the story
6. One to turn some background info to a visual
7. One to prepare an interactive
8. Last one to gather & design
You can use an interview (and its audio) from your interview assignment if it fits.