Lessons from the NPPA Web contest
The future that online journalists predicted is beginning to take shape: News organizations are using video, photos and audio to tell stories in fresh, engaging ways. They are bringing videographers and Web producers into stories early rather than calling them just before the publication of a months-long project. And even news operations that lack anyone skilled in Flash are producing audio slideshows, thanks to Soundslides.
But the 700 or so entries in the online categories of the National Press Photographers Association awards showed that multimedia journalism is still in its adolescence: Many projects lacked mastery of fundamentals and didn't live up to their potential. Judges said they want to see higher production quality, tighter editing, and a clearer understanding of how to use various media most effectively.
Here are some thoughts from the online judges on what's working and what needs work in multimedia journalism today.
What's working
Multimedia isn't the orphan it once was. Entries reflected a consideration of what medium would best tell each part of the story -- video for some parts, graphics for others, audio slideshows elsewhere. "You could tell news organizations are starting to plan stories from the ground up," Angelotti said. This audio slideshow from The Washington Post's "Fixing D.C.'s Schools" project is a good example.
Audio makes the difference. "Other than storytelling -- and let's assume good photography -- the audio, that's what puts one person above everyone else," Breite said. That means well-placed, meaningful natural sound, as well as effective voiceovers. Angelotti said the best voiceovers were those done by the subjects, which enabled them to tell their stories directly. Here's a presentation with great natural sound.
News organizations are using audio slideshows to tell stories. This hasn't always been true; in the past, slideshows have been used as containers for photo galleries. But Angelotti said she observed narrative arcs in most of the slideshows entered in the competition. Judges said there's still work to be done: eliminating redundant photos, coordinating visuals with audio and incorporating transitional, environmental and close-up shots. This Chicago Tribune slideshow demonstrates the power of this method of storytelling.
You don't need a Flash expert on staff to create a great multimedia package. Clear navigation that directs users to the most important content is more important than a fancy interface. And you don't need to know any Flash to produce a great audio slideshow (such as this one) with Soundslides, which has become the dominant tool for those presentations.
What needs work
Don't sacrifice ease of use for something that looks cool. Judges said too many multimedia presentations are hard to figure out. Consider the downside of breaking conventions, such as a back button in the upper left corner. And whatever navigation system you choose, keep it consistent. (As Gitner put it, don't keep moving the car door handles.)
The best interfaces preview the content and show users how to navigate through it, Jenkins said. The navigation on "Soul of Athens" was one of the reasons it was named "Best Multimedia Package" -- its design made it easy to find great content.
Too many presentations lack a unifying narrative thread. In the best presentations, the individual videos, slideshows or graphics told their own stories, and they also connected with the other parts to move the overall story forward. (This sounds a lot like Roy Peter Clark's "umbrella" narrative structure.) Some presentations contained disparate elements with nothing except a common subject to hold them all together. This St. Louis Post-Dispatch package has a strong narrative throughout.
Still photographers should incorporate broadcast storytelling fundamentals. Still photographers are practiced at creating multilayered images and capturing "the moment." But judges said many slideshows and videos lacked broadcast fundamentals such as proper framing of subjects and transitioning from wide, to medium, to close and detail shots.
Gitner said he would like to see still photographers and videographers learn from one other. some innovative online storytelling. "Then we're going to be applying what we think is good visual storytelling to video, and take video to that next level," he said. Notice how this video from The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer captures the best elements of video and still photography.
Don't take control away from the user. Judges complained about autoplays and the absence of stop and back buttons. Sometimes they couldn't figure out how to get back to the home page, so they resorted to refreshing the browser window. Several criticized introductory sequences that "hold the user hostage." And "skip intro" buttons didn't allay their irritation.
This presentation from The (Cleveland) Plain-Dealer won an award, although the judges thought the introduction delayed them from digging into the content.
Don't pack too much in. When the judges reviewed some entries, one would cry out, "Too much!" Don't overload the user. Pick out the best stuff and use it to tell the story. Don't feel compelled to use a lot of material to justify a project. And keep in mind that the user interface can easily become confusing when there is a lot of content.
Just because space is infinite online, don't stop editing yourself. Judges said some audio slideshows contained redundant shots that didn't add to the story. In fact, they said pretty much every entry -- even the winners -- could have used some cutting. Judges suggested some of the redundancy stemmed from photographers not getting enough environmental and detail photographs, so they compensated by adding more of the same stuff.
This year, said Jenkins, "it was the 25-picture gallery. It's hard to tell a story in 25 pictures. It's probably easier to do it in eight or nine." What's called for, he said, is "rethinking the role of editing in an environment where everyone thinks that's the one role they can get rid of."
Credits: Steve Myers (more by author) Contributors: Ellyn Angelotti
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