As a journalist deciding the best way to capture a story can be challenging, when confronted with a wide range of modern technologies that not only enhance storytelling but are so easily accessible.
As an aspiring journalist I’ve recently come quite inquisitive by this new movement and have been inspired by online content. I came across the story “NO IMPACT -THE TUNGUSKA EVENT” produced by Julia Lewandoski. Audiences are guided through the story with a series of flowing images some which move. These images simultaneously match the text and are ordered to visually connect with the next flowing image piecing together a story. This allowed me as a reader to be enticed to not only see the corresponding image and match it with its text but I felt that through the interactive format I was able to make my way through the story at my own pace, allowing me to gather my personal interpretation freely. Another aspect I found amazing about this design was the use of cartoon like images some which were not highly detailed. Through this I felt to put the story together I had to use the image and text as a prompt, in turn becoming an active viewer whom gained engagement through my personal discovery of piecing together the story via creating my own mental image of realism.
Another piece that caught my eye was “Tapered Throne” produced by Brandon Tauszik. Through this piece I felt that I was guided along the story via the gifs. It was through the author only providing a small amount of text to address the gif that I was drawn to the image to complete parts of the story. I found this technique more intriguing as I was able to put a face to the words and with small details such as facial expressions and settings, add depth to what I had just read. Along with this I was given context of the characters surroundings through the audio sounds played on my demand , it was this interactive inclusion that I grasped the setting and in turn felt as if I was there in the barber shop. Resulting in this overall story achieving heightened engagement through the art of multimedia.
These examples have made me reflect on the advantages of multimedia in today’s advanced world of technology, and how fortunate today’s journalists are in their creations of innovative story telling.
