Graffiti Artist Puts Politics First
Jtech #LukeMichael #Classof17 #Snapchat
Reflection:
When picking a story relevant for Snapchat, our group wanted to make sure we picked a story which was visually engaging and had a sense of narrative, as to be effective for the platform. As Lushsux creates such provocative and eye-catching artworks, we thought he would be perfect for our story.
With this in mind, we decided we wanted to travel to his different artworks around Melbourne, giving viewers a quick glimpse into what his works are like. Social editor for The New York Times, Talya Minsberg, says “the best Snapchat stories generally are ones that tell a narrative in a personal, visual way that pulls in and keeps the viewer”. Knowing this, I wanted to give my story a sense of being on a journey, as we travelled to different sites around Melbourne.
I made sure I used a mix between photos and videos, because otherwise it is hard to keep the viewer engaged. Likewise, I wanted to have a diversity of different media, so I have included photos of different murals, videos of me speaking, screenshots from Lushsux’s Instagram and vox pops. The short length of the video also means content needs to be punchy and to the point. If interviewing someone, the talent needs be concise and interesting, but it shouldn’t be scripted. The causal format of the app makes witty, off the cuff remarks something that is sought after.
There are a number of issues which arise from the use of Snapchat as a platform. Firstly, the short length of video makes it impossible to include in-depth analysis in a story, which made a more light hearted topic appropriate. Even so, I found it hard to unpack the complexity of Lushsux’s work with Snapchat, but then, I realise this is not what users are looking for on the platform. When undertaking vox pops, it is hard to get people to compress their thoughts to ten second videos, but it makes it imperative that talent speak concisely and to the point.
Overall, I have realised that Snapchat is a great platform to tell engaging, visual stories with a sense of narrative, but is less effective covering complex issues due to its fast paced nature. Exploring the work of Lushsux on the streets of Melbourne is a good story to tell on Snapchat because it fills the criteria listed above, but even so it still presented a number of challenges as a journalist. For Snapchat to become a viable platform for journalism in the future, journalists need to ensure they use the platform in an effective and engaging manner.
