Over the past semester working with various media platforms and techniques, I’ve had to repeatedly consider one question. How can I keep my audience engaged with this story?
We’ve seen the emergence of new and exciting platforms since the dawn of the internet, which has allowed for a wide variety of storytelling techniques.
However, various research has also indicated that audiences are engaging with content for a shorter period of time which highlights a significant challenge in holding onto readers/viewers.
A new report from the University of Canberra found that almost the majority of Australians consume news because they feel they have a duty to do so, while only 14 percent consume news because it is fun or entertaining.
As mentioned in one of our lectures, some of the principles of good storytelling include a strong through-line, audience participation, appealing to senses, and the use of specific design and technology to enhance a story. I know that when I engage in multimedia pieces I do have the preference for interactivity, such as in the ‘ReBuilding Haiti’ story.
I wanted to incorporate ‘scrollytelling’ into my second assignment about fast fashion, as I thought it would be a useful tool to show images of increasing environmental degradation over time.
Unfortunately I did find it difficult to navigate in the limited time I had, and didn’t end up using it in my final work. This is something I still want to explore in the future, as I think used in the right context it can make a piece really rewarding and engaging.
Something I also believe would be interesting to explore from a journalistic point of view, is perspective and subverting the audience’s expectations of a story.
I recently saw a social experiment where every item in a supermarket was blank, and it wasn’t until all the customers began to complain that it was revealed that this is the shopping experience for over two million people in the UK who live with a visual impairment. I think a similar concept could be incorporated into a multimedia piece, perhaps even a scrollytelly text.
Finally, it’s incredibly important to make sure that the techniques used for each platform are suited towards each audience and story. Through some in class examples it’s been made very clear that just because a technique looks cool, doesn’t mean it will effectively engage your reader or audience any more. Consideration of who you’re aiming your story at will also guide the platform you’re using and how you gain their attention.
