By Tim MacDougall & Ethan Benedicto
Scrollytelling
When you have a story which exudes a fresh and intriguing perspective it can feel as if there needs to be an equally vibrant storytelling device that does it justice. You want words to jump off the page at the reader. Thankfully, scrollytelling allows you to do just that.
You can enlarge key quotes to stand out, convey story through stand alone pictures, and ultimately create an interactive sequence or story for your audience. Scrollytelling brought life to my story on youth vaping. The reader was not shielded by statistics, but instead real young faces stood in the background. This enhanced the humanistic element and made a a story with life, alive.
I think that using a form like scrollytelling opened up another realm of ideas and journalistic creativity for myself. By engaging in pieces of work throughout the semester, I found that journalistic storytelling at its best often uses components of multimedia.
With attention spans shortening from the impact of social media, it made me reflect on the capacity for scrollytelling to sustain attention for longer pieces of writing. The process can almost mimic scrolling through social media, with a fresh new piece of content arising with every flick. To do this through scrollytelling journalism, where every movement down the page leaves the reader anticipating what’s next, is a powerful tool of engagement, and one that I think should be utilised more frequently.
Audio
Sound. A format that allows you to transcend the boundaries of what can be said on a page. I found that working with an audio story can allow you to create an intimacy between the story and the reader. Hearing human voices; experts and those directly affected by an issue adds a depth that can’t easily be conveyed through writing.
The thing I found rewarding was the ability to creatively interact with sound effects, transitions and finding a tempo to my storytelling. How should I convey my tone? What mood do I want to set? What is the most engaging, yet informative way to tell an audio story?
These are all questions I wanted to reflect upon throughout my creative process. It was one of the main reasons that I chose this as a multimedia format.
Whilst undoubtedly as a standalone media component, it can be powerful. If the voice of a source is heard alongside text and image, it can create a meaningful and impactful piece for the audience, which is ultimately what we aspire to do as journalists.
Photography
Taking photos had never been my strong suit. I didn’t have a camera, no tripod, no patience. It was only last year that I learned the basic foundations of composition, framing, lighting and so forth. But that was it, it wasn’t anything special, I didn’t develop some form of profound skill and sense for taking photos.
What I did find, was something enough. There were times when I’d find the right angle, the right lighting, the right subject, and all I had to do was look for it. I learned to wait, and I learned to look for the potential of a subject to accompany my story.
The right shot can bring life to your words, it adds flavour and emotion – it adds character. For me, it did just that. Alongside the paragraphs and jumble of words, either in the background or after it, the photo carved out the story’s tone. It can be detrimental to how you want your story to be perceived and the slightest difference can change your intention of meaning.
My photos are just above acceptable. I don’t, in any way, see myself as some A-grade photographer. Find the subject that feels right to you, find the angle that speaks to you and it will do wonders for your story.
Interviews
People are difficult to approach, especially when you try to talk to them about a touchy subject. Even more so when it’s unprompted, with no prior meeting, and no knowledge of one another.
I will admit, the interviews I had were 90% on the go. There was only one man whom I asked the week before to speak to me, and it went smoothly. The rest of the interviews were the outcome of me walking into retail stores, and designer outlets, putting on a friendly face and hoping for the best.
Of course, this all depends on the story you’re doing. I’d not recommend anyone, at all, to do this when it concerns the topic of academic or governmental degree. But when you’re undertaking a story similar to mine, which concerned itself with the environment, the way people felt about it and how they would tackle certain issues, strangers have beautiful words to offer.
They could give you the quote of a lifetime, or they could give you nothing at all. It’s a gamble, you don’t know, and even they don’t know. There would have been a better day where they were more prepared, and so more inclined to answer your questions in greater depth. That is where the importance of setting dates and guidelines matters.
However, sometimes, just sometimes, you get that burst of spontaneity, and if you get lucky, you’ll have some amazing voices carrying your story for you.
