Lessons learned from multimedia workshops

Every multimedia workshop differs from the next, but the lessons learned by the participants are always very similar. One thing is certain: You need patience and perseverance.

It also helps to stay calm and collected when learning to use the tools and technologies. It’s much like long-distance running. You start out full of confidence and high expectations, then lactic acid builds up in your muscles. Suddenly you feel like you’re reaching a dead end, frustration and exhaustion make you want to throw in the towel. Rage rises up, causing you to ask yourself why you even bother. But in the end, when you’ve achieved your goal and you click that “publish” button, you feel a rush of satisfaction.

Like any kind of creative activity, working with multimedia can stir up emotions and fray your nerves. But it doesn’t have to be stressful. Follow these tips to stay nicely on top of your multimedia work without losing your head.

Don’t overdo it!

The Internet has unlimited possibilities. The temptation is huge to exhaust all those possibilities. That’s not always to the benefit of the user. And the user is the main point to keep in mind.

Multimedia projects are often overloaded, bursting at the seams with (sometimes sub-optimal) video, audio and photographic footage. Driven by their excitement about the technical potential, authors can easily lose sight of the actual story they’re trying to convey. Just think of the endless audio-video slideshows with thinly told stories and so-so orchestration, the masses of blurry photos and unsteady video clips.

Bear in mind your own capabilities and keep an eye on your time management.

Let the story determine the format

Photo courtesy of Eelco Kruidenier/smiling_da_vinci at Flickr

Before you set off with your camera and microphone, consider the kind of story you want to tell. When you know the nature of your story, then think about which media (sound, video, photos) might be best suited to tell that story. You’d be surprised; frequently you’ll find that a straightforward text is the best format. Don’t be disappointed.

The world really doesn’t need multimedia projects whose only purpose is to prove that journalists have made a video or audio element.

If you’re creating a slideshow, consider whether you want it to play automatically or whether it should be more like a photo gallery through which the user can click at his or her own pace.

Linear formats force the viewer to follow your rhythm. Many people would prefer to determine for themselves how quickly or slowly they browse through your project.

Planning is everything

Photo courtesy of jonny goldstein at flickr

The biggest mistakes with multimedia projects are made before even the first interview has been conducted or the first recordings made.

Often the camera is simply switched on, hundreds of photos shot, hours of sound recorded. Then there’s a big let-down when the time comes for post-production. Of all that material, you don’t have the voice clips or video shots you really need. Instead, you’ve got memory cards full of useless material.

So it’s really crucial to consider beforehand what you’ll need for your project later. Use sheets of paper to sketch out what the end product should look like. Make a storyboard.

Check your equipment

It’s hard to believe how often participants in multimedia workshops have shown up for interviews with empty batteries or with memory cards already full. Suddenly they’ve forgotten how to adjust the levels on their Kodak-Zi8 when using an external microphone or how to switch off the automatic flash of their camera. So always remember to check your equipment and run a test recording before venturing out.

Pay attention to quality

You often hear co-workers saying something like “Oh, that’s just for online, so the quality is good enough.” I strongly disagree! Productions destined for the Internet should also adhere to high-quality standards. There’s already enough unsteady video footage, out-of-focus pictures and poor-sounding audio to be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t just snap away, be a photographer

With photo apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic you can make even bad pictures look more or less presentable, but that’s about it. Effects can’t fix a poor-quality photograph. Many pictures simply don’t make a statement. They are just snapshots – and often only of interest to the photographer and no one else.

When shooting photos you have to make decisions. What do you want to focus on? Does your picture tell a story? Avoid meaningless long shots.

Extreme close-ups work well on the internet

Get up close, photograph details, from different perspectives. Choose locations with suitable lighting.

People lit by glaring flash in dull offices are a no-no. For a portrait, don’t position your protagonist in the bright midday sun so that his or her face ends up covered in unattractive shadows. And be sure to ask yourself whether the background is appropriate. Plenty of photos have been rendered useless because of a busy, distracting background.

Always remember to use landscape format when taking shots for a slideshow. Upright pictures will cause unpleasant black borders.

Setting your camera to take high-quality pictures will give you more room for movement when editing in Photoshop, Flickr or Picasa later on.

Photo courtesy of s_falkow at Flickr

Less video is usually more

When participants in multimedia workshops are new to video, then a good code to abide by is “less is more”.

Editing video eats up time and can be frustrating for beginners. More often than not, the footage is unsteady, there aren’t any good cutaways and problems arise with video formats and codecs.

It’s important to select the right editing software. For simple clips, iMovie is a good choice because there’s usually little trouble with video formats. By contrast, Movie Maker is more difficult if, for example, you’re using a camera like the Kodak Zi8, which creates mov. files that can’t be processed in Movie Maker and first have to be converted into avi format. That can be time-consuming, especially with HD videos. Luckily, the newest version of the software (Windows Live Movie Maker) has fixed that problem.

To convert video I can highly recommend the free MPEG Streamclip program. You can also use professional editing programs like Avid and Final Cut, but for novices they’re often too complicated and require someone more experienced to assist you throughout the process.

If you’re using a smartphone, flip or Kodak compact camera to shoot video, bear in mind that these small devices will nearly always deliver unsteady footage. For interviews, be sure to use a tripod, even if it’s nothing more than a Gorillapod fixed to the arm of a chair.

Give sound the attention it deserves

Photo courtesy Ayton at flickr

Sound tends to suffer in many multimedia productions, so work with an external microphone whenever possible. I hardly ever use a flip cam anymore because you can only use the integrated mic, which isn’t very good for interviews in places with background noise.

The Kodak Zi8 is better because it at least lets you connect an external microphone. The disadvantage, however, is that you can’t use headphones, which should be par for the course with any sound recording. If you’re recording video with a DSLR camera, you should use an external microphone to record sound, like on a film set. But that takes extra time as well.

To record only sound, iPhones and iPads now deliver pretty good results, especially since it’s becoming increasingly possible to use accessories, like external microphones.

Avoid post-production chaos

Think about how you want to structure the archives for your raw material. In the heat of production, authors can quickly lose track. New clips and versions are continuously added. If these are given cryptic names that include “new” and “final” in the title, or are saved in strange folders, it can be time-consuming and frustrating to relocate them. If you’re working as part of a team, it may not be clear to the others which version is truly the final one.

Create backup copies

It sounds trivial, but during the stress of production this is often neglected. It’s always a good idea to store a copy of your material, preferably on an external hard drive, especially if you’re working with a computer that isn’t your own.

Photo courtesy Chalky Lives at flickr

Kill your darlings

The research was hard, we ventured out into the cold rain to collect voice clips, our backs hurt from all the tough filming and photo shoots.

Ultimately, though, none of that interests the users. They want to see, hear and read good stories. To ensure that, you often have to seriously scale down your material.

Sometimes you have to omit clips or pictures that have really grown on you but that upon closer inspection don’t really move the story along its path.

So kill your darlings, even if it hurts.

By Steffen Leidel