Multimedia Storytelling: Definition, Challenges and Examples

Stories are a vital, inescapable part of our early learning and development. As children, we listened to stories with our ears, watched them unfold with our eyes, and even drew our own stories from our imaginations. Our adventures with storytelling began before we even got to kindergarten. Our family members read stories to us before bed, from fairy tale adventures like Peter Pan to stories about princesses like Sleeping Beauty. Before we could read, the images in our books assisted us in learning how to understand the words. Later, when we came home from school and our parents asked what had happened that day, our response was likely to take the form of a story: This happened, then this happened, and then this happened—a linear recitation of events. The multimedia storytelling of today still involves words and pictures, but it also encompasses much more. A journey begins from its inner workings, exploring storytelling that brings together still images, moving images, color, sound, speech, and music.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines multimedia as “a technique (as the combining of sound, video, and text) for expressing ideas (as in communication, entertainment, or art) in which several media are employed; also: something (as software) using or facilitating such a technique”. Not included in the definition but nonetheless essential are still pictures. So multimedia is a form of communication that serves our ears, our eyes, and our minds simultaneously, or in quick succession. It’s not just the medium of audio, or of video, or the written word. It’s a combination of these elements to maximum effect.

Multimedia stories are able to convey emotions and build empathy in a way that single-story stories cannot. Incorporating different types of media into a story allows readers to engage and explore. This interaction is an important aspect of multimedia storytelling that allows you to engage your audience and seek their ideas and feedback. Incorporating clickable questions, comment boxes, and pictures provides a fun way to get the audience involved in the story.

The best types of multimedia stories include action, exposure, powerful characters, and powerful emotions, all of which can be conveyed through various media channels. In order to have a successful multimedia story, it needs to have a few things coming together to play an important role.

Video

Video content allows your audience to see inside your performance, feel your personality and feel like they are with you. It allows you to establish authority and a sense of belonging to your message. It has a greater chance of communicating with the audience on an emotional level when using video compared to other types of elements. The impact of online video is more interest, more views, more leads, and more conversions.

Photo

It can transform light and time into reality. The universal language we all speak, and beautiful images are very communicative, instantly, without words or sound. We think of still images; our memory was built by them. You probably already know that images are powerful. Visual aids quickly transmit information to our brain. They stir up our emotions. They help us to read and remember.

Audio

The sound of compelling quotes (veteran talking about the battlefield, a mother talking about the child) or speaking “surroundings” (noise in a crowded restaurant, music, stadium excitement, building noise, gunshots). It makes the audience visualize while listening.

Graphics

Graphics are used to show an illustration of complex processes such as how the bill goes to Congress, how new surgery works, or complex data (employment statistics, percentage of people in cities) in an easily understandable format.

Text

Text is an integral part of many multimedia programs. They are characters used to form words, sentences, and paragraphs. Text alone provides only one source of information. However, the text is good for providing basic information.

Various challenges faced in multimedia journalism

1. Sustainability - Who or what will pay for news sites? Provider? If so, which cables come attached? Well, now a lot of them have deviated from the original principles of their founders. We can see some sites use clickbait to capture the attention of readers and this violates the code of ethics for journalism, which denies harassment.

2. True journalism - Many sites publish a false story as a fact that damages someone's reputation or give false information to the audience which means misleading the fact about anything.

3. Receiving the code of conduct and applying the code - Many sites claim to be journalists, which violates the basic ethical code of journalism. For example, by publishing biased and often biased news. This results in a reduction in news, and it continues to reduce public trust in the media.

Examples and references :

Microsoft Photo Story is a free application. It allows users to create a visual story in their digital photos. The software uses the Ken Burns Effect in digital images and allows users to add narratives, effects, transitions, and background music to create a Windows Media Video movie file with pan and zoom effects.

Source: New York Times

The Snow Fall story from New York Times is a Scrolly-telling story that allows the audience to scroll down to read and watch the material. It has good elements such as photos, videos, animation, graphics and a slide show at the end. Due to this, it makes the story really interesting.

Source: http://apps.rue89.com/haiti/en/

Reconstruction of Haiti is an example of multimedia storytelling. It is about rebuilding Haiti, after the catastrophic earthquake of 2010. A collaborative web page will ask you questions such as how to rebuild Haiti if you were the head of state with the terms and answers. This multimedia is very interactive is due to it also forces the audience to think.