Digiday posted a fascinating article last week about storytelling in the digital age. The premise was that “publishers” (the online sort) are treating Instagram stories like episodic television. It’s really a brilliant innovation. The way people process information is changing (or should that be “has changed?”). People react less to words and more to images. So how do you take what would otherwise be disjointed arrays of pixels and give them staying power? You tell a story — and episodic television has been telling stories since the dawn of the TV era. By creating basic storylines, that carry over from “episode” to “episode,” you create anticipation, tension, interest and (most importantly) audiences!
The same is true in nonfiction video too.
NYFA grad Melissa Aleman is back in the Weekly Update again, this time with Col. Jack Jacobs, the chair of the NYFA Veterans Advancement Program. Melissa was the videographer at a special veterans event that NYFA held in Austin, Texas. It is wonderful to see how Melissa is using the skills she learned as a Broadcast Journalism student not just to build a career, but to “give back” as well. Meanwhile, Col. Jack Jacoba is the heart and soul of our veterans’ activities here at NYFA.
So how do you produce news stories in the digital era? Well, you can learn a lot from NYFA grad Celina Liv Danielsen. She works in the news department at TV2, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Look carefully at the picture below — Liv is using three microphones. Two are wireless lavalier mics (see the antennae on the back of the camera?), and one is a mini-shotgun mounted on the front of the camera. Just like she learned to do here at NYFA!
The skills students learn in the NYFA Broadcast Journalism program can be used in a number of different ways. Recently I heard from graduate Karina Gaudereto. She is working for a company called SEVEN PR, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She wrote:
This is a PR Agency for techlology startups, and I am a press agent for some companies in this area … There is one TV production called Floresta Produções which is a joint venture with Sony Entertainment. They make one of the most famous reality shows here like Lady Night at Multishow, and also UFC, Shark Tank, and shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. They called out our help because they want to expand their productions for branded content and TV premium. It’s been cool but tough!
Here is a screen grab from one of Karina’s student projects. I know for a fact she misses New York … if not the winter weather.
by nyfa