I recently came across this great multimedia storytelling piece from the Guardian:
Firestorm: The story of the bushfire at Dunalley
The photograph of the Holmes family hiding from a violent bushfire in Tasmania was shared around the world. But what became of them? In a unique multimedia project, the family speak exclusively to the Guardian about the day their community was devastated, and the new breed of bushfire that is impossible to fight.
It’s a mix of audio, slideshows, photography, video, interviews, history, facts and long form journalism that tells a personal story, brings the events of the day to life and brings into question the wider future of these communities that live under constant threat from bushfires.
It’s an excellent piece of storytelling, that you can consume as a whole or choose which media chunks you wish to consume.
The Guardian have been telling stories using multimedia for a long time. I’m a big fan of their:
Award winning broadcaster and oral historian Alan Dein walks us down the Caledonian Road, telling the story of the north London street through the voices of the people who live and work on it.
You can download the mp3 audio guide and PDF map to play as you walk down the road, or use the interactive map.
While I was at the British Heart Foundation I used an interactive wallet to tell case studies and share successes from the previous year as part of our Annual Review. Each wallet item told a different story, but each story could be told using a different type of media – text, video, photogrpahy, audio, games, apps and so on.
If your organisation tells stories to win support, generate leads, sell products or connect with audiences, then you could find a way to use multimedia storytelling. The Firestorm piece could be used to generate donations for the volunteer fire service, the Cally Road piece for a street regeneration scheme, and so on.
What these multimedia storytelling pieces demonstrate is that different communication types and platforms can be integrated to tell stories wonderfully, and when done well, can go on to generate conversations for years to come.
I’d love to see more examples of brilliant multimedia storytelling from every sector. if you’ve seen an example, please comment below or @eplaiter on twitter.
Update: 6 June 2013
After reading an article in The Content Strategist, the following where bought to my attention:
- Snowfall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek, NY Times
- Lost on Everest, Outside magazine
- Bitter Pill: How outrageous prices and egregious profits are destroying our healthcare, Scrollkit for Time Magazine
See the article in The Content Strategist for discussion on costs and emerging companies that may shorten the production process.
Elena Plaiter 