Digital storytelling – why video is now crucial

Video is now crucial for content creation and PR. “All the emerging money is around web video, which is what all of the papers want now – so if you are going to cover a story, why wouldn’t you film it as well?,” says Pat Younge, BBC’s chief creative officer, in The Journalist magazine.

The piece suggests that anyone with a smart phone, editing software and a little imagination can put together a top rate video package. It also suggests that advice and teaching by Michael Rosenblum, author of iPhone Millionaire is a better guide to low-tech video production than its get-rich-quick title suggests.

It recommends checking out the New Jersey Star-Ledger (nj.com), whose journalists have been nominated for Emmys for their video content. Shot with a single camera it is then edited down to the most dramatic two minutes.

NJ.com community videos

Also have a look at the work of filmaker Adam Curtis, who writes a blog for the BBC (bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis)

The future, says The Journalist, is a huge collection of short bursts of footage comprising only video news clips. “The prospect that this kind of material will become the main fibre of the web, rather than text-based ‘pages’ is one that is now common currency – at least among crystal-ball gazers.”

Boundaries between print, television and the internet will continue to blur until it is no longer clear to the consumer how a channel started. Journalists, PRs and content marketeers could benefit from thinking more visually as these forces shape journalism in the years to come.

Try Filmic Pro an iphone app that allows control of focus, exposure and white balance.

March 2, 2015