Andrea Cornejo and “FEST 15”
Happy New Year! As we enter 2017 we’re finding a ton of interesting people doing all kinds of exciting new things using the Verse platform. So we’re highlighting content creators that have used Verse to tell amazing stories. Up first: Andrea Cornejo, staff photographer for The Gainesville Sun, who used Verse to create “FEST 15”, a look inside a local underground musical festival using Verse’s Q&A tool to create interactive conversations with the folks who lived it.
Hey Andrea, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and the projects you work on?
I’m a staff photographer for The Gainesville Sun as well as a journalism student for the University of Florida. For the most part, I enjoy working on documentary projects that focus on the human condition, but I’m also fond of covering events that make a community unique.
Was your plan always to use an interactive narrative to tell this particular story?
I used Verse to create an interactive narrative of a naturally episodic event in order to offer the viewer a greater understanding to the many sides of an annual music festival. Rather than producing a traditional overview of the festival, I wanted viewers to experience it through the different sides of FEST, including the people that travel thousands of miles for it.
What possibilities did Verse provide your work?
Through Verse, I was able to include interviews that I typically would not have room for and was able to create a project with unexpected threads that truly helped encapsulate what FEST is all about. I used these multimedia tools to arrange my content in easy-to-navigate chapters that allows viewers to weave through the story at their own pace. I plan to use this method again with my next project.
Why did you choose Verse?
I was worried about creating a video that was too long and prone to lose viewers’ attention, but I often felt that my work was incomplete in traditional narratives. Thus, I chose to use Verse because it allowed me to go beyond the traditional online formats, which often led to underdeveloped content. I hope to continue using Verse to create immersive multimedia experiences that go beyond what normal video experiences can offer.
What advice would you give to other Verse users?
Before anything else, I would highly suggest for users to watch the free webinars provided by Verse. These online conferences not only demonstrate all the tools it offers, but it also guides users step-by-step through the process. I would also suggest using hotspots to offer viewers a chance to weave through the story as well as the Q & A tool for those crucial interviews, which often can’t be used due to time limits of traditional narratives.
Thanks a bunch, Andrea! We look forward to your next amazing project! You can learn more about Andrea and what she’s working on at http://www.andreacornejo.com/.
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