Visualizing content: Let’s talk about finding inspiration
One of my earliest projects last year as a multimedia journalist at Citi FM, was attempting to visualize a controversial audio interview by Ibrahim Mahama (below).
As a new media journalist one must embrace these:
(i) It is your job to make content break down boundaries and cross platforms.
(ii) The most important question to ask yourself is “How best or uniquely can I present the information I have, whether I gathered it myself, got it from the newsroom or online?”
Scenario
Mahama’s audio had become popular on air, so I wondered what could be done to move it from just broadcast audio to another medium.
My inspiration came from a video I saw online which had given a similar treatment of animated text on a background accompanying an audio. It was used to present a motivational speech. This was a video dating back around 2011 or 2012.
It was daunting to try as I had never used my video editing software (Final Cut Pro) that way. As a matter of fact, text animation is best executed with Adobe After Effects. But I still tried it.
This year, I saw AJ+ (my former employer) had also given a similar treatment to a story and even went further with the graphics and effects (see video below).
Wherever we the creators of the three examples I have mentioned so far got our ideas from, the bottom line especially for me is finding inspiration.
Where to find it
As a new media person you have to consume lots of media. This is advice I got from my masters program at JOMEC and I am sharing it with you — in this game, if you want to produce, you need to consume, to be inspired. And by that you can try different and totally new things with that inspiration.
Also since we are talking media here, don’t limit yourself to journalistic content only. I learn more about video typography from watching E! Entertainment channel than anywhere else.
Also put feedback to use. My second attempt at visualizing audio was a speech given by NPP’s flagbearer Nana Addo last year:
This time with the feedback received from my first video, the photo of the speaker this time was made more prominent and it looked better.
Feedback is really important in our work. Let a new media consumer or colleague have a look at your project and give you feedback, and that could be your ticket to another idea.
Bringing it all together:
– Consume lots of media
– Don’t limit yourself to journalistic content
– Put feedback to use, that could be your ticket to another idea
