The most noticeable role or rather opportunity that next-media technologies afford the average audience member is increasingly that of "witness," and "storyteller." These roles, each quite distinct, are evolving rapidly around the availability of affordable, portable technology. Cameras are smaller and audio recorders no longer need separate traveling trunks, they can now fit in your pocket! With these evolutions the barrier for entry into production is much more democratic, however with democracy comes the responsibility to capture the moment well, no matter if it is on a $100 camera, or on a $1,000 camera.
To help more producers take advantage of these technologies and to evolve the process of online production in social media, NBPC's New Media Institute has developed the NMI One-Shot technique for online video storytelling.
The main goals of the NMI One-Shot technique for digital video storytelling are:
- streamlining the online workflow of video story telling;
- eliminating separate-skill and cost intensive areas like editing;
- preserving the authenticity of the moment in story telling by promoting a style which fosters journalistic transparency; and, most importantly,
- equipping the widest range of new and emerging online producers with the language and tools essential for improving online digital authorship, civic engagement, and documenting the global black experience.
NBPC's New Media Institute and New Media Institute: Africa programs have been sharing the One-Shot concept at various conferences and workshops. The style was conceived in 2007 with the help of digital artist Michael Paul Britto, and further developed at the New Media Institute 2009.
Below are brief descriptions and video examples of some of the identified one-shot genres of online digital video storytelling.
The One-On-One genre is the most traditional approach for capturing of "the moment." It combines the traditional journalist-subject interview with a more strategic visual style that engages the viewer by revealing important story elements, one at a time for a unique narrative arc.
Producer: Kay Shaw
Camera: Flip Ultra Pocket Camcorder
Location/Date:: Blantyre, Malawi, May 2009
The Observational genre is ideally the third dimension to any traditional text article or online blog post. Used mainly for its close up visual detailing, it takes the photo thumbnail to the next level for any entry.
Producer: NMI Africa 2008
Camera: Nokia N-Series Camera Phone
Location/Date: Accra, Ghana, June 2008
The Narrative Report genre is a blogger's best friend. As a witness, the producer shares through voice over his/her knowledge of a transpiring event or action, or to introduce the viewer to a place, using strategic visual elements to bring the viewer into a present and engaging understanding of the unfolding story.
Producer: Victor Kaonga, Journalist/Blogger
Camera: Flip Ultra Pocket Camcorder
Location/Date: Blantyre, Malawi, May 2009
The Character-driven genre is potentially the most effective form of online storytelling. It engages the viewer by using the subject's own narrative and action as its main thrust.
Producer: Kay Shaw
Camera: Kodak Zi6 HD/Standard Pocket Camcorder
Location/Date: Harlem, USA, April 2009
The New Media Institute is currently engaging and training a varying array of producers, journalists, and media activists in the one-shot digital video storytelling conversation using the Flip Video Camera and other mediums of small-format tools for online storytelling.
For more on NBPC's New Media Institute, please visit http://nbpc.tv, and to watch more video from NBPC, including free streaming of full-length documentaries on the global black experience visit http://blackpublicmedia.org.
