Today was all about storytelling, knowing what multimedia tool to use when, and how to execute a thoughtful, compelling multimedia plan.

Mark Highland, Director of Digital Operations at The Arizona Republic and www.azcentral.com, said The Republic, a Gannett paper, is the company's second largest in circulation just behind USA Today. He’s a former TV guy and well versed in multimedia applications and alternative story forms. He’s got a dozen regional Emmys under his belt and impressed me with his presentation.

Yes, another slide show.

No surprise, we talked a lot about slide shows, video and the use of sound and images together to tell our stories. Slide shows -- some enhanced or driven by sound – are great for best-of photos presentations, event coverage, people profiles, or as a stand-alone alternate story forms. At www.azcentralcom, the Best of the Day slide show generates good traffic and exposes viewers to their photographers’ best work. Mark explained that he thinks slide shows are popular because they are easy to navigate. Make it easy.

“Give a user the ability to navigate multimedia in any way they want,” he advised. As a lunch assignment, we hammered out a slide show in less than 60-minutes wandering around the UNR campus. My partner, Sona Patel from The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, and I wandered onto a Boys and Girls Club group selling lemonade on campus to raise money for their graduation celebration. The kids were great, happy to participate and a lemonade-marketing machine. Check out the slide show and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

They do "Cool House" slide show guided tours at www.azcentral.com and net good results. Relocation city-tour videos prove popular too. People looking to move to Phoenix are drawn to them, he said. A super popular slide show in Arizona is their Ugly Pet slide show of user submitted photos and captions of … you guesed it, ugly pets. I’m on it when I get home. Slide shows are easy to assign … we shoot the photos and should squeeze every $$ out of them. Slide shows are a one person job. Photogs can easily shoot them, build them, write captions and move them to an editor to approve before publishing to the Web. So can reporters, clerks, designers, and just about anyone with a few spare minutes to invest in a proven way to draw eyes to our sites.

Movin' pictures

Video, Mark said, is better suited for stories sure to provide motion and emotion. Video is a greater investment of resources and requires more planning. When it comes to return on investment, video ranks behind slide shows, according to Mark. But, he added, for many stories it’s a better tool for the job than a slide show. The trick, he said, is learning what tool is best to use when. My advice with using video: Start small – but, at least start. This video-on-the-Web thing isn’t going away. We all need to know how to plan, shoot, edit, and publish video to our sites -- from the top editors, to the newest intern. Like slide shows, videos need an editor’s eye before they go live. Even grizzled news veterans need the skills to edit multimedia packages after a producer puts it all together.

“Every video has got to have a beginning, middle and an end, so it can stand on its own in our video section,” Mark stressed. Think about starting by working on videos that will have a long shelf life and interest Web surfers for a long time -- Historic home tours, local attraction features, and travel guide videos come to mind. They are never need on a HOT basis and can stick around a while on out sites.

Remember

When planning a video story keep a few things in mind. Start with a shot list which out lines the imagery you need to bring back to the office. Shoot your video ion sequence when possible. It makes editing easier. Always shoot your interview first so you know what cut in shots you need and what sequence the shots are best in. Always plug in earphones when shooting video. Sound quality is key to a great video. Make sure you get plenty of sequence shots. Those are shots captured from a wide look at the scene, a medium shot and close up and closer tight shots shot to use on top of the audio. A talking head, Mark said, is rarely compelling for more than 7 to 10 seconds. When shooting cut in shots hold the still camera on the subject for at least 15 seconds to give room for clean edits. Be aware of lighting and avoid panning around zooming. If the shot needs to move, move the camera. Try to anticipate action and be prepared to capture it. You will only get one chance at the “money shot.” Keep your shots well framed and uncluttered. Make sure no trees are growing out of the subject’s head. Try to shoot from an interesting angle. Go street level, r try a bird’s eye view of the scene. Tilt the camera if you can better frame a shot you want. Sound is important when shooting video so use a good lapel, stick or shotgun mic when interviewing or capturing natural sound for a sound slide show or video

Speaking of interviews

Mark offered these tips for interviewing on video. Think SMACK!

S. Setting matters. Find a good spot to shoot and make sure you have good, if not great, sound.

M. Microphone. Locate it about four inches away fro your subjects mouth and make sure it’ on. Don’t laugh, it happens all of the time. Hide the mic cords and make sure your mic batteries are good. Again, dead batteries happen to everyone.

A. Audio levels are important. Set audio levels before you start recording and make sure the wind isn’t wackin’ out your sound. Invest in a foam mic sock to cut down on wind noise.

C. Composition counts. Use the rule of thirds. Look it up online. It’s a life saver. Shoot with on-screen graphics in mind. Keep your camera at the level of the subject’s eyes. Don’t shoot looking down or up and sever angles at them.

K. Keep monitoring sound quality. If something goes wrong, start again. It’s that important.

That’s a lot to remember, but so important in the new media world.