An attempt at poetry

The Old House is my first attempt at some poetry to go with my images and I was quite happy with what came off it. (Watch it presentation here). I had shot the images of old abandoned houses for an exhibition I did with a group "GoaPhotogs".

The experience of putting together this multimedia piece was exhillirating. Once I took up the production there was no putting it down until it was complete. I must have recorded at least 8 versions of my voice over track.

A key consideration for me, as a beginning multimedia journalist, is the use of sound. The audio track is one of the most important aspects to master and for this, I listen to audio programmes on NPR over internet radio. The idea I am trying to incorporate is to have a strong enough audio, such that it could go as a standalong piece. Not sure how much I've managed it in this piece, but I hope to get there.

Software I've used were - Soundslides (from Joe Weiss) and Audacity (freeware). I've used free sound from freeplaymusic.com (for the background score) and freesounds.org (for sound effects like thunder and crackling leaves). I like the concept of freesounds.org and think I'll contribute some of my effects to the database as I go along.

Regarding the issue of people abandoning their houses itself, I can't seem to really get to terms with it. I was deeply moved when I entered one such home and saw an old portrait (possibly the head of the household), lying on the floor, broken glass, right next to an image of the Virgin Mary.

I mean, I know it's mainly people who migrate to foreign countries and their children who never really know about their roots. But my thoughts are with the "houses" that are abandoned thus, to be claimed by the elements of nature or slimy builders. And Goa's full of such abandoned homes.

Check out the multimedia piece on my website.

Going to Panos South Asia Multimedia workshop

Well, well, well! It appears my decision to quit a secure newspaper job and dip into the world of multimedia journalism was not as “foolish” as some have been telling me it is!

Panos South Asia, an organisation renowned for work in stories concering development, has just selected my application to attend a workshop on “Multimedia Local Content Production for ICT4D” in Kathmandu, Nepal. The selection is based on my work for and with GoCreat in multimedia.

The workshop aims to facilitate content development, networking knowledge sharing capacity building of media and civil society organisations, to enable them to create local content for ICT4D (information communication and technology for development) in South Asia. It also aims to identify possible areas of synergy between media and CSOs on local content development for ICT4D in South Asia.

This is really great news for me personally as I will have an opportunity to learn, first-hand, multimedia production in this area of grassroots development. Moreover, this international exposure is just what the doctor ordered to help us (GoCreat) on with our field work.

The workshop begins September 22nd on to September 29th. I hope to blog daily from Kathmandu on what I learn from the workshop.

When tools become invisible

The tools used in multimedia or film making can easily intimidate anyone. And yet, it is in the best interests of society if people begin to use information and communication technology (ICT) to tell their own stories. Once this begins in a community, the reliance on mainstream media will not be so acute as it is today and society can develop. An informed society is a vibrant democracy and anything that can be done to help in this process of development can and should be done.

Soon after I began dabbling in multimedia, I formed a GoCreat along with Alito Sequeira of the Goa University. And we were amazed at the simplicity of software that could be used to create some powerful digital films. We are very thankful to Aporva Kulkarni for introducing us to PhotoStory from Microsoft – a powerful and free software (for Windows users) that lets a story teller weave a film with still images and audio. It even permits the “Ken Burns” effect of zooming and panning within an image for some great storytelling possibilities.

We combined this with Picasa – the free image editing software from Google and viola! We had a multimedia package that could be used by the housewife in interior Goa to tell her own story.

Armed with this low-technology and the desire to pass on storytelling skills, we began conducting Digital Storytelling (DST) workshops to anyone who was interested. This is the basic purpose of GoCreat – to help people tell their own stories without technology coming in the way. Or rather, to use technology for the development of society. Do go on over to the GoCreat blog – http://gocreat.blogspot.com to check out our work in this area.

The smart PJ follows his Cheese

The winds of change are sweeping across the photojournalism world and the concept of a photojournalist is re-shaping, even as I write this. Experiments are already well under way in press rooms of far-thinking newspapers, headed by the visions of hardcore photojournalists.

Some call it blasphemous. The death of photojournalism. At 30fps, does it all amount to having the fastest motordrive? Is video the future for photojournalists? There is no proof yet, but the indications are very much evident.

Fact. Print media offers limited scope for good photojournalism. As news holes reduce, space for images is limited to the single (or, at best two) large “candyfloss” photos catering to page design more than PJ content. In such a scenario, the PJ has been sidelined to the point of becoming secondary, dancing to the whims of everyone else in the newsroom. He was a dying breed.

Then came the re-awakening. The Internet boom brought in new and exciting opportunities for all. To the visionary PJ, it provided a space to showcase him true capabilities. It offered him a chance to carry out indepth work and let the world see the outcome.

A number of PJs at newspapers, especially in the US (Washington Post being a pionier among these), realised the potential and began putting up simple slide shows - collections of images brought into the newsroom that could not make it to print. Soon, the smart PJs started capturing sounds – field interviews and ambient sounds, setting these to the images in slideshows. Audio slideshows became a hit online. Today, the venerable Magnum has its own multimedia version in the Magnum InMotion project where audio is infused into images to create spellbinding audio slideshows.

From these beginings, it was just a matter of time before the idea of capturing video was thrown into the ring. Today a number of newspapers, notably the Dallas Morning News under the guidance of David Leelson (a strong advocate of video for PJs), routinely use video exclusively in the field. Single frames are “grabbed” and used in print while video presentations go online. Talk about getting the best of both worlds with little fuss!

High Definition video (HDV) is the technology that makes this possible. The use of HDV in pressrooms can only increase as the tech improves. The concept of a PJ as someone capturing “photos” will change. What we will have are hybrid entities capable of capturing photos, video and sound from the field and amalgamating that into slick Flash presentations online with the print editions using a few frames as secondary outlets.

It is really a matter of when, not whether. The smart PJs are already at work, experimenting with this new medium of expression. The tools may change. But this is one way we have found to survive and continue with our passion – which is making good images.

The cheese has moved, it's time to move to new cheese.

Why Multimedia Journalism?

I am a photojournalist and love working on longer projects. But the more I think of it, the more I am convinced, the print news industry is simply not the equipped for good visual work. Now don't get me wrong. It's amazing to see your work printed in 5-6 columns in the print edition. But, how often do you see that in newspapers? More often that not, all a pj can expect is a small 2-3 column space squeezed in between ads and text. The news space (or news hole) is constantly decreasing.

Unfortunately for pjs in India, newspapers are making good money and are content to let things be. Unlike their counterparts in the US and UK (who are struggling with falling readership and revenues), publishers in India see no real purpose of an online edition other than “Yea, its good to be there”.

But to me the most exciting aspect of the internet is the freedom to choose the medium to best convey the story. Add to that, the absence of the usual print constraint of “lack of space” and we have a killer combination. On the internet, a story could be told using any or all media based on the requirement – audio for the cracking voice of the ageing mother, video for a tour of the hell in which she works, still images of the emotions as her tired face lights up on sight of her newborn grandson and text for the background issues involving people living on the street. Now you get the idea.