How comics can invigorate your storytelling

shang-chi.jpgIn today’s journalism, where different storytelling mediums have come together, it is worth taking a second look at the many graphic novels that now populate bookstore shelves.

Graphic novels, what some consider glorified comic books or “sequential art,” have increasingly become appreciated as a distinct, often touching art form. However, it can also serve as a source of inspiration in our storytelling, particularly online. Take Slate‘s recent presentation of the Sept. 11 Commission’s report in the form of an online graphic novel. Some may argue this is entertainment in the vein of a Hollywood film like World Trade Center.

But take a closer look. The graphic novel is well-researched and adheres tightly to the commission’s report. Instead of a writer interpreting the story, in this case, we have a writer AND an artist. Isn’t this similar to a news graphic, which also explains something or tells a story? This is clearly a form of unique journalism that merits further exploration.

As many multimedia journalists will attest, what is new about the Web as a medium for journalism is the ability to control time. Like a newspaper, one can let a reader control the speed at which he consumes the information. Or, one can do it for him, as do television journalists. The Web offers both.

When I create an audio slideshow, write a story or create a Flash package, I often look to comic books a source of inspiration for storytelling techniques. Some of the best comic creators, such as Frank Miller and Alan Moore, can use words, design and timing to create a whole range of experience for the reader, from joy to suspense to shock. These techniques can be translated as which images are used in that slideshow, how one edits the audio and even how long a particular image is displayed.

Let’s take for instance these famous panels by Neal Adams from a Green Lantern/Green Arrow story published by DC Comics in the 1970s, a time when this particular comic book was exploring social issues such as racism and corporate greed:

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Now take another look at these panels, but this time, think about it as if it were an audio slideshow. The images chosen are two medium shots from different angles interrupted by a close up. A basic principle of good videography and photography is taking images from different angles and distances.Also think about how “audio” is used here. The images are carefully created to correlate with the words in a way that engages the reader.Take a closer look at the backgrounds. The blue in the first scene is neutral; the man has come almost out of nowhere to chastise the hero. This is a surprise to the reader. Now, notice the red in the close-up conveying a sense of anger and tension. Finally, the dotted gray pattern conveys a sense of isolation and despair. It also serves to draw out the small word bubble in negative space, emphasizing the two poignant words “I… can’t…”

For another interesting example, take this scene by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely from Marvel’s New X-Men, where an enemy is threatening to take over Professor Xavier’s mind and use it for evil purposes. Xavier responds to the attack by threatening to kill himself.

Surely not a scene one would encounter covering a city commission meeting, but think about the basic elements in the panels. It is a man sitting in a chair; he is angry, and he is holding an object.

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What compels us about this scene, aside from the death threat, is the focus on individual aspects that make us take notice: the bloody nose, the enemy’s lips, the gun being drawn. Using similar “camera” angles and timing, imagine this is an angry resident at a city commission meeting gripping a microphone. Or, it could be the city commissioners themselves contemplating legislation while compelling audio is playing. This could be a pen at a bill signing or a poll worker handing out a ballot.

Take a look at this audio slideshow by the Sun-Sentinel that uses many of these comic book-like techniques. While I can’t say whether the editors are comic book fans, they do use timing, motion and detail in this presentation to creatively engage a reader in what is actually a very simple scene.

For anyone interested in exploring comics as a medium, I would highly suggest purchasing a copy of Scott McCloud’s’ Understanding Comics. This primer, told in comic book form, is arguably the best book on comics ever written and has various sections on timing for effect. For actual graphic novels that employ some excellent cinematic techniques, check out Watchmen by Alan Moore and Sin City by Frank Miller.

Oh, and don’t get caught reading that fluff around the newsroom either…

At SND: Where’s the story?

Scott Horner, multimedia journalist extraordinaire from the Sun-Sentinel, tells us about the key element to making strong multimedia features: Make sure there’s a complete story!

Scott’s right when he says “interactive graphics aren’t about Flash.” It’s often the case that designers get so caught up in the fun of making things move, adding visual fluff and trying to cram everything in that the story structure is lost.

Here are the “critical parts” of a multimedia piece, as he explains it:

-Story (the backbone of your piece)
-Timing/Format (Will it be a slideshow, package, interactive graphic or other? Also, generally stay under two minutes for slideshows)
-Audio (bad audio = a bad piece, with rare exceptions)
-Visuals (graphics and photos, taken from tight, medium and wide proximities)

Scott emphasized that online features should have a strong story, with a beginning, middle and end. Even print packages that are highly technical in nature should have some sense of story. The mistake often made, he says, is that we tend to focus on the “middle” at the expense of giving the reader a resolution and a sense of setting.

I agree that designers tend to focus too much on the “middle,” as do print graphics. This is largely the result of Flash features being treated exclusively as sidebars . It is rare that a graphic IS the main story in print. Same thing for Web features.

Some would argue that Flash features should not be featured prominently in lieu of a text story. That argument has some merit, due to Flash being less accesible than clean text (for the visually impaired, for dial-up users, those who disable Flash on their browsers). However, there is usually a text-based story available, and the number of users who have broadband and capable browsers is rising dramatically.

I believe it is time for online news sites to regularly feature well-done Flash features as prominently as that lead headline. It is one of the key things we can do that other media outlets generally can’t.

Yet, that will only happen when designers and editors begin to create Flash-based features as complete narratives, not as a supplement.

When sources scoop you

Mediabistro features a story today on how a reporter interviewed a blogger and found the entire e-mail exchange posted on said blogger’s site before the publishing of her story.

Take heed scribes, for as Mediabistro’s Greg Lindsay writes:

“So, the idea of sources publishing their interviews and spinning accordingly — without knowing what part they play in the larger story — promises to complicate their relationship even further, a headache that working stiffs don’t need.”

Journalists should be notified that this could happen to them unless they explicitly state the interview is not for publication with their sources.

Has your blog post gone awry?

Copyblogger has a nice, concise list of tips on how to recognize when your blog post is quickly going down in flames. While these tips follow the basic, timeless tenets of good writing, well, even good writers often forget said tenets in their blogs.
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Tips with excerpts:

1. What’s the Point?

The worst thing a reader can be thinking after reaching the conclusion of your post is “What the heck was that all about?”…

2. Who Cares?

The worst thing a reader can be thinking early into your post is “Why should I bother with this?”…

3. Bad Chi

Bad flow makes for bad narrative and confused readers. Be sure that your sequence of ideas is both logical and compelling…

4. Detail Dump

Don’t go off on tangents that unnecessarily drill down too deep. That’s what links are for…

5. The Rambling Road

Don’t listen to the people who say you should never write a blog post over 250 to 400 words. Any piece of good writing is as long as it needs to be, but not one word longer…

The ethics of hunger

The New York Times‘ Michael Wines has written a compelling piece on how journalists deal with the crushing poverty they encounter in the course of their reporting. Wines essentially argues that it is ethical to provide help to people after the reporting is concluded.

Wines, referring to his trips to Africa, poignantly writes:

“So what to do when a penniless father asks why he should open his life free to an outsider when he needs money for food? How to react to the headmistress who says that white people come to her school only to satisfy their own needs, and refuses to talk without a contribution toward new classrooms? Is that so different from interviewing a Washington political consultant over a restaurant lunch on my expense account?”

It makes me wonder: Are we as journalists free, to a certain extent, to take off our objective fedora hats once our work is done? Do we, in the name of objectivity, too often sacrifice a measure of our humanity? And is this lack of humanity, or what some would say is subjectivity, one of the primary reasons that the public’s disdain of journalists has risen to such a degree?

More conferences, wonderful conferences

A few more conferences coming to my home state of Florida:

Poynter’s National Writers Workshop is coming to Fort Lauderdale on Friday, Sept. 29 through Sunday, Oct. 1. Being that the conference is over a weekend and a measly $90 if you register now, this is definitely not one to miss. Last year’s conference, which I attended and was also hosted by the Sun-Sentinel, was packed with many a great mind. NWW is especially great if you’re a student in Florida. Most conferences are far more expensive, but NWW still offers awesome career advice, workshops and networking opportunities.
Frankly, this year’s speaker list looks even better than last year’s, and that’s saying a lot. They’ve got Jacqui Banaszynski from the Univeristy of Missouri, who dropped by the St. Petersburg Times this summer and delivered a helluva talk to the staff on how to write profiles. Rick Hirsch from the Miami Herald is coming by, and he’s heading up soom neat changes at the Miami Herald and Herald.com. There’s Matt Cooper from Time, and my old professor William McKeen, a great mentor (as well as a fabulous resource on The Beatles).

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Also in Florida is the Society of News Design’s annual conference on Aug. 31 through Sept. 2, hosted by the Orlando Sentinel. Check that out too!