Rachel Wise – MediaShift

RJI Futures Lab #191: Vice’s Cinematic Approach

Rachel Wise — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 10:03:22 +0000

Vice News has set itself apart from traditional broadcast news outlets with a more cinematic approach to its visual report. We find out how they do it from Maral Usefi, director/producer at Vice News Tonight.

Reporting by Lindsey Miller.

Mentioned in our report:

Steadicam Smoothee
$89.95
This handheld device helps stabilize a mobile phone to produce smoother shots. The universal smartphone mount works with the various sizes of Android and iPhone models. A separate mount is available for GoPro HERO cameras.
https://tiffen.com/steadicamsmoothee/

Filmic Pro Mobile Video
$9.99 for Android, $14.99 for iOS
This smartphone camera app enables manual adjustment of exposure, ISO, shutter speed and color settings. It also has sophisticated audio controls that include visual audio meters and support for stereo microphones.
http://www.filmicpro.com

GoPro Karma Grip
$299.99
Handheld stabilizer for GoPro cameras.
https://shop.gopro.com/stabilization

GoPro Karma Drone
$799.99
A compact drone made specifically for GoPro cameras is touted as lightweight and easy-to-fly using a remote “game-style” controller. It also includes a Karma Grip.
https://shop.gopro.com/karma

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

The Reynolds Journalism Institute’s Futures Lab video update features a roundup of fresh ideas, techniques and developments to help spark innovation and change in newsrooms across all media platforms. Visit the RJI website for the full archive of Futures Lab videos, or download the iPad app to watch the show wherever you go. You can also sign up to receive email notification of each new episode.

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RJI Futures Lab #190: Animated GIFs for News

Rachel Wise — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 10:03:20 +0000

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of the GIF file format. Although GIFs are often used in a lighthearted way, Public Radio International’s global affairs program “The World” uses looping GIF animations as conversation starters to help tell serious news stories. Steven Davy, multimedia editor at “The World,” tells us how they do it.

Reporting by Sarah Sabatke, Rachel Wise and Jessica King.

Examples shown in our report:

You’ll find more examples from “The World” on PRI’s Giphy page.

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

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RJI Futures Lab #189: EFF’s Advice on Best Encryption Apps

Rachel Wise — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 10:03:11 +0000

As journalists increasingly see the need to keep communications private, many are turning to apps that enable encrypted messaging. But how do you know if the app you chose actually does the job? We share some advice about key features from staff members at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Reporting by Marlee Baldridge.

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

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RJI Futures Lab #188: Assembling Social Posts With Roundabout

Rachel Wise — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 10:02:27 +0000

Roundabout is a tool for creating customized, continually updated feeds of social media content from multiple accounts and platforms. The resulting collection of posts can be embedded within a webpage, enabling online viewers to see the grouped social media content all in one place. We find out how it works from Chief Executive Officer Rogier Visser.

Reporting by Lindsey Miller, Reuben Stern and Rachel Wise

Additional information:

Roundabout is one of many platforms that assemble social posts together. In most cases the social walls are designed for events and other big-screen installations as well as embedding into websites. A few options:

Flockler offers an embeddable social wall but also enables users set up an entire website that is just a collection of social streams.
Juicer is designed specifically to embed a single stream from multiple social feeds into websites and offers the option of embed code as well as a WordPress plug-in.
Miappi includes human and AI-powered moderation tools.
Socialwall.me incorporates an algorithm that can “push the most engaging posts forward.”
Tagboard pulls together content around specific hashtags from multiple social platforms.
Walls.io offers a variety of fixed-with and responsive widgets for embedding collected social posts into a website, including iframe or JavaScript options.

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

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Futures Lab #187: Community Impact Newspaper

Rachel Wise — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 10:01:48 +0000

Community Impact Newspaper is a hyperlocal news company that delivers a free monthly newspaper to every household in the geographic areas it covers. The company uses revenue generated from advertisements to serve 22 communities across Texas. John Garrett, founder and chief executive officer, explains what makes Community Impact’s targeted advertising model unique.

Reporting by Rayna Sims

For more information:

The company serves 22 communities across 34 cities in Texas, including Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metro areas. It tailors the content of its newspapers to each community.
Earlier this month, Community Impact Newspaper announced a new partnership with the Texas Tribune.
Community Impact is able to distribute its free newspapers to more than 1.7 million households in Texas because of revenue it makes from advertisements. The company’s advertising model allows it to target ads to readers at extremely hyperlocal levels, even down to individual postal carriers.
In September 2016, Community Impact opened a $10 million printing and mailing facility in Pflugerville, Texas, adjacent to the company’s main offices. The 36,000-square-foot building also houses a new printing press. The Community Impact website features a special section devoted to its printing press — including a 360-degree tour, video and step-by-step look at the printing process.
Leaflet inserts and sticky-note ads are part of the model Community Impact employs, but it also has taken it a step further. The team has developed its own technology to merge carrier routes with databases containing demographic information of readers, Garrett said.
In this extended Q&A, founder and CEO John Garrett talks in more depth about Community Impact’s advertising model, print versus digital advertising, and what publishers can do to stay ahead.

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

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RJI Futures Lab #186: Mobile Studio and Teleprompter App Bigvu

Rachel Wise — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 10:02:38 +0000

Bigvu is an app designed to be a mobile studio for video journalists in the field. It combines a teleprompter with a platform for recording, managing and publishing the videos.

Reporting by Gabe Dubois

For more information:

On Bigvu’s YouTube channel, you can view sample videos made using Bigvu and video tutorials that demonstrate how to use the platform.

Bigvu is being used by several publishers in Europe, including France24, TraceTV, NextPlz, SportYou and Kangai. Spanish news organization 20 Minutos garnered 1.3 million views with the first 11 clips it produced using Bigvu.
A post on the Bigvu website outlines seven types of original videos users can produce to drive engagement. Among these examples are breaking news, testimonials and explanation videos.

Bigvu is available for both iOS and Android devices.

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

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Futures Lab #185: How the Wall Street Journal Engages with 360 Video

Rachel Wise — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 11:02:26 +0000

The Wall Street Journal has been telling stories using immersive 360 video within its recently launched VR app on the Google Daydream platform. Jarrard Cole, an executive producer in video at the Wall Street Journal, explains how this interactivity helps keep viewers engaged.

Reporting by Reuben Stern, Rachel Wise and Liza Anderson

For more information:

WATCH: The Fastest Ride in Virtual Reality tells the story of cyclist Denise Mueller, who can pedal a bicycle at more than 100 miles an hour. (Subscription required to view.)
WATCH: All Access at a New York Fashion Week Show is a 360-degree look at designer Jason Wu preparing his collection for the runway. (No subscription required to view.)
WATCH: Inside Quicken Loans Arena for the Republican National Convention, a 360 view of the arena being transformed from the RNC. (Subscription required to view.)
The Wall Street Journal app allows viewers to watch the 360 videos without a subscription. These videos can also be seen on the Google Daydream app using Daydream compatible technology. The app is available on Google Play. To experience the app, users need Daydream View, the headset and controller, and a Daydream-ready phone, such as Pixel or Pixel XL.
A guide for watching WSJ virtual reality and 360-degree content, and a list of 360-degree video stories, can be found here.
According to Jarrard Cole, the Wall Street Journal has several 360 video projects in the works. “We’ve embedded with FARC, the rebels in Colombia, as that peace process kind of unfolds and falls apart,” Cole said. Another project, he said, took the team behind the scenes of television show Modern Family as they shot one of their episodes. These and more 360 videos will be released in the coming months.

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

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Futures Lab #184: Wall Street Journal’s Daydream VR App

Rachel Wise — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 11:02:20 +0000

Experiencing the WSJ inside a virtual 3-D environment.

The Wall Street Journal recently launched a VR app that allows users to experience the Journal in immersive 3-D in Google’s Daydream platform. The app is one of the first to deliver news and live market data inside a virtual 3-D environment. We speak with Himesh Patel, Dow Jones creative director, and Roger Kenny, design tech lead for VR at the Wall Street Journal, about how the app came together.

Reporting by Reuben Stern, Rachel Wise and Gabe Dubois

For more information:

The Wall Street Journal debuted its Daydream VR app in November.
The app is available on Google Play. To experience the app, users need Daydream View, the headset and controller, and a Daydream-ready phone, such as Pixel or Pixel XL.
If you want to get a sense of the app but don’t have access to a Daydream headset, you catch watch this video walk-through.
The Wall Street Journal partnered with architecture firm Michaelis Boyd Associates to design the virtual-reality penthouse environment for the app.

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

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RJI Futures Lab #183: Personalized Content Discovery with CogniK

Rachel Wise — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 11:02:16 +0000

CogniK is a start-up that helps media companies personalize content discovery for their users by enabling them to incorporate a customized recommendation engine. According to George Jeng, vice president of product at CogniK, the engine uses machine learning and semantic analysis to automatically tag and characterize stories, and then link together related material.

Reporting by Reuben Stern and Xin Liu

For more information:

To power the recommendation engine, CogniK combines data about user behavior with input from the media company client, enabling each media company to adjust the way the engine works.
The CogniK system can be integrated into apps, websites or backend programs.
According to the CogniK site, there are three keys to their system: automated tagging, personalized search, and discovery and recommendations.
The team has recently launched a personalized news bot called Vincent. According to this post on Medium, Vincent was “developed on the Telegram messaging platform to allow users to select topics from current events and receive a personalized recommendation of the latest news topics that fit their preference.”

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

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Futures Lab #182: Making Video Interactive With Adways

Rachel Wise — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 11:02:22 +0000

Adways is a new tool for turning online video into an interactive experience that works across multiple platforms. Adways general manager Fabrice Jaeger explains how news organizations might use this technology.

Reporting by Reuben Stern and Marlee Baldridge

For more information:

To create an interactive video, a publisher can access Adways through a web browser interface and paste in a link to any video already published online.
Interactive elements that can be overlayed include a photo gallery, e-commerce interface, video within a video, text, quizzes, audio, images, a Twitter feed or even a full website.
The finished interactive videos can be embedded on other websites. Because Adways’ embed code is based on HTML5, the viewing experience is consistent across a wide range of web browsers and devices.
Adways provides analytics, including the ability to track viewer interaction and time spent engaging with links throughout the path of the video.
You can watch a step-by-step tutorial of creating an interactive video using Adways here.
A few examples of English-language Adways videos can be found in this online gallery.
To begin a free trial, users can sign up here. To upgrade an account for additional features, contact support@adways.com.

Rachel Wise is an editor at the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

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