a week of multimedia

Over the past week, I had the opportunity to watch some amazing examples of visual storytelling today and listen to conversations from its leading practitioners, thanks to the World Press Photo multimedia judging. Now in its third year, I have seen the contest grow from the inaugural year to a refined look at what's going on in the world of multimedia. In the last days, I watched about 50 of the 287 submitted productions, observing the process as the jury narrowed it down to the final selection and interviewing judges about the winners.

Here is the list of the winners, with two of my favorites embedded below. I can also highly recommend 'Dreams on Freewheels' coming out of China. And all the interactive productions are worth the time to explore.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyaBky73b18&w=560&h=315]

Online Shorts 1st Into the Shadows 2nd Living with a Secret 3rd Aleppo Battleground

Online Features 1st Too Young to Wed 2nd Dying for Relief: Bitter Pills 3rd Dreams on Freewheels

Interactive Documentary 1st Alma: A Tale of Violence 2nd Bear 71 3rd Lost and Found Honorable Mention UnknownSpring

[vimeo vimeo.com/50982590 w=500&h=400]

And below, interviewing Samuel Bollendorff with my favorite cameraman.

out of sight

The last month has found me in the midst of a major content production period at work and the heat is on until the moment I board a plane to Seattle tomorrow.

For those who don't know, my job involves creating and publishing online content related to photojournalism. The last weeks have been filled with interviews, editorial work, website updates, multimedia productions, and an abundance of photography and photographers. It's an exciting time, but has required all my focus - the reason why things have been a bit quiet around small sight.

So, it's time for an update. On Saturday, we launched an iPad app. A colleague and I have spent a few months together working on the photo app with a team of developers and I was thrilled when it went out into the world. Last weekend marked the annual Awards Days where photographers from around the world gather in Amsterdam. This year there was a lot of talk around our new multimedia contest and the announcement of winners. In between moments of watching photographers present their work and screening multimedia productions, I was heading up the production team that interviewed 20 photographers about their work. In between all that, I sat down with Nancy Donaldson, a multimedia producer at The New York Times, to talk about multimedia. Interview coming soon.

The real work has centered around the new website that we hoped would go online about now. A number of development delays have come up, but it does deserve a post of its own. For now, I am off across the ocean in the morning, but I will leave you with a recommendation to enjoy the stories of the photographers and view these impressive multimedia productions.

(photo via).

Weekend Links #21

Well, it's Thursday, not quite the weekend anymore, but I wanted to send out the weekend links I put together for my faithful readers. New and exciting projects at work have scrambled my familiar schedule and I'm still figuring out how to stay on top of my personal projects. Hope those of you in the northern hemisphere are also enjoying the first signs of spring!

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed last week: 1. Listening to an evening of The Decemberists at Paradiso. Just the bit of Pacific NW that I needed (pictured above via) 2. Stretching my writing muscles in a weekend workshop 3. Watching La Flâneur, a time-lapse video by Luke Shepard made up of 2000 photos of Paris 4. Reading the article The power of lonely (via something changed) 5. Reading The Elements of Content Strategy from A Book Apart. Nerdy work stuff that I can't wait to dive into 6. Receiving a note from a friend that reminded me of the importance of public broadcasting. To support NPR and PBS, sign this petition 7. Viewing amazing productions during a new multimedia contest (Blanco by Stefano De Luigi pictured below)

Weekend Links #2

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things that I have enjoyed throughout the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed online this week: 1. Looking at the photography from 1010, a photographic project with 10 photographs from 10 photographers taken on 10/10/10 (above image by Hilda Grahnat - what is it about cobblestone in Berlin that is so recognizable?) 2. Watching a short video about Tokyo (via The Dreamer gallery) 3. Wishing for the Juliette Hogan Winter 10 'so pretty it hurts' collection. Yes, it does. Especially with no stockists or boutiques in Europe (image below) 4. Listening to the lovely song Chaka Chaka by Las Acevedo on NPR Alt Latino 5. Watching this short video about desk spaces (via the post family) 6. Exploring Out My Window, an interactive multimedia project by Katherina Cizek (via @michabruinvels)

Snowbound

The beautiful multimedia production Snowbound by Lisa Robinson (for Fotofest) begins with the sound of crunching snow. As we stand now in the thick of summer, humid and cloudy here in Amsterdam, I loved this peek into the quiet season  of winter.

For five long winters, Lisa M. Robinson photographed in snow from New York to Colorado. The resulting color photographs become almost monochromatic in the snow and ice, distilled to their essential parts not unlike the deepest states of meditation.

While on the surface, these images seem to have captured moments in time, there is an implied suggestion of time passage and life cycles. Within the heart of a spare winter, other seasons emerge. These scenes suggest, upon contemplation, the temporal nature of all things. In the midst of seeming emptiness, layers of life and contrast slowly emerge.

(via mediastorm)

The Countdown Begins

Just one week left until the 2010 World Cup kicks off in South Africa. I'll be heading to Johannesburg during part of the championships (yea!) to work with the journalists from Twenty Ten, who will be providing a uniquely African view of the event with multimedia productions, articles, radio broadcasts and lots of beautiful photography.

The above image is from a photo series by the South African photographer Simone Scholtz called Transformations, which captures the evolution of Black Stars fans from average Ghanaians to painted supporters ready to cheer their team on.

The Backstory

Several productions give a closer glimpse of the photographers who won World Press Photo awards this year and the stories behind their photos. Pietro Masturzo discusses his career in 'Talking about Photography' and video interviews present a firsthand account from the photographers. Highlights include Charles Ommanney, Eugene Richards, Kent Klich, Gareth Copley, Olivier Laban-Mattei and Malick Sibidé.

Photo by Pietro Masturzo

The Jazz Loft Project

The Jazz Loft Project is an archive project profiled in a multimedia production from The New York Times. The production features photography and audio content from the archive of W. Eugene Smith, captured from the unique perspective of his loft building (via Micha).

From 1957 to 1965, the photographer W. Eugene Smith exposed 1,447 rolls of film to record the goings-on inside his loft building, as well as scenes from street life visible from his windows. He also made 4,000 hours of audio recordings that captured random conversations, phone calls, radio programs and, above all, many legendary musicians of the day, who came to the building to hang out, rehearse and jam.

Twenty Ten: Spotlight on African journalism

The recently launched website Twenty Ten provides an African perspective of football, its social and cultural role in Africa and the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. The site showcases photography, text, radio and multimedia content created by African journalists. I highly recommend the multimedia production Our Soweto pitch by Samantha Reinders, the photo series Arab representation by Mohamed Abdou and the radio broadcast Football and academics by Rosemary Mroba Gaisie.