Read more about the article Worth Clicking: MediaStorm Links Roundup

Worth Clicking: MediaStorm Links Roundup

All links are hand-picked by the MediaStorm staff for your enjoyment this weekend. Cheers! Own your audience and stop relying on YouTube. [Social Times] Trying to understand the invisible array of algorithms that power your Netflix suggestions has long been a favorite sport, but what’s actually going on in that galaxy of big data, those billions and billions of ratings stars? [Wired] See "A Darkness Visible:Afghanistan" take shape, from radio cuts to final output in less than 3 minutes. [MediaStorm Blog] In New York, widely regarded as a gay-friendly city, reports of attacks on same-sex couples are on the rise, one young couple tells their story. [The New York Times] In this multimedia presentation Nichols and Williamson re-create the feast and famine of the plains; the purring, bleating, and roaring of these cats; the fragile balance of lion survival. [National Geographic] “We have no problems with others telling the story. Our own…

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Read more about the article MediaStorm Guide to Setting Up Shots

MediaStorm Guide to Setting Up Shots

At MediaStorm, we ask one important question to test the veracity of our work: does it deceive the viewer? The most fundamental way to break trust with not just your audience, but also your subject, is to set up shots. [1] How to Set Up a Shot If you ask someone to repeat an action, you are setting up a shot. "Could you walk through the door again so I can film you from the other side?" "Will you put your shoes on again so I can get a tight shot?" "Can you pick up your coffee again? I missed it the first time?" If you attempt to direct the action or ask subjects something they normally wouldn’t do, you are setting up a shot. "Would you mind dancing?" "Can we take you to visit your dad?" "Will you turn off the lights so I can get some pictures that look more…

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Read more about the article Time Lapse: The Making of Darkness Visible Afghanistan

Time Lapse: The Making of Darkness Visible Afghanistan

In 2011, along with Leandro Badalotti and Brian Storm, I produced Seamus Murphy’s A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan. It remains the largest, most complex project I’ve ever tackled. Seamus began work in Afghanistan in 1994. By 2010, he had made 14 trips to the country, producing more than 35,000 images and recording 25-plus hours of video interviews. Leandro and I spent the better part of 4 months organizing the vast amount of material. To document our editing progress, I wrote a Python script that generated a jpeg screen grab every five minutes. The result is a time lapse that begins on June 6 and ends November 8, 111 weekdays later. There are approximately 4,300 images in total: one frame for every five minutes of work. You’ll see the entire project take shape, from radio cuts to final output. And if you’d like to learn more about our editing methodology, please join Tim McLaughlin…

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