Brian Storm
Brian Storm is founder and executive producer of MediaStorm.
MediaStorm publishes diverse narratives, offers advanced training seminars and collaborates with a diverse group of clients.
MediaStorm’s stories and interactive applications have received numerous honors, including over 50 awards from Pictures of the Year and Best of Photojournalism, 30 Webby nominations (6 time winner), 17 Emmy Award nominations (4 time winner), three Online Journalism Awards, three World Press Photo Awards, two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Awards, two Overseas Press Club Awards and an Edward R. Murrow Award.
Prior to launching MediaStorm in 2005, Storm spent two years as vice president of News, Multimedia & Assignment Services for Corbis, a digital media agency founded and owned by Bill Gates. Storm led Corbis' global strategy for the news, sports, entertainment and historical collections and directed the representation of world-class photographers for assignment work with a focus on creating in-depth multimedia products.
From 1995 to 2002, Storm was the first director of multimedia at MSNBC.com, a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC News, where he was responsible for the audio, photography and video elements of the site. In October of 1998, his team created MSNBC's The Week in Pictures to showcase visual journalism.
Storm received his master's degree in photojournalism in 1995 from the University of Missouri School of Journalism where he ran the New Media Lab and taught Electronic Photojournalism. In 1994, he launched the first version of MediaStorm as an interactive CD-ROM production company.
Storm serves on the Advisory Board for the W. Eugene Smith Fund, the Alexia Foundation for World Peace, the Stan Kalish Picture Editing Workshop, and Pictures of the Year. He is a frequent speaker on the subject of storytelling.
In addition to MediaStorm’s training efforts , Storm teaches at numerous events each year including The Kalish and a multimedia course for the Master of Arts in Earth Systems, Environmental Communication Program at Stanford University.
Born in Minnesota, he has endured the family curse of being a lifelong fan of the Minnesota Vikings. He lives in northern California's Santa Cruz Mountains with his wife Elodie and their children Eva and Jasper. He can be reached via brian@mediastorm.com.
As a formerly incarcerated person, Michael struggled for work, and found purpose in being a husband, father, and activist. But 7 years since his release from prison, the cost of Michael’s activism is evident.
Nick has Cerebral Palsy. At 35, he still lives with his parents. His twin brother Chris feels a chronic guilt for being capable in ways that Nick isn’t. As Nick take his first steps towards independence, is the family ready for the change?
Michael Thomasson has devoted his life to video games. It’s been his passion and his obsession for more than three decades. He owns over 11,000 unique game titles for more than 100 different systems.
California’s Central Valley produces more than half of America’s produce. But the summer of 2015 marked the fourth year of a monumental drought.
Ulaanbaatar. N'Djamena. Ankara. Kyoto. Manaus. Kolkata. Pittsburgh. Once you leave, no one knows you were there.
The Long Night, a feature film by Tim Matsui and MediaStorm, gives voice and meaning to the crisis of minors who are forced and coerced into the American sex trade.
Hungry Horse captures the spirit of renewal, peace and serenity through stunning landscapes and intimate oral histories.
When Marilyn is diagnosed with dementia at age 58, her daughters refocused their lives to care for her during her most precious years. They try to juggle it all until they are forced to make a heartbreaking decision.
Phillip Toledano’s life is marked by the passing of family. Each death diverting the river slightly. “You see yourself clearly when your parents die. You’re silhouetted on the hilltop, whatever that means.”
When Madje’s dementia proved relentless, her daughter Maggie moved her life to care for her. Maggie documented the liberation from the roles she and her mother had learned to play – a discovery that gave her the mother she always wanted.
Based on 14 trips to Afghanistan between 1994 and 2010, A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan is the work of photojournalist Seamus Murphy. His work chronicles a people caught time and again in political turmoil, struggling to find their way.
Flying in a motorized paraglider over one of the most diverse continents in the world, George Steinmetz captures in his photographs the stunning beauty, potential and hope of Africa's landscapes and people.
In India, all women must confront the cultural pressure to bear a son. The consequences of this preference is a disregard for the lives of women and girls. From birth until death they face a constant threat of violence.
Created with 20,000 photographs and a haunting soundtrack, Airsick plays out like an unsettling dream. Photographer Lucas Oleniuk examines our addiction to fossil fuel - and its consequences.
Three Women is a short film about women in pain, struggling to make sense of their lives. It is a series of stories reduced to their emotional essence. This is a fictional piece but one that is also true.
Once at the center of the U.S. economy, the family farm now drifts at its edges. In Iowa, old-time farmers try to hang on to their way of life, while their young push out to find their futures elsewhere. Driftless tells their stories.
In Rwanda, in 1994, Hutu militia committed a bloody genocide, murdering one million Tutsis. Many of the Tutsi women were spared, only to be held captive and repeatedly raped. Many became pregnant. Intended Consequences tells their stories.
The American family farm gives way to a subdivision - a critical cultural shift across the U.S. Common Ground is a 14-year document of this transition, through the Cagwins and the Grabenhofers, two families who love the same plot of land.
The Democratic Republic of Congo sits atop one of the world's most vast deposits of diamonds and gold; yet it is also home to the world's most deadly war. In Rape of a Nation, photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale explores the connection.
In an apartment above Fifth Avenue, some thirty young people live in a vortex of drug addiction and despair. In The Ninth Floor, Jessica Dimmock enters this world, exploring, in human terms, what has been lost and what may be recovered.
To those who serve in the armed forces, what is the aftereffect of war? The Marlboro Marine is photographer Luis Sinco's portrait of Marine Corporal James Blake Miller, whom he met in Iraq. For Miller, coming home has been its own battle.
At twenty, photojournalist Matt Eich has maturity dropped in his lap: his world-class career takes off, just as his girlfriend becomes pregnant. Together they document their budding lives, as they grapple with some very grown-up choices.
What makes for a life of relevance? Photojournalist Jim Lo Scalzo raises this question in a memoir of 17 years of manic globe-trotting. What he discovers about the meaning of life surprises even him.
Two years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana, photojournalist Brenda Ann Kenneally returns to find those who are headed home. Amid jobs lost, communities scattered, and houses destroyed, what does it take to rebuild a life?
Zakouma National Park is one of the last places on earth where elephants still roam by the thousands. In a land where poachers will slaughter the huge animals for their tusks alone, it takes armed guards to keep them safe.
The sale of bear paws, crocodile hearts, and other rare animal parts form the world's third-largest illegal market. Black Market explores the human passions and ancient beliefs that drive the trade and threaten its most endangered species.
BLOODLINE: AIDS and Family is Kristen Ashburn's intimate portrait of African mothers, fathers and children being crushed by AIDS. Ashburn's work connects us to these people deeply; we learn that only through such connection is hope possible.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq has been a landscape of bloodshed and chaos. Yet in the northern region of Kurdistan, people now live stable lives. Iraqi Kurdistan takes us into daily life there, and celebrates the beauty of peace.
Kingsley's Crossing is the story of one man's dream to leave the poverty of life in Africa for the promised land of Europe. We walk in his shoes, as photojournalist Olivier Jobard accompanies Kingsley on his uncertain and perilous journey.
Millions of middle-aged Americans are caring for their children as well as their aging parents. When filmmaker-photographer pair Julie Winokur and Ed Kashi took in Winokur's 83-year-old father, they decided to document their own story.
For each of the more than four thousand U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, there is an American family undone by grief. Never Coming Home takes us inside these families, to meet the people and sift through the emotions that are left behind.
Douglas Menuez's photographic journey into one of Mexico's oldest traditions becomes a stunning visual portrait of the country — its light, its landscape, and its people.
At 76, Warren DeWitt was single and living alone. 90-year-old Arden Peters was caring for his Alzheimer-stricken wife. In Friends for Life, an unlikely commitment between these two gentlemen eases the burden of old age for both of them.
In Close Up, Martin Schoeller's magnetic, straightforward portraits are pieced together in a rhythmic study of the human face. The world's most famous visages merge with the unknown, in a piece that is tempting to watch again and again.
Tapping a distinguished roster of policymakers, experts, and scholars, U.S.-Russia Relations: Quest for Stability presents the historic complexities and ongoing tensions amid one of the world's most important bilateral relationships.
Rebecca Torosian has a hard time explaining what she does. "I'll just tell this person like I'm a mind-body coach and if they want to know more they can ask me," said Rebecca. What she is, is a sexual surrogate.
At one time forests dominated Earth’s landmass. Today, less than half of forests remain. Deforestation is a real issue affecting not only our environment, but our survival as a species.
MediaStorm’s 2015 Motion Design Reel highlights the best animation work we’ve created for films and stand alone projects.
The Long Night, a feature film by Tim Matsui and MediaStorm, gives voice and meaning to the crisis of minors who are forced and coerced into the American sex trade.
The ICP Infinity Awards intro graphics are brief glimpses created to celebrate the creative process in a way that pays homage to each award winner’s work.
In 1977, Robyn Davidson walked 1,700 miles across the Australian outback. National Geographic sent Rick Smolan to photograph her perilous journey—a trek that tested and transformed them, forming an immutable bond that continues to this day.
As the U.S. prepares for the final drawdown of soldiers from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Soledad O’Brien and MediaStorm take an intimate look at two veterans as they struggle with the transition from war to home.
Japan’s Disposable Workers examines the country’s employment crisis: from suicide caused by overworking, to temporary workers forced by economics to live in internet cafes, and the elderly who wander a town in search of shelter and food.
Gashora Girls School in Rwanda educates the country’s most talented girls in science and technology, preparing them for college, and empowering them to become future leaders. In 2013, they graduated their pioneer class.
As Major Amy Quesenberry transitioned out of active duty military, she asked herself what she wanted to do as a civilian. With all the experiences she had built up over 14 years of military service, she still found the transition difficult.
This is a pair of stories about incredible resilience. One family navigates the unknowns of dementia while another builds a life from zero after fleeing religious persecution.
Syed was the black sheep. When he told his family he wanted to convert to a minority sect of Islam, they put a warrant out for his murder. He survived the horrific attempt at his life, but that is only the beginning of his story.
When Marilyn is diagnosed with dementia at age 58, her daughters refocused their lives to care for her during her most precious years. They try to juggle it all until they are forced to make a heartbreaking decision.
Inspired by the photographs of the Farm Security Administration growing up, Lynn Johnson has spent nearly 35 years as a photojournalist working for LIFE, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and various foundations.
Lourdes Pilco is a middle-aged woman who’s spent most of her life working backbreaking jobs for little money. With the help of CARE, Lourdes was able to send her children to school while setting a new standard for women in her community.
Elizabeth grew up in Peru. All she wanted in life was to attend school. But like so many in her community, she was prohibited by her parents. Bit by Bit is the story of a woman unwilling to be marginalized.
Sofía first fled her family farm because there was never enough food, then her physically abusive husband. Sofia lived house-to-house for almost a decade. With the assistance of Heifer International, she finally built a house of her own.
Since 1985 ICP's Infinity Awards have brought attention to outstanding achievements in photography. The 2013 Infinity Awards films serve as a portrait of some of the important contributors to photography today.
Jeff Bridges is an Academy Award-winning actor. He is also an accomplished photographer. He's been taking pictures on the set of his movies for more than 30 years, capturing intimate and surprising behind-the-scenes moments.
Blurring the line between subjects and friends, Kitra Cahana captures a rare level of intimacy with her subjects. As a documentary photographer, her images explore anthropological, social and spiritual themes through a human perspective.
As a photographer, Erik Madigan Heck does not differentiate between art and fashion in his work. Adhering to no rules, embracing his fears and seeing endless possibilities, Heck creates images people remember.
Looking, and trusting in that act alone, Mishka Henner explores photography as an appropriation artist. Through new and alternative technology, Henner inspects art from the past while innovating in the present.
David Goldblatt spent his life documenting apartheid in South Africa. While many photographers chased mass demonstrations and violent rebellions, Goldblatt focused on the cultural values that led to more than 40 years of repression.
Surreal and mysterious, North Korea was a black hole to outsiders wanting a glimpse of the country. That all changed in 2012, when AP photographer David Guttenfelder led the opening of the bureau's newest office inside the North Korea.
The idea of an African space program may sound funny to some, but not to Cristina de Middel. Through a mix of fact and fiction, de Middel forces viewers to reinterpret a 1960s space program in Zambia in her photobook, The Afronauts.
Pat Schoenfeld, 2013 ICP Trustees Award recipient and last remaining member of ICP's original staff, shares stories from ICP's earliest days and reflects on her continued involvement--though in a different capacity--nearly 40 years later.
After 30 years of civil war, the Angolan people live with daily reminders of conflict. 10 million mines and vast amounts of unexploded ordnance litter the ground, making every step a potentially life-threatening decision.
Southern Yemen is a battlefield. I Know Where I’m Going follows ICRC representative Hussein Saleh as he works to ensure that the organization can provide aid to the victims of the conflicts that grip this dangerous and volatile region.
An exhibition of the acclaimed sports photography of World Press photographer, Tomasz Gudzowaty.
Forests are an integral part of our lives and our future. But unless we can see them as more than an environmental issue, their future may be in jeopardy.
Resetting the Table takes a unique, personal look at the impact Starbucks’ Create Jobs for USA program has had on the American Mug & Stein pottery facility in East Liverpool, Ohio.
Surviving the Peace: Laos takes an intimate look at the impact of unexploded bombs left over from the Vietnam war in Laos and profiles the dangerous, yet life saving work, that MAG has undertaken in the country.
Ron Israeli, MD, began a life cast project as an extension of his holistic approach to breast reconstruction. Lucienne Colombo tells the story of one patient's experience from diagnosis through seeing her life cast for the first time.
Twenties and Money takes an in depth look at the lifestyle and spending habits of Emma, a 27 year old copy writer living in Connecticut.
Drawing on the insights of more than twenty-five leading analysts, government officials, and journalists, Crisis Guide: Iran explores the issues and challenges faced by Iran, and offers a range of expert opinions on the policy options for addressing them.
Following the lives of four refugees and how separation from loved ones has shaped their existence, “Lost and Found: The Story of Refugees United” is a journey into the hardships so many families must endure as they seek to reconnect.
Pulitzer prize winning photojournalist, Deanne Fitzmaurice, films and photographs a young soccer player for Team Up for Youth, an after school sports and mentoring program.
Through the Origin Experience, Starbucks has taken groups of their partners to Costa Rica, Sumatra, Indonesia and Tanzania, Africa to experience first-hand the incredible hard work and passion that goes into each pound of coffee they sell.
On April 20, 2010 an explosion tore through the Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig operating in the Gulf of Mexico. It was, by any standard, a catastrophe.
Portraits of Heroes at Home follows Pulitzer Prize Winning photojournalist John Moore as he creates portraits of four soldiers, and learns of their harrowing injuries on the battlefield and their remarkable stories of physical and mental recovery.
We need more food and we need it now. To meet the food needs of the 21st Century the nations of the world must make it easy to live and prosper and rural areas. Moravavy Seraphine and her daughter Maria are examples of what's at stake.
As temperatures rise and water supplies dry up, semi-nomadic tribes along the Kenyan-Ethiopian border increasingly are coming into conflict. When the Water Ends focuses on how the worsening drought will pit groups and nations against one another.
Pakistan's stability is of great consequence to regional and international security. Crisis Guide: Pakistan examines the roots of its challenges, what it means for the region and the world, and explores some plausible futures for the country.
24,000 children under the age of five will die today, many from preventable diseases. In 2009, Save the Children launched the EVERY ONE campaign to work directly with individuals, communities and governments to stem this tide of child mortality.
Ethiopia has one of the highest child marriage rates in the world. In response, the United Nations Foundation has established educational programs that put girls and women through school, and challenge traditional thinking on child marriage.
Papua New Guinea is home to one of the largest expanses of rainforest on Earth. Many of the Paupan people rely entirely on their relationship to the natural world in order to survive. But environmental exploitation has put their existence at risk.
In many countries, girls as young as eight are forced into marriage by their families, culture and economic situation. This practice destroys their chance at education leading to tragic results.
The Nuclear Energy Guide explores the past, present and future of nuclear power, focusing on its unique benefits and risks.
Combining imagery by Reuters photojournalists with eyewitness testimony and interactive graphics, Surviving the Tsunami reveals the strength of the human spirit in the face of catastrophe.
On Thinner Ice looks at the impact of how the melting Himalayan Glaciers will impact over 2 billion downstream Asian users and the world.
Leveling Appalachia offers a first-hand look at mountaintop removal mining and what is at stake for Appalachia's environment and its people.
In Times of Crisis, Reuters charts 365 days of global financial upheaval to see how lives have changed as a divergent world embarks on an era of historic challenge.
Life, death and the Taliban is a special report that seeks to enhance America's understanding of Taliban history in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Visions of Excellence is a presentation of work from the 66th annual Pictures of the Year International Competition.
Crisis Guide: The Global Economy explores how the 2008 financial crisis came about and what it might mean for business and international affairs in decades to come.
The Global Governance Monitor tracks, maps, and evaluages multilateral efforts to address today's global challenges.
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) aims to strengthen governance by improving transparency and accountability in the extractives sector.
The power of 10,000 shows the impact 10,000 Starbucks Partners had on New Orleans when they visited the city in 2008 for five days of community volunteer work and leadership training.
Life isn't just hard in eastern Congo: this region is in critical condition. And things aren't getting any better. Condition: Critical tells the stories of the people affected by this long-raging war.
A Climate for Life looks at the results of climate change on our planet, tracing these effects from the poles to the tropics and examining how those diverse regions are interconnected.
Forty-five years after Martin Luther King called on America to live out the true meaning of its creed - that all men are created equal - a senator from Illinois becomes the first African-American nominee of a major political party.
Clearing the Air looks at the problem of Beijing's poor air quality and the efforts to clean it up.
Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta takes a graphic look at the profound cost of oil exploitation in West Africa.
Crisis Guide: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict integrates a comprehensive array of audio, video, imagery, and text, to offers an in-depth look at the history of the conflict and its geopolitical repercussions.
Bearing Witness is the story of the team of 100 Reuters correspondents, photographers, cameramen and support staff, striving to bring the world news from the most dangerous country for the press.
Katrina: An Unnatural Disaster chronicles the struggles and triumphs of Gulf Coast residents since the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.
Photographers Michael Nichols and Brent Stirton explain the significance of the recent gorilla massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Marlboro Marine is a three part series produced for the Los Angeles Times, that tells the story behind Luis Sinco's photograph of soldier James Blake Miller and his struggle as he tries to rebuild his life after a tour of duty.
Crisis Guide: Darfur is the second in a series of interactive guides to the most complex issues and conflicts on the planet.
A Soldier's Boy chronicles the parents of a fallen soldier as they struggle to raise the young son she left behind without the financial benefit the government normally gives to next-of-kin.
Zakouma National Park in southeastern Chad is home to one of the world's largest remaining concentrations of elephants. Despite a history of slavery, colonialism, and civil war, conservationists have managed to create a wildlife refuge here.
Crisis Guide: The Korean Peninsula provides comprehensive background information on the Korean crisis and is driven by in-depth reporting via CFR experts.
A Change of Heart tells the story of one man's total artificial heart transplant. This multimedia piece, with images by Robert Clark, is one element of National Geographic's comprehensive feature project entitled Mending Broken Hearts.
Got milkmen? Just a few decades ago, glass milk bottles clinking in the chute signaled the start of a fresh day. Today only a few diehard local dairies still deliver to your doorstep.
There's new meaning to life after work in this latest generation of dream towns.
Take 3 follows the journey of two women who take different paths In their quest to stay forever young.
Jay Singer has been in love with one Brooklyn neighborhood his entire life. He grew up there, pined for it when he was forced to leave and returned when he couldn’t stand to be away. “Coney Island Jay” really loves Coney Island.
Benny is a “certified” garbologist. He collects what others throw away. Benny is also at war with his family. Here is a man sharing a house with his wife but living as a stranger. This is a household on the edge.
Dani Luv is a musician and comedian at the well-known Sammy’s Roumanian Restaurant in New York. Luv likes to sing classics from the likes of Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong.
For Walter Backerman, seltzer is more than a drink. It’s the embodiment of his family. As a third generation seltzer man, he follows the same route as his grandfather. But after 90 years of business, Walter may be the last seltzer man.
In 1987, Catherine Russell first stepped on stage in the play, Perfect Crime. Twenty-five years and only four missed performances later, she’s in The Guinness Book of World Records for the most performances by an actor in a single part.
Joe Soll has spent half of his life searching for his birth parents, in the process he uncovered a mystery that’s haunted him for years.
Ian Willey had his first experience rhyming in second grade. Now at 28, Willey is pursuing his dream of becoming a hip hop artist. The motivation behind his rap comes from an unexpected place — 90 fifth grade students at a school in Harlem.
A family is determined to give their disabled son a whole and vital life. In the midst of a great burden, one small child – with a seemingly endless supply of love – is the blessing that holds a family together.
Nine Digits tells the story of Cesar, a young man fighting for U.S. citizenship.
Using humor and a love of fantasy, "The Amazing Amy" Harlib connects with audiences through performing strenuous yoga-based contortion acts in New York City.
Samuel Hargress Jr. is the owner of Paris Blues bar in Harlem, New York. While experiencing dramatic changes around him, Sam created a timeless place where regulars wear godfather hats, snakeskin leather shoes, and 1940's styled zoot suits.
Brian Machon has been practicing his craft for over 20 years and has close relationships with his clients. When he narrowly escaped a heart attack, questions surrounding his life, and his real family were raised.
Diana Ortiz spent over half her life in prison for a crime she committed when she was a teenager. Now 45, she has turned her life around and works to help other inmates rebuild their lives. Exodus is her story.
Johnnie Footman, 90, may be the oldest cabbie in New York City. His age limits his time in the cab, but he remains young at heart carrying a cigar in his mouth and a cap reading: "Old Dude made of Achey Breaky Parts."
Roxanne Pickering is a Brooklyn resident bound by family and economics to live near the Gowanus Canal, a polluted waterway recently declared an EPA superfund site.
Virginia Gandee's brilliant red hair and dozen tattoos belie the reality of this 22-year-old's life. Inside her family's Staten Island trailer her caregiving goes far beyond the love she has for her daughter.
MediaStorm intern Maisie Crow goes behind the scenes of the September, 2009, Multimedia Workshop, where participants challenge themselves with new technology, share new perspectives, and discover the beauty of collaboration.
The Tic and Tac All-Stars don't need a publicist - they have what it takes to attract a crowd. When the twin brothers appear in Washington Square Park, their energy, humor, and amazing acrobatics have the audience eating out of their hands.
Kryssy Kocktail grew up in troubled family and, as an adult, followed the mythic path of joining the circus. Amid the lights and energy of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, she has found something that she never dreamed would be hers.
For one week in June of 2009, eight professional storytellers dove into what it means to tell a great story, how the internet has opened up new worlds to them, and why it matters so much for skilled people to share their expertise.
A young man feels he can't really be himself, until he makes an unusual discovery. In A Tail of Identity, we meet three such men who, with candor and humor, reveal how the path into their most honest lives led them outside the human world.
One evening, David Sheets read a story about a new basketball arena proposed for his neighborhood. Then he realized the plans were drawn right over his house. Hold Out is the story of a few neighbors who haven't been very easily dislodged.
Evelyna's petite dancer's frame holds a bursting creative soul, which drove her from her home in Germany to a year of creativity in New York. 14 years later she longs to return to Europe, but her newest creations won't fit in her suitcase.
One night a week, the stage at the Apollo Theater is an amateur's battleground, where performers have competed for stardom since 1934. Today, the legend of Ella Fitzgerald lives on in the hearts of those who pray for their own big break.
In the heart of New York, the MediaStorm workshops are committed to training professional storytellers in the tools they will need to thrive in today's journalism. Get inspired as eight pros dive in, learn, create, and inspire each other.
A beloved Italian-American enclave suffers the impersonal tide of gentrification, as committed old-timers struggle to hang-on. In Roots in the Garden, we get a personal glimpse of what it means to watch your neighborhood fade away.
Robert Burck couldn't get anyone to listen to his music, until he made a simple discovery. In One Man Brand, we meet a man who has transformed himself from a penniless outsider into one of the Big Apple's most visible attractions.