We put all activities on hold in mid March, just as did the rest of the world.
Then it was time to venture out again, to abandon ZOOM-styled conferences and trade them for in person contact, as in these series of workshops I am conducting in Dusseldorf, Germany for the teams of Handelsblatt, the financial daily, and its sister publication, the weekly financial magazine, Wirtschaft Woche.
Editors, journalists and visual storytellers from both titles join me each day for a day-long workshop where I introduce them to mobile, linear storytelling, then they proceed to apply what they learn. The results have been monumentally satisfying. I am proud of how stories that start as text only, tailored for print, develop into visually engaging stories crafted for mobile consumption.
How the workshop works
I usually start with a 90 minute presentation that deals with the basics of my book, The Story: Transformation (and the need to change and an open mind to new forms of communicating), Storytelling (how we craft stories for mobile), Design (how do we incorporate story structures, typography, grids and color into the smallest canvas of them all–the screen of a phone?).
Following that, the participants then select stories they have published which lend themselves for mobile, linear storytelling treatments.
The process begins with a paper sketch to outline how text and visual assets will play together as the reader scrolls through the story, as we see in the sketch below.
The participants are then separated into groups of 3 or 4 to create a linear story, crafted specifically for mobile consumption. A few hours later, they emerge with their creations, which they share with the rest of the group. I am always mesmerized by what I see, how the participants learn a new way of writing/editing/designing and how convincing the results are, allowing them to start thinking mobile.
Start planning for the small screen
As I always remind everyone in the workshop : start creating for the small platform, then adapt to the larger canvases of laptops, desktops and print. It works!
However, the more I conduct these workshops the more I realize that the ultimate results are achieved when reporters/writers accept that linear storytelling is the way to go and craft their stories accordingly as they write them.
First screens for revamped stories
Take a look here at how various groups presented their stories for mobile, starting with a first screen that seduces and invites.
Mario’s speaking engagements
Association Media & Publishing
October 22
Keynote: Mobile Storytelling
Middle East Conference.
Nov. 3
Keynote: How we tell stories in the mobile age
WAN IFRA Event
https://events.wan-ifra.org/events/middle-eastern-media-leaders-esummit
Rodman Media
November 19 (virtual)
Newsroom Mobile Storytelling Training
Professors: get your review version of The Story on time for fall classes
As an academic, I know the importance of having the right tools to advance our students, especially on the important subject of mobile storytelling. Please drop me an email if you would like to sample The Story in its digital edition: mario@garciamedia.com
The full trilogy of The Story now available–3 books to guide you through a mobile first strategy. Whether you’re a reporter, editor, designer, publisher, corporate communicator, The Story is for you! https://amazon
TheMarioBlog post # 3260