Here is what happens when visual storytelling dives into the depth of the oceans.
Another fantastic example of what is possible when a good story line meets world class photography for a rich experience made for mobile.
In 2018 we highlighted a story from Norwegian journalist, Bjorn Asle Nord, then of the Bergens Tidende. That story, Five Feet Under, won many awards for its innovative approach to storytelling. It will be published as a book in March 2022.
Now Bjorn repeats the storytelling strategy with a totally different subject, but with some of the same breathtaking imagery and sequencing, this time as a journalist for nrk.no.
For this story, Bjorn worked closely with his partner and colleague, NRK photo journalist Ronald Hole Fossåskaret, supported by a talented team (see names below).
Why this story matters: Everyone who aspires to providing for better mobile visual storytelling needs to take a look at how this story develops, and the way the visuals were integrated to make the story take aspects of cinematography that make it easy to consume on the small screen of your phone.
Read it in English: The story text is now available in English. With powerful visuals this story is a must-see for anyone engaged in and/or learning about mobile storytelling at its best.
The story line
I asked Bjorn to give me a sense of the story content, which he does here: “Human impact on ocean is the issue, underlying universal theme is neglect.
“But one story frames the whole piece; Rescue of a whale, one of our eyewitnesses, a nature photographer is trying to save a whale apparently strangled by a rope. It is in the hook, middle and ends on the whale rescue operation – when they discover that a internet cable is drowning/strangling the whale … they succeed to liberate him …..
“……and the hero, the nature photographer gets a bill from the company claiming him for 1.5 mill kroner fo destroying the cable…
“It is a huge visual piece with many stories. moving from big oceans to fjords and oceans, driven by images and our eyewitnesses beneath the surface: Underwater photographers documenting what happens – over years – our footprints.”
The storyline is: Hold your breath. Join us beneath the ocean surface, hunting for our footprints.
The storytelling techniques: We have here a classic example of journalistic storytelling borrowing elements of cinematography. The text rolls over the images. There is vibrant video. There are still images. Visually, this story presents a rich palette where it is obvious that the art directors considered the images as “paragraphs” within the story, each one enhancing the narrative. As with other such major, lengthy stories, this one is divided into segments, which facilitate reading and navigating.
The precursor: When I enjoy a story such as this one, I always think that it was The New York Times’ Snowfall that pioneered in this genre. I believe that we will see more of this type of stories in the future, and I work hard with my Columbia University students to make sure they are inspired to pursue this style of mobile storytelling.
Title: SOS for the Ocean
This is the teaser – action – video:
“We are following some of Norway and the world’s best underwater photographers, they are our witnesses, our eyes beneath the surface, and have lived for years in the underwater world and they watch the ocean change – now,” Bjorn told me.
“If oceans live, humanity survives.”
The reaction: The original version, presented in April last year, got 840.000 views and a huge wave of feedback from an enthusiastic audience.
Credits
“We took a dive in our ocean, from Antarctica to the ocean off our long coastline. To see and understand the human impact on the ocean, we rely on accomplished underwater photographers. They’ve glimpsed the transformation. They were terrific and significant witnesses: Audun Rikardsen, Erling Svensen, Lill Haugen, Fredrik Myhre and Espen Rekdal. Take a deep breath and open your eyes,” Bjorn wrote.
Text, photos and research:Bjørn Asle Nord and Ronald Hole Fossåskaret
Design and development:Harald K. Jansson, Vilde Paschen Knudsen, Ragnar Rognstad, André Håker, Melinda Furulund, Stian Veum Møllersen, Susanne Stubberud Rom og Anders Nøkling
Previously in this blog
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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
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