The headline fits into the traditional weekly magazine style head: The Nights When New York Felt Alive Again. The rest of how the story is presented, however, has little to do with anything we would describe as traditional.
Basically, I would not interrupt my South Florida time in the sun to tell you about another typical linear story crafted for mobile.
Those are now more common, and, especially at the Times, they have become part of what we have come to expect.
This story is different, however. It represents perhaps a turning point for the Times. Having mastered the craft of mobile storytelling through text and images/videos, it now introduces us here to a winning combo, one for which I have not found the perfect term yet.
Let’s say that is a mode of mobile storytelling that combines documentary film with photography. It is also an excellent mix of video, text and photos.
Sometimes, as we read the text, we see a vibrant video in the background. Suddenly, the text takes us into a traditional linear storytelling format, with text that leads to photos, only to reverse to the documentary film concept in the background.
Why is this important?
Every reporter, editor and designer needs to become aware of how to tell stories differently, and, especially, more adaptable to the small screen of the phone, where so many in the audience are getting their information.
I am sure we will see more stories told this way. While taking the sun and lying on a raft at the pool, I will be thinking of the best way to describe this storytelling technique. Help me with your own ideas: mario@garciamedia.com
Think about it: the tools utilized here are nothing new. There is documentary film as we have seen on TV for years, there are photo essays that we could have enjoyed in a copy of LIFE Magazine in the 1950s. And there is, of course, the narrative text. It is the efficiently mix combination that makes it a genre of its own.
Key words: documentary film, photo essay, linear storytelling, mobile.
Let’s think about it together.
Take a look at the story here, preferably on your mobile device:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/05/nyregion/new-york-nightlife-photos-covid.html
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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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TheMarioBlog post # 3320