The online journalism diploma module at JOMEC
Daniel Meadows - Finding Humanity's form
Daniel Meadows, photographer, digital storyteller, JOMEC lecturer and one-time bus-dweller spoke today about his experiences in digital journalism.
He extolled the virtues of the media's digitisation and pointed out that our generation would be the one to shape this digital age, with its three promises of interactivity, conversation and democracy.
An idea that really appealed to me was that of working within a form, Daniel cited postcards and sonnets as examples of a rigid structure within which the writer can be as creative and unique as they wish.
It reminded me of my A-level art class, when everyone had to produce an A5 book of ideas and explorations of techniques to accompany a final piece. Mine was shambolic and crowded, with layers and layers of things stuck onto each page, but all together the students' small, spiral-bound books with their diverse content became a new form, and the chaos within each one became interesting and digestible, capturing each person's creative process.
Daniel's quest has been to find a form which captures humanity, and his answer has been the digital story: two minute film clips using a person's images, script and voiceover to tell their tale. Crucially he is giving the masses a chance to participate, taking his workshop all over Wales and teaching anyone who wants to know how to use recording equipment and computers to create their own digital story.
It means that everyone has the potential to engage with an audience through a digital story, and that is important. Like CDs, Sonnets and Postcards, the digital stories look uniform from a distance, but get a little closer and their diversity is astounding.
He extolled the virtues of the media's digitisation and pointed out that our generation would be the one to shape this digital age, with its three promises of interactivity, conversation and democracy.
An idea that really appealed to me was that of working within a form, Daniel cited postcards and sonnets as examples of a rigid structure within which the writer can be as creative and unique as they wish.
It reminded me of my A-level art class, when everyone had to produce an A5 book of ideas and explorations of techniques to accompany a final piece. Mine was shambolic and crowded, with layers and layers of things stuck onto each page, but all together the students' small, spiral-bound books with their diverse content became a new form, and the chaos within each one became interesting and digestible, capturing each person's creative process.
Daniel's quest has been to find a form which captures humanity, and his answer has been the digital story: two minute film clips using a person's images, script and voiceover to tell their tale. Crucially he is giving the masses a chance to participate, taking his workshop all over Wales and teaching anyone who wants to know how to use recording equipment and computers to create their own digital story.
It means that everyone has the potential to engage with an audience through a digital story, and that is important. Like CDs, Sonnets and Postcards, the digital stories look uniform from a distance, but get a little closer and their diversity is astounding.
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