Design Kickoff Workshop¶

August 27-28, 2012 Prepared by Carrie Stiens, Designer

Overview¶

App Description:¶

Multimedia storytelling training app, developed for the Android Goal: To teach media activists the simple tricks of journalism and film so that their stories have a stronger impact and are taken more seriously; to make 'minor league' reporters.

Story Maker wants people to see a Story Maker video and say "Oh, that's cool. How did you do that?"

Primary Users:¶

Aspiring Journalist, Civic Reporter, Human Rights Defender User Overview: Story Makers are male and female, ages 19-30, media hobbyist and media activists. They are educated, curious about the word and interested in improving society and/or their community. Most of them have a DSLR or video camera in addition to their smartphone. (More info in persona write up)

Brand Traits¶

Top Personality Traits:¶

Approachable, Trustworthy, Charismatic (ex: the person a year ahead of you in school, the experienced photographer that you happen to run into in the field that helps you with a quick fix) Authority/Credible, someone that you're likely to listen to

Other notable traits:¶

'Secure by design', can trust the app It's clear that you can get more info if you want Encouraging Aware, Observant 'Hey, I noticed... Try this..' Believable Settle encouragement 'Hey, you're more than halfway done! Good job.' Knows what to tell you at the right time Make it clear that your stories will look better; it's not magic, but it is a
recipe Shows that it's about skill-building

Like/Unlike: Credible like a tool that BBC built, app should have authority on the subject matter Not something you would use at work like Excel Not intimidating like a Nikon SLR, but not hobby-ish like a Polaroid or Instagram Unlike Microsoft Clippy: no unexpected pop-up tips Not annoying, not cocky, doesn't pressure, not critical Not too neutral like the Breaking News app, has some local flavor
Notable examples: Instagram

Like: it makes your stuff look better Dislike: too much of a hobby tool Story Maker should be smarter than Instagram
Evernote
Like: simplicity, logo and icons
Dislike: feels like something you would use at work

Messaging (tagline discussion)

- Everyone has a voice at the table
 - Storytelling recipes in your favor
 - Make better stories, easier. 
- Storytelling recipes for your success
 - Make the news
 - Human stories from the frontline
 - Bringing you the art of storytelling
 - the art of storytelling in your pocket

The brand should say:

- everyday, street view, storytelling
 - complete story, engaging, artful
 - accurate depiction of events
 - newly received noteworthy information (new as in different)
 - mobile, journalism

Nature of the Templates¶

Starts simple, then gets more rigid with templates. The Story Maker experience starts with making a simple story (1 scene, 5 shots) that can be built upon for a more complex story or published. The templates are like a baking recipe. For the best success, you should substitute, rather than add a lot of extra ingredients.

Scene (intro, who, when, challenges, etc.) ---> 4-5 shots (detail, long, establishing, medium. etc.) ---> Single shot
Each scene has a goal (inherent in its name)
Each shot has a goal (stated separately), an illustration, and set of overlays

Story Type (issue, event, etc.) ---> 3-5 scenes
Each story type has 3 levels: Basic (intro), Medium (intro + 2 scenes), Great (intro + 4 scenes)
Each story type level has 'recipe-like' meta data: difficulty level, time to complete, number of additional shots needed

Features¶

-- automatic

• verify with developers

Make
- freeform, 5 shot scene, intro template
- choose from story templates: (4-5) Profile, Issue, Event, Breaking News, Vox Pop
- assemble media based on template
- shots within templates have suggested lengths
- overlay shot guides: 1/3 grid, wide, medium, close, detail, establishing (5-10 overlays per shot, for photo and video)
- option to choose a shot overlay in the camera view - get shots/clips from project library or phone's media library
- save unused media in project library (should)
- search function within library (future) - add interview info after shot/clip was taken - add shot info (should)
- re-order shots within a scene - VIDEO 5 sec minimum recording time - VIDEO Recording length advice
- 15 sec thumbs up 'Good job! You have your b-roll.'
- 60 sec warning 'That's good! You've have a good amount of footage now.'

-- automate audio crossfades between video
 -- automate b-roll over existing video (interview audio under b-roll footage)
 -- automate L-cuts
 -- capture video with default app

Edit
- trim media
-- automatically trim to Story Maker's suggested length for each shot from the center of a shot
- user can adjust the shot length, start and end**
- shot editor snaps to given times on the timeline**
- add additional audio and narration after the scene has assembled (should)
- delete and replace a shot within a scene
- add additional audio under b-roll**
- custom edit interview audio under b-roll**

Publish
- add story meta data: title, description, topic (select 1-2 from drop down menu), location, tags TBD
- character limits on title and description
- button that turns on location, default is to display city name, (more specific location options in the future)
- compress video, after scene is finished, will take 10-30 minutes
- option to share on Facebook, youtube, vimeo, twitter, story maker
- default is set to share on Story Maker
- option to keep private, send via email, dropbox, etc.

Additional Pages Content Library Preferences:
- connect Facebook, You Tube, ... accounts
- email
- display name
- photo (optional)

App Dev Overview

Phase 1:
App: Production tool and training guides, Publish to social networks Web: Platform to showcase the stories (In the Free Press training, mentors will give feedback to students using the web platform.)

Future: Introduce social features Feedback tools (criteria, ratings, etc.) built into the app and web platform

Screen size for comps: Google Nexus Samsung Wifi Player, Galaxy 5.0 will be used by training participants

Tech Questions
Are these things possible:
Add a second track of audio to a video clip?
Adjust the volume level of audio clips? (future)
For placing B-Roll over existing video, can we adjust when the audio from an interview starts, and lock it in to pre-determined intervals?
What comps do you need for the Lessons?
Are they built as a responsive web page? (In the first iteration, we will design for the phone and display on the web. We'll optimize for the web later