How Much Does Multimedia Enhance Writing?
I decided to examine the story from the Baltimore Sun about “German Thursdays” at a local bakery in Parkville, Md. The article was supplemented by this slideshow, which really improved the quality of audience understanding. When reading through the Sun article by Nicole Fuller, one can get a decent idea of what is going on in the scene, but the slideshow really drove the story home.
We all have preconceived visions and impressions of what somebody like Alfred Zeller or Dietrich Paul would look like, and have a mental image based on Fuller’s descriptions. Some people may be more familiar with traditional German music than others, but everybody still gets some kind of idea about what it would sound like while reading the article and imagining the instruments involved.
The accompanying slideshow really solidifies and more accurately illustrates what is going on in the Edelweiss Bakery and Café on Thursday afternoons. The ambient sound was very helpful in depicting the environment. Immediately you hear the accordion playing and Zeller and the others engaging in one of the German songs that continues throughout the slideshow. The actualities were well placed in relation to the images and the volume levels between the music and the actualities were done well. Not only did the actualities match up with the photos well, but they also selected very good quotes.
Some stories might not need this much multimedia reinforcement, but in a context like this with a feature story about music and people gathering, the images and audio from the slideshow made the story a lot more interesting and real than just reading a column in the newspaper.
Nice analysis, Josh!