Multimedia post mortems

Behind the Scenes: Reportaje 360, “Cali, a salsa industry”

• español

In anticipation of “Cali, a salsa industry” launching next Monday, the 14th, we interviewed multimedia editor Mauricio Gonzalez about the project. Read further to learn about the latest edition on the “Reportaje 360” site, their work flow and why they believe user-submitted content is imperative for the success of their multimedia initiative.

Q) Could you please explain the general process of each piece?

A) First of all, we are a team of two designers, an engineer, and two journalists – a videographer and myself, the editor. First, we do editorial meetings to discuss future themes. For now we launch one theme a month. We then do the conceptualization process of each theme, in which we write the scripts, make the multimedia draft, decide what is going to be video, what is going to be photography, infographic, etc. This conceptualization process takes about three to four days, and then we get out to do the field work and reporting. This takes about seven days, but it depends on each subject and how many locations we have. Then there is the process of editing and designing. All this work, to produce these specials, takes about a month. We produce all the pieces: the photography, the video, the infographics, etc. Sometimes we rely on Google maps for the maps, but almost everything else is produced by us.

Q) What equipment do you use to produce a piece like this?

A) We have a mac, an HD camera, we edit in Final Cut and we do animations in Flash. So, As I tell you, a computer, a HD camera, the smallest the better, so we can be incognito, and … what else? Oh, a photographer goes with us, so photography camera. Those are basically the three basic tools you need to do any multimedia work.

Q) Why did you decide to do this type of multimedia?

A) We did an analysis of what was being used on the Internet and we proposed to generate a kind of news — of information — that the user could consume in a different way; different from print or photography. The first premise was that we had to create audiovisual pieces. We decided to do something that would take advantage of all the available tools, because we had seen a lot of things that people called multimedia and then it was just photo with audio, but they were not using all tools. That was the bet, and that is where the name 360 comes from – it is not only the way we are going to look at things, it is also that we are going to tell the stories using all the tools that we can, and try to reach a balance between form and content. This is what we are most worried about.

Q) Talking about this balance between form and content. How do you decide what is told in what format?

A) During the conceptualization week, when we talk about each subject and we start investigating (beside the aesthetic decision part of it), we think about what is better told through video or another format. When we work with video it is because there is going to be action; when we work with photography it is because we want more intimacy. The infographic is for data. So, depending on what we want from each piece, we decide the format. If we want to be close to the subject, and as you know there is sometimes little time in journalism and we want to have a story in two hours, for example the travesty one, to get that intimacy we go with a photographer and a small camera. So, also a little bit depending on the situation and the subjects, we decide the format.

Q) What has been the biggest challenge for you and for the team?

A) The main challenge was that we started with a blank paper, when we started working here there was nothing similar done before, there were some multimedia specials, but nothing of this scale, so the challenge was to start from zero, but it was also very positive because we had a blank paper to draw whatever we wanted. So we came up with the proposal that we wanted to do in a platform that everybody would recognize as being a product from El Pais, but that we could ‘dress’ according to each theme. So each first conceptualization is a challenge for us. As for the team, we are all from different areas and medias, so to be able to work as a team, it is not one person job, it is the five of us. Team work is fundamental.

As a producer you know all the work that this requires. As a consumer you see it in an hour, and you see the whole documentary, but it is a whole month’s work of investigation and editing. It is very exhausting, but at the same time a lot of fun. I am enjoying this work.

Q) What has the user feedback been on the first two editions?

A) We have had a very positive response from the people who have seen the series. If you see the specials, you will see that we give a lot of importance to the participation part, not only in comments, but we also want the user to upload his/hers own content. So, if you read the user comments, you will see that the people are very grateful. It is a new kind of journalism: dynamic, fun, and people are consuming this information, but not as something heavy, but as something quick, and people are grateful and we also have had very positive international reviews. As soon as we launched bloggers and well know people in twitter posted about it, and they chose us as the 10 sites to visit, along with things like HBO. Critics have been very good with us, and the users are also happy. You can see that the topics are a little different from the newspaper editorial line; we have had a lot of liberty for topics, no censorship. It is very objective work, and that has pleased the people who see there is another line.

Q) Why it is more important to make people participate beyond just commenting?

A) Citizen/participative journalism is very important and nowadays everybody can have a cell phone, and/or a camera and observe. I think that the important thing about journalism is to gather multiple views, not only the ones from the journalist, but also the ones from the people in the street. You want to have a richer view and a richer story. So, if there are multiple views, this is beneficial for the content and you break the barrier between journalists and citizens. Of course, there will always be some differences, but today everybody can make a story and take a photo, and we have to take advantage of this.

Q) What would you go back and change from you first two editions?

A) I would like the possibility to continue adding stories, but that is difficult because of the limited timing. For example, in “Cali, the city that never sleeps“, I would like to keep adding night subjects, keep on growing. Of course I have no time, so I invite people to send their stories. But personally, I would love to keep working on each topic and not leave it there, since they are open-ended topics.

Q) What should users expect to see in future editions on Reportaje 360?

A) In December we will launch a special about Salsa, called “Cali, a salsa industry”, where we will tell the story of how Salsa arrived to Cali, the trip that the industry made from Africa, Cuba, Puerto Rico, New York, and Cali. We will show the presence of salsa in the city, where the different places and dance schools are, since it is a big tradition here. We don’t only want to show the past, but also what is going on in Cali in the musical arena and dancing production.

This special we will launch by chapters, and we will see how that works. Each week we will launch a section of the special. We are in a process of experimenting and analysis of the audience reaction, so we will see how it goes by releasing a piece each week. [Sections will launch Monday December 14th, and Monday December 21st.]

So, the Salsa, and then in January one of the military battalion in Cali. Then we have another called “Destiny: paradise”, where we will show different places in Cali, but that one is not in production yet.

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Make sure to read a previous interview we conducted with Felipe Lloreda, new media editor of El Pais, to learn even more about this series and from where they got their inspiration.

Other posts that might interest you:

• Behind the Scenes of MSNBC’s “Week in Pictures”
• Behind the Scenes of WSJ’s “Silent Shame”
• UNC student reflects on importance of multimedia programming

© 7 December 2009 Innovative Interactivity (II).