How to get started with multimedia storytelling

A multimedia story is narrative content that uses video, images, or audio (or a combination of all three) to tell a story. Multimedia stories can include data visualisations, infographics, slideshows, social media posts, interactive maps, animations, and many other kinds of visual and audio elements. 

In multimedia stories, media is fundamental to how the narrative is conceived and created. This is unlike most web content, where media — usually a handful of static images — is typically included as an afterthought.

In digital media, one of the most famous examples of multimedia storytelling is Snow Fall, an award-winning story from the New York Times. Published in 2014, it's still an excellent example of how video clips, photography, and scroll-based animations — or scrollytelling — can be used to create an impressive reading experience. 

Other examples of multimedia journalism followed, including from the newsrooms of The Guardian, NPR, and the BBC. 

Multimedia storytelling has many benefits. Key among them is the ability to elicit stronger emotions and capture the attention of the audience for longer periods. One form of multimedia storytelling, the interactive infographic, is particularly effective at engaging users because they need to actively participate in the story by scrolling, clicking, and rolling over the content to get the full impact.    

Learn more about image file formats for multimedia stories.

In the past, it was difficult to build a truly immersive multimedia story. Part of the problem has been internet bandwidth; another part has been the power of web browsers. A third part of the problem has been how hard it is to build visually interesting stories without the help — and expense — of developers and web designers.

To solve this third problem, a number of platforms and tools have been developed. Over time, it has become easier to create and edit photos, podcasts, and videos. It's also become easier to create illustrations and animations. 

And thanks to digital storytelling platforms, it's also become easier to create immersive multimedia stories without writing a line of code. This means that content professionals — who are often writers — don't need to rely on their CMS, which is usually not fit for this purpose. 

These new tools and platforms can free up content teams to focus their attention and resources on what matters most: the storytelling. And this leads to better content — as we'll show in our examples, below. 

But first, let's look at some tools, tips, and guides for your next multimedia story.

Photography

Photos are an excellent and accessible way to bring your multimedia story to life. Look for vivid, high-quality, and eye-catching photographs that you can use to break up your text. Here are some top tips to follow:

• Crisp, clear photography is a must. No compromising on this one! Anything grainy, blurry, or of otherwise diminished quality will do your multimedia story no favours.
• Don’t fret if you aren’t a master photographer. Apps like Adobe Photoshop Editor can help you transform your smartphone images into works of art. (Well, if not works of art, at least greatly improved photographs.)
• Check out TechRadar’s guide for tips on shooting portraits.
• Get great stock photography from sites like Pexels, Unsplash, or Pixabay. 

Did you know that you can add amazing Unsplash photos to your multimedia story, without leaving the Shorthand app? Learn more.

Video

Though harder to create, videos are well worth the effort. They can bring subjects to life in a way that a photograph cannot. When deciding what to include in your video, consider what may be complicated or challenging to explain through text alone. Videos are also the perfect medium for interviews, first-person narrations, and expositions.

Pro tip: Don’t make the video too long. Multiple, shorter videos of up to two minutes can be quite impactful and are more likely to hold your audience's attention than longer videos.

Even if you’re not an experienced videographer, there are plenty of tools and resources to help you create a professional product.

• Adobe Premiere Pro is great for someone with a bit of video creation experience, while anyone can use Wideo's user-friendly interface.
• For free editing tools, check out iMovie (Mac) or DaVinci Resolve.
• Think Media also has a host of helpful tutorials and online courses on creating videos that you can use to educate yourself before you begin filming.
• Pexels Video and Pixabay are great options for stock videos. But remember, you should aim to use stock video for enhancement, not as the bulk of the content.
• Don’t forget to compress your videos to enable faster page loading and a better viewer experience. Handbrake and Clipchamp (which you can also use for video editing) are both popular tools to handle file compression.

Design

Fortunately, crafting a multimedia story today doesn’t require any web design experience, but good graphic design skills are always important. A professional designer will have their own tools and resources to use, but these can be intimidating for amateurs. The good news is that there is a range of human-friendly tools and templates for non-designers to produce professional looking work. 

• Be sure to check out this storytelling canvas if you’re not quite sure how to turn the idea in your head into a story.
• If you’re keen to include animation, read our tutorial on how to create compelling scroll effects.
• Use tools like Thinglink and Timeline JS to add an interactive function to images and timelines.

Data visualisation

Let’s face it: data can be boring. But it doesn’t have to be if you turn it into something visually appealing. In fact, data can play a starring role in your multimedia story. Take a look at Brexit by Numbers. This stunning example of data storytelling transforms a series of staid facts into an engaging, interactive piece explaining Brexit’s immediate impact on the UK.

If you’re looking to integrate data into your multimedia story (but don’t want it to run the show) in a way that viewers can easily consume, check out the range of tools listed in our Introduction to data storytelling.

Infographics

Infographics are a tried-and-true method for sharing a collection of data and information in a format that’s easy to consume. Check out these infographic creation applications, or read our guide, How to make an infographic.

• Infogram offers an intuitive user interface, the ability to collaborate with a team, and even the option to publish online.
• Users looking to create more than just infographics will love Piktochart. This handy tool helps you build presentations, reports, prints, and more.
• Canva is another jack-of-all-trades program. You already know that you can use it for transition effects, but it’s also great for storyboarding and building infographics.

Your multimedia story can even take the form of an interactive infographic. Just be sure to follow the tips for including multimedia we’ve included in this post.

Audio

Don’t underestimate audio’s effect on a multimedia story. Whether it’s a snippet of an interview, an environmental addition (think the roar of a crowd or nature sounds), or even a short musical interlude, audio can help draw your audience into your story. Here are some resources to rely on for top audio inclusion:

• Soundcloud and Soundcite are both great options for hosting audio.
• Adobe Stock offers plenty of royalty-free stock audio clips, from dramatic scores to upbeat intros.

We hope you’ll find these resources helpful! However, if you still need some inspiration, take a look at the following stellar examples. These multimedia stories will give you an idea of what you can achieve when you let your imagination run wild.

Take note of what elements appeal to you so you can incorporate them into your own multimedia stories.