The Washington Post has obviously put a lot of time and effort into this multimedia presentation ahead of the Texas and Ohio primaries, but it frankly doesn't work for me.
I don't "get" the use of the panoramas combined with the audio. I don't think one illustrates or supports the other, in either direction. And I HATE that the audio ends before the pano in most of the entries I looked at, leaving me to sit in silence watching an image spin around.
This totally strikes me as production for the sake of production, not something that advances the story at all. And what did we learn? When the production overwhelms the message, it's a problem.
SB
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if you let it pan for you, you run out of panorama before you run out of audio. but if you use its controls and spin yourself or zoom in or out, you have lots to explore while the audio plays. i like WP's pano b/c of the zoom in and out. for instance, i wanted a better look at the prof's necklace and could go in on it. i think these feature work when an audience would want to explore an environment or when you want to give a wide-shot feel to something like a memorial service or stadium shot.
yep, I think you make some really good points Stephanie. I think the audio is strong in parts here, yet the images don't really make me "feel" anything. A strong photo gallery would have been a better choice.
I agree that production methods/toys are sometimes used just because. That can be a bit dangerous. Knowing when to use panos vs. a gallery, or dissolves vs. cuts, or interview vs. narration is much of what I'm trying to teach right now but sometimes editors out there can forget those lessons :)
Having said that, I'll share that during the 2000 GOP Convention in Philly, I ran the streets with Travis Fox during the "protests" that were taking place outside the hall. I was feeding The Post with scene stuff and Travis was shooting video and panos. This was early on in the use of panos but he got in the middle of a huge argument between the radicals and the not-so-radicals and did a Pano. The ability to see both sides of the story and the expressions of the faces always stayed with me. I'm not sure I'm a fan of audio with panos, seems much stronger to me to let the images stand on their own.
chrs,
Fox
Mea culpa, I'll post my question here:
Do you like panoramas? Why or why not?
Sure, I like the panoramas, but I want them to add to the story. More than once on the WaPo example, the pan didn't show us anything. On one of the Ohio segments, the shot was almost completely filled by a bare white wall!
Must say, though, I didn't notice the controls as Katy did. I will go back and look at it again & see if this changes my opinion at all.
We have some events coming up soon in D.C. - new baseball stadium opening, Pope coming to visit - that would provide, I think, great pano opportunities, with or without audio.
i am LOVING the idea of a "pope pano"!!!! my catholic mom almost fainted upon seeing john paul II in chicago when i was a kid. i just was so into the novelties sold to coincide with his visit. my two favorites:
- pope on a rope soap
- a metal rendering of the pope that you hooked to your hose to water your grass ... it spun around so water shot out of his hands and was called "let us spray"
i kid you not. i would LOVE to see an MM feature of those tchotchkes : )
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