###Session: Flash for Print Journalists
####Presenter: R. Scott Horner, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Friday, June 16, 2006 at the Peabody Hotel, Little Rock, Arkansas, 2006 AAN Annual Convention (Association of Alternative Newsweeklies)

Here are my notes, kids. Sorry that this is so text heavy!

###Critical Points
* Pair up a reporter/photographer to create a Flash project
* Keep your story under 2 minutes
* Keep it traditional – beginning, middle, end
* Transitions should be under a minute
* Images should display for 3-5 seconds
* Who tells the story? A subject or a narrator?
* Watch your file size. At 1.5 minutes, 18–25 images are 1-2 MB, audio anywhere from 200-600K, for a total of 1.3-2.7 MB
* Sound design is as important as visuals – it sets the timing of your story, so produce it first
* Audio that you should collect: narration, interviews, ambient noise, music, sound effects
* Royalty-free music is available via a search for “podsafe” music
* Layer the audio to produce a rich experience
* Full framed projects look like a movie; mixing in verticals is ok, but …
* If you need more images, use creative cropping

###An audience member begs the question, “Aren’t photo slideshows just too quaint in the age of streaming video?” Horner responds:
* We have the resources to do this now – we have photographers out there, but not a lot of folks shooting video
* We can display the photos larger than we could a video
* We need to master these skills so that when video becomes the standard, we’re ready

###Programs to use
* Soundslides ($40)
* iPhoto will produce a html output
* Photoshop CS produces slideshows in Flash

###Resources
* Don’t get stuck in the mindset that you can’t produce this content because of resources
* The content is there; you just have to ask for them to take the extra step. A reporter will produce text … and audio. A Photographer can shoot more … audio and video. Graphic artists can give you animation. and source art for animation
* The trick is to get these projects started early because everyone needs to know what you’ll need
* Attend planning meetings so people can gather the content you’ll need as they are in the initial stages of reporting
* Choose your projects wisely. Determine the potential of the project, and how this will help tell the story

###Finding a project: Ask these questions
* Can sound help the story?
* Will movie add to the narrative?
* Are there graphics that can be animated?
* Would a simulator, calculator, or database make sense?
* Are the photos strong enough to warrant a slide show?

If you have two of these, you’re good to go.

###Getting started
* Brainstorm: don’t go with your first idea
* Reality check: time, resources

###How do you integrate these projects with the rest of your site?
* Sun-Sentinel has a multimedia gallery.
* Content is promoted via the story in print and online, and then housed permanently in a multimedia section (The Edge)
* You don’t need to have a specific branding strategy for your multimedia; “No need to come up with a flashy name” — (get it, “Flashy!”)

###What are your staffing resources like?
* He recommends getting one nerd who can do the heavy scripting, and teaching the basic skills to photographers, etc.

###How do you get your bosses to like this?
* You have to show them a project that you did, and let them see that it is possible.

####Random facts mentioned during the session
* Boston University has a podcast on cheap audio equipment
* Spend about $50 on a mike. Semi-shotgun, directional
* Go to InteractiveNarratives.org for great examples of interactive work
* Using the voices of reporters helps to brand your reporters as experts