Diamonds - Kadir van Lohuizen

Robert, congratulations, this really pushes the envelope. The project manages to create a little world and allows the viewer to navigate around, thereby creating an exploratory dynamic that significantly amplifies the experience. At first I was puzzled: I didnt realize that I had to click on the various images to view them, I figured they would play automatically in a slideshow. That may have been quite a clever little ploy on your part because it motivates the viewer to be more active and start looking round. He or she can click on any image, as many times and in any order that they like. You divide the “story” up into different parts, so again the viewer has a richer experience, more to explore - one can read the articles at the bottom, listen to the photographer’s comments, read the captions, etc. I still have a problem trying to synchronize looking at the photos, concentrate on the comments and read the captions at the same time - I think the captions are just one element too much for the brain. Course one can read them after the commentary has run, but perhaps the solution resides in providing extremely terse captions, one line that defines the gist. Dunno. The cinematic opening was quite fun, definitely starts the whole thing off with a bang and incites the viewer’s interest. I loved the map as a background, the movement from one country to another, and the overall graphics. But above all, what I really loved about this is that it has taken multimedia to another level because it has shown yet another and different way of putting together all the elements: here we have voiceover narration, text, images, compelling graphic design - but no slideshow with a song! All the elements (except oral histories) are there, but reconfigured to provide an entirely different mix. It has really got me thinking. Obviously there are other variations on this theme that we could explore, and it has given me some new ideas to work with. I am in the midst of a similar project, slightly similar theme, and while I was considering a different format, now I have another model to think about.

But one comment of yours struck me as worthy of broader consideration: “This project is a good example of the collaboration required to get a great picture project published.” While it is great that enlightened people at MSNBC are on the lookout for interesting projects to develop (and now in the space of two or three weeks you have brought three to our attention), it worries me a bit that multimedia will take a direction in which only sophisticated production teams will be able to turn this kind of content out and individual producers will be unable to compete. My little experiment in multimedia, El Camino de los Negros was intended to show other LS members that sophisticated multimedia using film editing techniques was well within the grasp of any individual with the right software and imagination, so that they could in fact compete with Magnum in Motion, MSNBC or Mediastorm in creating compelling multimedia. The question is twofold: (1) as the bar is raised and multimedia grows from being a mere slideshow with a song to something more like a film to something more like what you have just produced here, will the individual be able to keep up and produce equally sophisticated and satisfying projects, or will control over these things inevitably be ceded to larger production teams with more resources, thereby once again putting the independent operators at a disadvantage. You see, the digital revolution and the internet combined theoretically are supposed to empower the individual producer, but what I am seeing is the inevitable concentration of the means of production and distribution in the hands of a few capitalists. Dont get me wrong, I am deeply impressed by MSNBC’s imaginative take on multimedia (far and above any other mainstream media outlet) and your dedication to identifying and promoting worthwhile projects. And this brings me to the second aspect: how many such outlets exist besides your own? I suppose that more will develop and grow and undoubtedly some adventurous individuals will follow in your footsteps and create independent multimedia production teams, scaled down and skilled, which will probably be able to provide competitive quality - this is what some LS members such as Patrick Yen have argued. I hope that indeed happens, because right now the only sites that are adventurous enough to tackle these projects AND distribute them are the three I have just mentioned. Good documentary work will certainly get a boost from these new esthetic formats, but ultimately the question of ownership of the media, ownership of the means of production and distribution, will have a huge determining effect on whether we are all able to “soldier on.”

by Jon Anderson | 09 Dec 2006 13:12 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |

MSNBC, Mr Hood and, naturally, Mr van Lohuizen are to be commended for creating and bringing to our attention this wonderful and impressive project. It is pushing the envelope, as Jon writes, in many ways and my hat’s off to all concerned.

I suspect that there will be two types of this kind of multimedia available: the collaborative projects (the large corporations a la MSNBC, National Geographic, etc…and the photographer), and the individual projects which essentially will be created by “one-person ‘bands”...aka slideshows with audio/voiceovers. the individual projects will usually be at an aesthetic/technical disadvantage since the infrastructure required to match say, the global diamond trade offering by MSNBC, is either too expensive or too complex for one photographer (at least currently). yes, the individual projects will get more sophisticated as time goes by, but i doubt that they will ever be able to match the deep pockets and tech abilities of the collaborative projects. and yes, that is worrisome.

Having said that, i viewed Jon’s el camino de los negros following the Mr van Lohuizen’s diamond essay…and liked/admired both equally…irrespective of the different techniques. In essence, although the ‘packaging’ is enormously important and will make a difference, let’s not forget (and take solace) that the quality of the photographs and subject matter do matter…so we must ‘soldier on’.

Tewfic, you may well be right, but I wonder if such productions are in fact out of reach of individual producers for being “too expensive or too complex.” Sure, some things would be beyond an individual’s reach, but the basic format here in this show and the idea behind it could surely be adapted to one producer’s means. It has got me thinking certainly. Alot of it, as Patrick Yen suggests, really revolves around that individual’s skills. I mean, if you can learn Flash, html, video editing and so on, you should be able to do this kind of work, though it is very time consuming. Flash has got me stumped at the moment, but the rest has more or less fallen into place.

Jon,

i agree with you…but the key here is ‘the basic format’. sure, the basic format can be adapted by individual photogs…and perhaps even improved upon. however, i have to recognize and accept (albeit reluctantly) that i will always be comparatively at a disadvantage…funding-wise, time-wise to learn the technical stuff and skill-wise. i know that by the time i learn what is needed to produce a piece like MSNBC’s, they would have moved on to more sophisticated productions. but as always, i think (hope?) there’s room for both…

yes, Flash is killing me too…but there are other simpler stuff out there as you know.

How much do you suppose the photographer made on this? I mean with the Wal-Mart ad for their on-line pharmacy and all…...........

You all make great points. Your idea of this level of production being out of reach of most people is a considerable issue. It is one that MSNBC.com’s media team struggles with on every project. We often feel like we know a little about many things but are the masters of nothing. For example: there was a time when I could make a pretty decent newspaper picture without a lot of deep thought, because every time I walked into a room (even if I didn’t have a camera) I’d look at the light. I’d think about backgrounds. I’d consider wide vs. long glass. I’d look for surfaces I could bounce a flash off of. It was something I never turned off. It was a little bit obsessive. (F 2.8 at 1/60th with Tri-x pushed to 800) I’m sad to say that skill has slipped away.

Why? Because I’m gathering and editing stills, audio and video. I’m often guessing what the final product will be while I’m shooting a story. That is intensely distracting and pulls me away from thinking about the story.

So, when I say soldier on. What I mean is… remain great at the thing you do best. Kadir made an amazing set of pictures. I doubt that he ever considered that his story would be presented in this fashion. He didn’t let that distract him from the work.

Let’s talk about markets for a while because it is the economic engine that supports this whole thing. Everyone is going online, buying bigger, better, faster computers. That isn’t going away. I’m reaching out to this community and just saying, “Think about this venue (online) as you consider what to do next.” There will always be publications that want / need your work to fill their news hole. I believe that within ten years many of those publications won’t be delivering content with ink and cheap paper. I suggest that most will be online. Many will be on mobile devices. Some will be on things we can’t even imagine right now. But none of that really matters. Be platform agnostic, because content will always be king. It’s the story that really matters.

Not to distract from the comments on multimedia, I just want to congratulate Kadir for such an important piece of work. I used to work for Global Witness, the NGO which first bought the issue of Blood Diamonds to world attention (See www.blooddiamondaction.org – also featuring Kadir’s pics) and know that exhibition of the work in the diamond producing countries have really had a huge effect by educating the miners and bringing the issue to more public attention.

Aside from blood diamonds (diamonds used to fund a conflict), the diamond business is tarnished by the disgraceful working conditions that diggers work in – getting a fraction of the cost of the true value of the diamond mainly due to exploitation and ignorance. (See here for the academic stuff http://www.pacweb.org/e/images/stories//2006-04%20policy%20brief-eng-final.pdf) Desperation and poverty are what Kadir’s images show so effectively, as well as the flip side of the story, the ostentatious wealth that feeds the business. Who can look at that picture of the naked woman being used as a platter for sushi and not feel that something is terribly wrong.

During my time at Global Witness I took some pictures of a diamond factory in Armenia (Oct 2005). And Kono the town in Sierra Leone (feb 2006) which bore the brunt of the civil war in Sierra Leone – which was fueled by diamonds. Not as good as Kadir’s certainly (still learning!), but if you are interested they are here www.harrisonmitchell.com/photo

On the multimedia, I wanted to join the other discussion you started a few days ago Jon, but it seems to have disappeared into the blackhole that takes some posts. In one sense, I think the dsscussion of multimedia is the discussion between form and content. i.e. Does the form dictate the content or vice versa? Perhaps some of the disappointment regarding multimedia reflects on the fact that the internet is not as a revolutionary form as we hope it to be. Certainly it reaches more people, more quickly, and enables the participants to become active agents rather than passive viewers. But the form of the content remains familiar: words, audio and video.

As media Sociologist Neil Postman once said “Every technology has an inherent bias, a predisposition towards being used certain ways and not others.” In my opinion, the most innovative multimedia content on the internet, is that which make use of the web’s advantage over other medias. Which to me are projects which involves more audience participation either through their submissions or through giving the audience the ability to further reach out and discover new things (the simpliest form being links).

I like the MSNBC piece for making the visitor active and placing the exhibition so firmly in real geographical space and real social situations. It is very effective. But would taking advantage of the internet be further facilitating audience participation? Discussions, personal stories, educational material, write/call-ins from diggers in Africa. Or simply links to outside content that already has this available. Perhaps this is too much work for too little pay off? But as the world becomes more mobile, will this become easier, or will it still be the case that most people will give more of a damn about the sports pages than important social issues?

Just some thoughts,

Harrison

You mean this one on Storytelling or this one on Gaming and Narrative Structure

Lots to choose from there!

The one on storytelling was where I meant to post it, although gaming is also interesting. I’ve also lost many days to leading the great civilization of Persia through the ages…

I found Kadir’s work just recently. Quite good. The amount of commitment he brought really made this project soar.

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