It’s always fun to revisit multimedia projects at the end of the year when I create my ‘top 50′ list. As I do each year, I must stress that this is my list and not a definitive ‘best of’ list simply because I have not seen all multimedia created and thus cannot create a comprehensive list.

Therefore, below are 50 projects that have inspired me most in 2011. A reader suggested last year that I better organize the sites, so I decided to pick 10 each from the five sectors: journalism, advertising, student work, philanthropy, and documentary.

Thanks to everyone for the overwhelming inspiration and happy holidays!

Journalistic Multimedia:

• Portraits of grief – NYTimes.com
• How does your income compare? – WashingtonPost.com
• The debt crisis: What should Congress do? – NYTimes.com
• A week on Foursquare – WSJ.com
• The death of a terrorist: A turning point? – NYTimes.com
• Arab spring: an interactive timeline of Middle East protests – Guardian.co.uk
• Empty cradles – JSOnline.com
• Victims of gang violence – LA Times
• Japan earthquake – AP
• Battles and casualties of the Civil War – WashingtonPost.com

Advertising Multimedia:

• Holidays without internet
• How does it feel to be in love
• PNC Christmas price index express
• Spent
• The unstoppable tour
• BMW Activate the future
• The GE show
• Skittles Gif rap the rainbow
• Volkswagen Think blue
• The Google puzzle

Student/Training Multimedia:

• Coal: A love story – UNC Chapel Hill
• Soul of Athens: Our dreams are different – Ohio University
• The ration – Berkeley
• A parent’s quest – Northwestern
• Reframing Mexico – UNC Chapel Hill
• Under the influence – USC
• Mountain Workshops
• MediaStorm Advanced Media Workshop
• Four seconds by Margaret Cheatham Williams – UNC Chapel Hill
• In Place by Brad Vest – Ohio University

Philanthropic Multimedia:

• Urban survivors
• All is not lost
• A girl story
• OECD better life initiative
• Slavery footprint
• 50 milligrams is not enough
• Gold’s costly dividend
• The lottery of life
• Skateistan: To live and skate Kabul
• Team V – Food poverty

Documentary Multimedia:

• One millionth tower
• Africa to Australia
• Mindstorming
• A matter of decency
• Brain games
• Half-Lives: The Chernobyl workers now
• The Denali experiment
• Surviving the peace
• Almost there – the Muir project
• Balloons of Bhutan

Let me know what your favorite site was from the past year in the comments below!

Documentary project Call + Response (overseen by non-profit Fair Trade Fund) recently deployed the interactive website and mobile app “Slavery Footprint” asking you to determine how many slaves “work for you,” aka how many likely were involved in the production of products you use every day. Unfortunately I have a whopping 54 slaves.

I really liked their call to action at the end where instead of playing the blame game, they gave me a template to fill out and send to a variety of different organizations asking them to make their supply chain more transparent to uncover any forced or child labor.

They also have Android and iPhone apps for mobile users to utilize while they shop. According to The Washington Post, “Apple has not yet removed the app, despite the survey’s damning math: 3.2 slaves are used to make each smartphone.”

I like the design of the “What? Slaves work for me?” section where the conversation appears as users scroll down. I bet that interaction technique keeps users attention far longer than had they simply displayed a block of text. I also like how they relate numbers to culture for context, such as the fact that Pakistani boys released today would have been forced to work since Bill Clinton gave his first State of the Union address.

For many of the questions users can click on the left-hand icon to fine-tune their response or learn more about how each portion is calculated. I wonder if many users will overlook this feature, though, since it is opposite the “next” button and some may think it means “go back to the last question.” For question six about the bathroom medicine cabinet, I would also suggest they put roll over names on the icons, as some may not immediately know what the drawings are trying to depict.

Overall I was very pleased with this interactive. It does an effective job using customizable interaction to retain users’ attention and raise awareness about a worthy cause. Did it keep your attention until the very end? Let me know what you think about the last question! Did you pull down the zipper?

HT: Paul Franz

Screenshot showing two Youtube videos synced together to play a seamless animation in “A Girl Story” by Strawberry Frog NYC

Many times non-profits make a passive video with a compelling story to donate with a corresponding link. Or, in the case of K.C. Mahindra Education Trust & the Naandi Foundation, they work with Strawberry Frog NYC to develop a horizontally-synced animation film which progresses based on donation level, social media integration, AND a storefront featuring video cut-outs of the girls to entice donors. If you haven’t seen “A Girl Story” and “A Girl Store,” make sure to check it out now for inspiration on how to effectively develop a philanthropic campaign!

According to the Nanhi Kali website, the animation film series only progressed as donations increased. “Tarla’s story progresses only by audience donations that unlock new chapters within the YouTube film series. To ensure a smooth, filmic quality, each YouTube video is programmed to allow Tarla to seamlessly transition from one frame to the next.”

They also have a Tarla Facebook page and Twitter account. Gotta love their incorporation of social media into this campaign!

In addition to the animation, check out their storefront concept “A Girl Store” to further raise donations. According to the site, it has received over 3 million hits and raised enough money to send hundreds of girls to school.

The storefront took me by surprise when I saw video cutouts of the girls standing alongside the list of what they need. It was a bold attempt to make a meaningful connection from viewer to recipient. I think it’s successful in its goal, but at the same time I must admit that it felt a little eerie to see the girls. Perhaps this is because no non-profit has ever crossed this line effectively before. What are your thoughts?

HT: Natural Digitalist

Other posts that might interest you:

• Five ways to rock an advocacy video

In this age of tablets, smart phones, and social networks, video is a powerful way to introduce people to a cause. But on YouTube and other video-sharing sites, real-world issues often take a back seat to pop-culture favorites like “Fuzzy Fuzzy Cute Cute“ (which, incidentally, surpassed a nonprofit video about global warming by more than 2 million views).

The reality is, many advocacy groups are struggling to capture the attention of the general public. It’s time for them to step up their digital-storytelling game. These five tips can help.

1. ASK.

Every now and then I come across a beautiful advocacy video that’s inspiring, motivating, and communicates a really important cause– then forgets to call its viewers to action at the end. Talk about a missed opportunity! (The acclaimed Skateistan is a tragic example of this.) Even if there isn’t a specific campaign attached to the video, you can still point your audience to a relevant website where they can learn more and get involved. Where Hope Works does it well, and The Last Lions takes it to a whole new level by raising 10-cents for every view on YouTube.

2. HUMOR.

So hard, yet so important. Especially considering how depressing these topics can get. I love Bag It for this reason — no matter how upsetting the stats, Jeb Berrier kept me laughing the whole way through. Better yet, when people have FUN watching something, they want to share that experience with others too. Fun = a better chance at going viral.

3. VISUALIZATION.

Facts and figures generally make up a big part of the stories we’re trying to tell — but dump too many on your audience at once, and you’ll risk losing viewers. Animation can help. Check out The Story of Bottled Water to see it done well.

4. CHAPTERS.

I see it all the time — a nonprofit group has so much information to share that they struggle to focus their story, and end up stuffing three videos into one. If you’re juggling more than a couple different themes, consider breaking them into 1.5-minute shorts that run as a series. Not only does it help you keep your storyline super tight, it also allows your audience, likely a busy bunch, to engage in little bits at a time, coming back to it when it’s most convenient for them. Climate Wisconsin does this beautifully. The Answer is Clear, despite its powerful story and images, does not.

5. INSPIRE.

Don’t be so literal! Subtle advocacy goes a long way. Growing is Forever doesn’t talk about what would happen if we were to lose our Pacific Coast’s old-growth forests– but I guarantee viewers understand the value of those forests by the end. Similarly, We Are All Connected doesn’t wax on about the extinction crisis, but gently reminds people that humans are part of the puzzle, too. Sometimes the best advocacy is the kind that’s in disguise.

Want to learn more about the science behind video, film, and multimedia with a cause? Visit www.thedigitalnaturalist.com.

Amy Marquis is the founder and editor of The Digital Naturalist and associate editor on National Parks magazine, published by the National Parks Conservation Association. She works out of her home and favorite coffee shops in Boulder, CO.
Other posts that might interest you:

• Five tips for emerging video journalists
• Multimedia must-see: “A Girl Story” and “A Girl Store”
• Web video: Looking back to look ahead

Documentary filmmakers Bob Sacha and Scott Anger recently published “50 milligrams is not enough,” an emotional account of cancer-stricken patients suffering from a lack of sufficient pain medication in Ukraine. “While late-stage cancer patients in other countries might get 2,000 milligrams or more of morphine per day to manage their pain symptoms, patients in Ukraine are only allowed 50 milligrams per day,” wrote producer Pamela Chen. This project is the first in a series of three short films done for the Open Society Foundations documenting human rights abuses in health care settings. It is eye-opening, unsettling and definitely worth your time.

“As documentary filmmakers, our desire is always to truthfully witness and record events as they unfold, which means we’re shooting all the time,” Anger wrote. “Nothing is setup or staged. Our goal is to eventually become invisible so people are comfortable enough to go about their daily lives. Once we explained to Nadia and Vlad why we were there and what we wanted to do, they agreed. From that point forward, we filmed nearly every aspect of their lives.”

You can read more about the producers’ thoughts on the film over at Open Society’s blog.

I watched the film easily from beginning to end in full-screen mode and didn’t even realize that it was 13.5 minutes long until it was over. It was clearly evident that Sacha and Anger had an excellent working relationship with Vlad and Nadia, as some of the scenes were almost so intimate that I felt I should turn my head.

I appreciated the additional resources and links that were included on the site for those who want to learn more. This issue is simply intolerable and I hope gut-wrenching stories like Vlad’s helps to raise awareness about this inhumanity.

Other posts that might interest you:

• Five ways to rock an advocacy video
• Kauri Multimedia beautifies visual storytelling with “Alma”
• Multimedia must-see: “A Girl Story” and “A Girl Store”

I recently stumbled across “Gold’s Costly Dividend” by the Human Rights Organization. A six-chapter mini documentary tells the trials and tribulations of those affected by a recent gold discovery in Papua New Guinea. According to the non-profit, Canadian company Barrick Gold Corporation entered the country to extract the gold, resulting in countless stories of rape, mercury poisoning and ruined farm land.

In regards to the multimedia package, Simon Sticker over at Flow Media says it best:

“What I like about most of their features (and this one here as well) is the clean and simple presentation that really puts the story in the foreground and it not overwhelming you with a big pile of information, but allow you an easy access point from where you can dig deeper into the story.”

Personally, I wish this presentation had not been cut up into different chapters because each ends abruptly, distracting me from the story. It is an easy watch from beginning to end and viewers are increasingly willing to watch longer videos on the web.

As an aside and disclaimer, I donate to this organization and chose it as one of my philanthropic recipients for my wedding this summer – after seeing this story I’m an even prouder supporter of them and their work!
Other posts that might interest you:

• Five ways to rock an advocacy video
• Multimedia must-see: “A Girl Story” and “A Girl Store”

Looks like I missed this campaign last fall when it initially launched … if you did as well make sure to check it out now! Non-profit organization Save the Children commissioned Swedish advertising agencies Lowe Brindfors and B-Reel to build “The Lottery of Life” in order to give users the opportunity to see where they might have otherwise been born. Using population statistics, the site allows users to spin the wheel and take them on a dizzying rotation around the world to see where they end up. I was born in Nigeria, where 70% of the population lives in poverty. Where were you born?

I really liked how you could connect with Facebook or simply type in your name. I don’t particularly like to hook up my Facebook account before knowing what the site is all about, so this secondary option was appreciated. The site then emulates a wheel spinning (although I actually got quite dizzy watching!) and stops where you would have been born. From there, you can learn more about the country and what it’s like to live there.

I knew Nigeria was bad but after I read more about the child mortality rates and presence of female circumcision it really hit home for me. The site does exactly what it intends to do – make you care about the person you care about most … yourself. It’s so true – there is nothing more than luck to be born in one country versus another. Kudos to Save the Children for investing in multimedia technology to drive home this important point.

So far more than 142,000 users have engaged with this campaign. Apparently you can even drum up support for your “life ticket” and win a trip with the organization to your chosen country to learn more about what they are doing there. Super cool!
Other posts that might interest you:

• Multimedia must-see: “A Girl Story” and “A Girl Store”
• Five ways to rock an advocacy video

Two micro-volunteering challenges on Sparked.com

Many of you may know that I am a huge proponent of supporting philanthropic causes – both in giving time and money. For the past five years, I have worked with six non-profit organizations doing a variety of pro-bono web development and multimedia storytelling. I can’t begin to express how fulfilling it is for me personally and professionally to improve my multimedia skills while helping a worthy cause.

Recently I stumbled across Sparked.com, a website that allows non-profits to post their needs as “challenges,” which individual “micro-volunteers” can then peruse to see how they can help. Right now there are countless challenges asking for designers, graphic artists, videographers, photographers and web developers – I say we rally together and see what we can do to help these organizations!

Some of the current challenges include:

• Design a logo for Tropics International Volunteering Services
• Design a unique Twitter background image for Samaritans Offering Support
• Design/develop a new website for Universal Outreach Foundation
• Edit raw video footage into a promotional video for ICA:UK

You can read more about Sparked’s initiative over at Beth Kanter’s blog.

I encourage all of you to at least register and browse through a couple of the inquiries. There is a HUGE need for our services and I know that we have got a ton of talent to do a whole lot of good. Thanks in advance!
Other posts that might interest you:

• Multimedia must-see: “A Girl Story” and “A Girl Store”
• Five ways to rock an advocacy video

Every One for Save the Children:

“With only ten days to produce the project, the challenge was to quickly organize the provided media assets and develop a script that fit the client’s intended message. Additionally, since the footage came from all over the world in various formats and qualities, MediaStorm needed to standardize the footage, and in some cases, increase its resolution. ”

A Lasting Impact for the United Nations Foundation:

“The UNF provided MediaStorm with nearly 45 hours worth of video from two separate projects to accomplish this goal. However, both sets of footage were shot to give a general overview of the issue. The challenge of the project was to develop a narrative from that footage, which evoked a more personal connection to the problem of child marriage in Ethiopia.”

If you are eager for even more inspiration, check out “Undesired” by Walter Astrada – another recent beauty edited by the MediaStorm team.
Other posts that might interest you:

• Multimedia must-see: “A Girl Story” and “A Girl Store”
• Five ways to rock an advocacy video

The relatively young but venerable humanitarian assistance organization Doctors Without Borders, or Medecins Sans Frontieres as it is originally known, has a pretty serious-looking website. Not that anyone questions the nature of the work of this organization. It has achieved much with great, often heroic efforts, and over the years provided crucial medical assistance and a voice for neglected peoples in crisis, and usually in areas where few if any other medical organization dared to set up operations.

Founded in France in 1971 by doctors and journalists, MSF  opened its US offices in New York in 1990. It made a lot of sense to open a NYC office and create a U.S. associate to get closer and more familiar with U.S. funding sources and with advocacy and lobbying efforts on pressing but under reported international issues in Washington, D.C.

I wanted to take a look at the U.S. website for MSF, including their use of interactive technology, and thus get a feel for the organization as though it was my first introduction, then invite you to look at the websites for other MSF country members – I think it is interesting how both the ‘look’ of the U.S. website and their use of technology reflects something of a tailored brand for this audience. I’ll say right up front that to my mind the U.S. website carries a tone of ‘journalistic solemnity’ that reaches even further than MSF’s associated websites in other countries.  What do you think?  Do you think it matters?

Site Design and Usability:

What difference I noticed right away of the U.S. website is the newspaper-like format not unlike a front page might look like in print. They use mostly the understated  black, red and gray tones of their logo and relatively little else.  It’s even a bit subdued this ‘edition’ – Even the New York Times features a large four-color photo on their front page now!  So this newspaper print style choice makes for an old-fashioned focus on the text – not a bad choice. I can learn from this choice that they consider their audience one which will want to have more text information, not less, in becoming engaged with the organization and the work.  What I am curious about is that this seems targeted to the U.S. market, because this is not the same look as say, Australia, or Italy or Japan.

This suggests that a more ‘hard news’ journalistic,  dare I mention traditional look to the presentation is more effective with their U.S. supporters?  Or are they trying something new here in the States first?

The homepage sets the tone as a serious newspaper and image/film clip newsboard, deep in the action, and I think that is a powerful tool in conveying their mission and also in distinguishing themselves from other aid organizations.

They also make it easy on the home page to organize your thinking – and take action – and it’s all about interaction.  On the left column, you click on an image rather than a header; “Featured Events,” ”Take Action” and “Work for MSF” all look a little like a film event. The right  column rests the eye a bit, with simple familiar icons and buttons for Donations, search options and social media connections.

The ‘Donate’ button in the upper right column is more for those spontaneous “Give Now” moments and the horizontal “Donate” header at the top of the page also offers a donation page with more general information.  When you click there, I notice an absence of a separate “Corporate Partners” listing or page, and instead they have combined it with Foundations. I find that a significant choice, perhaps to keep that aspect of their philanthropy to a lower, joint profile?

Corporations and Foundations are different types of donors, with some different choices in what kinds of support they can give; I would like to see more detail on each of those, rather than the general overview of ways to give that are common to both.

Integration of Multimedia:

When you dig further into the site you will see much more color – lots of video and photography, and some innovative clever takes on the usual features – such as the “footblog” and custom “issue” cartoons that they are running during the FIFA World Cup.

This week the featured story is in fact about a multimedia campaign and partnership with VII Photo that uses B&W photography and journalists’ first time access to field opps for what they headline as a ‘radically different ‘ inside look at malnutrition titled “Starved for Attention.” On the same front page, one can also see quickly in the left column more news features images to click on that evoke a documentary-like drama, (including a feature-length film poster image “in theaters” ) even with ordinary headers like “Take Action,” “Featured Events” and “Work for MSF.”

Integration of Social Media:

Their use of video on their site and also with links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr make it flexible according to your mood or taste – although if you want to sign the petition they currently post, Facebook will ask for permission to disclose your other personal information – you may be better off clicking on the website’s option.

Room for Improvement:

Two concerns I have with the website setup are about linkages. Doctors Without Borders is part of a larger entity – there are 19 other associated MSF’s and also an overall ‘worldwide’ website but none are easily navigable nor even apparent from this site. This is not the only organization that has not been clear and direct in providing access to their larger organizational universe. The universe is getting more unified however, and their shared multimedia campaigns are just one way to perceive the increasing need to converge and streamline access and exchange, even if you retain your own distinctive “U.S.” look.

The second is about those shared multimedia campaigns. There are interactive options to give, and learn more about the various campaigns … but no clear or promoted options to designate your giving. In other words, I do not see specific options to financially support specific programs or campaigns, and I can only assume that is intentional, to encourage the broadest funding – general – possible. In the world of giving the largest gifts are often specified to existing priorities (or to launch new initiatives) so that sort of information is missing from this website, and in some ways I wonder if it is also a missed opportunity.

But they have made their point: Doctors Without Borders US is as much about the serious, professional journalistic work giving that voice to those who have none in the worldwide power plays as it is about the medical field work being done abroad in remote and dangerous places.  They succeed rather well in creating a current online newspaper and aid organization, all in one site.

Other posts that might interest you:

• Multimedia must-see: “A Girl Story” and “A Girl Store”
• Five ways to rock an advocacy video