Time To Talk About Online Video

A leading photojournalist with the Washington Post has revealed the creative process behind his latest online video.

Travis Fox talked to Poynter Online about his new film on female entrepreneurs in Rwanda and also offered his views on how to produce effective video for the web.

And the main theme of the discussion was timing – so here’s an overview of Fox’s ideas on the ideal length for online video.

Firstly, Fox pointed out that there are major cultural differences between producing packages for TV and for online newspapers when it comes to timing.

He stated that journalists at the Post “let the story dictate the time, not the time dictate the story” because time is not the all-important factor that it is with TV news.

“On TV, if viewers lose interest with a story, they change the channel and you’ve lost them.

“If viewers lose interest with a video online, they often just click on the next video, or maybe go to an article or blog on the same site.

“We haven’t lost them as viewers like on TV.”

Fox also noted another crucial difference between TV and online is related to the culture surrounding newspapers and how they are read.

“When was the last time you picked up the Washington Post and read every article all the way through?

“We hope you do, but recognise that’s not how our readers use the paper.”

Fox made it clear that he doesn’t believe every video should be ten minutes long, but does think there is room for variation and it certainly shouldn’t be a rule of 90 seconds per video.

And finally, Fox recommended that journalists can usually enhance longer online videos by splitting them up into chapters.

The full text of Fox’s interview, including details of the equipment he uses, is available at Poynter Online.