How do you #GoLive?

What's the difference between Twitter Live and Periscope? I see the camera button beneath the cursor when I open a window to tweet. And the latter, which Twitter acquired in 2015, is installed on my iPhone – still waiting to be loved. But shouldn't they be doing the same job, allowing smartphone owners to live stream any time anywhere and get instant feedback?

I have another important question. Is anyone regularly using these tools beyond early adopter types, X Factor hopefuls and wannabe celebrities? Who are the must-follow live streamers? How is the company working to nurture its broadcaster community, one that has been largely underserved as this Mashable article explains? And what about Facebook Live, Instagram Live and YouTube Live? Everyone is going live. Where does Twitter fit in?

Only one place to go for answers and that’s London HQ, of course. There, among a small industry crowd, I was given a short presentation about the different ways that people are harnessing the service, from popular individuals like Emmy Award-winning storm chaser Jeff Piotrowski to power publishers like Buzzfeed.

Our host also gave us a glimpse into the future. One key update was that Twitter plans to combine Twitter Live and Periscope to create the go-to live broadcast platform, one that can be accessed and navigated in as fewer clicks as possible like Snapchat. A sensible move for a company that wants to be what’s ‘now’ (or rather “what’s happening in the world and what people are talking about right now”).  

Although it’s important to appeal to the general public, both in terms of deepening the pool of available streams and clocking up viewers to woo advertisers, it is clear that brands are also key targets for Twitter. This is a business, after all. Hence the recent launch of Twitter Studio for publishers. Jo Kelly, Twitter’s Head of News EMEA, said that, “The priority is working with news organisations to monetise their content, taking clips from their live streams to market.” This could be in the form of breaking news (Bloomberg is a partner), pre-planned events ( eg Live Nation concerts and Wimbledon) or special programming (Gatorade's #TheBuzz and PopBuzz). 

According to their Q4 2017 shareholder letter, Twitter live-streamed more than 1,140 events (up from 830 in Q3) and made 22 new partnerships (nine of which were international). It will be interesting to see how the interests of consumers and brands each impact product development.

Twitter live-streaming statistics from the company's Q4 2017 shareholder letter

Part two of the evening was a panel discussion featuring Evan Hansen (Editor-in-chief of @periscopetv and ex-Wired), John McHugh (Co-founder of news agency @verifeyemedia) and Ryan Broderick (Deputy Global News Director at Buzzfeed). Some good points came out of that conversation. Hansen was predictably buoyant about the service, saying that, “So much of broadcasting has been the fourth wall and distancing yourself from the story. This is more engaging and allows the person streaming to really use the camera to help inform.”

And referring to the more news-driven political reports, he pointed out that, “The arc of these stories is often a lot longer than the initial broadcasts. It’s not just a one-off. There is a whole ripple effect, galvanising people around an issue.”

Panel (left to right): John McHugh, Evan Hansen and Ryan Broderick, chaired by Jo Kelly (far left)

McHugh is a veteran of mobile journalism. He noted that live broadcasting has been around for a long time. In fact, I have covered pioneers such as Tim Pool and the rise of smartphone-wielding citizen journalists on this site. But the ability to upload content on site, in the midst of a story, is now greater than ever, especially for those working on investigations. One caveat though: he was quick to emphasis the value of personality and insight when live-streaming, particularly if you hope to make money from it.

Otherwise you risk undermining your brand. “When you watch live, the picture can be shaky, noisy but people want to stay with it to see what happens. But if you are live you need to keep it engaging, explain what’s happening…” And your audience can help you do that by asking things you haven’t even thought of. It's not all about flying hearts.

Broderick is an engaging presenter/commentator. He has live-streamed reports everywhere from pro-union protests in Barcelona to North Korea demonstrations at the Winter Olympics. For him, Periscope is “an incredible opportunity to get right in there.” But it goes beyond that. Buzzfeed is still fighting for credibility in the media industry. “We really want to showcase that we have reporters and they know things,” he said. However, he was concerned about the issue of consent as you are putting people live on camera like never before.

Overall I did come away with more questions than answers, many of which Hansen echoed. For instance, how is Twitter going to verify and manage all this user-generated content? Streams could easily be misleading – “context isn’t always there with live,” as he put it. One solution could be to aggregate several feeds/cameras from one event or scene. Safeguarding is also important. Remember last year’s stories about viewers grooming children on the platform?

But let’s finish on a more optimistic note. Well, two actually. Personalisation is always a big carrot for users. So imagine if Twitter could recommend the best content for you using machine learning. That would be invaluable. Secondly, Hansen anticipates a new realm streaming-inspired documentary. “Where could live video go next?” he asks. “What can that bring us in terms of understanding what’s going on in the world and our enhancing our empathy? 

Let's get out there and find out.

A Snapchat story

It's not my go-to app but occasionally someone does something interesting with Snapchat. There is editor Yusuf Omar and his mobile team at the Hindustan Times, for example. They have covertly reported on the drugs problem in Punjab and discreetly given voice to sexual abuse victims. But student Trim Lamba's short film Cracked Screen has taken the social media tool into a whole new realm.

Chantelle Levene stars as a regular young woman sharing her everyday life with followers on Snapchat. She goes to the gym, goofs around with friends, dances in her bedroom to the likes of Nadia Rose and airs her frustrations about job hunting, among other filter-enhanced moments. When she suffers a horrific attack, the story becomes quite gripping … and disturbing.

Having read the synopsis, you expect the worst and wait for the shocking act. As Short of the Week's Chelsea Lupkin points out, "You’ll experience empathy for her injuries, the betrayal she feels by her followers, and a creeping guilt at being a voyeuristic spectator in her undoing." For me, it's the reactions of others, played out through her reactions on Snapchat, that are most affecting. How things can quickly turn nasty, and friend becomes foe. Her see-sawing emotions as the victim becomes increasingly insecure, unraveling in a series of images and messages.

Good news travels fast but bad news is almost instant. In the intemperate and often disheartening world of social media, people frequently bypass compassion and empathy, taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. And they love to gang up on those under fire. It's the mob mentality that Jon Ronson wrote about so poignantly in his book So You've Been Publicly Shamed. 

The title Cracked Screen acknowledges the obsession with image and the power of myth-making in the age of social media. When that image is tarnished or shattered, what then? Where does that leave us? This is a bold and exciting use of the medium. Snapchat, an in-the-hand experience, definitely makes the narrative feel more intimate. And real. Chantelle's character could be your friend. You feel complicit.

The composite narrative – a sequence of moving image, stills, captions and doodles – adds tension and mystery to the story, not least because we only see the victim's reactions. The viewer's imagination then goes to work. Trim Lamba and his team have done a great job on this. It's exciting new ground for filmmaking and, as she says, challenges our conception of what we deem 'cinematic' — an idea that should intrigue and propel us all".

From small screen to big screen?

Mobile journalists are making the leap to documentary and Leonor Suarez is among those leading the way…

The thought of making films with a smartphone is so liberating. I’ve often shared my love for documentaries, and many of you will remember how Hollywood cooed over Sundance feature Tangerine, shot entirely on an iPhone. Now, as Apple prepares for its latest launch, the journalism and film industries both stand to benefit. And this is progress, let’s be clear. Ideas and effort should be the only real barriers to entry, not technology or privilege.

For every old school skeptic looking on as they caress their RED, Alexa or Canon 7D, there’s another person – iPhone tucked in pocket – getting out there and surprising themselves with their ability. One example is Leonor Suarez, who gave an inspiring talk yesterday at monthly meet-up MoJo London. Suarez is a news editor and reporter for Televisión del Principado de Asturias (TPA) and makes 20-minute packages for the broadcaster, working with a specialist cameraman. Two years ago she had never tried to film any type of journalistic content on her phone, and had no interest in the technical side. After attending a MoJo gathering she dived straight into long-form.

One catalyst was the abundance of great stories Suarez would come across from day to day. She also wanted to have more creative control over how the final broadcast would look. Her first piece was an 11-minute report on a community arts project under threat in Oviedo, shot and edited on an iPhone 4 and delivered against a tight deadline.

Patience was key. Suarez had to handle every aspect of the report, from lighting to interviewing. It’s what she describes as a “handcrafted job”. However, the added responsibility also became an opportunity for Suarez to “grow as a journalist” because “filming enhances your creativity”. Since then, she has gone on to cover a broad range of topics: a new wave of farmers in Picos de Europa; Michelin-starred chef Nacho Manzano cooking with flowers; and the Potosi silver mines in Bolivia.

Suarez showed clips of these on the night. She stumbled upon the Potosi mines story while on holiday. Many of us were impressed by quality of the shots captured in such poor light. She said that focusing using Filmic Pro, the “gold standard of mobile video”, was difficult so she reverted to the native camera on her iPhone 5s. And that wasn’t the only useful tip. Here are a few more:

• Phone capacity is still an issue for documentary makers so if you are shooting for more than an hour then always have a spare memory stick to hand. Suarez Velcros one to the tripod, together with a battery.
• Back up everything at least twice. Once to an external hard disk such as a 256gb iPad (using AirDrop), and again to the Google Drive or a similar cloud provider.
• Make use of in-built image stabilisation. Don’t be afraid to try pans and tilts if you think this will help to convey the story.
• Edit in iMovie if you can. Using a phone can be really hard on the eyes and it’s awkward to perform tasks such as editing audio.
• Learn to work within your particular constraints, eg time and conditions. For instance, use any existing light sources around you. A good example is the hardhat lamps in the mines documentary. Keep interviews short and have a preliminary conversation off camera beforehand to identify key questions.
• Don’t feel unprofessional just because you are using a phone instead of a bigger camera and crew. This is the now!
• Think about engagement. That means cutting trailers and teasers with instant visual appeal and snappy soundbites.

Core kit

– iPhone 6s

– Auxiliary battery

– Shoulderpod s1

– Stabiliser

– Manfrotto 500 series tripod

– Joby GorillaPod 

– Rode RODElink

– Rode NTG2 shotgun mic

– iRig Pro audio interface

– TRRS adaptor cable

– SanDisk iXpand flash drive

– Pico dolly

– Velcro!

So what next? Suarez predicts that the line between camera operator and scriptwriter will continue to blur as journalists become more adept at visualising the stories they want to tell. Judging by her next project about the last days of the Spanish Civil War, Suarez will also be experimenting with form and narrative, making the most of the iPhone’s close-up capability and employing other techniques such as reconstruction.

As the technology becomes even more powerful and compact, reporters will be able to get right into the nooks and crannies of a piece to capture amazing footage. A mine, an attic, an ants’ nest… Given time, space and money, filmmakers would still prefer traditional broadcast set-ups for capturing footage to air on giant home TVs. But there are advantages to using a smartphone, not least because people are familiar with them. Hence, they are put at ease.

"I didn't have to take a camera crew with me, says RTE new co-ordinator Eleanor Mannion, who shot an hour-long documentary called The Collectors on an iPhone 6s Plus in 4K for RTE. “I could just go on my own and have conversations with people about their collections. The medium didn’t get in the way of the story and that was really important to me. It allowed me another level of intimacy and honesty…”

You can hear more about Mannion’s experiences on the production at the next Mojo London meet up on 11 October. See you there.