As part of this week’s assignment, we had to find an audio slideshow that was either a) stellar in all ways or b) pretty good, but could use some improvement. I started browsing around on the Boston Globe website, spent way more time than I probably should have watching the various multimedia projects, and found these three that I liked:

The first one, So Percussion, is somewhat weak in terms of photographs (tooooo much repetition, among other things), but I did like the idea of using still images rather than video to present the subject. It lets you focus a little more on the audio, which is in itself fascinating (this is so bad, but it reminds me of the opening minute or so from the Dhoom 2 soundtrack. Except better).

The audio in Dream Chase Farm, however, is a little overwhelming–at least in terms of some of the ambient sounds. I understand why you would want the sound of horses whuffling (is that a word? does this sound even have a name?), but the levels are so high that it sounds like Cujo is breathing down your neck. The interviews and incorporation of racetrack audio are well done, as are most of the images (there seems to be a little self-indulgence going on with the inclusion of some photos, but there are enough good ones as to even the scales). Overall, the whole thing could probably be edited down to about thirty seconds shorter without losing the overall storyline…so this is my example of a “slideshow with potential yet to be realized”

My favorite audio slideshow, though, was The Old Men and the Sea, by John Tlumacki. First, the images (all of them) are excellent. There’s so much variety and color, and every angle Tlumacki’s shooting from is a compelling one that draws a viewer right in. Paired with (correct-levels) ambient sound and strong sound bites (I love the Bahstun accents)–not to mention the catchy little song at the beginning and end–the photos do a great job telling the story. True, it’s a pretty straightforward features piece, and not a in-depth news package (for something more along those lines, I like Ed Kashi’s Iraqi Kurdistan), but I almost have an even higher standard for features than for, say, hardcore issue reporting since they aren’t as intense in terms of content material, and the photographer likely has a little more access flexibility, etc etc etc.