A "Multimedia" Content Creation Workflow (PART 1: Capturing Ideas)

OVERVIEW:

After I wrote my first blogpost (about making video production as easy as podcast episode production) I started thinking about how to optimize my workflow in general. What I discovered may save loads of time and creates what I call a "multimedia" content creation workflow.

IT STARTS WITH AN IDEA (ON A PAPER NAPKIN?)

We've all heard about how the original Pixar team came up with almost all of their most popular ideas in one meeting, while writing notes on a napkin. (If you haven't, read about it here.) So, not enough can be said about the importance of CAPTURING (important) ideas when you have them, I'm going to take this concept of idea capture a little bit further. We're going to talk about how to craft those ideas into true multimedia content. Lets go over various capture methods I've used, and their pros and cons.

OPTION 1 PEN & PAPER (NAPKINS?)

The obvious benefit of this method is speed and, uh, cost I suppose (although there are less expensive and more environmentally friendly options than paper napkins). The cons include:

• Limited space

• Difficult to draw on napkins (if you're likely to do that)

• Environmentally unfriendly
  

OPTION 2 TYPING (ON A SMALL COMPUTER)

There is bit of a trick to this one here, and I believe it lies in finding a small, low-cost, touchscreen Windows "convertible" laptop WITH EXCELLENT BATTERY LIFE. The reason for the "small" is so that you can take it everywhere with you. The reason for the low-cost, is that you don't need to worry about making this the only laptop/tablet that you buy. The reason I prefer it's a touchscreen is for how much more efficient they are for editing text and word processing (selecting text is super easy on a touchscreen). Finally, the reason I mention having a Windows tablet is that you can download Microsoft Office and use all of the other productivity tools you use on your desktop computer. Remember, this computer doesn't need a very fast processor, etc. It just needs to have enough storage space.

NOTE: One thing that is very important to watch out for when buying a Windows tablet/laptop is to make sure it has AT LEAST 64GB of storage (32GB is not big enough for Windows 10 anymore, though it was for early versions).

OPTION 3 AUDIO NOTES

I like this method because, for me, it's often the fastest way to CAPTURE ideas, but the negative is that it can take some time to re-listen to your audio notes (and then turn them into text). Therefore, it used to be my favorite method, and I still use it when I'm tired, but it has fallen to second place behind typing on my little computer.

OPTION 4 VIDEO NOTES

I am still working on improving my video production methods, so this one is still more work than it should be. (I hope to update you all when I figure this part out!) The benefits include the ability to SHOW people things and not just talk about them. Remember show-and-tell from grade school? The cons of this method include larger file sizes, more gear and higher skill-level requirements.

OPTION 5 POWERPOINT (1 SLIDE PER POINT)

I left this method for last, because I'm really excited about it (though I'm still developing this technique). What I've been doing is using PowerPoint to, sort of, create storyboards with words. (I do plan on adding rough sketches as well, but not yet.) There are a ton of benefits to using PowerPoint including:

1. It allows you to create a text file and then import that into PowerPoint (to AUTOMATICALLY create slides at each line break!)

2. It makes it really easy to move "slides" around (to change the order of your ideas)

3. It lets you add (hidden) notes to each slide (which can be exported or printed if needed)

4. It allows you to add graphics (images and/or clip art)

5. You can actually use it as a presentation tool as well (the original intent of the app!)

NOW THAT YOU'VE CAPTURED THE IDEAS...

After you've captured your idea in one of these "raw" formats, how does one craft that idea into a finished piece of media, such as a blog, a podcast or a video? Well, that's the fun part (for creatives) and it's what this article was supposed to be focused on. It's where I had an "ah-hah!" moment, and came up with what I'm calling a "true multimedia workflow".

SO, WHAT'S A TRUE "MULTIMEDIA WORKFLOW"?

In the old days, "multimedia" was just a fancy term that meant you could work with art, audio and video on a computer, which was quite a new thing back then. Now, I use the term multimedia to refer to a process of simultaneously creating content in multiple formats AT ONCE! This means you'll be creating a blog, a podcast and a video all in ONE WORKFLOW. My goal is for this to save time (therefore money) with the result the content has been unified across all media, which then can translate to better SEO.

BONUS TIP CAN THIS HELP WITH "SEO"?

This is getting a bit long, so I'm going to stick to the short version (and maybe write a long version in another article). The short version is: It helps the SEO because you START with a blog post, which requires a title and URL and to name the image(s) to match the blog URL (Source: Louise Myers, Visual Social Media, article here). Then, you can either create a podcast or a podcast AND a video using the blog as your script!

NOTE: Remember that it also helps to make sure your YouTube title and thumbnail image are consistent with the content of this media pod as well.

CONCLUSION:

I feel a little bit like I'm leaving Batman and Robin in sure danger, and the audience hanging on until the next episode, but I need to keep this short, so I hope to follow this up with another part: 2020 "Multimedia" Content Creation Workflow (PART 2: Content Creation).