I’m getting well into multimedia and audio slideshows at the moment. I’ve been watching them for a while but since doing some training last month with duckrabbit I’ve been watching them in a different, more observant way…hoping to pick up tips that I can borrow and use to improve my own work. It’s amazing to me that just by doing a weekend workshop, my perspective altered dramatically. Now often when I watch a picture slideshow, it actually jars with me if it doesn’t have any sound.

Anyway, I’ve seen a huge number very high quality multimedia pieces of late, which vary greatly in style. One of my absolute favourites is by Fastlane to the Future by Ed Kashi – a National Geographic photographer whose work I admire greatly, but I also think I love it because it’s about India, a country that I have something of an obsession with.

Another awesome series of multimedia pieces I was introduced to very recently is Remember Me – a very sensitive and beautiful look at love and loss.

Duckrabbit’s site is well worth a look – for me they are at the forefront of what’s happening in the UK.

Another piece I loved very much is Oatlands, by Glasgow based multimedia bod Chris Leslie. It’s a little on the long side at 7mins but I think it resonates with me because it’s about regeneration and the break-up of communities and I have covered such similar subjects as a journalist.

And on a much lighter note, I’ve just watched Diamond Toothed Tolliver – a beautiful little piece about an amazing guy from somewhere in America. This is the kind of thing I see myself doing at the moment…until I nail the technique at least.

In a similar vein is the New York Times’ wonderful 1 in 8 million series – beautiful little portraits of some of the interesting characters who populate that city. I so want to go to New York.

Anyway, if you haven’t seen it please check out Zen and the art of sandcastles, the piece I helped put together when I did my training last month.

This week I’ve had the very exciting news that my first solo attempt at an audio slideshow is being taken by the BBC to put on their website. All being well it should be put up, in a slightly adapted form, at some point next week. My version can be seen here.