Konstantinos Antonopolous – Press play: What works in online video?

We at Al Jazeera built
PRODUCING A TASK LIKE THIS | BRINGING A TEAM TOGETHER
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS | LAUNCHING THE PROJECT
RECEPTION | SUSTAINING THE PROJECT | INNOVATIVE USES
REDESIGN | LESSONS LEARNED
and I will show you
how we did this
PALESTINE
REMIX
NEWS: REWIRED “PRESS PLAY”
PALESTINE REMIX
Intro
KONSTANTINOS ANTONOPOULOS
Senior interactive producer, AJE
@konstantinosant
1/25

PALESTINE REMIX
Who is this guy
@konstantinosant
2/25
I am Konstantinos
Senior interactive producer,
Al Jazeera English Online
(BASED IN ATHENS, LONDON, DOHA)
1/5 of @ajlabs
Normal workﬂow:
STATIC & INTERACTIVE INFOGRAPHICS DESIGN
STORYBOARDING | LONGFORM DESIGN
PILOTING SPECIAL EDITORIAL PROJECTS
On Palestine Remix:
LEAD DESIGNER

PALESTINE REMIX
What is PR
@konstantinosant
3/25
Multi-lingual:
It is the ﬁrst network-wide
interactive project
that was initially available
in four languages.
Palestine Remix:
A video-driven
storytelling website
which allows readers
to mix and match content
from Al Jazeera’s 30 ﬁlms
& produce their interpretation
of the story of Palestine.

1
2
3
PALESTINE REMIX
How does it work
@konstantinosant
4/25
Three-step action:
WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY
& highlight a scene
Drag & drop
ANY SCENE FROM ANY DOCUMENTARY
Share your remix
OR KEEP THE LINK TO WORK MORE
An explainer:
Tutorial video
on palestineremix.com

PALESTINE REMIX
How it was built
@konstantinosant
5/25
WE USED AN EARLY VERSION OF THIS TOOL
OVER 4 YEARS AGO FOR THE
Obama-Romney debate
THE PR WEBSITE DESIGN WAS DONE WITH
Adobe Muse CC
FOR THE REMIX PART, WE USED
THE OPEN SOURCE SOLUTION
hyperaud.io
WHICH WE HEAVILY CUSTOMIZED
TO WORK WITH MULTIPLE LANGUAGES
The ﬁrst remix attempt:
The 2012 debate interactive
on aljazeera.com

PALESTINE REMIX
Why do it
@konstantinosant
6/25
Searchable content:
Keywords are an easy entrance
into the world of the PR
searchable content
TO LIBERATE OUR DOCUMENTARY CONTENT
& make it searchable,
discoverable.
GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY
TO OUR MILLIONS OF VIEWERS
to provide their own
interpretation
OF THIS COMPLEX STORY.
So, why create a site
like that?

PALESTINE REMIX
Why do it
@konstantinosant
7/25
ADDITIONALLY, WE WANTED
TO REFERENCE ONLINE THE CONTENTS OF
the Atlas of Palestine
WHICH PROVIDES HISTORICAL DATA
OF THE COUNTRY THAT EXISTED BEFORE
Al-Nakba,
THE CATASTROPHE OF 1948.
So, why create a site
like that?

PALESTINE REMIX
Key features
@konstantinosant
8/25
1
Key features:
VERY VISUAL
& interactive
3TEXT & VIDEO
synchronization
230 DOCUMENTARIES ON PALESTINE,
scripted & searchable
4VERY DETAILED
search feature

PALESTINE REMIX
Key features
@konstantinosant
9/25
5
Key features:
ABILITY TO CREATE
your own remixes
7UNIQUE
interactive sections
6SHARE REMIXES WITH
social networks
8AVAILABLE IN
four languages

PALESTINE REMIX
Content is strength
@konstantinosant
10/25PR IS A DIGITAL PROJECT BUILT
WITH REPURPOSING TRADITIONAL
TV CONTENT. THIS PROVED THAT
tailored TV content
can work on digital.
AND THAT DIGITAL DOES NOT ALWAYS
NEED ORIGINAL CONTENT TO SUCCEED.
IT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW
THE STORY AND ITS PACKAGING
WERE WEAVED TOGETHER TO TELL A STORY THAT
no other technique
WOULD HAVE ALLOWED US TO USE.
Rich content:
Available from launch,
a rich depository
of characters
& their stories

PALESTINE REMIX
Producing PR
@konstantinosant
11/25
The core team:
We worked for three months
in Doha to launch PR,
while also dozens more people
worked in the background
to make it possible
RAWAN DAMEN, THE HEAD OF PR,
PUT TOGETHER A TEAM OF
multi-skilled creatives,
WHO WORKED ACROSS THE GLOBE
ON THE PRODUCTION, DESIGN, TRANSLATION,
ADAPTATION, PROOF READING & DEVELOPMENT.
PART OF THIS TEAM WERE
the ﬁlm makers & their crew,
AS THEY GAVE PERMISSION TO PUT THEIR FILMS
UP FOR REMIXING AND ALLOWED FOR OUR TEAM
TO TRANSLATE THEM INTO MORE LANGUAGES.
Building a team

code!
PALESTINE REMIX
Technical challenges
@konstantinosant
12/25
The biggest challenge:
languages!
OUR CONTENT WAS A MIX OF SPOKEN
Arabic, Hebrew & English;
WITH
English & Bosnian captions
WHILE THE
Turkish version was dubbed!
Tool development:
We had to build several tools
to allow people inside AJE
to verify & correct
the alignments.

PALESTINE REMIX
The timeline
@konstantinosant
13/25
1Launch edition
FOCUS ON THE RICH, DIVERSE,
MULTI-LANGUAGE CONTENT
2Redesigned edition
FOCUS ON THE REMIXES, CURATING CONTENT
& CREATING A COMMUNITY AROUND PR
3New features
UNDER WRAPS FOR NOW
And so, we launched!
NOVEMBER 2014
MAY 2015
DATE TBA

PALESTINE REMIX
Reception
@konstantinosant
14/25
Viewer of remixes:
It is not yet possible to remix
from mobile.
Visitors can view
remixes and explore
& interact with
the rest of the content.
PEOPLE HAVE CREATED AROUND
5,000 remixes.
THE HOME OF PR HAD
3,000,000 views.
AROUND
40% of them, from mobile
The metrics
so far:

PALESTINE REMIX
Feedback
@konstantinosant
15/25
MOST OF THE FEEDBACK WE GOT BACK
PRAISED THE TEAM FOR INCLUDING THE
complete search of all content.
THEY WERE ABLE TO INTERACT DIFFERENTLY
THAN IN OTHER STORYTELLING SITES,
BECAUSE WITH USING ALL THE FEATURES OF PR
they became part of the story
BY RECREATING THEIR VERSIONS OF IT.
Their opinion counts
& we heard them.

PALESTINE REMIX
Sample remixes
@konstantinosant
16/25
“
”
I want to embark conveying the robust message
to all over the world about the situation Palestinians
are living in the reality.
“
”
Because after watching the news
I was inspired to spread the word
“Because I wanna show to people around the world
that Gaza is full of hope, challenge and love
despite of harsh suﬀering which people are living with.
watch this
watch this
watch this
Why did you use
the remix feature?
HOW THE WALL NEARLY DESTROYED THE GREEN OF PHALISTIEN
A VOICE, NOT AN ECHO
IN SPITE OF SUFFERING IN GAZA, LIFE IS CONTINUING

IS NOW USED IN SEVERAL CLASSROOMS,
CAMPUSES & ACTIVIST CIRCLES,
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
a narrative rarely told.
IT HAS PROVEN USEFUL TO
researchers, students
AND THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED
IN LEARNING OR TEACHING MORE
ABOUT PALESTINE, AWAY FROM TRADITIONAL MEDIA.
Palestine Remix
PALESTINE REMIX
Uses of PR
@konstantinosant
17/25
Used worldwide:
In Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, UAE,
Qatar, the US, the UK, Holland
& Norway, PR is used by teachers
at both undergraduate
& graduate level.

PALESTINE REMIX
Uses of PR
@konstantinosant
18/25
WE NEVER EXPECTED THAT
PR WOULD BE USED IN LANGUAGE CENTERS
to learn English & Turkish.
YOUNG PEOPLE STARTED MAKING REMIXES
IN YOUTH CAMPS IN PALESTINE, SO IT BECAME
a community activity
AND NOT AN INDIVIDUAL THING.
Innovative uses

PALESTINE REMIX
Lessons learned
@konstantinosant
19/25
PALESTINIAN FILM MAKERS
WHO PRODUCED & DIRECTED FILMS
FOR THE ARAB WORLD
adapted their documentaries
AND ALLOWED THE WORLD
TO VIEW MULTIPLE SIDES OF THE STORY
from local ﬁlm makers
AND NOT INTERNATIONAL ONES.
Reaching out
to global audience
1
learn
from the
locals

PALESTINE REMIX
Lessons learned
@konstantinosant
20/25
KEY TO THE SUCCESS WAS THE
wealth of related content,
WHICH MADE THE USERS FEEL LIKE
learning visually
RATHER THAN BROWSING A WEBSITE.
Designed like
encyclopedia
2
oﬀer
more to
discover

PALESTINE REMIX
Lessons learned
@konstantinosant
21/25
GOING THROUGH THE TEXT
in four languages
WAS A UNIQUE FEATURE.
THE ABILITY TO FREELY SEARCH
AND ACCESS THE CONTENT THROUGH
PRACTICALLY EVERY TERM IMAGINABLE BECAME
a user interface
BY ITSELF.
Full, unrestricted
search of content
3
new UI
in place
for video

PALESTINE REMIX
Lessons learned
@konstantinosant
22/25
”
PEOPLE LOVED THE FEATURE THAT
the script was available
AS READABLE AND SELECTABLE TEXT AT ALL TIMES,
PROPERLY SYNCHRONIZED.
Unique combination
of movie with text
4
richer
than
subtitles

PALESTINE REMIX
Lessons learned
@konstantinosant
23/25
ALLOWING THE USERS TO
mix & match footage
BECAME A VERY POPULAR FEATURE FOR THEM.
THEY WOULD NOT JUST PASSIVELY BROWSE
BUT SHARED THEIR CREATIONS SOCIALLY.
IT WAS THIS
freedom
THAT MADE PR VERY POPULAR.
Tell
your own story
5
personal,
unique
versions

ONLINE MEDIA AWARDS
Technical innovation
Winner
ADOBE MUSE
Site of the Day
Winner
PALESTINE REMIX
Awards
@konstantinosant
24/25
Oh! We got some silverware, too!
ONLINE MEDIA AWARDS
Outstanding
Digital Team of the year
Winner
THE WEBBY AWARDS
Video Remixes /
Mashups
Oﬃcial Honoree

Visit! Remix! Share!
Thank you
for your interest in
PALESTINE REMIX
Outro
@konstantinosant
25/25
PALESTINE
REMIX handoutAbout this presentation:
These slides can be found
at @ajlabs HQ on the web.
I will tweet the link soon after
the presentation from
@konstantinosant
WWW.PALESTINEREMIX.COM

Konstantinos Antonopolous – Press play: What works in online video?

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Konstantinos Antonopolous – Press play: What works in online video?