Mobile Media Toolkit

Background: Creating Content on a Mobile Phone

What does this section cover?

In this section, we will present the tools and techniques that will enable reporters and citizen journalists to create content on their mobile phones. Individual articles focus on taking photographs, recording video, recording audio content, creating location-based reports, and using smartphones to create content. The focus is on the preparation, techniques, and tools needed to create the content itself; articles will only pay glancing attenting to sharing that content with an audience. For more on publishing, see the section on sharing or delivering content.

Who is this section for?

This section is for anyone who wants to report news and information with their mobile phone. Using information in this section of the Toolkit, journalists with established workflows can use mobiles to help in their reporting. The Mobile Media Toolkit will help in other ways, too:

• Citizen journalists can create more polished reports from their phones.
• Journalists can cast away old tools for all but the most specialized reporting tasks.
• Everyone is better able to capture news at a moment's notice.

On the whole, this section is focused on creating material, which involves both capturing and editing raw content. For those who want to learn how to deliver this content to an audience, see the Toolkit section on sharing mobile content.

Why should you care?

Mobile journalism was established as an important phenomenon even before mobile phones made the practice as convenient as it is today. In May 2008, Joe Strupp reported in ''Editor and Publisher'' that several journalists were outfitting themselves with recording equipment, mobile phones, and laptops to become mobile journalists, or "mojos." Today, you can make do with less equipment and at much lower prices (with just a smartphone and spare batteries, for example, a several hundred dollar expense compared to the $14,800 kit Strupp showcases).

Being able to report on a mobile phone gives a journalist very specific advantages.

• Mobiles phones are always with you. Knowing how to capture multimedia on your phone will enable you to capture breaking news and information at a moment's notice.
• Mobiles are portable and unobtrusive recording devices, and can be used in places where camera crews are banned. There are, essentially, always there.
• Journalists have reported that recording video or audio interviews with mobile phones often helps subject stay relaxed and comfortable.
• Location-based reports can add valuable geographic context to reports. This will help content reach specific audiences who are often looking for news relevant to their environment and location.
• Depending on your budget, a mobile phone can act as a cheap recording device and save you money you might otherwise spend on a fancier recording set up.

Description: Creating Content on a Mobile Phone

In this Mobile Media Toolkit section: Capturing content (like photos, video, audio, and location information) on phones, both smartphones and otherwise; editing that content; (briefly) sharing that content online.

How to Create Content on a Mobile Phone

Mobile phones are excellent devices for creating multimedia content. Each phone is an always-in-the-pocket device that can capture photos, audio, and even video and location information. You can also edit this content on many smartphones, and, with an internet connection, you can publish that content on the spot!

We have five articles in this section to guide you through the tools and techniques for creating content on mobile phones. The first four articles are separated by type of content to capture: photographs, audio, video, and location information. Each article focuses on the specific medium, and will take you step by step through purchasing the best equipment for recording, to recording and editing the content, and (briefly) to sharing that content with your audience. The fifth article is on creating (and sharing) content from smartphones, which looks at creating all kinds of content using highly capable smartphones.

No matter what article you are interested in, we would advise you to look through the other articles as well. Experienced reporters that use mobiles (Guy Degen and Paul Bradshaw) both note that the rules for mobile reporting are not written, which make creativity and practice necessary tools of the trade.

Taking Photographs on a Mobile Phone

Mobile phone cameras allow reporters and citizen journalists to take photographs anywhere and instantly share these with an online audience. Mobile phone cameras can be used without being obvious, help capture breaking news, and begin to replace professional cameras for all but the most serious of shoots. Explore the tools and techniques to create photographic content on your mobile phone.

Creating Audio Content on a Mobile Phone

Using just the built-in microphones on your mobile phone, you can produce sophisticated radio reports, podcasts, and soundslides. You can also use mobile phones to capture audio to record interviews and take notes. Explore the tools and techniques to record audio content on your mobile phone.

Recording Videos on a Mobile Phone

Video cameras on mobile phones allow reporters and citizen journalists to record videos and publish them immediately. Mobiles can become tools for conducting on-the-spot interviews, capturing breaking news footage, or providing live coverage without heavy or sophisticated equipment. Explore the tools and techniques to create video content on your mobile phone.

Adding Location Information to Mobile Content

Mobile phones make it easy to add location information to content. Content with location information can be aggregated using tools that can make it more valuable. Explore how (and why) to add information location information to content from your mobile phones in this article.

Reporting on a Smartphone

Citizen journalists and reporters with smartphones will find that their phones are all-in-one tools for live and semi-live reporting, creating multimedia content, and staying productive and connected. This article focuses on smartphone tools that can be used to create content, share this content online, and to stay connected as a reporter or citizen journalist.

Limitations to Creating Content on Mobile Phones

As you can see, creating content on mobile phones has advantages. There are, however, some drawbacks that you should be aware of.

• Mobile phones are not very good for long-form reporting because of their tiny keyboards and small screens.
• Mobile phone communication is very easy to monitor. See our guide to mobile security for citizen journalists to learn about sensitive issues.
• Heavy smartphone usage and video reporting can drive up data usage, which can be costly without an unlimited data plan. Wi-fi is a good way to get around this problem, but when Wi-fi is unavailable, using phones for sharing content online can be a costly exercise.
• Mobile phone data connections may not always be present or reliable. Most phone-based software cannot deal well with intermittent networks, so you might want to run some tests especially if networks where you work tend to be shaky or unreliable.
• Reporting location information along with content can be very invasive in terms of privacy and security. It is imperative to understand the risks associated with such reporting; see this article on adding location information to mobile content.
• Battery life is an issue when using mobile phones for creating content. Since mobiles are used for talking, texting, and other forms of communication in addition to creating content, battery life is more of an issue than with dedicated devices like cameras or video cameras.