Swimming, boating and flying in just one NYT story experience
“Ayungin is different. In the reef’s shallows there sits a forsaken ship, manned by eight Filipino troops whose job is to keep China in check.” This is the way we like it. At Triggertales we keep shining the light on the crafting of stories that do not walk the usual path.
This conflict about a territorial fight between nations in the South Chinese sea, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan as well as China claim rights, is too complex to fillet in such a short note, but the actual atmosphere at the site is brought vividly and realistic, which is a very rewarding journalistic objective. Especially when it is done in such an inspiring way.
The way A Game of Shark and Minnow is constructed shows a pleasantly soft User Interface which leads you through the story like a little boat on a windless day. Nowhere the transitions feel bumpy, not at hard edits nor at transitions to film.
The editors and designers manage to step into the University of Communication sometimes, when the streamers and image work together and enter your brain in an aspirational manner. E.g. when the streamer in the image says: “It was hard to imagine how such a forsaken place could become a flash point in a geopolitical power struggle”, the stunning image shows a men in a green top looking around in the stomach of the huge vessel. It is not hard to imagine the written text coming from the mind of the man pictured, which is an achievement from the teamwork of image and text.
Within the story a rhythm of different journalistic forms diversify the reading, like personal interview, examination and infographics, in a well-directed chronological frame. Never the thread breaks, it all feels logical. This story will last in my mind, and it will in yours, I predict.
We hope to see more of these initiatives soon, storytelling professionals need examples like this to get inspired and directed today and tomorrow.