Multimedia content gathering

Underlying policies, principles and/or standards

• Please read and adhere to UNHCR's Ethical Communications Guidelines
• When we share up-to-the-minute content, it helps UNHCR to lead the narrative by showing that we are on the ground, well-informed, and ready to engage with journalists.
• Content about an emergency can help generate empathy in ways that advance UNHCR's advocacy and fundraising objectives.
• Protection is paramount. Never share content that puts someone at risk.

Good practice recommendations

Focus on individuals. Stories and images that focus on an individual are almost always more engaging and memorable than general stories or images of a crowd. Find a sympathetic individual who can articulate his or her experience. Ask what life was like before he or she was displaced. Look for ways in which people exhibit resilience, and ways in which host communities are showing generosity. Look for the unexpected – details or themes that add an element of surprise to the story. Transcribe spoken quotes word-for-word (record them on your phone if possible) - do not embellish or change them. When writing stories, vary the length of your sentences, avoid jargon, and omit unnecessary words. Start at a dramatic moment to hook the reader's interest and fill in context and backstory as you go along.

Consider these examples from UNHCR stories

https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/ukrainian-family-confronts-new-reality-life-refugees

https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/south-sudanese-battle-record-floods-amid-rapidly-changing-climate

Photographs. When taking photos, try to establish eye contact with the subject. Collect detailed captions with names, ages and direct quotes. If possible, take pictures in the early morning or early evening, when the light is often best. Take many photos and choose the best ones later. Take some in portrait format (vertical), which works well for report covers and social media, but take most in landscape (horizontal) because they fit most of our other online platforms better. Rather than put the subject in the centre of the frame, consider the rule of thirds. (Please see the second photo below.)

Sometimes, nevertheless, images of a crowd can powerfully capture a newsworthy situation – like the below iconic photo of Syrian refugees crossing into Iraq (please see the third photo below).

Video. When shooting video with a smartphone:

• Hold your phone parallel to the landscape (think of a wide movie screen) so that we can distribute your footage to broadcasters. If possible, additionally shoot clips in vertical for social media.
• Keep it still (try to brace against a stationary object, like a tree or vehicle).
• Try to capture a sequence, three related shots that give continuity or compress time. This could be a wide, medium and close-up shot of the same subject, or the beginning, middle and end of an action (putting a kettle on to boil, pouring hot water over the tea leaves, pouring a cup for a visitor).
• Hold each shot for about 10 seconds.
• Do not pan (move from side to side), do not tilt (move up and down), do not zoom.
• Let the action move through the frame, rather than follow it with your camera.
• If someone is speaking, get as close as possible and try to minimize wind noise. Better still, use a lav mic.
   

See samples below –
Share photos, videos and written quotes or stories with the Global Communications Service. You can send large video files with shortlists to http://www.wetransfer.com and upload photographs directly to Refugees Media, UNHCR's searchable online distribution platform, at: http://media.unhcr.org .

[image: in-medias-res.png]

[image: rule-of-two-thirds.png]

[image: iraq-bridge-gubaeva.jpg]

Considerations for practical implementation

• Capture the moment when they realized they had to flee. What went through their minds?
• Describe their flight to safety, their current situation and needs, and their hopes and plans.
• Ask what the subjects' lives were like before they were displaced.
• Record interviews. Quote the interviewee directly. Let the reader hear his or her exact words.
• When writing, start at the most dramatic point in the story and add context and backstory as you go along.

Resources and partnerships

• Key staff, including communicators working in emergency operations, should be issued smartphones, so that they can create content themselves and share it quickly on social media and with the Global Communications Service.