Timelines

Photojournalism veteran and new-media pioneer Brian Storm announced today the launch of MediaStorm, a multimedia production studio with the principal aim of ushering in a new era of multimedia storytelling. The launch includes a call for submissions to Voices, the company’s flagship publication, which will feature in-depth multimedia stories. Read the press release. Storm's long time partner in crime Robert Browman was a key player in the launch.

Six Diverse Multimedia Projects by Award-Winning Storytellers Define Innovative Publication’s Debut

NEW YORK (November 16, 2005)—MediaStorm (http://mediastorm.org), a multimedia production studio, today unveiled its online publication. The site features projects by renowned journalists, filmmakers and artists including Martin Schoeller, Ray Farkas, Douglas Menuez, Andrew Lichtenstein, Zac Barr, Tim Klimowicz, Julie Winokur and Ed Kashi. While the pieces cover a wide range of topics and styles, from reportage to travel and lifestyle, each combines powerful imagery and audio in a way that defines MediaStorm’s editorial philosophy and publication model. Read more.

MediaStorm produced a five-part series entitled Never Coming Home for the online magazine Slate.

Never Coming Home tells of the grief and sacrifice of the families of five soldiers killed in Iraq. This cinematically produced multimedia package combines still photography and audio interviews to give a voice to the family members as they struggle with their tragic loss.

Millions of middle-aged Americans are caring for their children as well as their aging parents. When filmmaker-photographer pair Julie Winokur and Ed Kashi took in Winokur's 83-year-old father, they decided to document their own story.

At that moment they joined some twenty million other Americans who make up the sandwich generation, those who find themselves responsible for the care of both their children and their aging parents.

In Kingsley’s Crossing, a 23-year-old lifeguard from the impoverished town of Limbe, Cameroon, dreams of a better life in Europe. He embarks on a harrowing journey that takes him halfway across Africa. Photojournalist Olivier Jobard documents the passage.

MSNBC.com won exclusive internet rights to MediaStorm’s production, Iraqi Kurdistan by Ed Kashi. The private online auction ran for four days and was conducted at http://mediastorm.org. Participants included news, lifestyle and arts publications from around the world. MSNBC.com will premiere the project on November 13th, 2006.

BLOODLINE: AIDS and Family is Kristen Ashburn’s intimate look at the harsh reality of the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Her images remind us how tenuous our connection is to each other. In doing so, they show that what matters most is the care extended to those in need.

MediaStorm collaborated with the Council on Foreign Relations to design, develop and implement Crisis Guide: The Korean Peninsula. The guide provides comprehensive background information on the Korean crisis and is driven by in-depth reporting via CFR experts. It is the first in a series of interactive guides to the most complex crises, issues and conflicts on the planet.

Ivory Wars: Last Stand in Zakouma is now featured in the March interactive edition of National Geographic online.

The multimedia piece describes the elephant poaching situation around Zakouma National Park in Chad and was produced by MediaStorm in conjunction with this month’s National Geographic cover story of the same title by conservationist J. Michael Fay and photographer Michael “Nick” Nichols.

Over the last 8-months MediaStorm has grown it’s production capabilities by bringing aboard four top-tier multimedia professionals.

The most recent addition is Multimedia Producer Chad Stevens. Before joining MediaStorm Chad was studying as a master’s degree candidate at School of Visual Communication at Ohio University.

In February, Interactive Designer Tim Klimowicz came aboard. Prior to joining MediaStorm, Tim was completing a BFA in Graphic Design from the School of Visual Arts.

Multimedia Producer Pamela Chen joined the team in October, 2006. Prior to joining MediaStorm Pamela was working as a Fulbright U.S. Student Fellow in Taiwan, where her research cumulated in a multimedia photojournalism project on the succession of family enterprise in traditional Taiwanese industry.

Multimedia Producer Eric Maierson was the first of the new team members when he came aboard in June 2006. 

Two years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana, photojournalist Brenda Ann Kenneally returns to find those who are headed home. Amid jobs lost, communities scattered, and houses destroyed, what does it take to rebuild a life?

I’m excited to announce that Jessica Stuart has joined MediaStorm as a project manager.

Jessica will continue in her current role as workshop director for The Eddie Adams Workshop which will celebrate it’s 20th anniversary this year in October.

While she won’t be full time at MediaStorm until November, Jessica will be expanding our blog coverage, writing grants and developing the upcoming MediaStorm Advanced Multimedia Workshop.

Black Market is an in-depth look into the wildlife trade, the third largest illegal trade in the world. A driving force behind the trade is the ancient belief that animal parts contain “magical” properties. Although science has largely disproved these superstitions, these illegal practices continue. Related: Photojournalist Patrick Brown On a Decade of Documenting Illegal Wildlife Trade

MediaStorm’s Kingsley’s Crossing by Olivier Jobard, is the recipient of the 2007 Emmy Award for Documentary/NonFiction for Broadband.

MediaStorm’s BLOODLINE: AIDS and Family by Kristen Ashburn was also nominated in the same category.

Other nominees included:

Washingtonpost.com – Being a Black Man

Washingtonpost.com – Contamination and a Crusade

Washingtonpost.com – Crisis in Darfur Expands Frontline – France: Soundtrack To A Riot

Pictured from left to right are Robert Browman, Brian Storm, Elodie Mailliet and Eric Maierson. Pamela Chen, part of the team that produced BLOODLINE: AIDS and Family, was unable to attend.

In Love in the First Person Matt and Melissa document their life together as they share their thoughts and fears on the sudden changes in their future. In the span of a year, Matt, 20, won College Photographer of the Year, Melissa, 19, discovered she was pregnant, they married and moved to Portland for Matt’s internship.

Evidence of My Existence documents photographer Jim Lo Scalzo’s 17-year journey of moving from one new story to the next. It is a manic exposition of a life in photojournalism and the consequences of obsessive wanderlust.

Los Angeles Times photojournalist Luis Sinco photographed James Blake Miller during the assault on Fallujua, Iraq in November 2004. The image of Miller, with a distant look and a cigarette dangling from his lips, ran in newspapers and on TV broadcasts around the country and became an emblem of the Iraq War. The image has changed both of their lives and connected photographer and subject in ways neither imagined.

MediaStorm collaborated with the Los Angeles Times to produce a three-part multimedia series entitled The Marlboro Marine to the tell the story behind the photograph and this soldier’s struggle as he tries to rebuild his life after a tour of duty and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

National Geographic and MediaStorm’s latest collaboration is Gorilla Massacre, now featured in the online edition of National Geographic Magazine.This story takes place in the heart of Africa, where humans and animals alike have long suffered a history of violence and instability. It is the home of the endangered mountain gorillas, and where Dian Fossey conducted her intimate research on their world. Photographers Michael Nichols and Brent Stirton discuss the significance of the recent mountain gorilla killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

I’m excited to welcome Bob Sacha as MediaStorm’s newest Multimedia Producer.

Bob is an award-winning photojournalist who has spent more than 25 years producing in-depth photo essays, portraits and covers for National Geographic, Life, Time and Fortune, among dozens of other national and international publications.

Bob was the John H. and James L. Knight Foundation Fellow at Ohio University in 2006-2007, teaching photography and as a master’s candidate in new media and film. This year he leads a graduate seminar in documentary and photojournalism at New York’s International Center of Photography.

Hidden in an elegant building in a wealthy Manhattan neighborhood, was a sprawling apartment filled with young drug addicts. The Ninth Floor is the story of their battle with addiction, each other, and themselves as they search for some kind of redemption.

The Ninth Floor included in IDFA’s DocLab Canon of Interactive Documentaries.

The Open Society Institute and MediaStorm recently collaborated to produce Katrina: An Unnatural Disaster. This site chronicles the struggles and triumphs of Gulf Coast residents since the destruction more than two years ago. Through stories and images, the site explores what is preventing residents from recovering from the disaster and returning home. It features the work of dozens of award-winning print and radio journalists, photographers, filmmakers and youth media organizations, all of whom are OSI Katrina Media Fellows.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is home to the deadliest war in the world today. An estimated 5.4 million people have died since 1998, the largest death toll since the Second World War, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

After successive waves of fighting and ten years of war, there are no hospitals, few roads and limited NGO and UN presence because it is too dangerous to work in many of these regions. The West’s desire for minerals and gems has contributed to a fundamental breakdown in the social structure. See the story.

MediaStorm is launching a series of Advanced Multimedia Workshops. The Workshops are intense, hands-on, educational experiences designed to address advanced original multimedia reporting and post-production.

50 years ago oil was discovered in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Today, Nigeria pumps 2.1 million barrels a day, making it the sixth largest oil-producing country in the world and a major oil partner of the United States. Although its oil industry generates billions in revenues every year, the average Niger Deltan struggles to survive on less than $1 per day. 

These startling facts are powerfully portrayed in Curse of the Black Gold, a short-form multimedia film comprised of graphic photographs by world-renowned photojournalist Ed Kashi and produced by award-winning filmmaker Julie Winokur.

Reuters and MediaStorm collaborated to create Bearing Witness: Five Years of the Iraq War, launched to coincide with the war’s 5th anniversary.

The site features profiles of three Reuter’s journalists who have more than 23 years combined experience reporting and photographing in Iraq.

Reuters video, photography, info-graphics and journalists are showcased in this 5 chapter interactive application created from more than 20 hours of video footage and images selected from 3,600 of the best of Reuters photographs — some published here for the first time. Additional chapters include a timeline of the Iraq War made up of 223 still images and 15 videos, and five maps drawn from dozens of pages of data.

The Council on Foreign Relations and MediaStorm have collaborated to produce a new online multimedia feature, Crisis Guide: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Using a comprehensive array of audio, video, imagery, and text, the guide offers an in-depth look at the history of the conflict and its geopolitical repercussions.

Crisis Guide: The Israeli-Palestinian Authority was produced in consultation with experts at the Council on Foreign Relations, Arab and Israeli sources, as well as an array of independent scholars, former officials, diplomats, and experts on the region’s political and economic history.

Crisis Guides, CFR.org’s interactive, award-winning franchise, seek to bring context and historical perspective to the world’s most complex issues. Produced with MediaStorm.org, the series also includes Crisis Guide: The Korean Peninsula, which looks at the standoff between the two Koreas, and Crisis Guide: Darfur, which looks at the tragedy in Sudan’s Darfur region. The next guide will tackle the issue of climate change.

Robert Burck couldn't get anyone to listen to his music, until he made a simple discovery. In One Man Brand, we meet a man who has transformed himself from a penniless outsider into one of the Big Apple's most visible attractions.

Roots in the Garden and One Man Brand is a product of the MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop, where participants work alongside MediaStorm staff to create an intimate, character-driven documentary in just one week.

On July 2, 2002, Jean and Harlow Cagwin watched as their home — the last remnant of their 118-acre cattle farm in Lockport, Illinois — was torn down clearing the way for a new housing development. Several years later, Ed and Amanda Grabenhofer and their four children moved into the new Willow Walk subdivision, their house just yards from where the Cagwin’s home once stood.

Common Ground introduces us to the lives touched by this land, as photographer Scott Strazzante takes us on a visual journey exploring the differences and similarities of these two families while simultaneously asking us to look at what is common among us all.

Barack Obama’s historic rise to the mountaintop at Denver’s Democratic National Convention.

Forty-five years after Martin Luther King called on America to live out the true meaning of its creed – that all men are created equal ‑ a senator from Illinois becomes the first African-American nominee of a major political party.

MediaStorm and the Rocky Mountain News collaborated during the Democratic National Convention to create At last, at last, a dream fulfilled, a multimedia presentation documenting the convention. The piece is a comprehensive overview, looking at all aspects leading up to, and including, the convention, and includes interviews with Colorado locals, Rocky Mountain News reporters, and other key figures.

Crisis Guide: Darfur, produced for Council on Foreign Relations, is the recipient of the 2008 Emmy Award in the New Approaches To News & Documentary Programming: Current News Coverage Category.

Other nominees in the category included:

current.com: Mogadishu Madness

msnbc.com: The Fight for Iraq

Washingtonpost.com: A Nation Divided

Washingtonpost.com: After the Destruction

Washingtonpost.com: Living with PTSD

Congratulations also to the San Jose Mercury News, who won in the Documentaries category for “Uprooted“, and to the Detroit Free Press, who won in the Arts, Lifestyle and Culture Category for “40 Years of Respect” and the Regional News Coverage Category for “Pit bulls: Companions or killers?”

During the 1994 genocide, Rwandan women were subjected to massive sexual violence, perpetrated by members of the infamous Hutu militia groups known as the Interahamwe. Among the survivors, those who are most isolated are the women who have borne children as a result of being raped. Their families have rejected both them and their children, compounding their already unimaginable emotional distress.

An estimated 20,000 children were conceived during the genocide in Rwanda, and many of their mothers contracted HIV during the same encounters that left them pregnant. They feel they have lost their dignity, are alone and utterly powerless.

Intended Consequences chronicles the lives of these women. Their narratives are embodied in portrait photographs, interviews and oral reflections.

The project was exhibited at Aperture and won a Webby and the duPont Award.

Related: 20 Years After Genocide, Rwanda Resurges

Médecins Sans Frontières and MediaStorm have collaborated to produce Condition: Critical, Voices from the War in Eastern Congo.

Hundreds of thousands of people are on the run, fleeing a war raging in eastern Congo in the provinces of North and South Kivu. They are frightened. Many are sick or wounded. Others have been harassed or raped, or have had everything they own stolen. For more than a decade, several armed groups and the army have been fighting each other in the Kivus. The violence has made it impossible for people to lead normal lives. Life isn’t just hard in the Kivus: this region is in critical condition. And things aren’t getting any better. The destiny of everyone in this region of Congo is shaped by the war. The story of their struggle to survive needs to be told.

Condition: Critical features the photography of Cedric Gerbehaye.

From October 26-30, 2008, 10,000 Starbucks Partners traveled to New Orleans to participate in five days of community volunteer work and leadership training. Starbucks commissioned MediaStorm to document the event. The power of 10,000 shows the impact these partners had on the city of New Orleans.

I’m excited to welcome Jacky Myint as MediaStorm’s newest Interactive Designer.

Jacky Myint is a web and interactive designer who has worked for Condé Nast Portfolio.com and The Associated Press, producing interactive infographics. Her interactives at Portfolio.com were part of a portfolio that won silver from MALOFIEJ, an international competition for print and online information graphics sponsored by the Society for News Design.

Jacky’s first job was for Idealist.org/Action Without Borders where she spent two and a half years designing for both print and web and organizing Idealist’s first nonprofit design competition. Jacky graduated from Duke University with a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Visual Arts and received her M.F.A. in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Life in Iowa can be punishing. Many Iowans expend their lives sweating over soil and spilling the blood of livestock; they endure the hardships associated with a life inextricably bound to the ups and downs of nature. Today, those challenges and a shift in our nation’s economy have pushed the youth of rural communities to migrate to the metropolises of America. Those left in the wake of this out-migration continue their lives, seemingly unchanged from the generations that preceded them, and entombed in obscurity. The project premiered with a screening at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO and won a Webby.

There are only about 15 people left in David Sheet's neighborhood, once a thriving community of people who had lived there much of their lives. The reason: Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn's largest-ever proposed real estate development, which will cost 5 billion dollars and engulf three times the area of Rockefeller Center.

Jack-hammering, construction, and relentless noise have driven more than 600 residents from their homes, and many of those homes have already been demolished. But a few brave souls have decided to stay, choosing not to make it easy for their displacers. "I am going to stand in their way for as long as I can," says Sheets, looking both fierce and vulnerable against an ominous street-scape. "Do stadiums come before lives?" asks another resident, who refuses to leave. Hold Out is their story.

Hold Out is a product of the MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop, where participants work alongside MediaStorm staff to create an intimate, character-driven documentary in just one week.

Reuters and MediaStorm have collaborated to produce Times of Crisis.

On September 15, 2008, the 158-year old investment bank Lehman Brothers became the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, its collapse paralyzing the global financial system.

Governments pumped in cash, but the crisis deepened and broadened, crippling industries and crushing hopes with a force not seen since the Great Depression.

As signs of recovery emerge, Reuters charts 365 days of upheaval to see how lives around the globe have changed as a divergent world embarks on an era of historic challenge.

During the last two decades, mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia has destroyed or severely damaged more than a million acres of forest and buried nearly 2,000 miles of streams. Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining, a video report produced by Yale Environment 360 in collaboration with MediaStorm, focuses on the environmental and social impacts of this practice and examines the long-term effects on the region’s forests and waterways.

At a time when the Obama administration is reviewing mining permit applications throughout West Virginia and three other states, this video offers a first-hand look at mountaintop removal and what is at stake for Appalachia’s environment and its people.

Global warming is melting 18,000 Himalayan glaciers, the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar ice sheets. Their melting spells trouble for not only 2 billion Asians but the whole world.

MediaStorm and Asia Society have collaborated to produce On Thinner Ice: Melting Glaciers on the Roof of the World, examining the loss of these glaciers and what it means for all of us.

The project includes a narrative introduction, “then and now” images, and a wealth of additional resources for anyone interested in learning more.

Crisis Guide: The Global Economy, produced for Council on Foreign Relations, is the recipient of the 2009 Emmy Award for New Approaches to Business & Financial Reporting.

Other nominees in the category included:

CNBC.com: Boom, Bust & Blame

CBS.com: The Fast Draw

The Wall Street Journal Digital Network: Mongolian Way of Life at Risk

Congratulations to all of the winners.

MediaStorm along with Thomson Reuters Foundation and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) announce Surviving the Tsunami: Stories of Hope. The project marks the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Combining imagery by Reuters photojournalists with eyewitness testimony and interactive graphics, the documentary reveals the strength of the human spirit in the face of catastrophe. These are stories of compassion and hope.

Surviving the Tsunami follows two previous productions with Reuters, Bearing Witness about the Iraq war and Times of Crisis about the global financial meltdown.

We are excited to welcome multimedia producer Rick Gershon to the MediaStorm team.

For the last three years he has served as a multimedia photojournalist and staff photographer at Getty Images. Some of his clients include the Discovery Channel, History Channel, A&E, The Travel Channel, AOL.com, MediaStorm and MSNBC. His images of various news and political events have run in newspapers and news magazines around the world and he is currently a featured photographer with Reportage by Getty Images.

Virginia Gandee's brilliant red hair and dozen tattoos belie the reality of this 22-year-old's life. Inside her family's Staten Island trailer her caregiving goes far beyond the love she has for her daughter.

Take Care is a product of the MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop, where participants work alongside MediaStorm staff to create an intimate, character-driven documentary in just one week.

For five long winters, Lisa M. Robinson photographed in snow from New York to Colorado. The resulting color photographs become almost monochromatic in the snow and ice, distilled to their essential parts not unlike the deepest states of meditation.

While on the surface, these images seem to have captured moments in time, there is an implied suggestion of time passage and life cycles. Within the heart of a spare winter, other seasons emerge. These scenes suggest, upon contemplation, the temporal nature of all things. In the midst of seeming emptiness, layers of life and contrast slowly emerge.

In many countries, girls as young as eight are forced into marriage by their families, culture and economic situation.

These early unions, no matter the geography, often have catastrophic results: Young brides discontinue their educations. Youth and inexperience leave them vulnerable to abuse at the hands of their spouses.

Physical abuse is common among young brides, as they are simply too young to know how to behave properly as wives. They thus face the wrath of their husbands and in-laws, living in a culture of fear within their homes.

In Airsick: An Industrial Devolution Toronto Star Photographer Lucas Oleniuk tackles the global issue of climate change through a local approach.

With the exception of two images, all 20,000 photographs were shot in Ontario, Canada. But they illustrate a global problem.

With a haunting original score by Randy Risling and evocative quotes, Airsick plays out like an unsettling dream.

We are excited to welcome multimedia producer Jennifer Redfearn to the MediaStorm team.

Jennifer is a director, producer, and writer. She has worked on programming for WGBH, WNET, the Discovery Networks, and independent productions. Most recently, she directed and produced Sun Come Up, an independent documentary about environmental refugees. It premiered at the Full Frame festival and is currently making its way around the U.S. and international festival circuit. Prior to this, she co-produced a science special – the final installment of an Emmy-nominated 20-year project for WGBH/NOVA, and she produced a medical series for Discovery. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Wellesley College and a Master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Her projects have been supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Chicken and Egg Pictures, NYSCA, and the Friends of Horticulture.

We’ve made it easier for you to find the information you need in our Publication, Client Services and Training Opportunities.

We hope you’ll take time to explore the site. A few highlights:

• We added more functionality and content options to the home page.
• We created a new video player with detailed information about each project.
• We added full screen playback and higher quality video encodes.
• Many of our projects are now available for embed on your websites and blogs.
• Our projects can be filtered by type, client, and workshop.
• Contributors, workshop participants, and staff now have dedicated pages.

Tim McLaughlin is a photographer, multimedia documentarian and educator. Prior to his move to MediaStorm, Tim was the Director of Multimedia at the Maine Media Workshops and Maine Media College in Rockport, ME.

Originally from Louisville KY., McLaughlin earned his masters of fine arts from the University of Florida and a bachelors from Centre College, but owes a great deal to the two years he spent at Western Kentucky University. Tim has worked with the Eddie Adams Workshop, the Rocky Mountain News, the Mountain Workshops and most recently shot a film for the Rotterdam Film Festival.

Ethiopia has one of the highest child marriage rates in the world. In response, the United Nations Foundation (UNF) has established educational programs throughout Ethiopia that put girls and women through school, and challenge traditional thinking on child marriage.

MediaStorm recently produced A Lasting Impact for the United Nations Foundation, focusing on the personal experiences of those who have had their lives changed due to the influence of these UNF sponsored programs.

In India, all women must confront the cultural pressure to bear a son. The consequences of this preference is a disregard for the lives of women and girls. From birth until death they face a constant threat of violence.

Undesired tells the story of these women and girls.

This project was made possible with support from the Alexia Foundation and won a duPont Award.

Tensions over U.S. attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas, and concerns about stability after recent floods, highlight Pakistan’s importance to U.S. policy in the region. To address one of the world’s most troubling states in crisis, Crisis Guide: Pakistan is an online interactive guide that examines the roots of Pakistan’s problems, what it means for the region and the world, and offers paths to a solution. It is the sixth in a series of guides produced by MediaStorm and the Council on Foreign Relations that look at major international issues.

With a cinematic overview, an interactive timeline and map, a video gallery and a resource guide, along with full-screen capability, this guide provides extensive insight into the complex issues in Pakistan.

The project was the winner of the Overseas Press Club Best Use of Multimedia Award.

The Amazing Amy by Terje Bringedal, Torsten Kjellstrand, Espen Rasumssen, and Finn RyanWUsing humor and a love of fantasy, “The Amazing Amy” connects with audiences through performing strenuous yoga-based contortion acts in New York City.

We’re very excited to announce the launch of our Online Training.

When we began our in-house Advanced Multimedia Workshops three years ago, we could not have anticipated the influx of customized training requests that we would get. We recognize that there’s a large need for multimedia instruction, both for those just getting started as well as for experienced video and still journalists, and we’ve spent the last couple of years traveling around the world, talking with other multimedia journalists and formulating an online curriculum. Whether you’re looking for instruction on gathering multimedia in the field or looking to refine your post-production workflow, we’re sure you’ll find something in here that will help elevate your multimedia skills.

The portal, redesigned by MediaStorm — incorporating the MediaStorm Player — provides an expanded selection of work from the 33 past recipients of the grant as well as easier site navigation, streamlined online registration for grant applicants, and thumbnail histories of photojournalist W. Eugene Smith, the fund itself, and the Howard Chapnick grant. See the case study: Rebuilding the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Website

Refugees United commissioned MediaStorm to create a documentary that both told the story of Refugees United, as well as chronicled the lives of refugees that are currently separated from their family. They wanted to portray the universality of the issue that they deal with and show the heartache and struggle these people face as they are separated from and searching for their lost loved ones.

Following the lives of four refugees and how separation from loved ones has shaped their existence, “Lost and Found: The Story of Refugees United” is a journey into the hardships so many families must endure as they seek to reconnect.

Flying in a motorized paraglider over one of the most diverse continents in the world, George Steinmetz captures the stunning beauty of Africa’s landscapes and people. His pictures, taken over 30 years, show not only the spectacular patterns of the land, but also the potential and hope that the continent encompasses. Watch African Air.

We are excited to have Shameel Arafin joining MediaStorm as a Developer.

Shameel is a web-application architect, back-end developer, database wrangler, and system administrator. He studied engineering and literature at Caltech and Harvard. Following college, he worked in investment banking during the (first) dotcom boom, at Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston. After five years on Wall Street, he returned to his engineering roots and joined the team at Massify as a developer and project manager, where he helped launch a social network and crowd-sourcing web application for the film and TV industry.

In 2008 he co-founded SignalFive, where where he developed projects that varied from the Repower America Wall (for Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection), to PopStay, a social tool for vacation rentals and home swapping.

MediaStorm is excited to announce that Bruce Strong will be joining us as our first Professional in Residence this fall.

Bruce is a multimedia storyteller who likes to work with cool people on awesome projects. Life is too short to do anything else. He has shot in nearly 60 countries, with Sudan and Liberia added to the mix most recently. Bruce was on staff at The Orange County Register in Southern California for 11 years and has freelanced for a variety of international publications and non-profit organizations. Bruce’s work has been published in such prestigious publications as TIME Magazine and National Geographic and has earned numerous awards and two fellowships—The Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship at the University of Michigan and the Knight Fellowship at Ohio University.

A family is determined to give their disabled son a whole and vital life. In the midst of a great burden, one small child – with a seemingly endless supply of love – is the blessing that holds a family together.

A Thousand More is a product of the MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop, where participants work alongside MediaStorm staff to create an intimate, character-driven documentary in just one week.

MediaStorm’s latest release is a film created for the humanitarian organization MAG (Mines Advisory Group). MediaStorm was commissioned by MAG to create a documentary that profiled their work, but more importantly created a strong, compelling case for the problem they are trying to solve and the impact it has on the local population.

Outsiders often see Afghanistan as a problem in need of a solution: a conflict region that needs more troops or another election. But in seeing Afghanistan as a problem, the people of the country, and their desire for self-determination, are often overlooked.

From the Soviet invasion and the mujahideen resistance to the Taliban and the American occupation, A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan examines thirty years of Afghan history. It is the story of ordinary citizens whose lives play out in the shadow of superpowers. There are tales of violence to be sure, but there is also love and even romance.

Based on 14 trips to Afghanistan between 1994 and 2010, A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan is the work of renowned photojournalist Seamus Murphy. His work chronicles a people caught time and again in political turmoil, struggling to find their way.

The project won the 2012 Liberty Media Award.

Joe Soll never met his birth parents. Raised by upper-middle class New Yorkers, he spent half of his life tormented by the death of his mother.

But then one day, that story suddenly began to unravel.

"I felt crazed," he said. "I didn't know what to do with it."

What followed was a three decade search for the truth and a mystery that would haunt him for years.

Through almost unbearable personal pain, Joe has devoted his life to a single question, where did I come from?

The quest for that answer has redefined him, setting Joe on a mission to help others.

MediaStorm is excited to welcome Lisa Jamhoury, as our new Operations and Social Media Manager.

Lisa Jamhoury is a communications professional with a passion for confronting social justice issues. Lisa previously worked as communications manager at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), where she implemented strategies to increase media attention, expand online presence and multimedia use, and streamline print production. Before joining ICTJ, Lisa worked with Save the Children USA in Mozambique, and as an intern in the Media Services Branch of the United Nations Population Fund and with the Women’s Refugee Commission.

Lisa holds a BA from Pace University, where she studied political science and Spanish. She was awarded the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship in 2005.

We are pleased to launch two new stories produced in the March 2012 MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop.

From March 24-30, 2012 a team of journalists collaborated with MediaStorm at our workshop to create, Remember These Days and A Hundred Different Ways.

During the MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop participants work directly with MediaStorm staff to create an intimate, character-driven documentary in just one week.

Crisis Guide: Iran produced by MediaStorm and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) received the 2011 Overseas Press Club (OPC) award for Web: Online General Excellence. The OPC awards have been recognizing online journalism since the 1940s and this year they added six new categories for online coverage to acknowledge the changing media landscape.

MediaStorm is excited to welcome Joe Fuller, as our motion graphics designer.

Fuller is a motion graphic designer, filmmaker, and avid drawer. His motion graphic work on features for the Kansas City Chiefs led to two Regional Emmy’s and several nominations for in stadium and publicity graphics.

Fuller entered motion design as a means to combine video with his traditional art background. Through designing show opens for Kansas City Public Television, team intros and promos for various professional sports teams, ad campaigns, and viral videos, he delights in finding graphic solutions that are conceptually and aesthetically sound.

Fuller earned his bachelors of fine arts from the Kansas City Art Institute, where he was awarded the Digital Filmmaking mentorship award in 2011.

We are pleased to release two new MediaStorm projects A Shadow Remains by Phillip Toledano and Rite of Passage by Maggie Steber.

Phillip and Maggie are both celebrated photographers who turned their cameras on themselves and the ones closest to them at a time of deep introspection—the end of their parents’ lives.

Both films premiered at Galapagos.

MediaStorm is excited to welcome Taylor Buley to the MediaStorm staff as a developer.

Taylor Buley is a developer/journalist specializing in JavaScript. He studied Philosophy, Politics & Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and got his masters in Communication from Stanford.

He started his career as a fact-checker at Forbes Magazine, where he later became a staff writer and developer and reported from Silicon Valley.

Previous to Forbes, where he became a lead editorial developer, he was a Robert L. Bartley fellow at The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Page, a Burton C. Gray intern at Reason magazine and interned for the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

We are proud to announce the Council on Foreign Relations and MediaStorm have received an Emmy for Crisis Guide: Iran. The Crisis Guide was awarded in the category for New Approaches to News and Documentary Programming: Current News Coverage in the 33rd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan, produced with photographer Seamus Murphy of VII photo agency, was also nominated in the New Approaches to News and Documentary Programming: Documentaries category.

We are pleased to announce the release of the updated MediaStorm Field Guide to Powerful Multimedia Storytelling on iTunes. Featuring interactive guides, photo galleries and videos from the MediaStorm Online Training series and the MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop, the new iBook is the most comprehensive field guide we’ve produced to date.

The MediaStorm Field Guide outlines fundamental concepts for gathering multimedia content in the field for documentary films. The guide is based on MediaStorm’s years of experience shooting and producing award-winning projects. Also available on desktop.

Serving as a quick reference for multimedia teams in the field, the guide covers important concepts from picking appropriate gear, to setting up audio correctly, to shooting b-roll and backing up media.

Additionally, each chapter’s most important points are conveniently repurposed into a series of checklists to make it easy to remember best practices even when on the go.

We’re excited to announce the release of a new Transom Manifesto about quality storytelling by MediaStorm founder and executive producer Brian Storm. Here’s more about the manifesto from Transom’s Jay Allison:

In his Transom Manifesto, Brian Storm—the founder and executive producer of the innovative, multimedia production studio MediaStorm—talks about “quality” on the web as the main driver of web traffic (besides gossip or sensationalism, or being really funny). In an attempt to diagnose the elements of quality, he’s prepared a fascinating Transom Manifesto, comparing three versions of the same story about a New York City Seltzer Man—one for radio, one for TV, and one by MediaStorm. He takes the time to disassemble them and break down the beats. This is a great multimedia storytelling exercise, highly recommended.

We are pleased to launch two new stories produced in the November 2012 MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop.

In our November 2012 Storytelling Workshop a team of journalists collaborated with MediaStorm to create, The American-Made Benny and Luv Schtick.

We are pleased to share Surviving the Peace: Angola, our most recent client project produced with the Mines Advisory Group (MAG).

The second project in the Surviving the Peace series, Surviving the Peace: Angola tells the emotional story of Angolans living in the shadow of landmines and unexploded ordnance more than a decade after the conflict officially ended.

Impact: For Minga: The Impact of One Girl’s Story & How You Can Help

We are thrilled to announce motion design as the newest addition to our post-production repertoire.

MediaStorm has a tradition of using multimedia tools to tell top-quality stories that matter.

In the past we’ve focused on using stills, video, audio, and graphic and interactive design to tell stories. We see motion design as an exciting new step that embraces our cinematic narrative tradition and elevates our ability to tell great stories.

Our 2013 Motion Design Reel gives you a sampling of what we’ve done so far and a look at what is possible.

MediaStorm is pleased to announce a new Educational Program that offers discounted Online Training licenses to students at participating universities.

MediaStorm Online Training Educational Program

The MediaStorm Online Training Educational Program offers a simple way for educational institutions to use our acclaimed training in their classrooms. In just three easy steps we’ll have your classroom learning from our award-winning production staff.

MediaStorm is pleased to present eight new films produced in collaboration with the International Center of Photography with support from the Harbers Family Foundation.

The inaugural effort would go on to win a Webby and MediaStorm would produce films for the event for the next ten years. A showcase of those films can be found at https://infinityawards.mediastorm.com.

MediaStorm is excited to welcome Samia Khan to our team as the Director of Partnership Development.

Samia Khan is dedicated to using the power of collective action and storytelling to build a more just world. She has spent the past decade working on human rights and development issues in Kenya, Pakistan, and the United States; with organizations like the UNDP, UNCDF, the World Bank, and Ashoka. Most recently, Samia worked as a strategic planning and fundraising consultant, where she helped organizations clarify their missions and programs and execute successful fundraising campaigns. Samia is also a founding Board Member of the Nur Project, an organization that seeks to shine a light on stories of hope and change in Pakistan.

Samia holds a Master’s in Public Administration from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and her dog.

We are honored to announce that MediaStorm has been recognized by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) as a winner of a 2013 National Edward R. Murrow Award in the category of Website by a National Online News Organization.

RTDNA is the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism, representing local and network journalists in broadcasting, cable and digital media in more than 30 countries. The Edward R. Murrow Awards has honored work of the highest quality produced by radio, television and online news organizations around the world since 1971.

“This year’s winning entries are outstanding examples of electronic journalism at its finest,” said Mike Cavender, Executive Director of RTDNA. “Our judges faced many difficult decisions to select winners from so many high-quality submissions.”

A complete list of winners with links to the winning entries for the 2013 National Edward R. Murrow Awards can be found at rtdna.org.

MediaStorm is excited to announce that summer intern Cortney Cleveland will permanently join our staff as our new Operations and Social Media Manager.

Since joining the MediaStorm team in May, she has overseen the company’s social media presence including the launch of our revamped outposts on Tumblr and LinkedIn.

Cortney is a freelance writer, helping entrepreneurs and brands tell their stories on the web. She also brings years of public relations experience to her position, having worked on a variety of communications campaigns and managed high-profile client accounts for public relations agencies in Washington, DC (GMMB) and New York City (Peppercom).

How do you tell the story of a massive organization with a broad scope that brings resources, education and connection to hundreds of thousands of people throughout Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast? This was the challenge Neighborhood Centers Inc. brought to MediaStorm. With Swan Song, we answer the question of why Neighborhood Center’s work matters with intimate, cinematic narratives of the people they serve everyday.

Swan Song is the story of The Greers, a 3-woman unit of mother and daughters nicknamed “The Greer Girls.” When Marilyn is diagnosed with dementia at age 58, her daughters refocus their lives to care for her during her most precious years. They try to juggle it all until they are forced to make a heartbreaking decision.

Impact: Data, Dollars And Love: How MediaStorm Measures the Impact of Our Films

MediaStorm, in partnership with Starbucks and Starbucks Armed Forces Network, was tasked with developing a character-driven documentary that speaks to the responsibility Americans have towards returning veterans and their families. By focusing on the stories of returning veterans, MediaStorm set out to describe the staggering reintegration challenges facing veterans while celebrating their mission oriented focus, teamwork, discipline, service, and diverse work experience–thereby demonstrating their job readiness.

Homecoming tells the story of Major Amy Quesenberry. As Major Quesenberry transitioned out of active duty military, she started asking herself what she wanted to do with her civilian life. With all the experiences she had built up over 14 years of service, she found the transition difficult. She isn’t alone. The veteran unemployment rate is nearly double the national average.

MediaStorm is excited to welcome Andrew Michael Ellis to our team as the Director of Photography.

Andrew creates films that highlight injustice and challenge stereotypes through humanizing, intimate storytelling with award winning cinematography. His documentary Figure Father grapples with the emotional challenges of reentry from prison, while his quirky comedic portrait documentary Eleanor Ambos Interiors flips ageism and gender stereotypes on their head. As Andrew’s films tour the film festival circuit he still values film education, teaching cinematography at New York University and creating a film education program for an NGO in Southern California that works with undocumented immigrants. Andrew’s latest film They Came at Night combines stylized fiction filmmaking with concrete social advocacy strategy for communities devastated by war in Central Africa. 

Andrew co-founded the art collective Nomadique and is now the full-time Director of Photography for MediaStorm, a digital storytelling agency based in Brooklyn.

We are pleased to present Japan’s Disposable Workers, a film series produced in collaboration the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Based on Shiho Fukada’s portrait series, the film explores the labor issues affecting Japan in three sections, to illustrate the larger global labor crisis at work. 

We are so grateful to every veteran who has shared his or her story with us and we hope that telling your stories has been healing and helpful in some way. 

We celebrate the innovations of returning vets like Jake Clark, the Founder and Executive Director of Save a Warrior. In 2014, in partnership with Soledad O’Brien and the Starfish Media Group, MediaStorm developed a special report for CNN on the rising incidence of suicide and PTSD among our young veterans, and Jake’s valiant efforts to create safe haven and hope for them.

We are proud to present our newest workshop project, produced in the July 2014 MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop. From July 14 to 18, 2014 a team of filmmakers, writers and photographers converged in Brooklyn to tell the story of Coney Island through the eyes of Coney Island Jay. During the workshop, participants worked directly with MediaStorm staff to create an intimate, character-driven documentary in just one week.

Jay Singer has been in love with one Brooklyn neighborhood his entire life. He grew up there, pined for it when he was forced to leave and returned when he couldn’t stand to be away one more day. His life’s work is an unfinished 1200 page book about the place. He currently gives three-hour tours explaining its history. Through Jay’s vast historical knowledge, we learn about what makes this iconic neighborhood so special, and how that past may impact its future.

MediaStorm is excited to announce that summer intern David Kofahl will permanently join our staff as an Interactive Designer and Developer.

David is a designer and programmer, who explores the intersection of technology and storytelling. Since joining the MediaStorm team in May, he has supported the web development team in revamping the MediaStorm Storytelling Platform.

For the past two years he has collaborated on America Recycled, an interactive documentary that traces unique and radical communities across the Southern United States. He is currently developing the web application for the film.

We are pleased to present Inside Tracks with renowned photographer Rick Smolan. In 1977, Robyn Davidson walked 1,700 miles across the Australian outback alone with only four camels to carry her gear and her beloved dog, Diggity, as her companion. National Geographic sent Rick Smolan to photograph her perilous journey.

It took Davidson nine months to complete the trip, traveling through the barren desert landscape—the journey tested and transformed them both, forming a friendship and an immutable bond that continues to this day.

The journey was adapted into a major motion picture inspired by Robyn’s journey and Rick’s photography.

MediaStorm is excited to announce that summer intern Ligaiya Romero will permanently join our staff as an editor and producer.

G. Ligaiya Romero is a visual journalist and documentary storyteller. Originally from New York, she graduated from UCLA with dual degrees in Film Production and International Development. She studied documentary photography and multimedia production at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Recently, she received her Master’s degree in Visual Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Roy H. Park fellow.

Ligaiya’s work has been recognized by the SXSW Interactive Awards, College Photographer of the Year, Photo District News, the National Press Photographers Association and the New York Photo Awards among others.

We believe that quality storytelling can change the way you see the world. That’s why we help the world’s finest filmmakers and photographers tell stories that matter with the depth they deserve. These stories make up the MediaStorm’s Publication – a destination for long-form video journalism and cutting-edge film.

Today, we are proud to announce the MediaStorm community can now “sub to the pub” with an annual subscription that gives you full-access to all the stories in our Publication, for just $23.95.

Why subscribe to MediaStorm’s Publication? Because you believe in quality storytelling. Because you believe that the really special stories are developed over months and years, not moments. And perhaps most importantly, because you support independent storytellers.

We are pleased to launch Hungry Horse, a film and photography project created by internationally acclaimed photographer Pieter ten Hoopen in collaboration with MediaStorm based on over ten years of work in a small Montana town.

In the film, Pieter touches on the struggles of poverty, drug use and loss. But he more accurately captures the spirit of renewal, peace and serenity in the lives of the people he documents through stunning landscapes and intimate oral histories. Hungry Horse follows the mythical structure of its subjects’ lives, Charly, Brad Lee, and Katie, and it is through their stories, and Pieter’s powerful imagery that we learn about the timeless cycle of adventure, loss and renewal.

Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) takes the medical breakthroughs of the developed world and brings them to The Far End of the Road where 1 out of 6 adults is HIV-positive and healthcare can be many hours away.

GAIA is successful, in part, because its dedicated staff brings care to those who might otherwise go without. Training and deploying mobile clinics, village health workers, and nursing scholars, GAIA builds stronger, healthier communities that are leading the way towards an AIDS-free future.

In The Far End of the Road, MediaStorm follows the story of two women working to create better health for Malawi.

Set in Seattle Washington, The Long Night, a film by Tim Matsui and MediaStorm, gives voice and meaning to the crisis of minors who are forced and coerced into the American sex trade. In two parts, the film weaves together the stories of seven people whose lives have been forever changed by this issue.

This project was made possible by the generous support of the Alexia Foundation Women’s Initiative grant. It premiered at the Paley Center and was recognized by POY, NPPA and World Press.

Shine On tells the story of Shine On Sierra Leone (SOSL), an innovative education-based cultural partnership that focuses on social development through personal transformation.

Over the past eight years, SOSL has provided 2,800 students with a highly reputable primary education, granted 7,000 women micro-loans, trained 12,000 individuals in computer literacy and 600 individuals in adult literacy, as well as launched a maternal and child health care program for 50,000 individuals.

Shine On chronicles SOSL’s evolution from a traditional charity to an organization that fosters personal development as a tool for social transformation. This unique philosophy and pedagogy has had phenomenal results–most notably elevating its primary school from number 736 in the district to number 2.

MediaStorm’s 2015 Motion Design Reel highlights the best animation work we’ve created for films and stand alone projects. Learn more about how organizations use our motion graphics services to communicate their message and create a unique graphic identity.

MediaStorm is pleased to present a film series produced in collaboration with the International Center of Photography with support from Harbers Studios.

Since 1985 ICP’s Infinity Awards have brought attention to outstanding achievements in photography by honoring individuals with distinguished careers in the field and identifying future luminaries. The 2015 Infinity Awards films serve as a portrait of some of the important contributors to photography today.

MediaStorm is proud to present Travel Anonymous, an exploratory film and photography collaboration with award-winning photojournalist Jeff Hutchens.

Everyone who travels by themselves knows the feeling of anonymity that comes when no one really knows exactly where you are or what you are doing in the world. The further you are culturally from home, the greater its intensity can feel. Travel Anonymous explores that intensity and the dreamlike state life takes on when you leave the familiar behind.

MediaStorm produced seven films for the Wall St. Journal Magazine for its fifth annual Innovator Awards at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on November 4th. Seven trailblazing talents were honored for their groundbreaking accomplishments in their respective disciplines. We were thrilled to premiere our seven films on the honorees at this prestigious event.

Selected by WSJ. Magazine editors, the honorees were: Richard Serra (Art); Mark Parker (Brand); Thomas Heatherwick (Design); Angelina Jolie Pitt (Entertainment/Film); Miuccia Prada (Fashion); Karl Ove Knausgaard (Literature); and Stewart Butterfield (Technology). Each winner was presented with an award designed by the 2011 Design winner Joris Laarman.

I launched MediaStorm in 2005 with the deep belief that audiences around the world could and would discern quality content when they saw it. I wasn’t after money – there are much better ways to make money – I was interested in telling stories that mattered, ones that could make a difference in the world. What I knew to be true was that people act on their conscious, they just needed to a way to authentically connect. What they needed was intimate stories that brought you face to face with people, took you inside their homes and their lives in a way that made it impossible to look away when confronted with some of the horrors our stories have exposed. Read more.

California’s Central Valley produces more than half of America’s produce. But the summer of 2015 marked the fourth year of what has become a monumental drought. Small family farmers like Jesus Ramos are in trouble. And when the farmers are in trouble, the country is in trouble.

As Ramos’ daughter says “No one is going to want to spend $5 on an orange”.

Life After Water is the compelling story of one man’s struggle to reimagine an apocalyptic world–a world without water.

Michael Thomasson has devoted his life to video games. It’s been his passion and his obsession for more than three decades. He owns over 11,000 unique game titles for more than 100 different systems.

Why?

“Because there’s something wrong in the back of my head.”

His collection is so large, in fact, that it’s currently recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.

There’s only one thing Michael loves more than his games: his family.

The Last Move pays tribute to one man’s quest to prove that his family’s needs come before all else–even his lifelong passion.

It’s an exciting day for the Storm family, and for MediaStorm!

We found out this morning that my wife Elodie has won the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University for the 2016-17 academic year.

The JSK Journalism Fellowships program champions innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership in journalism, by helping fellows pursue their ideas, formulated as “journalism challenges,” to improve the quality of news and information reaching the public. Elodie’s fellowship will focus on developing solutions to one of the most pressing questions facing our profession: How can photojournalism thrive financially in the age of social media?

As Elodie’s proud spouse, I also gain access to the program as a JSK Affiliate. I’m thrilled for the opportunity to challenge myself and grow new skills in the heart of Silicon Valley. While I intend to take full advantage of these incredible opportunities, I will continue to lead the great team at MediaStorm. Serendipitously, our newest client is based in the Bay Area – stay tuned for more soon! I’m so excited to see her focus on this critical issue with the support of the best minds in the world at Stanford.

We are thrilled to welcome Rebeca Conget, our new Director of Distribution, to the MediaStorm team. Rebeca will play a key role ensuring that MediaStorm’s work continues to gain widespread distribution and reaches–and inspires–an ever growing audience.

Rebeca Conget, a native Spaniard, is a veteran independent film industry professional, having worked in acquisitions, distribution and programming for the past 19 years. As VP of Theatrical Distribution at New Yorker Films, she was instrumental in the release strategy of various box office record breaking documentaries, including Trembling Before G-d and the Oscar-nominated My Architect. During the 8 years she was VP of Acquisitions and Distribution at Film Movement, she introduced North American audiences to dozens of first-time international filmmakers that went on to develop successful and critically acclaimed careers. Conget holds an M.A. in Cinema Studies from NYU, and has participated as an expert panelist and jury member in over 20 film festivals worldwide. She is currently a senior programmer of the Bogota International Film Festival in Colombia.

MediaStorm curated an evening of compelling and innovative short films based on the Worth Watching series for the last evening of the 2016 LOOK3 Festival in Charlottesville, VA.

When curating our selections, we have tried to offer the audience both a geographical voyage and an emotional journey. The work we’re sharing will take you from China to San Francisco, from Mexico to Memphis, and from Chad to San Diego. You will laugh, raise your fist in solidarity and want to get your hiking gear ready for your next adventure.

MediaStorm is excited to share with you a playlist including all of the films that were shown at the screening, as well as a few additional films that didn’t make it into the presentation due to time constraints. See the full collection on Vimeo.

LOOK3 is a photography festival, founded by former National Geographic photographer Michael “Nick” Nichols, which aspires to annually present diverse work by a variety of artists, while also creating immersive community events and developing educational initiatives.

From breathtaking nature shots of the lush New Zealand landscape, to footage of schoolchildren in Liberia, to images of a farmer picking red coffee cherries in Sumatra: you can now license these and over 300 exclusive MediaStorm clips through Getty Images.

Today MediaStorm has joined the Docuseek2 streaming platform.

Docuseek2 is the premiere streaming source for independent, environmental and social-issue documentaries for the educational market, with more than 800 films from Bullfrog Films®, Icarus Films (including The Fanlight Collection and dGenerate Films), Kartemquin Films, KimStim, the National Film Board of Canada, Terra Nova Films, Scorpion TV, and now MediaStorm.

The MediaStorm collection of 39 films is immediately available for higher-education streaming, exclusively on Docuseek2, click here:

http://docuseek2.com/ds-mstorm

All of MediaStorm films are also still available for purchase on DVD and digital file, with PPR or DSL, to educational institutions though MediaStorm’s website.

For more info contact edu@mediastorm.com.

Curiosity, authenticity, and a deep commitment to the craft. These are some of the defining characteristics of the WSJ. Magazine 2016 Innovators–an outstanding group of individuals recognized for setting new ground in their fields. Seven trailblazing talents, all of whom are featured in the magazine’s November issue, were honored among more than 200 guests for their groundbreaking accomplishments in their respective disciplines on November 2nd, 2016 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Selected by WSJ. Magazine editors, the honorees were: Melinda Gates(Philanthropy); Ai Weiwei (Art); Tom Ford (Film); The Weeknd (Music); Daniel Humm and Will Guidara(Food); Es Devlin (Design) and Snøhetta’s Craig Dykers and Kjetil Thorsen (Architecture).

For the second year , MediaStorm has used its multidisciplinary approach to create films that shine a light on each individual. These films showcase some of MediaStorm’s greatest strengths: an ability to develop a captivating story under tight constraints; combining beautiful cinematography and motion graphics to add unparalleled finesse; and working in close partnership with a client to get results.

MediaStorm is pleased to present a film about something we all spend way too much time talking about: sex.

Return to the Body, a collaboration with Verse, takes a look at our culture’s relationship to sexuality through one woman’s experience, Rebecca Torosian. She has a hard time explaining what she does. “I’ll just tell this person like I’m a mind-body coach and if they want to know more they can ask me,” said Rebecca. Want to know more? Rebecca’s a sex surrogate.

MediaStorm is thrilled to present our annual partnership with the International Center of Photography and Harbers Studio, a film series honoring the winners of the 33rd Annual Infinity Awards. This year, MediaStorm was proud to produce the films honoring these winners: Michael Christopher Brown, Libyan Sugar, for Artist’s Book; Michael Famighetti and Sarah Lewis, Vision & Justice, for Critical Writing and Research; Edmund Clark and Crofton Black, Negative Publicity, Artefacts of Extraordinary Rendition, for Documentary and Photojournalism; Vasantha Yogananthan, for Emerging Photographer; and For Freedoms, for Online Media and New Platform.

Join Lynn Johnson for a conversation on the selfie and its place in an increasingly interconnected world on April 26 at the Mitchell Park Community Center in Palo Alto. The talk will reflect on the question: how does our selfie obsession connect us with one another as we are challenged to hold our ground in empathy, tolerance and inclusion? This talk will be moderated by Brian Storm and is part of the Palo Alto Photo Gallery Lecture Series, an organization that aims to foster conversations in visual storytelling.

MediaStorm is honored to have created a film on the work Lynn does with Ripple Effect Images, dedicated to telling the stories of women from around the world.

We are thrilled to welcome Greg Harris, our new Creative Director, to the MediaStorm family. This is actually Greg’s second tour with us. Greg and I have a long history. He was at MediaStorm in 2007 as our first Creative Director. We worked together at Microsoft/MSNBC in the 90’s as well as through various collaborations with MetaStories, Brightcove and Daily Interactive Networks with the visonary Brian Monnin. Greg is a rare talent and a terrific person. He will be leading our efforts in interactive storytelling and the redesign of our offerings across all channels. I can’t think of a better partner for us to have as we move to next phase of MediaStorm. Welcome aboard (again) Greg!

We are thrilled to welcome Patrick Wellever, our new Full Stack Developer, to the MediaStorm family.

During the past decade, Patrick has worked in various roles at the intersection of journalism and technology. Before joining MediaStorm, he was a digital producer at National Geographic, where he worked on a major digital overhaul of the Out of Eden Walk project — a decade-long storytelling odyssey tracing the pathways of ancient human migration out of Africa and across the globe. Prior to that, he spent four years with the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, where he organized training opportunities in digital media production and web technologies for visiting fellows, in addition to overseeing the program’s web presence and internal technology needs. After starting his career in photojournalism, Patrick has steadily shifted his focus toward harnessing technology in the service of impactful storytelling.

In 2010, inspired by photojournalist Chris Capozziello’s powerful photographs of his sibling, MediaStorm started documenting Chris and his twin brother Nick’s during a particularly challenging time in their lives. Seven years later, we share this film of sibling bonding.

Crafting a better future from a world in flux. This is the hallmark of WSJ. Magazine’s 2017 Innovators—a group of visionary, foundation-shaking luminaries working across seven fields. This year’s talents were honored at the annual Innovator Awards on November 1 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Selected by WSJ. Magazine editors, the honorees were: Reese Witherspoon (Entertainment); Raf Simons (Fashion); Diller Scofidio + Renfro (Architecture); Roman and Williams (Design); Musical.ly(Technology); Ryan Heffington (Performing Arts); Mark Bradford (Art).

MediaStorm is proud to present our new feature-film, Fight Hate with Love, a story about prison-survivor and activist, Michael Ta’Bon. Fight Hate with Love premiered at the Camerimage Film Festival and had its USA premiere at the Cleveland International Film Festival. It has since shown at the Philadelphia Film Festival and most recently had its New York City premiere at the Made in New York Media Center. The film was Shortlisted for Tim Hetherington Trust Visionary Award.

For the past six years, MediaStorm has been honored to partner with the International Center of Photography and Harbers Studio to produce films that honor the winners of the annual Infinity Awards for their contributions to the field of photography and visual culture.

The films MediaStorm produced for this year’s winners are: Lifetime Achievement: Bruce Davidson; Applied: Alexandra Bell; Art: Samuel Fosso; Artist’s Book: Dayanita Singh; Critical Writing and Research: Maurice Berger, Race Stories; Documentary and Photojournalism: Amber Bracken; Emerging Photographer: Natalie Keyssar; and for Online Platform and New Media: Women Photograph.

Crafting a better future from a world in flux. This is the hallmark of WSJ. Magazine’s 2018 Innovators—a group of visionary, foundation-shaking luminaries working across nine fields. This year’s talents were honored at the annual Innovator Awards on November 7 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Selected by WSJ. Magazine editors, the honorees were: Ruth E. Carter (Design); David Chang (Food); Nonny de la Peña (Technology); Agnes Gund (Philanthropy); Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron (Architecture); Jonah Hill (Film); Ralph Lauren (Fashion); John Legend (Entertainment); and Pheobe Waller-Bridge (TV).

MediaStorm, in partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) and Transformative presents U.S. – Russia Relations: Quest for Stability, an immersive guide to US-Russia relations.

Powered by the MediaStorm Platform, this responsive, interactive experience showcases video, timeline, audio, interactive charts and maps, to explore why US-Russia relations are critical to the preservation of American democracy and global stability.

It’s that time of year again and we are so excited to share, in partnership with the ICP and Harbers Studio, this year’s Infinity Award series. This year’s winners are: Lifetime Achievement: Rosalind Fox Solomon; Critical Writing and Research: Zadie Smith, Art: Dawoud Bey; Emerging Photographer: Jess T. Dugan; and Special Presentation: Shahidul Alam.

This year marks the first-ever virtual ICP Infinity Awards honoring:

• Lifetime Achievement: Don McCullin
• Online Platform and New Media: The 1619 Project of the New York Times Magazine
• Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism: Hannah Reyes Morales
• Applied: Nadine Ijewere

I have a long history with the Pictures of the Year and College Photographer of the Year contests. 

They have been guiding pillars throughout my 27-year career as they set the standard for quality visual storytelling. I took a walk down memory lane and put together the back story.

It is fitting—as MediaStorm enters our next chapter, with the MediaStorm Platform as a central element of our strategy—that these two contests are some of our first public implementations of this powerful new toolset.

I sat down with the directors of each contest, CPOY’s Jackie Bell and POY’s Lynden Steele, to discuss how the MediaStorm Platform supports their vision for the future.

Since 2013, MediaStorm has partnered with the International Center of Photography and Harbers Studios to produce films that pay homage to the winners of the annual Infinity Awards for their contributions to the field of photography and visual arts.

Sebastião Salgado says “a good picture, a fantastic picture, you do in a fraction of a second, but to arrive to do this picture, you must put your life in there.”

On the 17th anniversary of MediaStorm, I am excited to announce the return of Robert Browman, one of MediaStorm’s original family members.

Also known simply as Brow, he has rejoined MediaStorm as an editor and producer.

Brow was the first member of the MediaStorm team, joining me a full year before the company launched. 

He left MediaStorm in 2008 to pursue other adventures in the journalism and news industry, including a long period as an editor and producer at the Albuquerque Journal in New Mexico.

On top of working alongside each all those years, we’ve remained great friends, and I’ve always considered him one of the founding minds behind our approach. I couldn’t be more excited to welcome him back as we move forward together with our next chapter at MediaStorm.

Read more about Brow here.

Curator, writer, editor and educator David Campany explores the craft of photo books, detailing his early love of photography and providing a look at some of his favorite books in a short-film, as well as a deep dive into 18 pivotal books, in the latest project by MediaStorm and Harbers Studios.

In Remembering Sudan, photographer and filmmaker Ami Vitale documents the heartbreaking crisis facing the northern white rhinos and keepers like Zacharia Mutai who sacrifice so much to protect them.

This year marks the 10th year that MediaStorm has partnered with the International Center of Photography and Harbers Studios to produce films that pay homage to each of the winners of ICP’s annual Infinity Awards for their contributions to the field of photography and visual arts.

Each March, the ICP recognizes these outstanding artists at an annual fundraiser at their headquarters in New York City. The gala event helps support a full range of programs, including exhibitions, collections, community outreach, scholarships, and the ICP School.

MediaStorm’s films are widely recognized as the signature moment of the event.

For MediaStorm, these films pay tribute to our roots in photography and our aspiration for it to continue to be a force for positive change in the world.

MediaStorm is pleased to announce Documenting Dual Eligibility, produced with photojournalist Isadora Kosofsky in partnership with CatchLight and Arnold Ventures.

In Documenting Dual Eligibility, Kosofsky dives into the lives of two women, Melissa and Ann, as they face the challenges of their medical conditions while being covered by two separate government healthcare programs.

In two intimate films, Kosofsky captures the positivity of the women’s personalities and the complexities of their daily lives while exploring the challenges and protections offered by the dual-eligibility healthcare model. The project was honored by the Anthem Awards.

Great stories come in all shapes and sizes, and there’s no follow-the-numbers chart for how to make one.

That said, after producing hundreds of films at MediaStorm, we’ve identified some common approaches that help make documentary stories more meaningful and powerful.

We developed this post for our upcoming Storytelling Workshop participants as they work to find a story to document.

As you look for stories, keep an eye out to see if they include one or more of the elements as detailed here.

Mick Wang joins the MediaStorm team after a decade in storytelling and client success across outdoor education, public land conservation, and mobile advertising.

We first met Mick in our December 2015 Methodology Master Class.

He joins MediaStorm as our Business Development Lead helping to further our Creative and Production Services and driving sales of our online training and MediaStorm Platform toolset.

We are proud to present Finding Balance from the first storytelling workshop our new home, the Santa Cruz mountains in California. 

From December 1-8, 2023, four workshop participants worked directly with the MediaStorm team to create an intimate, character-driven documentary.

The MediaStorm Platform has been selected as a finalist for the 2024 Next Challenge for Media & Journalism.

The Next Challenge for Media & Journalism is the largest startup competition open to nonprofit and for-profit media companies in the United States.

It’s been our vision for many years to hold an in-person MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop that is tuition free. 

We’re excited to announce the day has finally come, thanks to a partnership with MPB!

Participants for our July 26 – August 2, 2024 workshop in the Santa Cruz Mountains will be selected based on the quality of their work and their applications.

The Photojournalism Archive recently launched a website to preserve the world’s best photojournalism using the MediaStorm Platform.

The project launched with the work of eight photojournalists, and will be adding more in the months and years to come.

We’ve created a case study that details how we built the Seattle AI Film Festival website. 

The website serves not just as a document of the festival itself, but as a record of the early stages of generative AI filmmaking at this historic moment in time.

The inaugural Seattle AI Film Festival held in March of 2025 was a groundbreaking event allowing creatives from around the world to showcase cutting-edge films made using artificial intelligence.

Films from eighty five filmmakers from 22 countries were screened during the two-day, in-person event.

The festival was produced by Culture & Code, a podcast and AI automation company dedicated to helping storytellers collaborate better with AI and each other.

In the shadow of Silicon Valley’s booming technology industry, a growing number of people remain out in the cold.

Skyrocketing housing prices and an astronomical cost-of-living in America’s hub of innovation have pushed many onto the streets, straining policymakers to find solutions to a homelessness problem that directly, or indirectly, impacts everyone in the community.

Lights in the Shadows follows Batman of San Jose and Crimson Fist as they provide a lifeline to those who sleep without shelter on San Jose’s sidewalks, camp in tents along the Guadalupe River or retreat to the subterranean darkness of the city’s storm drain tunnel system.

The CatchLight Impact Report site offers a way for readers to explore some of the best stories produced by CatchLight photographers , and it provides a look ahead to future initiatives.

The first step was to solidify the site’s mission and to begin to visualize the site structure.

We used the MediaStorm Platform to build the site using multiple interactive experiences.

Once teetering on the brink of extinction, the Santa Catalina Island Fox made a dramatic recovery. Its resurgence marks one of the greatest conservation success stories in United States history.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of MediaStorm, a milestone that honors two decades of storytelling, collaboration, training, technical innovation and social impact.

Since our founding in 2005, MediaStorm has been guided by a simple but powerful belief: that authentic stories have the power to foster empathy and understanding. Over the past twenty years, we’ve helped redefine documentary and interactive storytelling — creating work that moves audiences, advances important causes, and trains the next generation of visual journalists.

See a timeline of key milestones and watch reflections from some of collaborators.