The second RTÉ MoJocon takes place in Ireland this weekend. What is this MoJoCon we hear you ask? It is the conference where mobile journalists gather to talk and discuss work methods, the latest apps and gear, but also where everyone uses the smartphone to tell their stories. And that is the important thing for the 500 journalists who will gather at the Aviva this weekend. It is all about the story telling.
Filming with apps such as the ‘industry standard’ Filmic Pro and editing with iMovie is one aspect, but using a variety of other apps and techniques to send the story straight to social media was a central part of the coverage produced by RTÉ journalist Philip Bromwell and his ‘mojo’ team during the recent Irish election and the centenary of the 1916 Rising. Here are a couple of examples:
For #GE16 results, live streams, rolling blogs, analysis, images, videos and social media, we’ve got you covered pic.twitter.com/H3gFaGzak8
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 26, 2016
“So emotive”. 262 model houses for 262 civilians killed in 1916 Rising – new exhibition at Botanic Gardens, Dublin pic.twitter.com/LCEdV7CL2G
— Philip Bromwell (@philipbromwell) April 8, 2016
These may be breaking news stories such as those told by AJ+ journalist Shadi Rahimi and her crew when they reported from Ferguson on the night that the Grand Jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson over the shooting of Michael Brown. It was safer, Shadi explained to us last year, simply to use mobile phones. The situation was so explosive that if they had used TV cameras then they could have been putting themselves in danger. By using phones they just looked like anyone else in the crowd.
The story might be made into a film such as Tangerine which was lauded at Sundance.
The director Sean Baker will also be in Dublin this weekend to explain how he made the whole award-winning film on an iPhone.
Last year filmmaker Conrad Mess told the delegates at this popular conference that he had made a couple of films using just the iPhone. When the Dublin Reporter spoke to him after the conference, it turned out that he did not actually own an iPhone – he just borrowed one from whoever happened to be around!
Advertising has also been revolutionised by the adoption of mobile filmmaking. This lovely film, for example, was commissioned to show off the attributes of a luxury car:
Sadly even if you wanted a ticket the event at the Aviva stadium is now sold out.