Fuse Workshops at WCSJ19
Lausanne, 1-2 July 2019
The Fuse Workshops are practical masterclasses for science journalists who want to understand how new technologies can improve their reporting and storytelling. With hands-on exercises, case-studies and expert Q&As, you will learn how AR and AI can take your stories to the next level, and connect with like-minded innovative science journalists from around the world.
There are two workshops offered at the World Conference for Science Journalists in Lausanne, Switzerland:
- Fuse Workshop 1: Augmented Reality (1 July 2019) powered by Wellcome Trust
- Fuse Workshop 2: Artificial Intelligence (2 July 2019) powered by Journalism AI (LSE Polis and Google News Initiative)
In a nutshell
- Date: 1 July 2019 (Fuse Workshop 1: AR) and 2 July 2019 (Fuse Workshop 2: AI)
- Location: Lausanne, Switzerland during the World Conference for Science Journalists
- Participants: 25 journalists per workshop, covering science-related topics such as health, environment, technology, space and energy
- Tickets: Only open to the WCSJ attendees and needs to be selected through application.
- Logistics: one lunch on the day of workshop is arranged and paid by the organisers
- Application Deadline: 24 May 2019
- Announcement of the Selected Participants: 31 May 2019
- Powered by: Wellcome Trust and Journalism AI, an initiative of LSE Polis and Google News Initiative
- Facilitated by: Alok Jha, the science correspondent of The Economist and Rina Tsubaki, the founder and lead of the Lookout Station, a EFI science media initiative
Benefits
- Learn how the technology works thorough prototype building and/or demo
- Meet the tech experts, researchers and practitioners using these new technologies
- Develop new ideas on how to integrate cutting-edge technologies into storytelling
- Get inspired by best practices and case studies
- Connect with like-minded science(y) journalists who want to tell stories in new ways
Requirements
- You are a journalist or producer who has zero or little experience with AR or AI
- You are committed to attend the whole day programme from 9AM - 17PM
- You are excited about new technologies and want to get hands-on experience
- You feel comfortable in following the training and are able to communicate in English
Fuse Workshop 1: Augmented Reality (AR)
Our first workshop, Fuse Workshop 1: Augmented Reality will explore how science journalism can use AR in storytelling and audience engagement.
AR has been at the forefront of immersive technologies and is a powerful medium to reach and engage wide audiences, by allowing journalists to place the story itself within users’ environment.
From the Weather Channel's mixed reality integration in reporting the hurricanes to the New York Times' use of AR to bring NASA’s InSight spacecraft into people’s homes, there are unexploited potential in applying AR technologies in journalistic storytelling.
In this workshop, you will learn different methods to use AR storytelling and build your own project, by creating an image-recognition AR application using the Unity Game Engine. We will show you how to integrate a photo, a video and/or a 3D asset which will appear when the application recognises the chosen image.
No previous experience in coding or tools required, but basic understanding of computer science and coding is a plus. This is a workshop for people who have no experience in immersive media and augmented reality. Total beginners who are passionate about learning new technology are most welcome.
This workshop is sponsored by Wellcome Trust.
You need to bring:
- a laptop with the following softwares (free downloads & instruction to be provided): Unity (for both PC & Mac) and XCode (For Mac only and needed only if you want to upload the application on an iPhone/iPad.)
AND - an iPhone/iPad with iOS 11 and higher and compatible with ARKit: Use this list to determine if your device is compatible with ARKit
OR - an Android device compatible with ARCore (with minimum Android API SDK v.24 (Marshmallow)): Use this list> to determine if your device is compatible with ARCore.
Interested in discoverving more about the workshop? Read a Medium post by our trainers, Jean-Yves Chainon and Carole Chainon of JYC.
Jean-Yves Chainon is the Director of AR, VR & 360 Video at the Global Editors Network, photographer and filmmaker, Jean-Yves Chainon has also served as a VR/360 Producer at The New York Times and his work has been featured in publications such as The Washington Post and AJ+. He is also the CEO of JYC, an augmented and virtual reality production studio. He graduated from Brown University and has previously served on a one-year contract working on Google Ads and as a social media and digital news specialist for the US State Department.
His work
Houston Family Returns to a Flooded Home
Inside One of Houston's Improvised Shelters
See more here.
Carole Chainon is the COO of JYC, an augmented reality, virtual reality and 360 video production studio. Her work has been featured in publications such as Discovery‘s VR affiliate Seeker and AJ+, and showcased by Samsung VR and the Newseum. She’s helped with the production of the GEN Summit, VR Studio, and to manage GEN's VR Study Tours. Carole also has an MBA.
Her work
Explore Patagonia's Disappearing Glaciers
LA Community Health Project
See more here.
Griselda Serra is the Founder and CEO of OneBigRobot, a digital creative agency working on social good. OneBigRobot is a Barcelona-based visual communication and design agency that focuses on generating awareness and understanding on scientific and social issues through visual narratives, storytelling, data or gamification.
Her work
WWF Free Rivers: an AR app
The Washington Post UNESCO Sites AR Experience
See more here.
Our second workshop, Fuse Workshop 2: Artificial Intelligence will equip the science journalists with scientific and practical insights into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
AI is changing the world around us. Starting from voice recognition on our smartphones and voice controlled speakers, AI has been applied in the logistic industry to identify efficient routes for fleet and in emergency management to target disaster relief. In science and research, AI has opened a new avenue for scientific discoveries. In space science, researchers are studying steller sound waves to identify the age and the size of a star. In medicine, the doctors have been applying AI to diagnose various types of health issues incl. stroke and leukemia within minutes.
The workshop is powered by Journalism AI, a new project recently launched by Polis, the media think-tank of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), in collaboration with the Google News Initiative. Journalism AI focuses on research and training for newsrooms on the intersection of AI and journalism. The workshop will offer a training on AI in journalism specifically tailored for science journalists to explore various case studies and examples of how the technology is applied in science and journalism. It will also have a practical element where the participants try and test new AI tools.
This is a workshop for everyone who are passionate about learning new technology and its implications to science, journalism and society. No previous experience or knowledge in AI and machine learning required.
This workshop is powered and sponsored by Journalism AI.
Jeremy B. Merrill is a machine learning journalist with Qz's AI Studio. Previously, he has reported on political Facebook ads using an vast, crowd-sourced, AI-enabled database of political Facebook ads and built news apps using AI to summarize the activities of the U.S. Congress, both at ProPublica. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Twitter: @jeremybmerrill
Powered by
