ABOUT THE PLATFORM

Stories have the power to change the world.

That’s why we designed the MediaStorm Platform – to supercharge your storytelling.

The freedom to create, the freedom to be seen, and the freedom to thrive. We know this is what you need, because we need it too.

So we built a toolset that puts control back in the hands of the storyteller.

The Platform is a sophisticated authoring tool that allows storytellers to go beyond video to create integrated, immersive experiences – without writing code.

A Release produced in the Platform can include video, slideshows, podcasts, maps, timelines, covers and more.

This interactive player can be added as an element on your existing website, or you can use the Platform to build a full site.

And if others wish to share the player by embedding it in their sites, you maintain your branding and full-control of the story.

No one knows how to tell your story as well as you. The Platform returns full control to you – the storyteller.

Using this document

This is a step-by-step process for new users to learn the tool, customize it and to create a project.

It’s broken down into three parts:

Setup: One-time setup and integrations required to publish.
Interface: Describes the features of the tool and what they do.
Workflow: Outlines the process and methodology we recommend for using the Platform.

As you work through the document, if you run into any problems or have questions, please reach out to support@mediastorm.com

SETUP

Set-up global preferences and template preferences for first time users.

Login

If it is your first time logging into the Platform, you need to create a password.

Click https://platform.mediastorm.com/forgot-password
Enter your email address
A link to reset your password will be sent to your email, change it in the tool

After you’ve changed your password, you can access the Platform here:

https://platform.mediastorm.com

Organization Settings

Customize your projects with information about your organization, including its URL, logo, social media links and analytics.

Click the hamburger menu at the top left:

Click the General tab, or follow this link:

https://platform.mediastorm.com/settings/organization/

The Tab navigation will appear and display various options at locations within the Platform interface.

Add information into the fields for your organization.

We also recommend integrating your Google Analytics account in the Platform so you can track metrics in your account.

Please note, we currently only support the Universal Analytics (legacy) property/ID. To create this, follow these instructions

Once you have filled out all appropriate fields with your organization’s info, you must click Save.

Integrations

In order to publish a release using the Platform, you need to set up an account with Netlify and connect it via the Platform. The starter account is free for up 100 GB of served data a month.

Likewise, you’ll want to connect to accounts from Vimeo for your videos and MapBox for maps. Both are free for basic plans.

And Google Analytics integration provides detailed traffic statistics for your published projects.

From inside the Platform

Click the hamburger menu at the upper left and select Integrations, or follow this link: https://platform.mediastorm.com/settings/integrations/

Click the New Integration button.

Follow instructions below for setting up each account

Template Presets

This step is optional. You can use MediaStorm’s default color and font styling for your releases, or you can create your own and save them as templates.

Template presets allow you to store predefined configurations of these options, which can then be applied to releases with one click.

This approach can simplify the release publishing process while also helping to ensure style and brand consistency across published releases.

If you wish to create your own styling, click the hamburger menu in the upper left corner of the Platform and select Template Presets, or follow this link:

https://platform.mediastorm.com/settings/template/

You can also navigate to the Template Preset Tab by clicking the menu from any other Organization Setting page.

Select the New Preset button to start a new style template.

Add a name for your preset.

Fill out the fields you wish to customize.

Detailed in information about customizing fonts is here: https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051972133-Customize-Fonts

You’ll see a preview of your style choices in the preview area to the right.

Once everything is as you like it, you must hit Save.

More information about managing presets:

https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360052384234

Team Members

This step is optional. If you plan for multiple members of your team to be working in the Platform, you can share a single, institutional login, or MediaStorm can set each team member up with an account.

Each user with a login will have access to all assets and work inside of your organization's account in the Platform.

If you wish to add users, please send an email with each user’s name and email address to support@mediastorm.com

Each user may change basic account settings and their password by clicking the Account icon at the bottom left in the Player, or by clicking here: https://platform.mediastorm.com/settings/

Information about user account settings is located here: https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360049232273-User-Account-Settings

INTERFACE

This section describes the key areas of the Platform’s user interface.

Dashboard

The Dashboard is a workspace where users create and manage projects, titles and media, and access account information.

You can always access the Dashboard by clicking on the hamburger menu icon on the top-left of any page.

This will take you to your account’s top-level page, which is the Media view.

Left Toolbar

Clicking the Media, Titles or Releases icons in the left toolbar will update the content in their respective work areas.

These three areas, which are described below, are where the editable assets of your projects will live, and where you’ll do most of your work.

Work Areas

This area of the tool is where your Media, Titles and Releases assets appear.

From here, you can add to the list and edit them by clicking on the individual items.

The items are displayed in the List View, and it can be sorted by clicking on the labels – Name, Type, Created – at the top of the list.

Right sidebar

Use the right sidebar for refining the view of items in the list view. The table can be sorted by adjusting the date, media type, file size and keyword in the right panel.

Account

Use the Account settings page to update basic settings related to your user account.

Add or change your avatar image.
Set your preferred time zone.
Change your password.

Detailed information about changing your password and the account settings page: https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360049232273

WORKFLOW

The following section outlines how the Platform interface is organized, the best workflow to employ when working on a project, brief overviews of each section’s interface, and links to detailed documentation for each part of the process.

In general, it’s best to think about building your project as a three step process in the following order:

Add Media >> Build Titles >> Publish Releases

You'll use your Media assets to build interactive Titles, such as Playlists, Maps, Timelines, Slideshows or Covers, and you’ll then organize these Titles together with Media into a final Player or Website Release..

By working first on your building block material, your Media assets, it will make it easier to create Titles that best tell your story. The metadata that you add to Media in most cases will flow into the titles so you can do the work once at the media level and get it for free later in the workflow.

Once the metadata is added to Media and the Titles are built, you’ll have the flexibility to distribute them in a variety of ways by building Releases around them.

Adding Media

The first step in any project is adding and managing Media assets.

Media assets are images, audio and video. Images can be uploaded or added via link to online files, and videos are pulled in from Vimeo or YouTube.

Note: MediaStorm recommends using Vimeo to host your videos as they don’t include their branding and allow for the fullest customization.

Add captions for images and videos in editing software or digital asset management programs. It will be imported into the Platform when ingested.

Likewise, it’s a good idea to use outside editing software to decide on which assets you plan to use in your project, and add only those to the Platform.

To get started, click the Media button on the top left:

Click the Add Media button on the right:

Choose how you want to import:

Once you’ve added Media assets, you’ll have the options to edit thumbnail versions, add and edit media data, and other settings.

For more information on these processes, see:

Managing Media: https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038737294

Building Titles

The second step is to create Titles using the Media assets you’ve prepared.

From the Create New Title interface, select a name for your title and choose a type, which includes Contributors, Cover, Page, Pin Map, Playlist, Slideshow and Timeline.

Here are brief descriptions of what each does, along with links to more detailed information about how they look and how to edit them.

Contributors: A grouping of the individuals and/or organizations that played a role in creating the content for specific projects. More on contributors
Cover: An animated “introduction” visualization that links to other titles or media. More on covers
Page: A scrolling web page that can contain Text, Media, Titles or Player embed. More on pages
Pin Map: An interactive map containing markers and overlays with contextual text and media elements. More on pin maps
Playlist: A sequential series of video or audio media. More information about playlists. More on playlists
Slideshow: A sequential gallery of images or videos. More on slideshows
Timeline: A chronological series of events with descriptive text and media elements. More on timelines

Publishing Releases

After creating Titles with your Media, it’s time to package them into a Release for publishing.

Think of a Release as the container holding the various elements of your story (Media and Titles) in an embeddable and shareable Player or Website.

A Release can contain one or more of your Media and/or Title assets. Here are brief descriptions of what each Release type does, along with links to more detailed information about how they look and how to edit them.

Player: A self-contained project that can be embedded on any web page by utilizing the embed code provided when the Release is published. More on Player Releases
Website: Self-contained websites, published to a domain and URL specified by the Platform user. More on Website Releases

From the Create New Release interface, select a name for your Release and choose a type – a Player or a Website.

Editing Assets

Although each asset type carries distinct metadata and settings, there’s a common process to open, edit and save them in the interface.

From the Media, Title or Release workspaces click an item to open it.

Workflow Tip: Using the filtering options in the Right Sidebar makes finding items easy.

Tabs

When each asset type is opened, a list of tabs will open next to the Left Sidebar to allow metadata and settings to be added and edited.

Each asset type will have a distinct set of tabs that opens options for adding text or applying settings.

See the full User Guide for detailed information about these settings for each asset type.

Please note, changes are not saved automatically as you work — you must click the "Save" button in order to save your work. This behavior is intentional, as it allows you to revert accidental changes (by clicking the "Cancel" button).

You are encouraged to save frequently, especially when building complex Titles that would require significant effort to recreate.

If you close your browser tab or navigate away from the edit view before saving, any unsaved changes will be lost.

Loading Sample Material

The MediaStorm Platform allows you to load templated sample material into your account so you can see how the various elements work together.

Please note: This is an optional process. It it designed to help you more quickly understand how various components and elements work.

You can load in the sample material, explore how various interactives are organized and published, and then delete the sample work.

Or you may decide to keep the material inside your account for on-going reference.

Loading Example Material

When you log into your account for the first time, it will be empty.

You can begin adding your own material, or you can load in our sample material.

This material will include all types of assets, excluding settings, integrations, and template presets.

When you first log in, there will be no items in any of three workspaces - Media, Title, or Releases.

You can navigate between them by using the buttons on the left of the interface to verify they have no assets listed.

If the workspaces are empty, an Import Sample Content button will appear at of the interface.

Using this feature from any of the workspaces will load sample content into all three of them.

To get started, click the Import Sample Content button.

A pop-up will appear asking you to verify.

When you are ready, click the Import button.

After clicking import, the Platform will begin loading the sample material into your account.

A pop-up message will appear letting you know the process and alerting you to not close the window while it is still running.

Once the process is complete, the pop-up box will go away.

Sample content will then appear in the lists in each workspace.

Click on the Media button to see the list of material.

Notice that the list includes images and video assets.

Clicking on the ID, thumbnail or name of any asset in any of the workspace will open.

Once it's open metadata and settings can be added or modified.

The media assets in the list used in Titles to create various interactives.

Click the Titles button to navigate to that workspace to see the sample material.

Note that the sample material includes a Slideshow, Playlist, Cover, Pin Map, Page and Timeline interactive Title types.

These Title types are included together inside Releases that are then published to the web.

Click the Releases button to navigate to that workspace to see the sample material.

Notice the list includes both Player and Website Releases.

- Read more about how to use and manage this sample material here: Loading Sample Material

DOCUMENTATION

This document is designed to provide a simple overview of the features of the Platform.

More information is available here.

User Guide: https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/360002638814
Video Tutorials: https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500001539522
Help Center: https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us
Terminology: https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038725834
Accessibility: https://mediastorm.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4412767778071

Don’t see the answer to your question? Reach out to us at support@mediastorm.com

FEEDBACK

The Platform and this document are works in progress. If you have thoughts about how we can improve them, we’d love to hear from you.

Please send ideas to support@mediastorm.com