How to get your idea on National Geographic’s new blog
Part of Planet Forward’s mission is to create opportunities for students to display their work on large, mainstream media outlets. When I first found out about Planet Forward back in 2011, I made a handful of videos, and one of them was featured on the PBS Nightly Business Report. The experience and the resumé boost from those videos directly helped me get work. Planet Forward’s most recent partnership is even more exciting, since it’s reaching a younger, more accessible demographic. Meet National Geographic’s “The Plate” blog.
“The Plate” features weekly submissions from five of the biggest names in food. If you have an idea for a blog, a video, or any other multimedia story, you could see your byline next to TV personality and restaurateur José Andrés, or author Rebecca Rupp, among others. It’s an opportunity for you to get experience while earning an achievement you can show to future employers. Are you up for the challenge?
Here are some tips for making your submission stand out:
-
All submissions must be about food sustainability. Trends, new technologies, and other innovations in food are welcome topics.
-
Text submissions should be between 500-1000 words. Err on the side of brevity whenever possible.
-
Include personal details if they are relevant. Think about how the topic affects you directly while you’re writing, but avoid ranting or editorializing. The plate celebrates discovery, not partisan argumentation. If you do take a clear position on an issue, do justice to the other side.
-
Bulleted articles (like this one) do quite well with online readers. They make a big block of text more digestible.
-
Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through in your writing. Pick a tone that does justice to your message, and stick with it throughout.
-
Interviews are a great place to start. Who do you have access to that has expert opinions on topics you’re interested in? You can either transcribe the best parts of your interview and submit that, or you can tape the interview and cut it down to a 1-3 minute chunk to embed in your piece. Either way, interviews show that you went out and got information that other people can’t readily get. They give your content value and character.
-
If you aren’t including a video element, try to supplement your text with some pictures. Just make sure the images you use have a creative commons license, or you took them yourself. You can start your search here.
If you’re including a video element, such as a 60-second selfie or an interview, keep these guidelines in mind:
-
There are a ton of resources that go over the basics of video, from lighting to sound. Planet Forward provides it’s own video series and toolkit, with information for beginners and veterans.
-
If you’re shooting with a cell phone, shoot it horizontally, so you don’t get a skinny video when you upload it to youtube. This is the biggest mistake we see with new submissions.
-
Have the sun shining on your subject’s face, not behind them.
-
Shoot outside or at a specific location that’s relevant to your topic, not in front of a blank wall. Background is key to creating engaging visual content.
-
If you’re interviewing someone, have questions prepared based on what interests you most about their area of expertise.
-
If you’re shooting a selfie video, have some bullet points about what you want to say and run through them a few times before you begin.
-
When you’ve shot your footage, upload it to iPhoto, iMovie, or any other program that can handle video on your computer. Don’t just email to yourself, because this often compresses your file.
This may seem like a lot of information, but they’re just guidelines. The important thing is to get your project completed. Worries about making it “perfect” will only hold you back. If your submission is promising, Planet Forward staff is happy to work with you on getting it Plate-ready. Feel free to email Planet Forward’s Digital Media Guy Devin (devin@planetforward.org) if you have any questions.
So what are you waiting for? National Geographic is within reach. Start planning your submission today, before the weekly slots fill up! Once you've created your piece, submit it to Idea Central