Audio slideshow: from killer to legal campaigner
I’ve finally gotten round to posting up a short audio slideshow I started producing when still working as a journalist in Hull.
It tells the story of John Hirst, a fascinating man who is almost single-handedly leading the (controversial) call for UK prisoners to be given the right to vote. After voraciously studying law books while in prison, John knows his stuff and is confident the law is on his side.
And prisoners could get the vote before May’s election.
I originally shot several hours of video, intending to make a series of short films, but for various technical reasons that never happened. In my final weeks in Hull I decided one good quality audio slideshow would be better than video. Thanks, in particular, to Duckrabbit and Ciara Leeming for their honest feedback which shaped the piece.
You can read more about John and his campaign on his blog.
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Adam Westbrook // ideas on digital storytelling and publishing 
[…] Adam Westbrook: Hirst v UK […]
This is…unnerving in the way it’s presented. I don’t think it would be as creepy if it were a straight video (the way this guy talks about his crime and the victim is just eerily nonchalant).
It’s like I was saying on your other post: Audio slideshows give you less images (as opposed to video), which means you have to make them count more. I think they also make the viewer/listener more aware of the audio, since you’re holding on these images for several seconds and in this case, I think it’s really effective in forcing this guy, who’s been convicted of murder, into your head.
[…] votes campaigner John Hirst is featured in this week’s Big Issue In The North. It follows this audio slideshow I produced in 2009. If you’re in the north of the UK, I’m sure a (very) cold Big Issue vendor would […]