An Interactive Guide to Audio & Visual Storytelling

Find the story, then find the best way to tell it

How This Guide Works

To write: what the guide is for and how to move through it.

  • Plan it (Steps 1 to 5) follows the Creative Compass: the four cardinal points (Purpose, Story, Setting, Audience; Setting is the Compass's World), then the Engine, which is the Platform. The platform falls out of the first four answers rather than being picked first.
  • Make it (Steps 6 to 8) is linear: Capture, Edit, Release.
  • Start with sound. Pictures have to earn their place.

1. Purpose: What's the Big Idea?

To write: why are you telling this story? Keep asking why until you reach a simple core truth.

  • Who is it for, in a sentence? (Step 4 goes deeper.)
  • Is it right to tell this story? Whose story is it, and what do they stand to lose or gain?
  • The test that keeps out the box-tickers: what should be different for your audience afterwards?

Show level

What is your show about? Who is your audience? What do they care about? What is out there already, and how can you do it differently?

Series level

If you are releasing a series focusing on a particular area, plan out all the elements it consists of and how each episode will help build this landscape.

Episode level

For each episode, identify the theme or topic and try to find three perspectives (human experiences!) that help to build a bigger picture for the audience.

Remember: stories shouldn't be grand, impersonal, fact-based academic presentations. They should be small, intimate human stories.

2. Story: What Happens?

To write: an introduction to story shape, and why every story, whatever its length or medium, moves through these five beats.

The classic story structure

  1. Situation and direction: may start mundane, but has momentum towards something interesting.
  2. Suspense: a sense that something will happen builds until it's painful.
  3. Unexpected moment: something happens, but not what the build-up suggested.
  4. Repercussions: what happened next.
  5. Reflection: how those involved look back on that moment now, and any lessons or questions that came of it.

The beginning: make it descriptive but succinct. Raise questions and characters that compel the audience to keep listening.

Plot your story

The Story Graph's five points are the five beats above. It starts in Audio Only, so each point's Story Pizza covers time, pace, foley, speech and music. If your story needs pictures (Step 5), switch it to Audio & Visual.

Use Save to a file: you will want this graph again in Step 7. Open the full Story Graph.

A first draft: if your story depends on interviews, this graph is your best guess. You won't know the real story until you have the tape, so you will plot it again in Step 7.

3. Setting: Where Does It Happen?

To write: setting and the senses. Where does the story happen: a studio, a kitchen table, out in the field, inside someone's memory? What does it look, feel and sound like? How does the Story Pizza help you plan that moment by moment?

Sensing the setting

When recording an environment, make a list of all the sounds, smells and sights, and how the air feels on your skin. For example: classical music plays quietly on an old brown radio as the humid, suffocating smell of last night's steak clings to dusty, faded orange curtains.

What kind of show?

One of the first decisions you'll make is choosing the right format for your content. Your format is like the stage for a play: it sets the tone, gives structure, and helps you connect with your audience. Below are some popular types of show to consider.

Solo (Monologue)

This type features just you as the host, sharing your thoughts, expertise or storytelling with your audience. It's ideal if you have a lot of personal insight to share or want to create a strong personal brand around your show.

Key benefits

  • Full creative control.
  • Great for positioning yourself as a thought leader.
  • No need to coordinate with others.

Consider: you'll need to make sure your content is engaging enough to hold an audience's attention all by yourself, so storytelling and pacing are key.

Interview

This is one of the most popular formats, where the host invites guests to discuss specific topics or share their expertise. Think of it like having a good chat over coffee, where the audience gets to listen in. It's great for diving into various subjects with experts or fascinating individuals.

Key benefits

  • Access to diverse opinions and experiences.
  • Less pressure on the host to provide all the content.
  • Can attract listeners who are fans of the guests.

Consider: make sure you can line up a steady stream of interesting guests, and that you're comfortable asking engaging questions!

Discussion (Panel and Roundtable)

A group of hosts or guests discuss topics, often featuring debates or discussions from multiple perspectives. A panel is a regular group of hosts; a roundtable is often more focused on a single subject in each episode, where each guest has a chance to give their input. This feels like being a fly on the wall in a lively group chat, perfect for more dynamic, fast-paced conversations, and works well for discussions on trending topics, book clubs, or reviewing films, games or shows.

Key benefits

  • Diverse opinions make for rich discussions and in-depth exploration of a topic.
  • More voices help spread the load of generating content.
  • Great chemistry between hosts can boost engagement, and guests bring fresh perspectives.

Consider: managing multiple voices requires strong moderation to avoid chaos and keep the conversation on track.

Documentary

These shows tell a story, either fiction or nonfiction, in a way that feels like listening to an audiobook or watching a well-crafted documentary. Think Serial or Welcome to Night Vale. This format is perfect for those who love to weave narratives, create suspense, or document true events in an engaging way.

Key benefits

  • An immersive experience.
  • Great for creative expression and storytelling.
  • Builds a loyal audience who return for every episode of the story.

Consider: documentaries often require more planning, scriptwriting and post-production effort. Building a documentary episode, below, walks through how.

How-To

In these shows, the host (or hosts) focuses on teaching something to the audience, whether it's language lessons, cooking techniques, or tips on running a business. It's like having a tutorial that your audience can take anywhere.

Key benefits

  • Positions you as an expert in your field.
  • Highly valuable to your audience: everyone loves learning new skills!
  • Topics can be endlessly varied.

Consider: structure your episodes so that they're digestible and practical. People will be using your show as a guide.

News Report

These shows keep their audience updated on the latest events, either in a specific niche (such as technology or politics) or general world news. It's like tuning into the news on your radio, but on demand. Some episodes can feature in-depth analysis, while others are bite-sized daily updates.

Key benefits

  • Keeps your content fresh and timely.
  • Can quickly build a loyal audience of people who rely on you for updates.
  • Allows for flexibility: daily, weekly, or whenever major news breaks.

Consider: consistency and speed are crucial. Your audience expects you to cover breaking news or events while they're still relevant.

No matter which format you choose, it's important to pick one that feels natural to you and suits the content you want to share. Experimenting with different formats can help you discover what works best for you and your audience.

Building a documentary episode

Roles

Host: a consistent, recognisable voice for the story.

  • Helps bridge the story and the audience by asking questions the audience may have.
  • May summarise long interviews or information in layman's terms.
  • Drives the pace and signposts the story to help the audience orientate themselves to what's happening.

Reporter: an enthusiastic human voice, keen to explore.

  • Finds a unique angle on the theme or topic worth exploring.
  • Identifies people who are invested in the story and interviews them, digging down to find the person behind the story.
  • Structures the story using Ira Glass's editing process.

Remember: the reporter should not try to control the outcome of a story with any preconceived notions. Their job is to explore without knowing where they will end up.

Subjects: unique voices intrinsically related to the topic at hand.

  • Should be individuals ranging from experts to laypeople.
  • If possible, engaging and interesting people.
  • Should be given room to speak about their perspectives, and allowed to wander.

Show structure

Shows should aim to explore a theme or topic from different perspectives. Three is the ideal: with an introduction before them and a closing reflection after, that gives you a five-act structure. For each perspective, you employ a different reporter to investigate and find a unique angle.

Over the five acts, the story moves from what, to how, to why. Story is reverse engineering.

Act 1: Introduction (Host)

  1. Start on an anecdote, the kind that starts mundane but builds tension that something is about to happen.
  2. This story should be intrinsic to the theme of the show, and entertaining enough to make people want to hear more.
  3. It should follow the classic story structure.
  4. Finally, ask a question that encapsulates what the show will focus on.
  5. Introduce the reporter who will investigate this further in Act 2, and what they are focusing on.

Acts 2, 3 & 4: The Perspectives (Reporter and Host)

Each act opens with a conversation between the host and a reporter about what the reporter sought to find out. This leads to the first person they interview.

Each act should be a mini episode within the episode, and should follow Ira Glass's editing process.

Act 5: Closing Reflection (Host)

To end, it can be good to summarise briefly by comparing what you set out to explore with what you found. Any moments of realisation. Any larger questions it raises about life or human nature. It should be reflective and philosophical, and leave the audience thinking.

4. Audience: Who Is It For?

To write: understanding your audience with empathy, not personas.

  • Kairos: when and where are they most engaged and receptive? On a commute, at a desk, on a run, in a lecture theatre?
  • Ethos: what do they think is fair and ethical?
  • Logos: what do they consider to be logical?
  • Pathos: what triggers an emotional response?
  • Accessibility: how can you make your story accessible to as many people as possible? Transcripts, captions, audio description.

5. Platform: How Will It Reach Them?

To write: audio only, or audio and video? Unless video is an essential component of showing key visual information, focus on designing an audio production.

  • Can the story be told in sound alone? Read the script aloud to someone with their eyes shut.
  • If not, what does the picture do that sound can't? A place, a process, a reaction, a demonstration.
  • Does it still work with the screen off? If so, it can go anywhere.
  • Some stories are picture-first (a lab technique, a dance, data that has to be seen). They go straight to video.
  • Which platforms will you use: podcast feeds, YouTube (even with a static cover image), serialised on social media?

6. Capture: Get the Tape

To write: how to record.

  • Consent and release forms, before anyone presses record.
  • Interview techniques: asking for moments rather than opinions, holding a silence.
  • Recording audio, in the studio and in the field.
  • Camera tips, for when the story needs pictures.

In the field

Collect environmental sounds, especially any that relate to the story.

7. Edit: Find the Story in the Tape

Ira Glass's editing process

How to get from hours of interview tape to a story with a shape.

Step 1: Capture your favourite moments

  • Immediately after the interview: jot down four or five of your favourite moments from the conversation.
  • If you've been reporting all day: spend about an hour at night typing out every memorable moment from the day.
  • A few hours later: write down all the moments you can remember as a list. That's often your structure.

Tip: these favourite moments often become the backbone of your story's structure.

Step 2: Transcribe the interview

  • Transcribe the tape yourself, or have someone else transcribe it.
  • It's not necessary to get every word perfect, but make sure there is a line for every sentence spoken.

Note: in radio, these transcriptions are often called “tape logs”.

Step 3: Annotate the tape log

  • Print out the tape log and mark it up.
  • Label potential quotes with letters (A, B, C and so on).
  • On a separate piece of paper, list these quotes in the order they were said, for example: “A: he describes the old house. B: what it was like the moment he came home. C: his sister warned him.”
  • Highlight key quotes: a single asterisk for promising quotes, a double asterisk for quotes essential to the story.
  • Make a note of any details you need to follow up on or research further.

Purpose: this helps you see all your options at once, and begins to organise the material in your mind.

Step 4: Identify the building blocks

  • Review the list of quotes to get a sense of the structure.
  • Organise the quotes in your head as you consider how to manipulate, cut and move them.

Important: in radio, stories are usually structured around the most compelling quotes. This approach can also be applied in print journalism.

Step 5: Sketch the structure

  • Focus on the beginning and end: look at your one-page list and consider what would be a compelling start and end to the story. Consider what has already been working in your mind since deciding to do the story, and think about which moments are essential and which can be left out.
  • Create a rough structure based on your letter codes, for example: F for the opening beat, then C and D, jump to M and N, and end on G.
  • Return to your moments list from Step 1 and, if you can, build the five acts around it.

Tip: your list might include extra beats. Decide whether to include or cut them when you reach that point in writing.

Step 6: Write the story

  • Follow the structure you've sketched out.
  • Adjust as you go: if the pacing doesn't feel right, consider cutting or rearranging beats.

Outcome: this technique lets you move quickly from hours of interview tape to a concise, workable story structure.

Plot the story you found

To write: why the story you found is rarely the story you planned, and what the difference between the two graphs tells you.

Open the graph you saved in Step 2 here with Open a file, then move the points to where the tape actually took you.

This graph is kept separately from the one in Step 2, so you can compare the two.

Writing for the ear

  • Narrate the gaps between the quotes.
  • The narrator deals with the technicalities of the situation (objective). The subject, on tape, explains the emotional, human impact of the situation (subjective).
  • Avoid “and then”. Instead, it's “therefore” or “but”.
  • Don't step on your tape. Your tape is your co-host, but you can repeat a piece of tape to emphasise an important point in it.
  • Try to have at least two narratives going. When you reach the peak of one, move to the other, and so on.
  • Don't give the audience the answer; give them the clues.
  • Write the script, then read it out loud and time it.

Editing audio and video

To write: the technical edit.

  • Audio editing tools.
  • Video editing tools.
  • AI tools for cleaning up sound, transcribing and voice, and the ethics of using them.

8. Release: Put It Where They Are

To write: how to release and share it.

  • Current approaches: podcast hosting and feeds, YouTube, social media.
  • Promotion: back to Kairos in Step 4. Put it where your audience is receptive, not where you get likes.

This guide was authored by David Calum Millar then developed for the web collaboratively with a custom agent called Morna, running on Claude (Anthropic) who is trained on the Creative Compass & Learning Design Compass frameworks by David Calum Millar. It follows the Creative Compass, draws on Ira Glass's process for capturing stories and Jessica Abel's Out on the Wire, and carries the Story Graph. The final design, all editorial decisions, and responsibility for the guide's content rest with the author.