By Kofie Yeboah

@KofieKofie

USA TODAY Sports intern

In the multimedia forum, particpants learned how to make their smartphone work for them, as well as how to create a GIF in Photoshop.

Rick Brunson of the University of Central Florida taught the APSE crowd about all the tools that are available on just a smartphone. With that high quality camera, journalists are able to easily and effectively film, edit and record material. Brunson showed the group the different apps, how to compile the data and create a good package. Brunson convinced us that the future _ this condensed era of journalism _  is sure to be a lot of fun.

USA TODAY Sports social media editor Tim McGarry also showed about 25 conference members how to take piece of video and turn it into a GIF (graphics interchange format). Essentially, a GIF is a repeating clip that can be very entertaining to consumers. Easy to share and consume, GIFs often are used to highlight the essential image of a story, and GIF galleries are a great way to enhance and emphasize certain key points.

GIFS also present an opportunity to attract a younger reader. The 14-to-24-year-old demographic is always looking for the funniest new GIF. 

Used correctly, a GIF can be an influential news tool. Unless it’s a cat gif.

Microsoft Word - how_to_make_a_gif.docx

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