Course: Multimedia Storytelling/JOUR 3526
This course taught me journalistic storytelling using multimedia like audio, photography, and video. The software programs I used to create the deliverables are Audacity, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Adobe Audition. I also used Vimeo and SoundCloud to present the deliverables. My equipment was a Nikon D3400 DLSR Camera.
Here are four projects I worked on during the Fall Semester 2021:
- Video Documentary: Hidden Gem in My City
- Audio Slideshow: Odd Jobs
- NPR-style Audio: Difference Makers
- Photo Slideshow: What’s happening in town
Video Documentary: Hidden Gem in My City
Split Bean Roasting Co.: Coffee in the Heart of Lebanon, TN
by Edel Pace
Coffee is said to be an elixir of life, and it is better if enjoyed with friends. Chris Cox started roasting as a hobby in 2013 because of his love for great coffee and the drive to create a product to enjoy with others. Five years later, he opened the doors of Split Bean Roasting Co., a Veteran owned coffee roasting business in the heart of Lebanon, Tennessee.
They make their specialty coffees with high-quality green coffee in a small batch roasting process resulting in a highly fresh cup of coffee that is smooth, flavorful, and satisfies the senses.
“[The store] survived the Covid pandemic by selling coffee bean sales only, where they [customers] will drive and pick up the coffee, in bags, and we sanitize everything. And then, when we felt it was safe, we opened it up to to-go orders only, and then we opened up to seating,” said Barista Alex Hatheway.
Split Bean is one of two small coffee shops in town, competing with big chain coffee houses like Starbucks and Dunkin’. However, it is a favorite staple in the city. You can come to sit and enjoy your coffee in a welcoming environment.
“I like it because it is good coffee,” Barbara said, a patron of Split Bean while sipping her Smores Mocha
As a small business, they participated in the Shop Small Saturday sponsored by the City of Lebanon.
“Today, we are celebrating Shop Small Saturday with 15% off your entire order and a brand-new coffee from Mexico that we just roasted this week,” said Hatheway. “It has a little bit of cocoa, a little bit of nuttiness, it’s very smooth, medium to light brown roast.”
Split Bean is offering a holiday menu that includes Eggnog latte and Penguin Mocha. It also has ground and bean coffee bags in different flavors for sale. A visit to Split Bean is a must when in Lebanon, TN, whether for the ambiance, the free wi-fi, the welcoming faces, but for sure, their coffees!
Audio Slideshow: Odd Jobs
RV Repairs
by Edel Pace
RV industry set a record in RV shipments in September with an increase of 32.2% compared to September 2020, and 26% compared to September 2017 (best September recorded) according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association’s September 2021 survey of manufacturers. With this RV demand explosion, there’s also a new demand for maintenance.
Luckily, there are many mobile RV techs that will help you with your RV maintenance needs. People like Warren Johnson, who has worked as an RV tech for 20 years.
“I see a lot of younger folks buying older RVs and remodeling them, and some buy the newer ones with all kinds of gadgets,” said Johnson.
With younger people buying more RVs and traveling more, it means more maintenance. Johnson said that sometimes he can’t keep up with demand.
The demographics of the first-time buyers are led by Millennials with 38%, followed by Gen X with 31%, then Boomers with 22%, and Gen Z with 9%. The first-time buyers are spending on average $75,000 in an RV, and 33% list the main reason for buying is for traveling in comfort—with only 16% citing as reason restrictions due to COVID-19.
“RVs are kinda disposable things if you are not on top of their maintenance,” said Johnson.
Johnson recommends several steps to maintain your RV in good shape, like taking care of your roof and winterizing your RV during wintertime.
“One thing I recommend most of my clients is to create a new circuit to distribute power to a specified outlet with a heavier gauge wire, for heaters and such, to prevent fires because of overheating,” said Johnson.
NPR-style Audio: Difference Makers
Interview with DMP
by Edel Pace
DMP is an artist and entrepreneur, who during the pandemic learned to make oil paints and now has grown as a charitable journey.
DMP has been painting since a very young age. He thinks painting is more than putting oils on a canvas.
“Painting is an extension of ourselves,” he said.
DMP started in oil paint-making as an assignment for school, and because most of the artists he follows on social media started doing it, and he wanted to learn.
It was a long process to hone his skill because to the right consistency he had to learn that each pigment is different.
“Some require more linseed oil than others,” he said.
As he learned his way through the pigments, he also started to think of selling them to local artists.
During summer he participated in an art summer camp, and there he found out other kids don’t have access to the camp because of the fees.
That’s when he came with the idea of part of the artisanal paint sales will go for the camp fees so children can participate.
He plans to start a nonprofit to help children in underdeveloping countries, like Honduras, to have access to art classes. “People that are more artistic and learn how to balance their emotions and learn how to express them, make better adults, not just art but I’m trying to help people to do better in their adult life,” he said. “That’s my goal.”
Photo Slideshow: What’s happening in town
Teen Artist DMP
by Edel Pace
DMP is a 17-year-old homeschool student who makes oil paints in his entrepreneurial and charitable journey. Paint-making started as a school assignment but became a much more significant part of his work as an artist.
I sat with him on Saturday night in his house in Lebanon, Tennessee, while he milled the pigment with the linseed oil. The session lasted about one hour and 30 minutes.
DMP explained the process as laborious but straightforward. A skill he learned during the pandemic.
DMP explained that he made most of the paints he used for his paintings. Because of that, he started making them as a business, selling artisanal paints to local artists.
It was after going to art camp during the summer, he decided that part of the profits from his artisanal paints were going to scholarships for children to go to art camp.
During camp, DMP learned that many kids could not afford the fees. He identified with that experience; it was the first time he had gone to a summer art camp. DMP started painting at an early age and self-taught oil painting.
During the session, his sibling came to see what DMP was doing. He thinks children should be exposed to art from an early age. DMP has the patience to work with his siblings, teaching them watercolor and acrylic painting.
DMP’s idea is to provide children with opportunities he did not have. Starting by giving scholarships to summer art camp is the first step of his plan. DMP also wants to provide opportunities for children in Honduras, his home country, but that is a long-term plan.
DMP said that without the school assignment, he would not have started this path. The skills he gained learning paint-making apply in and out of his schoolwork. Paint-making became the basis for his entrepreneurial and charitable work.
