at the Nelsonville Community Center in January 2010 for one of my first picture story classes. Since then I have visited the center countless times and shot many, many gigabytes of photos, video and audio. The past spring quarter was the first time I had ever learned the process behind multimedia. Along with Soul of Athens, I was enrolled in the 393 Audio/Video class in which we were taught Audacity, Final Cut Pro and multimedia editing.

I felt drawn to the center the first time I visited it and I soon became connected to the people and the atmosphere; more than any other story I had ever photographed. The people there thought of me as a friend and allowed me to take a glimpse into their lives. They welcomed me to meetings and events and opened their hearts to tell me stories of struggles and happy times.

In a few words, I figured out that the content gathering is only a teeny tiny part to the whole. Hours upon hours of my time was spent in front of the computer moving, cutting and rearranging the pieces to figure out my final product.

Not only did I learn a new story telling technique, audio recording, video recording and multimedia editing, but the people at the center taught me valuable lessons about companionship and giving. I felt connected and more importantly, a part of something.

Cayce Clifford

at creating multimedia, I did not make it easy on myself in choosing a subject. The Nelsonville Bypass is obviously a big story in the Southeast Ohio region, and I had not seen anyone cover the issue in a way that satisfied me. The Bypass is a very large project, impacting the region, the city, and the people of Nelsonville in many ways. It was very difficult for me to find a starting place. Many who were most affected by the construction of the Bypass were unwilling to talk about it. They found it too sensitive or too close of a subject to speak about. With some applied time and effort, I finally began to make some headway. I met Ed Moleski, a homeowner whose land had been taken by the Bypass. Other elements of the story fell into place soon thereafter.

At the same time, I was also producing the story, “Love, Aged to Perfection” for the ‘Thrive’ Pod. I had gathered content for that story earlier in the school year. I learned a lot in the process of creating two multimedia pieces for in the space of a couple of months. I am so thankful to the people who helped me endure the long hours and who provided the guidance to follow the projects through to the end. I could not have finished “Clearing the Way” without the help of the ‘Shelter’ senior producers Andrea Morales and Ty Wright. They were steadfast believers throughout the project. Danielle Kees and Davis Kramer created stunning infographics and motion graphics to accompany the piece, and I could not be happier with the energy that we gathered as a pod to create an inspiring package of stories that we are all excited about.

These are some out-takes from a night shoot from just outside of the construction site. We really liked how they looked, but we couldn’t manage to fit them logically into the storyline.

Jim McAuley

Soul of Athens has been a new and exciting project for me. I’m from Athens so being part of this group was a great opportunity for me to share my ideas about the town I’ve grown up in. I’ve had a chance to meet some really cool people that are really good at what they do. My group has taught me a lot about teamwork and working toward a mutual goal. I look forward to being part of Soul of Athens again in my senior year, 2011. I think next time I will try to better manage my time in order to have a very successful story. The time that the senior producers put in with me and the rest of the group, really helped pull things together. Getting to know everyone and learning the long process, have definitely been the best parts of Soul of Athens this year.

Davis Kramer