Lawrence County, PA - A Community Rooted in History

In the broadcasting world, good feature storytelling captures the human interest. Sometimes television reporters are so busy trying to get the “hard news,” that they miss out on the opportunities for captivating stories that are right in front of them. I attempted to break this routine by taking on the role of a one-man-band feature videographer and reporter to learn more about the interesting historical stories of Lawrence County.

For my senior capstone project at Westminster College in fall 2008, I created a 12-minute documentary, entitled Lawrence County, PA - A Community Rooted in History. This film takes a glimpse at Lawrence County's deep historical roots throughout the years: from when the Native Americans roamed the land, to the official founding of Lawrence County, to the area's involvement in the Civil War and Underground Railroad, to the industrial movement, and beyond.

I truly believe that documentaries have redefined the art of storytelling, and history can come to life through the visual medium of film. Enjoy! Feel free to post any comments!

Part 1

Part 2

"For Future Generations..."

Looking back at this semester, I've learned a lot about myself and my capstone group. I also developed my skills as a videographer, writer, and editor. Through a tedious process, I worked tirelessly all semester on creating a 12-minute documentary, which ultimately took me down a path I did not expect; I met a lot of great people in the surrounding New Wilmington and New Castle community who loved history as much as I did.

It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what one piece of advice I would pass on to the next BC group at Westminster as they start their capstone journey, but I did learn a few key things. Here are my words of wisdom to the next generation of broadcasters of Westminster College...and hopefully this advice will help them make capstone a learning experience, but also a process that will personally touch their hearts.

#1 First and foremost, choose something that you love to do! This may be something you see yourself doing in the future, but if you're not sure what your future aspirations are, do something that you will find a sense of pride in doing...even if it's time consuming!! My project took me months to complete, and I was still working up until my presentation, but I loved my project. Capstone should be about something you want to do...fight for it and find a way to justify it as a capstone project, even if your professors question its value. This is your future. Granted, you need to do something worthy of a capstone project, but this doesn't mean you should totally blow off your dreams.

#2 Secondly, start to work on your project as earlier as possible and strive for something polished. Sometimes, I wish I would have been more focused on my project earlier on in the semester. The sooner you figure out your direction with the project, the sooner you can delve into the work and can make the best final product you can. Allow time to hammer out those little details. If you can submit your final product to any sort of contests or competitions, do it! Although I'm done with my presentation, I'm still looking for places to enter my documentary, to display my hard work throughout the semester.

#3 And finally, look to people in the community and your mentors from internships and jobs for guidance throughout your capstone project! I was able to meet some interesting people right here in the New Wilmington, New Castle, and Mercer area while filming my documentary, and I relied heavily on their resources and expertise to fuel my project. Every time I discovered something new about the history of Lawrence County from these local historians, I realized there were other ways to enhance my film and make it better. I also followed the advice I received from those at my internship at Newschannel 5. In the end, you will appreciate meeting these people; they all have their own story to tell!!

And probably one the best things about capstone was growing closer and developing a bond with my capstone class. We were all under the same pressure, but as a group of friends we were able to get through it; don't be scared to lean on them for support!

Thanks BC Capstone 2008-2009 for being my support system and more importantly my friends!! :)

What a Relief!

The main part of my capstone is done!! My presentation was this past Monday night, during which I debuted my short film, "Lawrence County: A Community Rooted in History." This project involved me creating four TV packages throughout the semester and then combining them into a film. The four areas I focused on in the history of Lawrence County were the Native Americans, Lawrence County Beginnings, the Civil War and Underground Railroad, and the Industrial Revolution, particularly in New Castle.

In the end, I realized there was also a couple more parts I needed to add to the film as well. I don't think I've spent so much time editing before, but it gave me a lot more experience editing with Final Cut Pro...I learned so much. Also, I decided to create a cool DVD menu to go along with my film, so I figured out how to work DVD Studio Pro, too! However, the most important part was I decided to produce the film like I would produce a TV show for the County Line. I realized they were a lot of similarities.

I needed to make the whole film flow to begin with and tease what I was going to show at the beginning like an "All Tease" at the start of a TV news show. After much thought, I chose to use bits from my interviews in the introduction that sounded interesting, but didn't give too much away...plus intriguing images that would make people want to watch my film. Also, I bought a royalty free music bed from Music Bakery, which I weaved in and out of the film. Adding theme music to the film definitely gave it some color.

The last week before the project, I was frantic trying to make last minute adjustments to the film, finding and adding in the music, sending out invitations, and coordinating with local historians, who brought some of their artifacts to display. Finally, Monday arrived, and everything was set!

I started my presentation with a quick synopsis of the film and why I chose this type of project. I explained how working as a TV reporter at TCL and interning at Newschannel 5 helped me realize that I like having the time to be more creative with my storytelling. I would love to work for PBS, the History Channel, the Travel Channel, or the Discovery Channel...shooting, writing, and editing documentary-type style films. After explaining my journey through the process, I showed my film.

I had 32 people show up to my capstone, and more wanted to come but had conflicts! My professor was impressed and said I need to submit the film to a number of contests like the BEA and the Iris Film Festival. I'm definitely going to submit it to as many contests as I can! I also really appreciated my family and friends for being there. Once I figure out how to best compress my film for the web...I will post it here, so everyone can take a look!!