DOWN from the MOUNTAIN The Storyteller and His Burden By Carla Morris
To digital media major Jake Cannon, the project just pitched to him seemed doable: create a brief promotional video to capture the 10-day wilderness hiking experience known as WalkAbout. It suited his passions perfectly: backpacking, mountains, wilderness, telling a story. As a youngster, Jake loved to explore the woods behind his home in Marion, Illinois. Family vacations to Wyoming widened his scope and fostered a deep appreciation for the majestic mountains and sweeping landscapes of “God’s country.” The proposed project offered the chance for him to revisit that love on a grand scale with a sophisticated camera and the skills
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he acquired through his digital media classes. Upon hearing the call for a storyteller, Jake volunteered. Mountain splendor, woods, hiking, filming and editing – he could definitely do this.
“I wanted to create a video that presented WalkAbout in a way that was true to life. Part of the burden was showing how serious this was,” he said. He assessed his skills as a videographer before the trip. “I knew what looked good and what didn’t. I Prior to the start of each school year, knew experimentation was key and student leaders at Greenville College, so was patience – as well as footage, including resident chaplains like Jake, hours upon hours of footage.” “rough it” in the Smoky Mountains. They hike 30-40 miles and disperse Jake calls digital media a “tricky” at some point for 48 hours of solitary field. “It’s not upfront in its meditation, prayer and fasting. They Christianity like ministry or worship often emerge from that solo period arts,” he explains. Manning a camera struggling to find adequate words to and hauling equipment seems more describe it. “Unbelievable,” say some. utilitarian than worshipful, and “Hard to explain,” say others. sorting through hours of video for just the right clip is tedious. “But Describing the indescribable now fell it can be one of the most Godglorifying arts,” he contends. “I want to Jake.