Project overview
A journey told through original media
The Trail That Changed Me is a multimedia story about my 2017 thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. Using original photography, video, and narration, the project follows my journey through the desert, Sierra Nevada, and Cascade Mountains.
It reflects on the physical challenges of walking 2,650 miles and how the experience gave me confidence, resilience, and a new direction in life.
Final multimedia story · 2:08
Mexico to Canada
Original photographs, trail footage, narration, music, and location sound come together in a chronological journey from the Southern Terminus to the Canadian border.
Story structure
Three landscapes.
One continuous trail.
The Desert
Exposure & distance
Open views, heat, wind, and the first miles north establish the scale of the journey.
The Sierra
Risk & beauty
Snow traverses, creek crossings, waterfalls, camps, and night skies raise the stakes.
The Cascades
Weather & arrival
Fog, smoke, forest, and snow slow the pace before the final reveal at Canada.
Original media collection
Every photograph, video clip, narration track, and piece of location sound came from my own Pacific Crest Trail experience.
The edit uses short cross dissolves, restrained movement on still photographs, and softly blurred backgrounds behind vertical footage to create continuity across a varied archive.
Behind the edit
Planning & process
The finished film is supported by a timed storyboard and a production journal documenting the media collection, editing decisions, sound design, revisions, and technical problems.
12 timed panels
Storyboard
Visuals, narration, natural sound, transitions, and pacing were planned across the complete two-minute sequence.
Open storyboard PDF ↗
Production documentation
Production Journal
The journal records the structure, sound mix, editing choices, revisions, export, and solutions to damaged or incomplete source clips.
Open production journal PDF ↗Reflection
Changed by everything in between
The strongest choice was allowing the original location sound to remain part of the story. It gives the photographs context and prevents the piece from becoming only a narrated slideshow. The final border photograph completes the same visual idea introduced at the Southern Terminus: a person standing at a marker, changed by everything that happened between the two points.
View the assignment requirements
Create a two- to four-minute multimedia story using original photographs, video, and audio. Plan the piece with a storyboard, edit for titles, transitions, sound, pacing, and visual consistency, and document the production process in a journal.