Through a partnership between ICAT, Interact Studio, and the Floyd Country Store, audio pioneer and public radio contributor, Jim Metzner, conducted a two-day workshop for local community centered around sound, image, story collecting, and community narrative. Metzner’s “Pulse of the Planet” and his work in digital media are widely recognized for their value to the arts, science, and knowledge of the natural world.

With his partner and colleague, Eileen McAdam, Metzner conducted the workshop at the Floyd Country Store, an anchor location on the Crooked Road, Virginia’s heritage music trail. Community participants, students, government representatives, business entrepreneurs, and university students gained insights into the art of interviewing and learned basic story telling narrative, interviewing, and audio recording skills. The technical overview included the use of digital recorders, mics, editing software, and fieldwork that participants practiced by conducting interviews with residents in the town of Floyd.

Metzner and McAdam designed the interactive workshop to arm the participants with techniques and ideas of how to capture the sounds and voices of a typical Friday evening in Floyd at the world famous Friday Night Jamboree at the Floyd Country Store.