LGF Receives $12,000 Grant to Produce Microdoc Series

Faculty and students working with Land Grant Films at the University of Tennessee will produce a four-part series about the burdens people face due to energy insecurity. The project is funded by Three Cubed, a local non-profit contracted by the TVA to to examine the benefits of weatherization projects, such as the TVA’s Extreme Energy Makeover program.

Journalism and electronic media graduate student Jonathan Braun was picked via a competitive application process to serve as the student producer of the project. Production of the series will be overseen by Prof. Geidner, an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Electronic Media and director of Land Grant Films.

Each of the three to five-minute videos will cover a different aspect of the struggles individuals encounter due to energy burdens, including:

1. the overall hardship and human suffering related to energy inefficient housing and the potential life changing benefits of weatherization programs
2. the trade-offs that households are often forced to make between paying energy bills or paying for food, medications and healthcare, travel and/or socializing
3. the health effects associated with indoor environmental quality issues, such as asthma
4. the physical and mental benefits associated with thermal comfort

The crew will travel across Tennessee and Alabama to produce the stories.

Production will start in the summer and continue in fall semester.