Sweets & Smoke - Multimedia Journalism
This project, built in Wordpress, features number six on Texas Monthy's list of the top 50 barbecue joints in the state, Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue.
Located in the north Houston suburb of Tomball, Tejas Chocolate has served barbecue for only a few years and has already been named one of the best in the state and was ranked highest of any Houston-area barbecue establishment included in Texas Monthly's list.
I visited Tejas Chocolate twice while working on this project: once to interview the restaurant's founder, pit master and chocolate maker, Scott Moore Jr., and a second time to collect additional interviews with guests and capture more video and photo content (and to eat some barbecue, naturally).
You can view the full version of the story at bbq.sasmithtxst.com.
Original photographs
Moore was kind enough to provide access to the pit smokers and the chocolate making kitchen for photographs and videos.
Tejas Chocolate usually utilizes one of three smokers on the property, and only resorts to using the other two when business is especially busy or they are working a special event. A variety of photographs were used to capture Tejas Chocolate's process.
In terms of layout design, some photographs are displayed in collages and slideshows, and others stand alone. Moore also provided some images of special food items they either ran out of while I visited or were daily specials from days other than the Saturdays I visited.
Layout
I conceptualized the layout for this project well in advance of collecting my interview, video and photo content. I wanted the visual media to stand out, with a large, attention-grabbing header image and headline present at the top.
By choosing a relatively minimal Wordpress theme, which was further stripped down in the theme's additional CSS, the content remains the sole focus in the project. Future revisions, however, could add subheads to sections in the story with a provided menu allowing the reader to navigate those sections.