By Peter Huoppi and Jenna Cho - April 10, 2011

What started out as a video about some guys building a barn turned into a project that lasted almost five months. In the process, we ended up telling a story about more than just a barn. As the inevitable delays lengthened the construction timetable, our camera recorded the changing of the seasons and the biggest winter storms to hit our region in years. The camera stayed outdoors for more than four months, and all of our worries – would it break? Get stolen? Succumb to the weather? – turned out to be unnecessary. We retrieved the memory card every two weeks and saw a unique record of a building project, as well as the passage of time, unfolding before us. -Peter Huoppi

By Jenna Cho - May 22, 2011

Two nights in a horse barn, camped out on a wobbly beach chair in a sleeping bag, for one 2 1/2 minute video of the birth of a foal. Was it worth it? It was totally worth it. I wasn't one of those girls who grew up daydreaming of one day owning a horse or anything, but the opportunity to document foaling season at Mary Jean Vasiloff's McCulloch Farm was too good to pass up. And while I spent much of the first night snapping awake every time one of the mares took a potty break (which was often, and which can, in the haze of half-consciousness, sound an awful lot like a mare's water breaking), I also found the mares' soft grazing and snorting noises soothing. By the second night, I was an old pro at setting up my beach chair in the dark and making sure the glow of my cell phone as I jotted down notes didn't elicit a stern scolding from Vasiloff – the mysterious light could spook the horses.

Waiting can make you feel like the moment will never come, but when it does it's right there and you are barely of the state of mind to think of lighting and framing and getting wide, medium and tight shots. But as with any video, you only get one shot, and in the end, it all worked out.-Jenna Cho

By Peter Huoppi and Rick Koster - July 29, 2011

In 2008, when guitarist Phil Agins died of a heroin overdose, there was no question that his band, the Royale Brothers, would continue. Leader/frontman Joey Macrino adamantly spoke for the devastated group – whose ferocious, spooky sound and monstrously hypnotic stage show made them one of the finest New London bands ever. It was simply too painful. The healing hands of time, though — along with the wonderfully chance discovery of empathetic guitarist Mike Desmond — were sufficiently inspiring events that the Brothers got back together, at least on a limited basis. In anticipation of a show that would benefit the Phil Agins scholarship at Berklee School of Music, band members got together and, for the first time ever, discussed their history, chemistry, and their colleague's death – and the band's legacy and future. -Rick Koster

By Peter Huoppi - March 6, 2011

As with a lot of my favorites, this one made the list not only because the story resonated with me, but also because of my own experience is capturing it. I admired Tony's connection to the forest around him and his appreciation for nature, but most of all I simply enjoyed spending the afternoon tromping around in the woods, and then hanging out in the sugar house, surrounded by the sweet smell of boiling sap. As a counterpoint to this video, I also got to shoot a more traditional take on maple sugaring. -Peter Huoppi

By Jenna Cho - Aug. 3, 2011

It's very difficult to shoot video of animals actively seeking to avoid you. That one cow in the video who pops out of the right of the frame from amidst a field of sunflowers? She had been coming down that cleared path when she saw me and decided to go around me, through the fields, to avoid walking past me. Also, when the sunflowers are taller than you are, it's hard to spot the cows or predict which part of the field they'll come barreling out of. If you didn't think cows could run, think again. I mean, the thrill of running free on a field you hadn't previously been allowed on, and which happens to have thousands and thousands of delicious snackables? What could be better?-Jenna Cho

By Peter Huoppi and Rick Koster- July 17, 2011

The nationally acknowledged New London Music Scene might well have combusted into Rock-ness of its own volition. But there's a lot of evidence to suggest that a Mystic musical community in the '80s and '90s laid the groundwork. Back then, acts such as Skimbleshanks, 17 Relics, The Afflicted, All Fall Down, Gogol and Doug rose to power at a rehearsal space/community spot called the Depot — and all those bands and more gathered in July to honor a fallen comrade, Tom Valvey, with a benefit show at New London's El ‘n' Gee Club. Three generations of area fans and players showed up to reminisce, reacquaint, laugh, drink — and, of course, to rock. It was as though Woodstock had taken place at a high school reunion rather than Yasgur's Farm, and demonstrated a fiercely strong and timeless bond between music and friendship. -Rick Koster

By Peter Huoppi - Oct. 27, 2011

When assistant sports editor Mike DiMauro approached me with the idea for a video about singing football players, I knew we had a great subject. With the exception of the recent television show Glee, playing football and singing in the chorus don't seem to go together. But it wasn't just the juxtaposition of big linemen and sweet voices. The best surprise was when the players and the coaches agreed that the two talents were related, and that being a good singer could make you a better football player. -Peter Huoppi

By Peter Huoppi - May 31, 2011

Like most people, I can't imagine finishing a triathlon. When I met Dirk Vlieks, he was training for a half-Ironman triathlon. More amazing was that he was doing this after five years spent recovering from a stroke, suffered in the same race he was planning to enter. Sport is full of stories of athletes accomplishing amazing feats, but for Dirk, there was a time when just balancing on his bicycle was an accomplishment. To call a story like this “inspiring” is a bit of a cliché, but I think people were touched by it. For Dirk, the quest to get back to Hawaii was one of personal fulfillment, or maybe a chance to set an example for his daughters. But I was grateful that he and his family allowed us to share their story. -Peter Huoppi