Coffee in Augusta

Abstract

For my Honors thesis, I produced a short documentary on local coffee shops in Augusta, focusing on local coffee shops that offer unique environments for their customers. After viewing several documentaries on coffee for reference, I filmed and edited my finished product to demonstrate the importance of supporting local coffee shops, the hard work that goes into opening up a shop in the coffee business, and bring awareness to a few of the different shops currently operating in Augusta. The documentary briefly covers the history of each cafe and incorporates footage of normal business taken from within the coffee shops; such as, cashiers taking orders and baristas making a variety of coffee drinks. The film communicates through interviews, b roll, and music the true ambience of the coffee shops and what qualities these cafes offer to customers that is distinct from larger franchises. Each coffee shop included in the documentary offers a unique environment that is key to what is referred to as the third space of society, a mainly social location that is neither home nor work. This concept of third space from anthropology is defined and explored throughout the film to show the importance of small local coffee shops.