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Having just graduated from Quinnipiac University in May, Bill Antonucci had no definite job prospects in his prospective career in media production.

So when a friend found Red Truck Wines' call for aspiring screenwriters, photographers and other artists to go on a 30-day cross-country road trip, the 22-year-old Mansfield resident applied. He said he didn't think he would hear back, but "it sounded really cool."

Now, he is on the road as part of a trio traveling from Boston to San Francisco. In the role of videographer, he is recording their experiences along the way and posting the results on several blogs.

Speaking by phone from the road where the group was staying overnight in Albuquerque, N.M., he said he's having an excellent adventure.

"I've seen so much stuff I would never have seen if I had stayed home in Mansfield this summer," said Antonucci, who once traveled to Tennessee, but otherwise had not seen much of the country. "Every part of the U.S. is unique, but especially New England versus the Southern states." Last year, Antonucci worked as an intern at Sirk Production in New York editing mini-"Webisodes" for the PBS television show "The Inside Reel." He was also a production assistant on MySpace's first television ad campaign and a videographer for a behind-the-scenes look at creating GBX Shoes' first major print ad campaign, which will be in Rolling Stone and Spin magazines.

This summer he is one of six people between the ages of 22 and 30 selected for the Red Trucks Wine trip; the other trio is traveling from San Francisco to Boston. Both groups launched their trips, dubbed by the winemaker as the "X-Country A.R.T. Road Trip: Seeing America Through Young Artists' Eyes," on July 2. The two others on his team are Michelle Alexander, 29, a writer from Dartmouth, and Dan Winske, 22, a photographer from New Bedford.

Each group is plotting its own route.

"This is our way of encouraging artistic expression among young people while celebrating the unique, eclectic characteristics of our vast country," said Katy Leese, partner in Sonoma, Calif.-based 585 Wine Partners, owner of Red Truck Wines and director of the program.

Antonucci, who's not a big wine drinker, said that while the company is paying for the experience and transportation, the emphasis is not on promoting the wine. "That's been secondary," he said.

Essentially, the two groups are focused on experiencing different parts of the country and trying - through writing, photography and film - to capture the spirit and flavor of areas they visit and sharing them online.

Following their trip, which ends on Aug. 1, each group will develop a multi-media presentation to be shown in San Francisco.

Antonucci said his group has already hit New York City and visited Washington, D.C., where he was able to see the July 4th fireworks finale in the nation's capital. "That was pretty cool."

Then there was West Virginia and a trip to one of the Shenandoah Valley caverns. "I've never seen anything like that before," he said in a tone of awe.

There were also stops in Tennessee, Nashville and Memphis, where Antonucci recorded street musicians and some of their stories. While his blog postings generally focus on festivities and entertainment, one is an interview with people affected by Katrina. "It was pretty powerful to see that devastation," Antonucci said.

He talked to regular folks who experienced the devastation and who are still trying to rebuild their lives, as well as a member of the FBI about the state of affairs there. "Everyone tries to be optimistic, but people are not happy" about the way things have worked out, he said.

New Orleans still has great music, though. "That's what's keeping them alive," said Antonucci, who plays bass guitar with his band The Stone Quarries.

While he had no definitive plan as to what he would record upon starting his journey, Antonucci said his focus has become "the great stories of people that coincide with the city" that they are visiting.

There's the guy who works in a bookstore and teaches country-western line dancing in D.C., for example. "Where a photographer can capture a scene, I've focused on people and their stories," Antonucci said.

The challenge throughout it all has been editing on the road. "I'll be filming for two hours, editing for five hours to post two days later while I'm in a hotel room or on the road," he said.

Antonucci said the experience has helped give him some direction. In order to take the trip, he took time off from his job at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. And after the football season, he's thinking of moving to New York City.

"This will hopefully be a huge resume boost," he said. "I just want to get into the entertainment industry, whether it's writing, filming..."

"I've just always loved movies and storytelling in general," Antonucci said. "Films, I believe, are one of the best mediums to tell a story."

"This trip has made me think about documentary filmmaking," he said. "It's what we've been doing, telling stories about regular people. People who otherwise would be under the radar."

To check out the postings of Bill Antonucci and the five other artists on the Red Truck Wines’ trip, visit http://www.redtruckeast.wordpress.com and www.redtruckwest.wordpress.com. There are links to the Red Truck Wine Web site, http://www.redtruckwine.com, MySpace and YouTube.

"It's cool to put their story on video and have other people see it."

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.