Nice Moment

Tonight we had a screening, not of my film, but of the documentary a senior made, the 'making of' film. An hour long doc that tells the story of my feature film debut, with a crew of inexperienced students, on a micro budget, on a three-week schedule.

It was a great documentary, a really effective portrayal of the event, moving and funny and full of great characters.

The senior who made it, who had complete freedom and access during production, did a fantastic job. So often on here I complain about those who do nothing or have little drive, ambition, or talent. But this kid was a consummate professional who produced a festival-worthy piece, and I'm proud he was my student.

As an added bonus, the two senior faculty in my division came to the late screening and not only liked the film but had occasion to 'see' the experience my students had this summer, bolstering my reputation for involving the students in my creative work and giving them an opportunity they would never have had if I wasn't here...

All in all, a really nice night. I sat with my wife and the producer (a fellow faculty member) and his wife, got to share this experience with colleagues and the students who worked on it, and reflected on the opportunities I've had over the past 18 months since I started on faculty here.

Also had a nice dinner at the university's faculty/staff Christmas dinner, a huge event in the basketball arena. All the younger faculty in our media division came with spouses or significant others and sat together and joked and talked. It was just a really pleasant evening, culminating with the screening. Couldn't have asked for a better night. Now if only it wasn't so late and I didn't have an all-day curriculum meeting tomorrow...