The Media and Documentary Projects Center was well represented last night by two films showing at the Oxford Film Festival summer series. The first was a documentary by Mary Warner and Joe York that resulted from Mary’s Southern Studies MA Thesis on Thacker Mountain Radio. Mary Produced Thacker for several years and we were lucky enough to work with her that whole time. Mary has graduated and moved on to Atlanta where we wish her well.
The Second film was a screening of Joe York’s moving documentary, Saving Willie Mae’s Scotch House. Both of these films represent the collaborative nature of our department and are great examples of the type of films I expect to be producing for years to come. — Andy
Matthew Graves has been hustling this last couple of weeks to produce the first 5 profiles to be featured on the Ole Miss channel of the SEC Academic Network. Pictured here is an interview with Provost Morris Stocks about the School of Accountancy’s success in placing its graduates in jobs and graduate school . This channel, broadcast on ESPN360 and part of the contract with ESPN to broadcast SEC sports, is designated solely for academic content. The Media and Documentary Projects Center is pleased to be selected to provide that content for the University of Mississippi. We will make an announcement when the channel goes live August 12 and then over the course of the next year look for new segments showcasing the Ole Miss academic community.
This week I’m working on a series of profiles of several Academic programs on campus for the upcoming University of Mississippi page of the ESPN 360 SEC Academic Network website. We’re starting with pieces on the School of Accountancy, the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies, the Center for Physical Acoustics, the Medicinal Plant Garden, and UM Medical Center. These 2-3 minute profiles will offer a taste of the extraordinary work that’s being done on this campus. Watch out for the launch of the website in the middle of August. More details to come.
As promised, here are the short films produced by the students in the Ole Miss Summer Film Workshop that Micah and I taught this week. Each group was given the premise of a couple who are both having an online affair. They’re meeting for dinner to tell the other only to discover their actually each other’s online admirer. The groups were given a different genre and tasked with writing the script, drawing the storyboards, lighting, shooting, and directing the scene to fit that genre. The selected genres were “drama”, “documentary”, and “thriller”. What results is a great exercise in how differently the same story can be told. The class worked really hard and we all had a great time making their short films. Enjoy.
- Matthew
Group 1 - Drama“THE ESCAPE”
Written and Directed by Suad Patton Bey, Kagan Doom, Felicity Flesher, and Elizabeth Long.
Group 2 - Documentary“THE PERILS OF INTERNET DATING”
Written and Directed by Wilma E. Mosley Clopton, Daniel Morrow, and Greg Hawks.
Group 3 - Thriller “WAITING TO DIE”
Written and Directed by Harris DeGutis, Joseph Newchurch, and Glen O’Reilly
Here are some pics from the Filmmaking Workshop that Micah and I have been teaching this week. The class was a whirlwind experience in filmmaking, covering things like camera, lighting, sound, acting, directing and screenwriting; culminating in a final short scene that the class filmed in three different groups. Pictured are some of the students conferring with their storyboards and setting up their shots. Special thanks goes out to Karen Tuttle and Chris Williams who stepped up huge today and played the actors for each of the three scenes. Everybody worked really hard today getting their film in the can. Now all that’s left to do is edit and pop up the popcorn. Check back soon for the finished scenes.
This short documentary features the Skylight Inn in Ayden, North Carolina, where the Jones family carries their family tradition of cooking whole hog barbecue into its third century. Produced by Joe York of the Media & Documentary Projects Center for the Southern Foodways Alliance and the Big Apple BBQ Block Party. The documentary debuted at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party in New York in June.
The Media and Documentary Projects Center was well represented last night by two films showing at the Oxford Film Festival summer series. The first was a documentary by Mary Warner and Joe York that resulted from Mary’s Southern Studies MA Thesis on Thacker Mountain Radio. Mary Produced Thacker for several years and we were lucky enough to work with her that whole time. Mary has graduated and moved on to Atlanta where we wish her well.
