Season tickets promo for the Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Team. Highlights the return of University of Mississippi players Eniel Polynice, Trevor Gaskins, and Chris Warren who were sidelined with injuries last season. This project was inspired by the Season 5 promo for “Rescue Me”. Produced by Robi Coker, Micah Ginn and Matthew Graves. Directed by Matthew Graves. Special thanks to Coach Andy Kennedy.
Dr. Neff on Memory and the Civil War
University of Mississippi History Professor John Neff recently delivered his 2009 Humanities Teacher of the Year address, “Our Hearts Were Touched with Fire: The Memory of the Civil War.” Media and Documentary Projects was there to record the very timely Lecture. Dr. Neff is the founding director of the UM Center for Civil War Research. Edited by MDP graduate intern Xaris Martinez.
Warren Belasco on Why We Study Food
Recently Warren Belasco, Professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland, was on campus for the Viking Range Lecture sponsored by the Southern Foodways Alliance. The Media and Documentary Projects Center was there to record the lecture and our Southern Studies graduate assistant Xaris Martinez edited the lecture for broadcast. Nicely done Xaris!
Footsteps
Covering the Campus
In addition to our own documentary work and working with student filmmakers, the Media and Documentary Projects Center helps produce and record campus events. October has been an especially busy month (and we haven’t even gotten to the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium yet!).
Above: Matthew Graves tests out the system in advance of the M-Club Hall of Fame Ceremony and Andy Harper shoots the SFA Viking Range lecture featuring Warren Belasco. Below: Micah Ginn sets up the switcher for the Alumni Hall of Fame, and Karen Tuttle helps shoot the Overby Center event honoring member of the 1959 National Championship football team.
Experience Distance Learning
This video promotes the University of Mississippi’s Master of Arts in Higher Education/Student Personnel Professional Cohort Program.
Those of us at Media & Documentary Projects would like to thank Michael McGuire, Stephanie Mitchell, and Lee Dean of UM Distance Learning for making this video possible. They do amazing work and we are all very thankful for their help.
Mississippi Innocence Project
Experience this amazing promotional video produced by MPD’s Joe York for the Mississippi Innocence Project at the University of Mississippi’s School of Law.
The Mississippi Innocence Project identifies,investigates and litigates meritorious claims of innocence on behalf of Mississippi prisoners serving lengthy periods of incarceration.
Intruder in the Dust turns 60.
This week marks the 60th anniversary of the world premiere of Intruder in the Dust and the Media and Documentary Projects Center was well represented in the effort to commemorate the milestone. The event, a fundraiser for the Oxford Film Festival, was held at the recently restored Lyric Theater in the same room where the film first screened in 1949. MDP producer Joe York had a premiere of his own as his documentary, When We Were Extras was shown prior to the screening of Intruder in the Dust. Joe interviewed quite a few of the locals who took part in the original production. Look for his film here on the blog in the coming weeks. MPD producer Micah Ginn served as the master of ceremonies for the event. Micah kept the crowd, shall we say, entertained…….
After the movies screened Joe York interviewed Claude Jarman, Jr. Enjoy this excerpt from that interview (please forgive the shaky iPhone).
Tuttle on the Job
Media and Documentary Projects utility player Karen Tuttle got some time behind the camera this last week.
Karen covered the Residential College grand opening as well as the first in the Overby Center Gathering in the Grove series featuring Charles Eagles on Friday.
She also recorded oral histories for the School of Journalism on Monday. Nice work Karen!
Debate Documentary to Premiere
The Media and Documentary Projects Center presents The Debate Starts Here: The Presidential Debate Comes to Ole Miss. A look into one of the pivotal moments in Ole Miss history when the eyes of the nation and entire world looked to the University of Mississippi as we hosted the first Presidential debate of 2008. With interviews from University officials, Oxford residents, national journalists, and politicians, we cover the exciting events leading up to the debate and explore the tremendous effort involved behind the scenes to bring a Presidential debate to life. The Debate Starts Here will premiere Friday, September 25th at 4pm at the Overby Center Auditorium, marking the one year anniversary of this historic debate.
Happy Birthday Square Books!
Square Books, Oxford’s revered independent bookstore, celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding on September 14th. They marked the occasion with readings by local authors, cocktail parties, and a screening of a short film about Square Books by MDP producer Joe York.
Making a Campus Connection
MDP intern Alyssa Manhold interviewed Ole Miss starting center Daverin Geralds this week for a segment that will run later on the ESPNU Campus Connection. Alyssa spoke with Daverin, an SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree, about the challenges of maintaining high academic standards while playing for a top 10 football team.
ESPNU’s Campus Connection is part of the agreement between the SEC and ESPN to create academic opportunities at each SEC member institution. The UM Media and Documentary Projects Center is producing content for the SEC Academic Network and will work with students on campus to provide content for Campus Connection and for the SEC Week program on ESPNU.
Crunch Time!
The Media and Documentary Projects team hit the field today with Coach Houston Nutt to shoot “Crunch Time.” This spot, featuring the partnership between Coke, the University of Mississippi Athletics Department, MDP, and the campus Green Initiative will play on the giant screen at the beginning of the 4th quarter in an effort to fire the crowd up for the last quarter and promote recycling inside the stadium. When you see coach Nutt on the big screen, pick up an empty plastic bottle, crunch it loudly, then find one of the new recycle bins on your way out of the stadium.
CUD
Last Saturday, Joe York’s documentary “CUD” screened in Athens, Georgia, at the Potlikker Film Festival hosted by the Southern Foodways Alliance. The film profiles Will Harris, a cattleman from Bluffton, Gerogia, who raises grass-fed beef cattle at White Oak Pastures, the expansive farm that has been in his family for over 160 years. This film marks a continuation of the partnership between the Media & Documentary Projects Center, the Southern Foodways Alliance, & Whole Foods Market, who provided funding for the production of the film.
To the left is the DVD artwork produced by Joe York and Matthew Graves of MDP. We would like to thank Ole Miss graduate and current Whole Foods associate Kate Medley for the use of her beautiful images in the production of the DVD artwork. Kate did excellent work as a graduate student in Southern Studies here at Ole Miss and she hasn’t skipped a beat in her new role at Whole Foods. Check out some of her great work here.
We would also like to thank Will Harris for his cooperation and graciousness in the making of this film. If you’d like to learn more about Mr. Harris and White Oak Pastures visit whiteoakpastures.com or check out the documentary below.
SEC Academic Network
Matthew Graves has spent the last several weeks producing profiles for the launch of the SEC Academic Network and the first batch is fresh from the oven. Over the course of the year we hope to produce 20 to 25 profiles of departments, programs, and events on campus for the world to see on the academic network. We believe this is a great opportunity to share the things we already know to be outstanding about the University of Mississippi with the rest of the world. Great work Matthew!
John T. is Splendid
John T. Edge was in booth yesterday recording an interview with American Public Media’s The Splendid Table. The conversation was about the influence of food writer and Craig Claiborne. Thanks to the modern miracle of ISDN lines we are able to connect live with any studio in the world.
Chancellor Jones is a standup guy.
Matthew and Micah (and crew) shot our new chancellor this morning in the circle as part of the university’s fall ad campaign. Chancellor Jones nailed his first standup for us and I expect you will see him grace the pages of our blog many times to come.
Casting Call
Friday we held open auditions for students to take part in the University of Mississippi’s 2009 ad campaign. Quite a few students showed up and we were able to secure a great lineup. Look for them Sept. 6 on ESPN for the Memphis game and the debut of the “Experience Amazing” campaign being launched by University Brand Services.
MDP at the Summer OFF
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
It's All Academic (Network)
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.
Profile Me
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.
-Matthew
It's Movies!
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
A New Batch of Storytellers
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.
– Matthew
Capitol Q
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.
Ole Miss Online/Independent Study Spot
Promotional spot for the Ole Miss Online and Independent Study programs at the University of Mississippi.
The Sun Never Sets On Highway 61.
This past weekend Scott Barretta and Highway 61 hosted the third Sunset Summer Series with a show featuring Reverend John Wilkins. Enthusiasm was as high as the heat index as everyone enjoyed Reverend Wilkins’ blues infused gospel. Reverend Wilkins is the pastor of the Hunter’s Chapel Church in Como, MS and Highway 61 can be heard Saturday nights at 10pm on Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
Market Research Anyone?
Micah Ginn is at the Inn at Ole Miss this week facilitating the recording of Ole Miss students in a market research study conducted by Marketing. We sat up cameras and mics in one of the rooms at the hotel and fed the images back to an adjacent room where responses will be analyzed. It’s a brave new world for the Media and Documentary Projects Center. Check back for more updates and results from the meetings.
Chinese Language Flagship Promo
Promotional video for the Chinese Flagship Program at the University of Mississippi. Produced by the Media and Documentary Projects Center.
Tom Rankin and Five Farms
Tom Rankin, Director of the Duke University Center for Documentary Studies (and long time Oxford friend) was in the audio booth today for an interview with WUNC’s “The State of Things.” Tom was speaking about the new CDS project Five Farms: Stories from American Farm Families. We are pleased to be able to collaborate with WUNC and to have Tom (whose program is one of the examples that we try to emulate here) in the studio.
Southern Studies Graduate Intern Melanie Young got some experience behind the console today as the session engineer.
They don't call it Intensive English for nothing!
Here’s the English language version of the Intensive English Promo we produced for the Office of Outreach.