University of Dallas Video
by Melanie Bettinelli on December 13, 2006
My sister sent me the link to this awesome video about UD. It says exactly what I would want to say to any high school student considering UD (except it does it better). It brought tears to my eyes. It captures perfectly what UD is to those of us who love her.
Even if you have no interest in the University, you should watch this video.
This is unlike any recruitment video I’ve ever seen. It was not done by professionals; but by two students (Not that you could tell, it’s beautiful, well shot, well edited, highly polished.) It’s not an outsider’s view; but an insider’s. And that makes all the difference. It’s really a love letter to the school. Dom said watching it made him want to go to UD. It made both of us want to go back to school once again.
Here’s what the two filmmakers had to say about their project:
Our video tells a story, but there is also a story behind our video. It began a few months ago, when we sat down to watch UD’s old promo video; sadly, between the cheesy synthesizers, the poofy hair, and the big earrings, we were humored rather than impressed. Like most other promo videos, it was put together by professionals who had no idea what the university was all about.
So, between writing our senior theses, finishing our comprehensive exams, and going to end-of-the-year parties, we made the decision to create our own UD video. We had no time, no money, no equipment, and absolutely no experience. Undaunted, we borrowed a camera from our classmate, two microphones from our professor, and countless hours from our sleep schedules, and we got to work.
Armed with a tripod and our liberal arts education, we spent two weeks hurriedly interviewing our classmates and professors. By graduation, we had taken our footage and taught ourselves how to use a free trial version of a professional editing program. As the summer began, one of us (John) had to take up his job in Rome, so the other (Tommy) began to edit the movie, finding spare hours between a full time teaching job and an introductory Greek class. Exactly as Tommy was leaving to England for a summer program, our hard drive crashed. We had to ship a new one to Atlanta, where Tommy picked it up during a layover on the way to the British Isles. He carried it in his backpack, protecting it from the rain as he went camping in Ireland, Scotland, and England. The two of us met again in a priest’s house in southern England to do more editing, and then Tommy continued the work in Austria (between working two jobs for his aunt outside Salzburg).
We met again in Rome, but one of our suitcases-the one with the necessary power cords for the hard drive-was stolen in the train station. Unperturbed, we ordered a new one and spent our time filming UD’s Rome Campus. When Tommy had to return to Oxford to begin his graduate studies, John found time between his job and Italian lessons to make the final changes.
Along the way, another hard drive crashed, our software died, and our computer failed. But, through determination and grace, the video was finished. We hope you will enjoy this genuine voice of UD students and faculty—we had no budget and no script.
Clearly, we absolutely love UD. We turned down top universities (Boston College, Notre Dame, Harvard) in order to come here, and we have never regretted these decisions. UD’s Core Curriculum, Rome Program, Student Body, and open-minded Catholicity certainly put her on the top. We will be forever grateful for the rich academic and social growth UD has afforded us, for the amazing discussions and lifelong friendships. This short video is our best attempt to pay UD back. We hope you will see past any of our amateurs’ errors to enjoy the true and enthusiastic story that is now laid before you. Even if you have no interest in UD, this video could well help you decide on the sorts of qualities you are looking for in a university.
Their story made me laugh. It’s such a typical UD story. They sound like such typical UDers. I’ve never met them nor any of the students featured in a film. But I know if I sat down in a room with any of them, we’d have a great conversation. They’re family. We have a bond that unites us, a common experience and a common love.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, John and Tommy.
Comments
I just watched this finally and had tears in my eyes when it finished. I have an inordinate capacity for regret and longing for the past - I found myself regretting every moment I spent at UD not taking advantage of where i was. Every time i procrastinated a paper a bit, or slept in and was late for class. Every moment i didn’t spent engrossed in discourse with my peers. I long so deeply to return and do it all again even better this time.
I cherish every moment spent at UD. I should keep my mind focused on the long talks with professors, quiet moments in the chapel, Phil of Being outside in the grass, Rome at sunset, late nights in Old Mill, cramming 21 hours in one semester so I could take Russian Novel and get all my chemistry in too, visiting with Mel as she lay next to her computer trying to finish her annotations…good things.
I’m going to show this to Marc tonight too - He only spent a year and a half at UD, but at least he had the honor of studying with Dr Paynter, eavesdropping on Fr. James’ classes, and walking the stations in the chapel. I long to give him a Rome semester, but maybe we can give that to our kids one day…as long as UD stays UD. and we all pray it does.
Posted by betsy on 12/14/06 at 03:00 PM
Betsy,
I know exactly what you mean. If I could go back and do it all again… I wouldn’t have dropped Russian novel. I’d have spent more time in my professors’ offices talking to them. I’d have gone to more plays, more activities, more dinner and discourses, more everything.
Youth is wasted on the young, as they say.
I felt it especially when my sister was in Rome and had a cell phone and kept calling me from all these cool places. I wish I’d gone into the city more, eaten at more restaurants, talked to more people, taken more pictures of people and less of things I could have bought postcards of.
It makes me realize how important it is to do what you are doing, to live in the moment and to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. One day I might be looking back on this time when Bella is a baby and Dom and I are newly married and wish I’d paid more attention, spent more time appreciating this time of my life.
I definitely want Bella to be able to attend UD. Which needs our prayers right now as it’s going through a hard transition time. I pray that UD stays what it is; that as it grows, it maintains its essential character.
Good to hear from you and wander down a bit of memory lane. Ah those annotations… good times!
Posted by Melanie Bettinelli on 12/14/06 at 07:18 PM