Video Essays
Who are the Working Poor
Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival
After Twilight
This is Keith Rolyat
Once Upon a Time a King
Once Not Far From Home
Clean People
Zoom Suit
Mind Game
Pet Assassins
What's Two + Three
The Regular Guy
Hope is a Thing With      Feathers
Election Videos
Vote for a Change
Play2Win
AlterNation
+1 Vote
Identify
Save the Vote
Voice the Vote
VoterVirus

Video Essay

"Who are the Working Poor" Director: Andrew Goldberg
Direct Download 35 megs
Synopsis: Video Essay asking: Who are the working poor.

Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival

"After Twilight" Director: Gary L. Watson
Order the DVD The creator of this film has requested we not offer this file anymore.
Synopsis: Bookish Jen Frazier seems an unlikely choice to be a freedom fighter, but when a theocratic new order occupies the state of Texas, Jen is pushed into action carrying contraband for the underground.

"This is Keith Rolyat" Director: Taylor Johnson
Direct Download 50 megs Requires Divx Codec
Synopsis: This is the animated story of the bizarre life of a man named Keith Rolyat.

"Once Upon a Time a King" Director: Massimiliano Mauceri
Direct Download 95 megs Requires Divx Codec
Synopsis: Anyone who's wrong is right, and who's right is wrong.

"Once Not Far From Home" Director: Ben Van Hook
Direct Download 178 megs Requires Divx Codec
Synopsis: A dramatic story about a curious little boy, a beautiful young girl, and a mysterious old house that holds the secret to their love and fate. A captivating, thought-provoking tale that proves true love really does last forever.

"Clean People" Director: Roy S. Ford
Direct Download 123 megs Requires Divx Codec
Synopsis: It's the start of the last load of laundry.

"Zoom Suit" Director: John Taddco
Direct Download 93 megs Requires Divx Codec
Synopsis: A superhero coming of age adventure in the vein of "Stand By Me" and "The Sandlot" meets "The Incredibles" and "Jingle All the Way."

"Four Characters in Search of a Story" Director: Andrew Goldberg Producers: Curt Yowell & Aaron Racicot
Direct Download! (50 megs) Requires Divx Codec
Synopsis: A short film about four characters you may know or may not want to know.

"Mind Game" directed by Nancy K. Weirum
Two rival chess players vie for more than just a championship with reputations and self-respect on the line. How one player must deal with the slowly intensifying realization that he is losing proves a lesson in the resiliency of the human spirit.

"Pet Assassins" directed by Susan Cockerham
This short film is a wicked comedy with the solution for a neighbor's problem pet.

"What's Two + Three" directed by Peter Hawley
Filmed in Dublin, Ireland during the 2003 Special Olympic World Games, "What's Two + Three" follows a brother's journey as he tries to connect with his developmentally disabled sister. Winner Best Film of 2004 Gulf Coast Film & Festival.

"The Regular Guy" directed by Fulvio Cecere
"The Regular Guy" is a comedy about two brothers and letting go literally. One of the brother's rigid lifestyle begins to unravel after he has too much bran in the morning and gets lost on his way to work.

"Hope is a Thing With Feathers" directed by Mamie McCall
The Alt-Country musical group, Trailer Bride's longing rendition of Emily Dickinson's haunting poem.

Election Videos

During the fall 2004 semester, students at the University of Houston produced public service announcements to encourage college students to vote in the 2004 presidential election. Assistant Professor Beckham Dossett asked seniors in her Graphic Communications studio in the School of Art to produce video clips for fictional non-profit organizations. Here are eight 30-second PSAs designed by the students to promote the messages of their organizations.

Vote for a Change by Maryam Amiry
Vote for a Change encourages 18-25 year-olds to register for the 2004 presidential election by highlighting issues such as the war on terror, the rising cost of education, the fight over abortion rights and the possibility of a military draft, all set to The Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner.

Play2Win by Becca DeCuir
Freedom of speech. Opinion. Influence. These aren't your everyday carnival prizes, but they can be if you vote in the 2004 presidential election. In this PSA, the Play2Win organization gives you the chance to toss in your ballot and collect a prize.

AlterNation by Michael Fritzenschaft
The butterfly effect is a meteorological theory that states the flapping of a butterfly's wings will create a disturbance that will become amplified and eventually change large-scale atmospheric motion. The long-term consequences of the effect are impossible to forecast. This thirty-second PSA for AlterNation uses the butterfly effect as a metaphor for the far-reaching and often unpredictable effects a single vote can have in a politically charged atmosphere.

+1 Vote by Chrissy Iannetti
Many young people do not believe their votes will effect the outcome of an election. +1 Vote encourages these reluctant voters to register for the 2004 presidential election by highlighting several significant points in history when one vote did make a difference.

Identify by Ryan Keene
Apathetic individuals justify their reluctance to vote by claiming their input will not make a difference. This thirty-second PSA demonstrates the power in numbers when many individuals become motivated to vote.

Save the Vote by Thuy Nguyen
Save the Vote uses images and sounds from a classic video game to draw attention to another timeless activity - voting.

Voice the Vote by Candace Noel
In Voice the Vote, a searchlight and an ominous soundtrack suggest a dark outcome for an election in which no one cared enough to participate.

Get VoterVirus by Minhee Song
Get VoterVirus presents an apathetic college student who becomes infected by a wicked, little VoterVirus and subsequently sees the world in a new light.