The Cru Film Program is in its sixth year at UMHB. Dr. Diane Howard (Director of Performance Studies in the Dept of Communication and Media Studies  in the College of Humanities) and Ms. Donna Teel (Director of Computer Graphics Design in the Dept. of Business Information Technology and Systems in the College of Business) have designed, produced, and supervised this program. Dr. Howard teaches film performance and pre-production in film courses, such as Screenwriting and Acting for the Camera. Professor Teel teaches film production and post-production in film courses. Students in her Multimedia and Film Production Course study project management of filming. (They study this in each of the Digital Video Editing and Post Production courses but get more in depth in the MFP course.) Further, they study camera operation, lighting, sound, script breakdown, shot sheets... Dr. Joseph Tabarlet teaches a Film Studies course and advises film students. The Cru Film Program is both academic and practical.

The UMHB Film Program is also guided by a redemptive filmmaking philosophy that rests on Christian principles. Producing films to enlighten, serve, and to entertain, UMHB Film Students have been producing original short films, documentaries, and public service commercials on campus. They have worked together with area businesses and organizations to produce training videos. Regional independent filmmakers and UMHB film alumni have assisted UMHB film faculty and students with production of redemptive film projects at UMHB and in Central Texas. UMHB film students have provided on-camera and voice-over talent for UMHB commercials and other projects.  

Cru Film Students have been cast in feature movies and have performed alongside stars who have been Academy Award Nominees and Award-Winners in such films as Temple Grandin, Machete, Secondhand Lions , and others . Many UMHB film students have performed in the ongoing Friday Night Lights Television Series.

Some UMHB film students and alumni have regional agents, who have sent the student talent to auditions from which  they have been cast as talent in national television programs,  advertisements, commercials, and movies. (See http://dianehoward.com/talent_students_alumni.htm. ) Some UMHB film alumni have worked as casting directors and talent agents. Cru Film Projects have received recognition regionally and nationally. 

We produce many kinds of films in our Cru Film Program. Film Studies Minors and CGD Majors/Minors taking any of the BCIS Film Editing and Post Production courses are required to participate in producing PSAs as part of a small team project. They have created PSAs for UMHB Campus Police, UMHB Health Services, and Scott & White. They have created promotional DVDs for the City of Belton and the Odyssey Hospice and Home Health Care Center.  

For the past six years we have brought in technical film supervisors, who are Christian leaders involved in the Film Industry, to supervise our film students as they produce an original student screenplay for professional distribution, film festivals, and film competitions. More and more of our film/graphic design students have been hired by strong organizations and by national figures like Nate Self, http://nateself.com/, and his company, http://nateself.com/the-praevius-group/ .

You can find many of our film advisors on our Cru Film '10 Facebook Group. (This group has nearly 100 talented members. Many of them are Performance Studies/Communication/Graphic Design/Film Students, Alumni, Faculty, Advisors, and Associates, who are experienced talent with rich backgrounds as film, television, radio, and stage cast/crew. On the Cru Film '10 Web pages, I daily post jobs and tips for film careers. I also post reviews and tips for an online Austin publication.

For six years, screenplays for short films have been written in the fall in our screenwriting course and selected for production in the spring. UMHB students have also participated in producing short films in connection with the national 48 Film Hour Project.  See

Original Cru Film Productions- Fairytail & Map Thieves, '05

Original Cru Film Productions- Bullets at Twilight & Dumb Love, '06

48 Hour Project, Big Plume Productions, Hidden Places, Summer '06

Original Cru Film Productions, Fly Away, Split Ends, '07

Original Cru Film Productions- Runaway, The Good Wife, '08

Original Cru Film Production- Redemptive Films, '09

See UMHB Film Curricula- http://dianehoward.com/curricula.htm