What might have otherwise passed as an ordinary night on campus became the focus of one UT alumnus’s final project. For a capstone course, Shyam Madhav (radio-television-film ‘24) made “Goodnight College,” a documentary capturing one night at UT, two weeks before Madhav’s graduation. Taking the film on the road for a national tour, Madhav presented “Goodnight College” on Monday.
The Daily Texan sat down with Madhav to discuss his filming process, style and future.
The Daily Texan: Your film “Goodnight College” captures a single night on campus. What drew you to the one-night structure instead of following students over a longer period?
Shyam Madhav: I love movies that are like (“Goodnight College”), that capture that party energy of a one-night thing. I was really inspired by (movies) like “Dazed and Confused” (and) “Everybody Wants Some!!” … Being at UT and in school, on a typical Friday night or just hanging out, you (will) bump into someone random, and then there’s that unexpected energy of always feeling like there’s a lot of stuff going on. That energy and environment, I really wanted to capture that.
DT: The film moves through a lot of different corners of campus. How did you decide what stories or people to follow?
SM: I reached out to a ton of people. I wanted to capture all the different archetypes instead of focusing on one thing. I knew I wanted to get a sports team and also some more artsy things. I got an improv troupe, and then a co-op party. … I wanted to paint a broader snapshot. But it’s also a mix … of happy accidents and as much intention as you could in a very uncontrolled sort of situation.
DT: You don’t hide from the camera, and sometimes, you’re a part of the scene. Why did you want the camera to feel present rather than hidden?
SM: It was all an act of trying to make everyone as comfortable and natural in front of the camera as possible. I felt like, if it was some big camera with (higher) production quality, people would always be aware of the fact that they’re being filmed. … Since it was just my handheld camera, … (we could) treat it like everything’s the same. You can even make fun of the fact that we’re doing this (and) filming. I feel like it helps people be way more natural, and hopefully that comes across, and it feels more like you’re having conversations with people and like you’re part of it, as opposed to observing from the background.
DT: What can we expect from you next in the film world?
SM: I’ve been writing a narrative feature script for a couple years now, and that’s definitely something I want to do next. This was a very low-budget, indie, scrappy thing. I want this next (one) to be more of (a) scripted, actual movie. … I want to shoot that within, hopefully, the next year.
DT: If you could describe “Goodnight College” in just one sentence, what would it be?
SM: It’s a time capsule of what I love about the people and places that I went to school with.
