What happens when a time traveler finds true love trapped in a different timeline from his own life?

Audience goers will find out when they attend the premiere of In the Nick of Time. The short film will hit the screen at Nelson University’s Hagee Communication Center Auditorium (Waxahachie, TX) on Thursday April 10 at 7pm. It is the 11^th major film project released by students in Nelson’s Digital Media Arts (DMA) academic program.

Trailer Link:

General admission is $5. Tickets: https://brushfire.com/nelson/nelsonfilms_inthenickoftime/601209

Hagee Communication Center Directions: https://g.co/kgs/4BAEDdP

The formation of filmmaking

Writing In the Nick of Time was a collective effort by seniors Kabella Hendrix and Kyla McMinn during the summer of 2024. They wanted to explore the crucible of breaking not just the law but also altering the flow of established history for the sake of true love. “Where does one draw the line between right and wrong when those lines are blurred with the uncertainty of changing someone’s personal history?” said McMinn. “That’s what we wanted to find out when we starting writing the script.”

The film follows time travel agent Nick Reavers as he avoids arrest from his own employer—LEAP–the government agency tasked to verify the major events of world history without disrupting the timeline. Along the way, Nick falls in love with Rita which soon complicates everything Nick has vowed to do as a LEAP agent. This story is jam-packed with action and comedy as government agents track the rogue rebel under the watchful eye of Nick’s best friend and boss Roberto.

Hendrix said some of the most memorable aspects of the entire experience of filmmaking was at the very beginning. “The absolute best part of this process was the collaboration. I loved pre-production meetings where we talked about our vision for the scenes. It’s such a special thing to be able to sit down with your closest friends and get into a creative flow.”

Positive Reviews from Professionals

That creative flow attracted local acting talent Mark Beshai, who played the role of Nick’s boss Roberto. “We have an obsession with trying to control our lives or certain situations and this story shows what happens when we go too far to do that.” Beshai is a member of Waxahachie talent agency Linda McAlister Talent, which also has an office in Los Angeles where it serves Hollywood area actors.

Kevin Roberts played the role of Nick. He is no stranger to Nelson Films (formerly SAGU Cinema). Roberts attended Nelson nearly 14 years ago and has several family members who were crew members in prior film projects produced by DMA students.

“The crew was very solid and on-point. They came with the same organization and intensity of the professional crews I’ve worked with in the past,” Roberts said, who also noted the challenging topic the students attempted to tackle. “The idea that one could go back and change the past opens a vast array of moral questions. Is time unchanging and set in stone, or can technology chisel away the permanence of the past? What is our moral responsibility? Just because we can, are we now bound to?” 

One of Roberts professors while at Nelson was Rob Price, current Communication Arts Department chair and co-executive producer of In the Nick of Time. He, along with co-executive producer and fellow faculty member Ben Fenton carefully assigned nine students to specific crew roles based on their strengths and interests. “This year was a bumper crop of talent and putting people on the right seats in the bus is always my single biggest challenge and most important responsibility as executive producer,” Price said. “It requires just the right alchemy of observation, trust and prayer! But it was clear early on that each student landed in their sweet spot as team to maximize their budding skillsets as cinematic storytellers,” Price said.

Crew Roles

• Senior Kabella Hendrix: Director
• Senior Chiara D’Amato: Director of Photography
• Senior Kyla McMinn: First Assistant Director
• Senior Kelsey Swartzendruber: Production Designer
• Seniors Taylor Cookman & Teddy Nkamanyi: Sound Design
• Senior Sam Seaman: Script Supervisor
• Senior Ryan Arruda: Set Decorator
• Senior Shawntay Owens: Gaffer

Cookman, who is also a nationally ranked esports athlete at Nelson (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) said making a film using the same techniques and set protocols as Hollywood is not unlike the gaming experience.

“In the esports world being able to analyze your environment and make game-changing decisions within seconds is crucial. That’s something we also had to do at times as a crew on many of our shoots,” Cookman said. “I’m so impressed how well the team was able to adapt and regain footing after we would get a wrench thrown in our original plans.” 

“Everyone filled their own role perfectly, yet we all meshed together as one cohesive team. I never felt like there was a problem that we couldn’t handle,” said Seaman.

McMinn agreed, adding that making a movie is a springboard into the wide world of solving problems. “Filmmaking will challenge you in ways you would not even expect. There were so many times the crew and I wished for better foresight, but that’s the beauty of this project,” she said. McMinn was also a 4-year athlete on the Nelson Lady Lions basketball team. “The practical application of everything we have learned allowed us to recognize all the areas we needed to grow in, and I think we’re all better storytellers and producers because of this experience.”

Another student athlete on the crew was Owens who played both football and threw discus for the track & field team. “Instead of just studying concepts, we had to apply them in real time, making creative decisions, troubleshooting unexpected challenges, and adjusting to the dynamic nature of a production,” he said. “It felt like a real-world simulation where every decision had an impact, which made the learning process much more engaging and rewarding.”

That’s a Wrap

The entire production of this short film from a single idea to the final export spanned an 11-month period. With a $15,000 budget, In the Nick of Time consisted of 14 speaking roles including paid actors, 13 locations, 24 costumes, and several extras. Most of the scenes were shot in Ellis County. However, one scene was filmed in Royce City, more than 60 miles away from Nelson University.

Capturing all those shots and scenes for D’Amato in her role as Director of Photography was grueling. With the limited number of crew members on set, she was responsible for both leading the lighting team and running the primary camera herself. This dual role took its toll on the energetic senior who has plans to enter the sports broadcasting industry after graduation. “Even through the struggles, I’ve cherished every moment on set because everyone is graduating this semester. I wouldn’t trade the extremely late nights or exhausting shoots for anything because I got to spend them with friends that are more like family.”

The event will also feature a behind the scenes video, blooper reel, interviews with cast & crew, and a chance for audience members to win prizes. Light refreshments will also be available in the HCC lobby for purchase.

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Nelson University, formerly Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU), is a private Christian university situated just 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. Established in 1927, Nelson University now offers more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degrees, both on campus and online. Committed to integrating faith and learning, Nelson University prepares students to fulfill their God-given callings in a Spirit-empowered community. For more information, visit www.nelson.edu or call 1-888-937-7248.