Lea Sutton – A Campus of Zion

“In recent years some of the new students at BYU-Idaho, students who have not acquainted themselves with the history of Ricks College, have wondered why we talk so much about the Spirit of Ricks when the school is now named Brigham Young University-Idaho. The answer to that question is very simple. The Spirit of Ricks has been and always will be a defining characteristic of this institution—regardless of the name of the institution.

If the day should ever come that the phrase the Spirit of Ricks and its connotations were lost from the vocabulary of Brigham Young University-Idaho, then something fundamental and foundational would be absent from this institution.”

– Elder David A. Bednar, February 18th, 2005

The Inspiration

At the start of the Fall 2025 semester on campus, President Alvin F. Meredith III gave an opening devotional called “The Spirit of Ricks Endures”. While I felt strongly that this was true, it became clear to me that many students on campus didn’t have a complete picture of the history of Ricks College and therefore what it truly meant to recognize and feel the Spirit of Ricks. So, I set out with my teammates in my COMM465 class, Advanced Moving Images 2, to document our journey in defining the Spirit of Ricks.

The Objective

Another objective I had was giving both students and alumni alike the opportunity to voice their opinions of campus, and show how their experiences at Ricks and BYUI eventually lead them closer to Christ. I wanted to highlight personal experiences and give each person a voice, which ultimately united together to show viewers that despite our many differences, BYU-Idaho gives you an opportunity to attend alongside those with similar beliefs and values that uplift and inspire you to do more and become better.

A Campus of Zion

The Grit

Like every project, there were plenty of decisions and circumstances that led to my team and I struggling to complete A Campus of Zion. Not everyone is going to be happy with their projects, and I will brave and say that I’m among them. There is plenty that given an infinite amount of time (thank goodness we don’t have that, or else this and many other projects I have would never be complete), I would happily change and improve. Here are a couple “short” bullet points:

• The Story—There were a solid 5 ideas that were all “Frankenstein-ed” into the film, which made everything in my opinion disjointed and therefore disconnected. There were times where I needed help with my story, and I struggled a lot to get it where I was envisioning. I often needed other opinions and those with a bit of a stronger vision to get even this script through to the end of the project.
• The Organization—Our team struggled to work together at times throughout the project. We were also working on another project at the same time, and our limited and often conflicting schedules were quickly filled up by many obligations, including the other project. Some roles were more difficult to fill than others, and we also quickly realized we didn’t have enough skilled people in roles that we hadn’t realized were so crucial until halfway through the project.
• The Scope—My team and I had never worked on a project of this scope before, meaning we had no idea how to conduct a production for a 6-8 minute film. We as students are used to 3-4 minute films at most, but adding those minutes takes quite a bit more effort and consideration. It also drastically changes the story structure and how much time is spent on each narrative part of the documentary.
• The Visuals—Because I had difficulty with the vision of the story, the visuals also lacked. I was unsure of where to put the camera to capture the best shot more times than not, and at times we had weird or even irrelevant feeling shots that felt more like placeholders than anything else in the final cut.

I could personally conduct a 2 hour long seminar on how everything happened and what truly occurred, but I won’t subject you to that. I don’t bash my work, and I don’t bash the work of others. The only purpose for this list is to show you that there were a lot of failures, and as a director I and my producer are responsible for a majority of those failures. In writing this, I’m giving myself an opportunity to reflect on what I failed at so I can also talk about how I learned as a result of those failures, and especially because these personal critiques help me understand where the project lacked, so I can watch over those aspects more carefully next time.

The Growth

Despite all those notes, my team and I were able to come a long way in such a short amount of time. And as a director, whether you’re working on a feature film or student project, there’s a lot more you can do to learn and grow from it so you can do better next time. I may not be proud of this project, but what I am proud of is that my team and I came together at our lowest point and brought up this documentary from a very tattered place. Some of these growth points are as follows:

• The Story—Having been in pre-production not just for the beginning half of the production pipeline, but for the entirety of the project, I can say for sure that no matter the basis of your story or the type of documentary you create (participatory, observational, poetic, reflexive, reflective, or expository; in this case it was expository and participatory), you need not only a good idea, but a clear plan. You need to know exactly who, what, where, how, and why on everything. No storyboard, no script, no idea who you’ll interview is never going to cut it. Find your story first, if it is a location or company or person make sure they are fully available to move forward, then get everything else. Your subject matters first.
• The Organization—Again, make sure everyone is on board and is fully available and committed to helping you carry the project out. Even though this project was for a class, and therefore a grade, that doesn’t mean they’re always going to be on board. Once you have your story, organize how you’re going to get it done. Always involve everyone. Make sure they are confident in their roles. Also make sure they fully understand not only their own roles, but everyone else’s, and therefore also know how the roles work together in their own relationships. Ensure that everyone’s schedules align. If not, some people will have to make sacrifices. As a director or producer, you have to ask people where your project is on their priority list. If it’s not high enough to complete the project, work with them until you both feel you’ll comfortably make it past the finish line.
• The Scope—Alongside the organization, understand what it will actually look like to get the project done. As mentioned before, a 3-4 minute film is nothing like a 6-8 minute film. Figure out how it makes sense, from a narrative and a practical standpoint. Don’t just add more meat to the story, because those extra minutes change the entire recipe of the structure. Ratio it out. Make changes if you have to. Don’t get too attached to an idea if you know it won’t work, but don’t throw away the project if it’s been approved and funded. Someone finds value in this, so figure out how you personally value the project and ride that passion.
• The Visuals—A lot more research needed to be done to make the look of the story work better. While the final film did have a good portion of visually pleasing and some polished shots, not all of it lined up with the vision of the story. It’s important to not only understand the vision, but to also be able to share it with others. If you can’t do that, then you don’t have a project or a story. Take the time to research, find others who have told similar stories and had a similar vision. And if you don’t, then seriously consider why and how to make both your vision, scope, and what most viewers will expect of your concept from industry standard, all fit into a single, cohesive, congruent film.
• The Trinity—The director, producer, and cinematographer always need to be on the same page. They should get on the same page in pre-production, and should ask questions and defer to the visionary (director), logistician (producer), and the artist (cinematographer) during production shoots. If any of these three are not on the same page, none of you will be happy with the result. Don’t continue until you’re on the same page. Conversely, time is money and if the producer is happy then you’re likely doing everything right. But as a cinematographer, ask the director anyway, because the story makes the product and therefore pays out the money and time spent creating the work.

Not many projects will go fantastically, or become flaming hot failures, but either way it is always important to spend time at the end of every project in reflection. Reflect on your role, on the work you did, and ask yourself how you can improve. Then, reflect as a team in a good, neutral setting that allows everyone to contribute to the conversation, share what they’ve learned, and allow others to learn from them. You will miss things you think you did wrong, or things you think you did right. Other people will correct you, and if they’re considerate, will kindly tell you how to fix it. Take all the feedback you receive seriously, and heavily consider the constructive critiques the next time you work on a project.

The Results

I’ve already mentioned several times that I personally felt a lot went wrong with this project, and that I’m not proud of it, and I will admit that I debated for a long time whether to share A Campus of Zion as my crowning senior project.

But per the suggestions of all my peers, mentor, and fiancé, I am here. I’ve laid out what I think is a reasonable analysis, which is that your biggest failures are going to be among your greatest successes. You can’t erase them. Your baby of a project isn’t always going to be the most favored of everything you’ve ever done. Which while unfortunate, that also means you can never erase the lessons you’ve been taught. And while this project was never my baby, it is also never a complete failure, because of what I have learned and the connections I’ve made through this project.

Therefore, I’d like to personally thank:

• Cameron Robins, mentor
• Kyle Rosengren, fiancé and support
• Hannah Livingston Gemar, audio technician and friend
• Brandon Baldwin, editor and friend
• Kaylee Neus, sound designer and friend

As for those who will read my work in the future, I hope you the best in your challenges and struggles to become exactly who you’re meant to be. Your Heavenly Father loves you very much, and so long as you involve Him in all your work, you will be blessed with guidance, strength, courage, and and a determination to keep going. I hope you too recognize the Spirit of Ricks, and if not then I sincerely hope you find it in your life soon. You can do all things through Him.

Best regards,

Lea Sutton