Cotton Productions
Cotton Productions is UTEP's only video production company. Faculty member Carolyn Mitchell, Leon De La Rosa, and former Miner place kicker Ola Kimrin accidentally started Cotton Productions in the fall of 2000. Kimrin wanted to make a video about a day in the life of a UTEP senior football player. He pitched his idea to Mitchell, who gave him the thumbs up, and Cotton Productions was born.
Kimrin's idea transformed into the documentary "The Road to the WAC Championship," highlighting the Miner's winning 2000 football season. The documentary aired on KTSM-TV, an NBC affiliate, qualifying it for a number of film festivals. "The Road to the WAC Championship" won first place in both the El Paso Film Festival and the Georgia Tech Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Film Festival, making Cotton Productions a bona fide production company.
Cotton Productions offers students with an interest in video the opportunity to enhance their resume while gaining valuable hands-on experience. Students are able to get experience and add to their portfolios "on a different level than a class project," says Carolyn Mitchell, faculty advisor.
Cotton Productions produces commercials and public service announcements and videotapes conferences and seminars for UTEP. However, because Cotton Productions is associated with the university, they cannot compete with outside production companies.
Cotton Productions' 45-minute documentary, "And the Wheels Turned. the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship" was the recipient of the first ever Student EMMY Award from the Lone Star EMMY Competition. The documentary, which was produced in 2002, also won second place in the Beaumont's SpinFest Film Festival, third place in the National Broadcasters Education Association competition, and first place at the Chamizal Film Festival. The documentary was also selected for screening at the New Orleans Film Festival. The video production group followed with another outstanding project , "Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon" as part of UTEP's Bhutan Festival in 2008.
Students interested in participating and working with Cotton Productions should contact faculty advisor, Mrs. Carolyn Mitchell at 747-6292, cmitchel@utep.edu