“Just Paint,” a short film by Geoffrey Hartley ’19, first aired on Rocky Mountain PBS in November, marking the culmination of his work as part of the Colorado Documentary Project. Dedicated to local storytelling and partnerships with community organizations along the Front Range, the CDP
places CC students in “externship” experiences, partnering them with community groups beyond campus.

“I chose to partner with the Fine Arts Center,” Hartley says.

“I explored the museum, the acting academies, but it was the day I spent with the Bemis School of Art that really helped me find the story I wanted to tell. Their programs stood out to me for storytelling potential, and the Military Artistic Healing Program was top of the pile.”

Collecting classroom footage, conducting interviews, diving into late-night editing sessions, the film major threw himself into the process over the summer and fall.

“I love the intensity of the process,” he says. “It’s daunting but doesn’t feel like it — there’s a real sense of immersion when working on a film on the Block Plan. It’s all you’re doing, you’re thinking about it all the time — from breakfast to when you’re leaving the editing lab at 2 or
3 a.m.”