In his student capstone documentary “Good Night College,” filmmaker Shyam Madhav, who graduated May ‘24 from the University of Texas at Austin’s Radio-Television-Film (RTF) program, captures the vibrant energy of a Friday night on campus. The documentary offers an unscripted, authentic look at student life, featuring everything from hockey games to improv performances.

For Madhav, the project was a chance to create something different than anything he had done before. 

“I was really wanting to do something that was reflective of my time at UT and bigger than anything I’d done before,” he said. Having worked on smaller-scale videos, Madhav said he wanted to challenge himself with a more ambitious documentary. 

“I’ve always been a massive fan of those college movies and coming-of-age movies,” he explained. “I thought it could be a cool way to blend that style of movie with something that was completely unscripted.”

Good Night College features a variety of student organizations, including the UT Ice Hockey team, Snafu Improv, Longhorn Band and Fuse A Cappella. Madhav filmed each group on different Friday nights during the spring semester and pieced the footage together to appear as though everything happened on the same night. 

One of the standout segments of the film features the Ice Hockey team. The team offered full access, taking him inside the locker room for game pep talks. “It was the perfect game to film,” he said, noting the exhilaration of capturing on-ice fights and injuries.

He also captured artistic performances at Halstead Co-Op. “They were having this cool party where all the different suites in the co-op put on performances and decorations,” Madhav said. “I think the contrast between the more intense sports action and the more creative, quirky performances exemplifies the diversity of student life at UT.”

The production process wasn’t without its obstacles. Since Madhav filmed most of it himself, with occasional help on audio from a friend, it was a demanding project. 

“There’s only so many Fridays, and so many places I could be physically,” he said, explaining why he had to film different groups on different nights. Editing then became a crucial part of the process to make it feel cohesive.

One major technical setback occurred when the sound from an entire night of filming with Snafu Improv failed. “It just made the whole thing unusable,” he said, but they managed to reshoot on another night, and the new footage turned out even better.

Madhav also credits his mentors, Dr. David Junker and Rohitash Rao, with helping him refine the film. “They taught me to be super ruthless in the editing,” he said. Their advice helped him cut down the film’s original length from being three hours of footage to assemble, to an hour and 21 minutes, to finally a more manageable hour and nine minutes.

Madhav emphasized that one of the central themes of Good Night College is community. “The core commonality between all the stories was that they’re always groups of people. It’s about groups coming together for something shared,” he said. Each storyline follows a group — whether it’s the hockey team, an improv troupe, or a group of freshmen studying at the library.

With the documentary nearing its release, Madhav said he's focused on promotion. He plans to work with the UT organizations featured in the film and tap into social media to build buzz. He has also submitted Good Night College to the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival, which could give it even wider exposure.

When asked what he hopes viewers will take away from the film, Madhav kept it simple: “I just hope they are entertained by it, and feel that they can relate to it.”

Looking to the future, Madhav said he’s open to more documentary work but is also interested in scripted filmmaking. 

“I’ve been thinking about filming a documentary about street basketball in Austin,” he said, hinting at a similar approach to how he filmed Good Night College. However, he’s not sure where his next project will take him. “I’m currently working on submitting this to film festivals and getting the word out there, as well as writing scripts and working on making future feature films along with videography and editing work.” 

Wherever his future leads, he hopes this project serves as both inspiration to future film students, and an honest, inside look at college life. 

“I hope it can be both a nostalgic way of remembering the college experience, as well as a look into the future for potential incoming freshmen as to what their time here could look like.”