Hidden Inside a Hackathon
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Date: March 4, 2024
Role: Video Production Lead
Services: Video Director, Concept Development, Editing, Coloring, Graphic Design
Location: Holberton School
Talent: ACT House team and Build Day X Participants
Crew: Jordan McNear – Creative Producer
The Build Day X documentary was the moment I realized I could take someone else’s unused footage and turn it into a full narrative world. Prior to my arrival at ACT House, Jordan McNear had captured hours of raw material from the recurring 24-hour hackathon program called Build Day X. Once I dug through the files, I saw the bones of a story that deserved much more than a highlight reel. I asked if I could take it on as a passion project between my day-to-day responsibilities, which better introduced me to the organization and served as the perfect launch pad for my ACT House work.
This may be one of the best examples in my film portfolio of long-form story with real pacing, character arcs, rising tension, and a payoff that didn’t need to be rushed. The doc traced every stage of the pre-accelerator hackathon — ideate, team up, discover, prototype, test, and pitch — with a level of clarity that helped future participants understand exactly what they were stepping into. In retrospect, it even captured a handful of people entering a budding startup space who would go on to become central figures in Tulsa’s tech ecosystem. Hidden potential of “unused footage” became a full portrait of the city’s next wave of innovators.
The ripple effects lasted far beyond the final export. This less than 15-minute film became a Swiss-army asset for ACT House: recruitment piece, event explainer, short-form clip source, and key partnership tool. It also documented the early journey of Amnoni Myers, who moved from Build Day participant to program winner to Cohort 5 Accelerator founder. As a project, this one remains a defining moment for my storytelling voice — proof that the right edit can turn a chaotic 24 hours into something lasting.
