An Invitation to View

the Videos We Made in High School

Dear classmates, teachers, and creative collaborators,

When I made up my mind to produce new reconstructed editions of these 30‑year‑old student films, part of my reasoning was that the Internet has evolved a most expedient means to share them with you — namely, streaming video.

Besides solving a mechanical problem of distribution, a particular advantage of sharing online is the greater likelihood you’ve actually found your way to this site. Fewer than 60 people were involved with these elaborate class projects from high school, and I am still in touch with many of you. I am unsure how to directly reach everyone, but reasonably confident the Internet will find a way.

I am also sensitive to the dangers of the cyber‑wilderness, and aware that I cannot predict the context in which this message reaches you. In a world where a regrettable juvenile “tweet” could bring unexpected new consequences, it may come as an unpleasant surprise to learn there is video of your adolescence on the Internet.

With this in mind, I didn’t want to carelessly upload them to YouTube, nor do I want these student films to enter the public consciousness at all, let alone to “go viral.” I suppose there would be little chance of that, but Internet fancy can be unpredictable, and I want you to be aware it’s a risk I take seriously. Accordingly, these videos are accessible only through this site (which includes directives to prevent indexing by Google and other crawlers) or as “private links” for easy sharing.

Before sharing, you might want to consider how societal norms have changed, and how some of the content of these videos might appear to young eyes, or by whatever contemporary standard they might be assessed. In other words, they are Rated PG.

Now that you’ve read at length about part of my reasoning, you may still be wondering why I decided to undertake the effort in the first place. For that, I’ll refer you to this even more lengthy origin story.

I think you’ll agree that amongst all the “content” we consume from screens on any given day, these rare moving pictures from our past are quite unique and ought to be treasured.

— Jim Kropa
 September 2023