Meet Mass Comm: Wideman Captures International Cultures, Focuses on Film

Students saving to study abroad could be envious of Austin Wideman’s experience traveling through India, China, Thailand, Guatemala, Turkey and Russia — all before graduating college. Not everyone is able to see the world, but all can witness the culture, people and lifestyles he saw through his camera lens.

Photo provided by Austin Wideman.

While well-traveled, the senior electronic media and communication major has always called the dusty city of Lubbock his home. He explained his videography path began immediately after graduating from Frenship High School when he began an internship with Studio 84 and was mentored by Joseph Mullins, who showed him the possibilities of shooting with DSLRs.

Beginning his travels in India, Wideman was introduced to the country through a volunteer organization but returned to the country again. The second time he completed work under his own name for Asia Partners International, Inc., a non-profit evangelistic Christian organization.

Photo provided by Austin Wideman.

“I traveled all over Northern and Eastern India, cities like Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Calcutta for the whole summer and put together videos,” said Wideman, who had at the time began his early student career at Texas Tech University. “The organization has a lot of humanitarian aid-type projects that focus on railway children in the slums of India, and they provide them with hygienic help, shelter, food.”

Wideman said it was a fair trade to travel from town to town on the back of a motorcycle and stay in random hostels to get to encounter the people of the country, food, villages and cities. While the 22-year-old practices Christianity, he said he traveled to India with an open mind and learned the merits of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islamic religions.

Photo provided by Austin Wideman.

“From that point, I knew I wanted to go into documentary filmmaking as a career,” Wideman explained.

While awe-struck by this new culture, the student was shocked to observe the caste system, a system of social stratification in the Hindu religion, firsthand.

The videographer spent much time traveling by rickshaw, a passenger cart pulled by an individual. Once, a companion of his began talking down to the rickshaw carrier, and Wideman remembered feeling appalled another man would treat someone servicing him so poorly.

“If you’re a lower caste, it’s culturally accepted to treat people as just an inferior,” Wideman explained. “It’s just so countercultural to our mentality here in the States where everyone can do everything they want and everyone has equal opportunity.”

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Photo provided by Austin Wideman.

Thoroughly inspired by his travels, the student expressed interest in becoming a vestibule of change.

“I would love to cover things in countries,” he said, “like more remote parts of Africa, like where the Ebola crisis happens. I would love to go in and cover things like that, where people here with the resources and the manpower would be able to come in and do something about it.”

Later, during a six-month stint, the videographer flew to China, shooting video and teaching English-language lessons for the International Mission Board, another missionary organization. Wideman videotaped daily life of the people in Chengdu but assembled his video packages at IMB’s editing base in Thailand.

(Video by Austin Wideman.)

Wideman then spent his 2014 spring break during filming for Experience Life Church in Guatemala. He worked for IMB again the following summer in Istanbul, Turkey, and traveled around Turkey and Russia.

“The package was basically to show people that Moscow wasn’t a depressing place,” Wideman said. “It’s a fun, lively place. We were there during the summertime, and we got some really cool shots all around the city. We put together a piece that I think highlighted Moscow really well.”

He noted his inspirations stem from various factors, but his spirituality plays a big role in his work.

“A lot of creativity, I feel like, comes to me from the Holy Spirit,” Wideman said, mentioning he is a member of Redeemer Church in town. “Just the gifting I feel like God has given me to be able to tell stories through the medium of a camera.”

The videographer noted many artists develop a sense of depth and clarity from painful experiences.

“I feel like people that go through a lot, experientially speaking, that translates into their work,” Wideman said, “whether it’s painting or photography or videography or graphic design or music writing.”

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Videographer Austin Wideman poses on the Texas Tech University campus. (Allison Terry/The Hub@TTU)

Wideman explained his best friend committed suicide about two years ago after a long history of depression. The videographer was working in China at the time. Wideman described his friend as a master musician and talented artist.

“The months following, the year following and now a couple years past, I can tell my heart has grown in a way,” he said. “I just feel like the emotion in my heart from that translates when I’m filming something, maybe a wedding or a music video or for a corporate client. I’m able to have more of an intimate grasp on those stories because my heart is a little more tender to what people are going through.”

Since he began freelancing his sophomore year in college, the artist mentioned growth in his work and appreciation for the medium of video — whether he is creating a music video, a political spot for a candidate, documenting a wedding or assembling a commercial for a local business.

(Video by Austin Wideman.)

“It gives you a narrative that you don’t quite get through photography or through maybe, like, a comic book or a graphic novel,” he said, alluding to his faithful Canon 6D. “You get to tell the story exactly how you want to tell it. There’s something about the way that film looks, too. Twenty-four frames per second — it’s just got like a cool, gritty feel to it.”

Wideman said his favorite story he has documented to this day is that of the owner of Bahama Bucks, a shaved ice company. In an American dream-like scenario, the corporate leader details his development from mowing lawns to now running a company with shops spread throughout the southern United States.

(Video by Austin Wideman.)

“I get to meet so many interesting people,” Wideman said with enthusiasm. “Like, you’re filming a wedding, and you get to meet the couple and spend the entire day with them.”

In a short film, “Ben, I Like You,” which won the 2013 Audience Choice Award at the Flatland Film Festival, he was the videographer and had the opportunity to develop relationships with the crew working on the film.

He said he is looking forward to shooting in Alaska this summer for the local PBS station, KTTZ-TV, with Texas Tech instructor Paul Hunton and fellow student Weston Davis.

Videographer Austin Wideman poses on the Texas Tech University campus. (Allison Terry/The Hub@TTU)

“Those are the memories that really stick when it comes to filmmaking,” he said. “You’ve got your film; you’ve got your piece of work, but what really matters are the people you got to latch onto in the process.”

Other recent awards the videographer has received are the 2014 Bronze Telly Award and the 2014 Silver Davey Award for video piece “Under the Surface.”

About Allison Terry

Allison Terry is an electronic media and communications major from Lubbock, Texas. She hopes to work in the media industry after graduation.