What is a kdot?

kdot isn’t a what, but rather a who.

In the fall of 2003, Computer Graphics student Kristen Henry enrolled in a Video Imaging Technology class, mostly because it was offered right after another class she was taking. However, by the end of the class, Kristen found herself spending every moment in the lab, putting together a final project that combined her Photoshop skills, love of opera and newfound knowledge of Final Cut Pro.

When 2004 rolled around, Kristen was armed with a small mini-dv camcorder and an insatiable desire to learn. By the summer, she had taken 3 more video classes, written and directed her first short movie and changed her major to Video Imaging. She also had learned, like every good independent filmmaker, that movie making is a group effort. And, in order to get what you want (or even just what you need), you need to network, you need to be willing to ask for anything, and you need to involve all of your friends.

Enter Kristen’s crazy co-workers – the tightly knit, fun-loving group she spent her days with – who often felt more like family than colleagues. A few of them had already acted in her short movie, but when Kristen brought her camera into work to interview people for a class documentary, she inadvertently created a personal support group and cheerleading squad like no other.

And this is where the “kdot” comes in. In the summer of 2004 another “local” filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan, had his own movie in theaters. Over lunch, the people in Kristen’s office were discussing the movie and someone wondered what the “M.” stood for? Did that mean you had reached a certain level of fame, when your first name could be just a letter? Before the end of that afternoon, Kristen’s co-workers teasingly began calling her “K.” actually pronouncing the period as “dot.” The nickname stuck (thanks, Vera!), and before long she was signing all her movie messages“kdot.” It was only natural that she eventually named her company after the alter ego her co-workers and friends created for her.

And so kdot video productions was born!