As he debuted his first film in front of friends and family at the Fellowship at Plum Creek Church Aug. 1, Kyle native Clayton Jones felt as if he was practically naked.

Showing off “Clod,” his 20-minute short film that’s still in the post-production process, meant getting the first public reaction to a project that’s already taken thousands of hours to accomplish. Nowhere was it guaranteed, however, that people were going to like it.

Mark Jones said it was a “blessin...