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By Joe Arney
Photos by Kimberly Coffin听(CritMedia, StratComm鈥�18)

There were no green lights, but it was still a trip in the fast lane for media studies students who pitched concepts to three Hollywood insiders as part of Steven T. Seagle and Rick Stevens鈥� Transmedia World Building course in the spring.

The four teams of students were coached by Seagle (Advert鈥�88) as they pitched concepts鈥攈eavy on dystopia, but with some variety, including a musical鈥攄irectly to writers, producers and showrunners. Seagle is co-founder of the Man of Action Entertainment studio, which created animated franchises like Ben 10 and the characters for Big Hero 6, along with other entries in the Marvel universe.

鈥淭he students get critiqued by people who鈥檝e had this experience, and have had their share of successes and failures,鈥� said Stevens, associate dean of undergraduate education and associate professor of media studies. 鈥淔ailure teaches the best lessons. If you鈥檙e on the outside looking in, you never see that.鈥�

An innovative twist on the course was the use of artificial intelligence to assist with pitches. Students were encouraged to use generative A.I. platforms, such as Dall-E, to create images of landscapes and actors so showrunners could better visualize the concepts.

A media project accepted by a studio includes a creative budget for artists to develop promotional materials that set the tone and mood of a story. But that鈥檚 often out of reach for a pitch, which may be refined multiple times as it鈥檚 put before different studios or showrunners.

鈥淚鈥檓 definitely against using A.I. to generate content that would otherwise be paid work for artists鈥攂ut in a student pitch process where there is no budget for concept art, it was a great educational application,鈥� Seagle said.

It made an impression with Kelsie Kerr (MediaSt, Film鈥�23), who was part of the team that developed a concept called 2080: Thirst for Power. The team鈥檚 pitch drew inspiration from franchises like The Matrix, The Hunger Games and Star Wars.

鈥淲hen I first signed up for the class, it was super daunting鈥攜ou鈥檙e going to pitch this entire world you鈥檙e creating to people in Hollywood,鈥� said Kerr, who鈥檚 pursuing a career in media production. 鈥淏ut I think this was the best presentation I鈥檝e ever given鈥攎aybe because it was my own material, but the structure of the course really prepared me well for it.鈥�

The chance to pitch to, and learn from, real people in the industry was a huge value add. Kerr connected with one guest whom she followed up with after relocating to Los Angeles during the summer.

鈥淲e got to meet guest speakers like Joe Kelly鈥攚ho was instrumental in reviving the Deadpool character and universe鈥攁nd it was so cool to meet people who were behind these big names and have them share their insights with us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hose interactions gave me the confidence to help me feel like I could be successful in the entertainment industry.鈥�