Making History…

 It was an emotional morning as the entire faculty, staff, and administration of Flashpoint Academy gathered together at our new home, 28 North Clark Street, for one final meeting before opening day. Through the welled-up eyes, thank you’s, and appropriate applause for all those who have done so much hard work to make Ric Landry’s dream a reality, there was an underlying vibrancy and excitement the likes of which I have never felt before in 17 years of education and 25 years in the audio industry. It was truly moving and I am so proud to help carry the torch of that vision to the people it was meant for, the students of Flashpoint, The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences.

In less than 48 hours, the inaugural class will not only walk into the best media arts college in the world, they will engage in what Paula Froehle rightly describes as the changing face of media arts education. We have said it many times in many ways, but come Monday it will begin—total immersion, learning-by-doing, hands-on, PRODUCTION-IN-ACTION. September 17, 2007 will be a defining moment on the timeline’s of film, game, visual effects, and audio training, and soon it will be hard to imagine how it was done before Flashpoint.

Well…TEMPUS FUGIT.

School opens within a few short days at Flashpoint Academy in Chicago. Flashpoint is a new digital media arts school featuring a brand new curriculum centered on the production and development of game, film, animation, and recording arts projects.

At Flashpoint, we are about to embark on The Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey, as described by Joseph Campbell, is a pattern that has followed humans throughout history. We live it now and we will continue living this journey for the rest of our lives. Every situation that confronts us with something new or that forces us to re-evaluate our thinking or behavior–this is part of the journey. It is a process of self-discovery, and it can be difficult. Through this difficult passage of time in this portion of our journey we can survive to develop a new perspective on this world. “Leveling up” is what I like to call it.

The Hero’s Journey has many steps. Separation. The Call. Initiation and Transformation. The Challenges. The Abyss. The Transformation. The Revelation. The Atonement. The Return.

Once you step into Flashpoint on Monday, September 17th, 2007, you in fact are entering into this new journey in this new chapter in your life. There are many things you must do before you can reach The Return. You must break free of your old habits and preconceptions. You must adopt new ways of viewing the world and modify your methods of communication. You have to stand up. Or sit down. Or both. At the same time. You WILL do the impossible. Because you can.

On your Hero’s Journey, times will get rough. It is inevitable. If you start to feel discouraged, please keep in mind that we are all on this journey together. You are not alone. We, all of us, are in this journey together for this incredible moment in history. If you are attending this school, please know that you are not just “going to Flashpoint” but that in fact…you ARE Flashpoint.

WE ARE FLASHPOINT.

I can’t wait to see everyone there on Monday!