“Their portfolios blew me away. But really, it was their professionalism that was most impressive.” – Employer Quote from Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy’s inaugural job fair, Saturday, May 1, 2010.

With their resumes, portfolios and reels perfected, upcoming May 2010 graduates in Film & Broadcast, Recording Arts, Game & Interactive Media, and Animation & Visual Effects had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the heavy hitters of Digital Media Production.

As excited as our students were to meet with representatives from industry professionals nationwide, the recruiters themselves — representing companies such as Pilgrim Films, Disney Television Animation, Jellyvision, TLC (The Learning Channel), WB Games Chicago, and many more — were every bit as excited to meet the Tribeca Flashpoint Class of 2010.

A few quotes from employers:

“We came back to find another [2009 Flashpoint Graduate]. He was so great, we’re sure to find another here!”

“Why would I pay an agency $80K to do a spec spot, when I can give to the scholarship fund and work with a better group of talented individuals like your students.”

“I’m so glad to hear about Core Studies being such a focus at your institution. I was just interviewing a Harvard grad with a 4.0 – who couldn’t even look at me when he spoke!”

Congratulations to everyone who made the first Tribeca Flashpoint Job Fair a tremendous success, and an enthusiastic “well done” to our truly amazing soon-to-be graduates!

On Friday, April 23rd, 2010, guest speaker Chris Conley of Gravity Tank spoke to students as a part of Tribeca Flashpoint’s Jumpstart speaker series. 2011 Recording Arts student Andrew Shabat shares his reflections.

“Today, Tribeca Flashpoint students had the opportunity to gather and learn some valuable lessons from entrepreneur, Chris Conley, Co-founder of Gravity Tank.

“Using multiple mediums of presentation, Conley passionately weaved his way through the process of creative innovation in an economic driven society. Looking past his humorous use of an effective multi-media presentation, Conley’s enthusiasm for the creative process proved most note-worthy.

“He made an extremely poignant remark about the difference between ideas and actual product. Many times, for those of us in creative fields, we become consumed in conceptualizing rather than taking the initiative to produce a tangible realization of that idea. Often times, it is not until we have that product staring back at us that we can take the next steps to propel the idea forward. It is at this point that others have a medium beyond just thought, that true collaboration can effectively begin.

“He expressed the need to openly listen to our collaborators so that we can begin to assess the realization of our concepts. Whether these ideas hold economic or social value, nothing can be implemented without the understanding and acceptance of those around us.”

On Monday THUNK, Northwestern University’s premiere a cappella group, visited Tribeca Flashpoint to conduct a recording session with a Recording Arts Studio II Class.

THUNK’s talented young musicians collaborated with our second year recording students to produce 4 tracks for their new album; including covers of Wake Up Call by Maroon 5 and I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. Sales of this album will help to fund THUNK’s bi-annual musical outreach tour to Cape Town, South Africa.

(Video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=572607542755)

THUNK has travelled the world and recorded their music in many professional studios. They were extremely impressed by Tribeca Flashpoint, not only with the state-of-the-art studio and equipment but also with the professionalism and passion of our student engineers.

On Sunday, April 25th, 2o1o, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy welcomed actor and Evanston, IL native Jeremy Piven for a PSA shoot to benefit Malaria No More.

Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy congratulates Recording Arts faculty Miguel Kertsman on the release of his new album, Time? What’s Time? A labor of love over 10 years in the making, Time? What’s Time? features collaborations with other artists on three different continents recording in Los Angeles, New York, Vienna, Brazil and Florida’s “Space Coast.”

Upon the album’s release, Mr. Kertsman reflected upon the ways in which the atmosphere and talent at Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy helped to make Time? What’s Time? come together.

“At Flashpoint, not just in one city, but within literally one building, there is so much great energy and potential for collaboration, I found myself engaging with colleagues / friends, and organically orientating the record’s final development to a new direction on its packaging, presentation, and companion content; changing the original plans. I feel very fortunate to have collaborated with [Game & Interactive Media student] Heath Marks, [Film & Broadcast faculty] Killian Heilsberg, [Film & Broadcast student] Ted Wilkinson, [Recording Arts faculty] Bernie Mack, and [Game & Interactive Media faculty] Alan Reck on those final project aspects.

“Words don’t describe how genuinely appreciative I am, and how inspiring it has been working with them, and for that Flashpoint is to be thanked. Needless to say (but I do anyway) [Tribeca Flashpoint] is a fantastic fertile ground for artistic synergies, and cool things to happen, as we all experience practically on a daily basis.”

The physical record, when purchased from www.miguelkertsmanmusic.com, comes with a companion computer game, “Coniclysm” by ZoopTek (a creation of Game & Interactive Media faculty Alan Reck), 8 panels of original images by Tribeca Flashpoint student Heath Marks, a complete booklet, lyrics, and a digital wallpaper gallery of album artwork. The album is also available on Amazon.com, iTunes.com, and at various retail outlets.

• Purchase Miguel Kertsman’s Time? What’s Time? with bonus content
• Watch the music video: “The Calling” from Time? What’s Time?, by Tribeca Flashpoint student Ted Wilkinson

Via The Chicago Tribune

By Mark Caro, Tribune reporter
1:33 p.m. CDT, April 13, 2010

Tribeca is the name of a Lower Manhattan neighborhood, film festival, institute and production company, and now it has a strong Chicago association as well.

That’s because the company founded by actor Robert De Niro, his producing partner Jane Rosenthal and her investor husband Craig Hatkoff has taken a 50 percent interest in the Loop-based two-year digital media vocational school Flashpoint: The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences. The school now will be known as the Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as it opens a virtual pipeline between the 75,000-square-foot Clark Street facility and Tribeca’s New York headquarters.

“It really means amazing opportunities for our students,” Flashpoint president/CEO Howard Tullman said, noting that his school was “looking for a strategic partner as much as an investor.”

“It’s state of the art,” Rosenthal said of Flashpoint. “It’s really an amazing place. It just happened to be the right fit for what we were looking for.”

Tribeca has been in expansion mode of late, overseeing not only the Tribeca Film Festival (launched in 2002 and running Apr. 21-May 2 this year) but also a virtual version of the festival, a cinema, a production facility and an institute involved in community outreach and education. Rosenthal said her company has worked with middle-school and high-school students before, but Flashpoint represents the first such partnership with an institution for more advanced students.

Built out in a high-rise kitty corner to Daley Plaza, Flashpoint welcomed its first students in September 2007 and has seen its enrollment grow from 110 students to the current 450, Flashpoint Dean Paula Froehle said.

“What Howard has pulled together in a very short period of time, it’s almost hard to believe,” Hatkoff said.

The school takes a contrasting approach to the film program at nearby Columbia College, which offers a traditional four-year liberal arts degree. Flashpoint is a two-year immersive program designed to prepare students, college age or older, for work in the digital media world.

Local-based filmmaker Harold Ramis has close ties to Columbia College, and also appears in Flashpoint’s promotional materials. He said he still values a four-year liberal arts education, but he’s also impressed with Flashpoint.

“It’s a really cool facility,” Ramis said. Calling Tribeca an institution that “does things right,” he added, “I can’t imagine this is a moneymaking enterprise for them, but as a pipeline for talent and well-trained students, it’s probably a good thing.”

To Rosenthal and Hatkoff, the partnership is less about bringing Flashpoint students into the Tribeca fold than boosting an industry in a state of wild flux.

“I’ve been in the industry for over 25 years, and I’ve never seen the industry change more,” Rosenthal said. “The jobs and the skills (needed) are changing dramatically, and you need to stay forward thinking. The students that do come out of this program will help us keep our industry healthy.”

Hatkoff cited a question posed by a Gates Foundation report: “How do we prepare students for jobs that don’t yet exist?” Flashpoint, Hatkoff said, is poised to do just that.

Tullman said he envisions Tribeca Flashpoint students getting involved in various aspects of the film festival, such as working with filmmakers and helping them develop marketing materials and trailers. (Flashpoint students already have done such work on projects such as “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” distributed by Chicago’s Music Box Films.)

Rosenthal said the specifics of the interplay have yet to be determined. “It’s too soon to say what students at Tribeca Flashpoint will be doing at Tribeca,” she said. “If students have the opportunity to work at Tribeca and if we have the opportunity to work with students, that will be fantastic.”

mcaro@tribune.com

Flashpoint Academy President and CEO Howard Tullman touches on topics ranging from the origins of Flashpoint to admissions requirements to Flashpoint’s first graduating class.

Click HERE for video.

Flashpoint Academy proudly congratulates first year Game & Interactive Media Development student Emily Greenquist on her selection as one of the Illinois Technology Foundation’s 50 for the Future, honoring Illinois’ most promising technology students.

Last week, Flashpoint students participated in FPA’s second ever FlashPitch pitching event.

During FlashPitch, students pitch ideas for digital media projects to a panel of faculty, alumni, and industry professionals. Each presenter was scored on a number of different criteria, including execution and delivery, voice, non-verbal communication and content.

FlashPitch is an excellent way for students to learn how to communicate their ideas in a professional environment, allowing them to share their ideas in an exciting, succinct fashion and gain confidence in their voice and message.

Second-year Recording Arts student Pete Landsman wrote the following reflection on Flashpitch, sharing his emotions, his strengths developed, and his lessons learned.

At the conclusion of my roughly five-minute FlashPitch experience, I felt elated. I had performed fairly well, I had improved my pitch from the point at which I gave it in class, and I could feel the nervous energy that I had built up in anticipation of my pitch turning into endorphins and relief. My heart rate, which had been skyrocketing, was returning to its regular pace and a sense of normalcy was beginning to be restored.

When I tried to think back on the specifics of what had occurred during my FlashPitch, I found focusing on the individual details of the performance almost impossible for a while. All I could focus on—for a brief while at least—was the sensation of relief that came with the task being completed. The hurdle had been cleared, and my life could resume as normal.

However, once I had a bit longer to think, and once some of the adrenaline I had built up had time to clear, I was able to reconstruct my performance in my mind fairly accurately. There were many successes; I felt as though the panelists were very receptive to my idea and I also felt that I had improved my performance over the course of a week. There were also a few areas in which I felt I could have done a bit better. Perhaps the most important thing is that I also realized that there were several lessons that I was able to take away from having completed a task I found to be both terrifying and rewarding.

The subject of my pitch was a screenplay that I am in the process of writing. I knew from almost the beginning of the pitch that the audience was receptive to the premise of my screenplay. When I first described the main plot point, I heard all three panelists laugh. As I was describing the plot and mechanics of the story and outlining my business plan regarding the screenplay, I saw a lot of nodding, and I felt that I had both content and a tone that kept the panelists engaged.

According to the advice of Perry [Harovas, Flashpoint's Animation & Visual Effects Chair] and my classmates during classes leading up to FlashPitch, I revised my pitch so that it was focused slightly less on the plot of the movie and slightly more on its business potential. I think this change kept the panelists intrigued. I was also able to follow the advice I received in class and I made eye contact with each of the panelists extensively. My tone was always enthusiastic, and I believe that I displayed a strong understanding of the material I was selling. I also think that the panelists were quite engrossed in my presentation because after I finished, they used almost the entire allotted two-minute question and answer period asking content-related follow-up questions. I had one job: to get the panelists interested in the product I was selling. And I was successfully able to do so.

However, not everything went perfectly. While there were no major errors in my delivery, there were a few sticking points.

Firstly, I felt that I was talking a bit more quickly than I should have at some points and I also stuttered a few times and reviewed material a few times. This was not a particularly huge hindrance in terms of the panelists’ connection to the pitch I was giving, but it was also something that might have made me look less professional in their eyes. I think that just getting experienced with pitching ideas and products to people will help me to avoid making those kinds of errors again. It seemed to me that those were errors born from nerves.

Secondly, I was forced to stop my pitch a few seconds before I was finished. This was also not a really big deal as I had essentially presented the content I wanted and I was wrapping up, but it did look a bit bad to be stopped by the clock instead of on my own volition. I think that next time I am facing a pitch with a hard cutoff in how long it can go, I will budget time more carefully. In rehearsal, my pitch was consistently lasting around 2:55, but in the FlashPitch it probably would have gone for about 3:05 if I had finished naturally. If I were to do it again, I’d probably aim for a cap of 2:40 in rehearsal to give myself a buffer in case my pitch hit a snag for any reason.

During FlashPitch, I was able to learn some specific lessons from the mistakes that I made in my pitch. However, I feel that I was also able to learn a few general lessons about pitching, both from going through a pitch of my own and watching some of the other students make their pitches.

One of those lessons was that it almost did not matter what the students were pitching. Obviously a good, useful idea is always going to improve a pitch, but the real quality of each pitch was determined by the investment of the student pitching the idea. All the slick description in the world is no match for earnestness, eye contact, and a genuine connection to the material.

I also learned that sometimes less is more. Some of the shortest pitches were also some of the most effective. As Betsy Steinberg [of the Illinois Film Office] — one of the panelists — commented, there is no reason to be ashamed if your idea was simple. In fact, simplicity is an advantage. If there is a simple, easy to understand idea at the heart of your pitch, it is easy for the panelists to see how useful it could be and, therefore, more easily support it.

Finally, it seemed that one of the most important lessons was that each person should be him or herself. The best pitches were the ones that were not gimmicky or pretentious. The best pitches were the ones from the heart that took on the personality of the students doing the pitching.

First year Game & Interactive Media student Emily Greenquist wowed the folks at Game Career Guide this week with her first-place entry into the GCG Game Design Challenge, I <3 Mullido.  This round’s topic: Romance.

From Game Career Guide: I <3 Mullido abstracts the concept of love, and tackles complex themes with cute characters. The result is an appealing experience for a carefully chosen target audience.

Congratulations to Emily on a job well done!

The most viable western demographic for dating games is female preteens. I <3 Mullido is (at its core) an educational social simulation; although to entice this target group, it is marketed as a seemingly taboo dating game. Marketing to this younger audience may appear risky, but there is a precedence (ex: “Mystery Date,” 1965 and “Girl Talk,” 1980’s). The intent of this 2-D Nintendo DS game is to subtly develop social skills and empathy in players at a critical, typically awkward, age.

As stylish, fuzzy creatures called mullidos (French for fluffy), characters are highly stylized in the graffiti design movement (saturated colors / thick outlines / urban influences). This art choice is twofold:

1) attracts the pre-teen audience who still gravitate towards cute (fuzzy) things, but are beginning to rebel against childhood games like “Littlest Pet Shop”

2) creates a risk free / otherworldly environment to subversively tackle complex topics

The game begins with the player (a modish mullido, gender unspecified) leaving its small town to explore and live in the big city, where other fashionable mullidos meet and mingle. This mirrors the real-world transition from middle school to high school, which currently holds the demographic’s curiosity.

Before attempting to date a mullido of their choosing, the player must first develop a reputation through mini-games. In one instance, the player gains access to a dance club that houses mullidos clumped together in groups of like colors (green mullidos with green mullidos, pink with pink, etc.). To gain reputation points, the player must flirt with a member from each group, forming a multi-colored entourage. The underlying educational message is to promote racial integration and eliminate cliques, through social interaction.

Friendships are more quickly developed with a higher reputation level, and close friendships lead to relationships. Each character has a “friendship level,” signified by the color of their outline. All begin with black and change as the relationship with the player changes:

Green – enemies
Blue – dislike
Purple – uninterested
Black – strangers (start)
Yellow – friends
Orange – close friends
Red – dating

Unsuccessful interactions (like choosing to flirt with someone else’s mate), will ultimately create enemies, who spread rumors and further decrease the player’s reputation.

Before choosing to reach the dating stage of a friendship, the player must research the character’s reputation, by asking other mullidos their opinion. Each will generate a different answer, and it is up to the player to filter those responses. For example, through conversations, the player may learn that the mullido of interest is already dating someone or that it only likes short mullios.

Unlike other dating games, dating in I <3 Mullido is not ultimately guaranteed (as is true in life). Once in the Orange friendship range, the player can attempt a relationship, with at 25% success rate. It is the challenge and thrill of the conquest that captivates an audience and an even more realistic simulation is to experience unrequited love. This game is designed to prepare preteens for such complex forthcoming situations.