Hey! Look At My Stuff!
- Alexis Aho
- Feb 15, 2018
- 3 min read
Hall of Fame is off to a great start, and there are valuable lessons to be learned, and tons of unique experiences to be gained. One of the biggest opportunities for the students during this week is the ability to showcase their work during one of the many asset review sessions. In these closed room panels, students can receive feedback and constructive criticism from professionals within their anticipated industries. The only downside to these panels is that not everyone knows about them or how they work, so students end up missing those sessions. It is such a wonderful experience that all students should know about, and should participate in and enjoy.
I had the opportunity to step in and oversee the Creative Writing Portfolio and Book Pitch panels which took place early in the morning on Wednesday. The panel was headed by the Course Director of the Full Sail Creative Writing Program, Matt Peters, as well as Daniel Corey (author of the Moriarty comic series), and Troy DeVolld (executive producer/president of Story T Media). The session was meant to be limited to six students, to allow an ample amount of time for each student to showcase their work and to have a tailored conversation with the panelists. But to enact this limitation, it was set as first come-first served. The session was open to any and all degree programs to join, no wristbands required!
As the panel started, three students walked into the room for the first session, and two for the second. The meeting, what probably could have been more formal, turned out to be more intimate and companionable. They even handed the structure of the meeting to the students, with Matt Peters asking, “what are you expecting today?”
Where formal idea pitches were meant to take place, simple question and answer sessions ensued, with the occasional story thrown in for good measure. It allowed for the students to relax and get to know the panelists on a more personal level; Matt Peters showcased his morbid sense of humor while Troy Devolld expressed his big personality saying, “I’m ready to bolster or demolish!”
Although the students came in nervous and overwhelmed, both Corey and Devolld filled the conversations with good advice and encouragement for their future work and endeavors, even breaking off to provide individual one-on-one sessions with each student in attendance. They asked them what they like to write, what kind of style were they aiming for, and ultimately, what sort of writing success they hoped for. The students showed snippets of screenplays, short-films, and even graphic visualizations of ideas to then get professional feedback on.
"It was a wonderful experience, being able to be the fly on the wall listening in on the conversations and overseeing the interactions and connections being made."
Although I was not there to pitch my own creative ideas or the work that I have done with creative writing, I was able to take in the same advice as the other students. One of the many takeaways for myself came from Daniel Corey who mentioned, “never be married to your outline, for after the first six months of working on an idea, I tossed everything and started over.” He went on to say how important it is to understand that working an abstract idea can reform and change over time, and it’s absolutely fine to change your initial plans to fit your new ideas.
Another great piece of advice came from Troy DeVolld, who mentioned “posing a question to the person who is being pitched is helpful to immediately engage their imagination and lets them listen to what you’re presenting, but it also gives them a window frame through which to view whatever is about to come.” This was something that these students, as well as myself, could take in and apply to future pitches for any project whether that be a book idea, a film concept, or a screenplay.
With the help of the Full Sail Events App, I was able to learn about this panel, and see that there were many more for other degree programs and other creative projects as well. I encourage all students to take a peek at the schedule and to see where you can fit yourself in to get your projects seen, just as DeVolld encouraged during the panel, “It’s Hall of Fame! You get blanket permission to hunt people down in the hallway and say, ‘Hey! Look at my stuff!”
Keep yourself updated and schedule ahead with the Hall of Fame 9 app for iPhones and android and also follow our social media for latest happenings.
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