Prospectus - The Beginning of The End

Today marks the unofficial end of our creative projects at Full Sail and by Thursday we'll be all but wrapped up with essentially everything. I say that with a bit of sadness but also a renewed sense of accomplishment.

As for what happened, we had our last big test, a group prospectus for Producing Class. This project is arguably the closest experience we'll have to the real world while we're here. In a word, intense.

My group created a concept for a Mountain Dew campaign called, "The Dew Fairy," which use the ploy of the tooth fairy (ours was to resemble a Jack Black-type) who delivered the beverage to college-aged guys who lose their teeth in a variety of ways (ranging from a biker bar ordeal, kicked in the face by a horse, etc.). Overall, the concept was pretty fun (a lot funnier than I am presenting it here) but it kept going back to the one problem with soda -- the TEETH. So inevitably we were doomed before we entered the room.

My role for our group was to pitch this concept to a panel in a way that they'd want to invest in us $1-million.

Since I've been at Full Sail, I've essentially been in the driver's seat as far as being a central part of any and all projects I've worked on. After Final Project, I intended to take a back seat and let others do the heavy lifting while I skidded by and focused on post-graduation. Well, apparently there's a perverse part of me that's a glutton for punishment because I ended up being the point man on this project. I wasn't the Producer on this project - but my role was the point man in terms of pitching the project and having a budget ready for our potential investors. Was I ultimately responsible for how the group did? No, because it was a team effort, but I was to be the voice and face as well as numbers for the project we had been working on. So forget taking the break this month and enter another month of 4-hours of rest a night! lol.

Despite my desire to not be a focal point this month, I know that somewhere deep down I would have regretted not jumping out and being at the center of this. I don't know if it's because I have a natural tendency to lead, a desire to be involved or just plain control issues. Whatever it is, I was at the heart of this matter and despite knowing what we were in for - I was surprised and floored by what transpired.

I honestly cannot remember what happened during the pitch, but I know during the course of it I took the panel on a journey that took them to the place I wanted them to be. I only know this because they admitted as much after they hammered us. After I finished the pitch, we spent the following 10-minutes being grilled and skewered in a manner that we hadn't faced yet. I was fine with it because I knew what the purpose of the evolution was so instead of being offended I was trying to take in what they were looking at so I can apply to any future projects I will present in this manner.

After the debacle was over, the panel paused momentarily before addressing us again, this time as instructors. They detailed our faults and the pointed out what our weaknesses were, where we could improve and why they went after us the way they did. It was an invaluable experience, but one thing stood out to me repeatedly. All of them addressed me at one point and complimented me on the presentation I gave during the pitch. Even the instructor notorious for chastising students during these pitches came up to me afterward, shook my hand and suggested that I should initially pitch projects for people (for a price!) when I get to LA. I was taken aback by it all, and I still don't know what to make of it. But hearing that only adds fuel to the fire that this is what I am meant for.

As far as what happens next, it's essentially all downhill now. The hardest is over with and for the next month (singular!!!) it's time to finally get wheels turning so when I get to LA I can hit the ground running and start building this career into something special. It's only a matter of time before the pieces fall into place - but after passing this final (and hardest) test with flying colors I don't know what's going to stop me...except myself.

I know the hardest is still to come - but I also know that I haven't begun to scratch the surface of what I am capable of and what I can accomplish. This test doesn't even register as a bump on this road - but it serves as a marker for how far I've come. And despite the constant reminders of what's happened over the past 2-years I can say that this was the right decision, no matter how different things may have been.