Media Fest, hosted by the Media Communications Association, focused on soft skills for the first time.
This was the 23rd annual Media Fest, which took place on April 12 in the David L. Eisler Center ballrooms.
Digital animation and game design sophomore and MCA Vice President Talyn Cousineau said in previous years, speakers had focused on their success stories rather than how they came into that success.
“We asked our presenters to focus on one big idea they felt had impacted their career the most, so we get to not only hear about their experience but they’re also teaching the skills they used to get where they are,” Cousineau said.
The festival included presentations from James Villar, Mahreen Fatima, Scott West and Ferris alumni Joshua Morgan and Bridgette Pacholka and a panel discussion.
Villar works as an e-sports commentator for the video game Rocket League. Villar talked about his love for video games, how many different ways to get into e-sports and the community it brings.
“E-sports is still a really new industry so a lot of people are figuring it out and it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach,” Villar said.
Villar is the first e-sports presenter to speak at the Media Fest. MCA said this was important to them because of the new addition of the e-sports major.
Fatima and Morgan’s presentations focused on how to get a job.
Morgan works as a recruiter for a game company and gave examples of questions he asks and the kind answers he looks for. Morgan also discussed what he looks for in a candidate based on their experience level.
Fatima had done work for video games like Halo and Diablo IV. Fatima showed the portfolio she applied to jobs with and gave tips on how to build a portfolio for game design jobs.
Presenters West and Pacholka have done a lot of work in their industry and focused on what has changed and what they think will change in the future. Both presenters expressed how important networking has been to get them where they are.
West has been in the video production industry for 27 years and showed pictures of the different types of cameras and equipment he’s used in the past. West emphasized how important it is to be able to ask questions and learn, even as a more seasoned professional.
Pacholka graduated from Ferris with a television and digital media production degree, but he ended up doing journalism for Scripps News.
Pacholka had presented at the Media Festival before and was excited to be invited back.
“Events like this where people come in and they talk about their careers and those different paths are so important,” Pacholka said. “I didn’t really know journalism was an option for me and now I’m trying to tap into the next generation to get them involved and interested in news because I don’t want to live in a world without journalism.”
The panel included the five presenters, joined by two TDMP professors and Alejandro Rodriquez, who also works in the game industry.
Students asked the panel any questions they had, which ended up focused on personality and teamwork.
All panelists emphasized how crucial being able to work well both by yourself and on a team is for each of their fields.
At the end of the panel, each panelist was asked what advice they would give their college selves. The advice varied, but everyone agrees that putting yourself out there and finding the things you enjoy is essential to growing as a person and as a professional.
Television and digital media production sophomore Sebastian Murphy-Schluter was very impressed with this years’ speakers.
“James was my favorite speaker because I loved his energy and it felt really inspiring that a gamer, that pretty much lived in his mom’s basement, was able to become a really good e-sports commentator and make a career out of it,” Murphy-Schluter said.
Murphy-Schluter said he also really enjoyed Fatima’s focus on how the environments she creates tell a story on their own, without any words.
Overall, students agreed that they enjoyed the small changes to this year’s Media Festival and are eagerly awaiting the next one.
CE – AM
Many name issues and use of full names, improper capitalization of majors, “E-sports” vs “e-sports,” etc.
SO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS ARTICLE