MPMT Senior Shares Her Experiences and Development at the 2024 Gotham Week Expo

By Stevencia Estime, MPMT senior

I have had many learning opportunities at the UF College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC), both inside the classroom and out. One of the most interesting opportunities was the 2024 Gotham Week Expo, held in Brooklyn, New York, from Sept. 30 – Oct. 3 — my first visit to the Big Apple.

The Gotham Week Expo, now in its third year, showcases thought leadership on the advancement of the film and media industries, including industry-led sessions related to Branded Storytelling.

The trip to New York was sponsored by the UFCJC Media Production, Management, and Technology Department (MPMT) and the CJCxNYC program and included eight MPMT students and MPMT Visiting Lecturer Brandon Shenk.  We had the opportunity to hear industry professionals and filmmakers talk about career growth and community impact. It was exciting to learn from different organizations and experts about fundraising and artist support, distribution models, exhibition and audiences, and branded storytelling in independent filmmaking.

The Expo was divided into two parts: Pathway Sessions, interactive talks and panels, and the Showcase, where organizations promoted their programs and events. During the Expo, someone said, “A film for everyone is a film for no one.” As an MPMT Management and Strategy major, I realized that my end goal, which is working in film development, is all about choosing projects that aim to influence and resonate with a particular target audience.

One of my favorite sessions was the “Centering Impact and Ethics During Story Development” with Haydee Souffrant from Kartemquin Films. Souffrant spoke about the design-thinking process and how it can be implemented in filmmaking. I knew that the design-thinking process could be applied to innovation and 3D modeling, so I was fascinated by how it is used in filmmaking. The session focused on how filmmakers can shape their stories by thinking about their ideal audience and building impact campaigns to engage and relate to the audience. This session gave me a whole new way to think about storytelling and how important strategy is in creative projects.

Another session that I learned a lot from was the “Leveraging Data to Identify, Grow, and Engage Your Film’s Audience” panel with Distribution Advocates and William Tyner. The session was interactive and explained the four stages of audience engagement: concept development, funding and pre-production, production and post, and distribution. In this session, the panelists discussed ways to leverage AI and research to engage with audiences and get them excited about your project. This session reminded me of what I have learned at UFCJC about Talkwalker, a social media listening software. It was amazing to see how the tools I use for simple comparison research can be used in the film industry to engage audiences.

The best part of the Expo was meeting other creatives. I met many people who told me about their journeys to become a filmmaker and that my management goal in the industry is important. I connected with a filmmaker who, after exchanging emails, forwards me different seminars, workshops and job opportunities every day that I shared with my peers, so they have the same opportunities and information.

Gotham Week was an experience I am proud to have had with such a fantastic group. It opened my eyes to how much strategy goes into filmmaking. I was able to experience New York, watch phenomenal short films that will turn into features, and understand how things I believed could never be applied to film can actually help make films better.

This experience, and many others I have had while at UF, have given me confidence in my future career in development. It is opportunities such as Gotham Week that show how UFCJC prepares students to explore new industries, meet people in the industry, and get hands-on experience. I am excited to take everything I have learned and use it to shape my next steps after graduating.

Posted: October 28, 2024
Category: College News, Profiles, Student News
Tagged as: Brandon Shenk, CJCxNYC, Gotham Week, Stevencia Estime