Picture This: A New Film & Media Studies Program Led
by an Award-winning Hollywood Insider
Spring 2019
Adam Leipzig
has built a wildly
successful career
as a Hollywood
innovator, disrupting
expectations with an array of hits
such as “Dead Poets Society,”
“March of the Penguins” and
“Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” From his
early days as senior VP at Disney
to being president of National
Geographic Films, Leipzig's films
have won or been nominated for
10 Academy Awards and two
Golden Globes.
With decades of experience, Leipzig
knows the business from the ground
up — and now he'll be sharing his
insights through DCE's forthcoming Film
& Media Studies certificate program.
Produced by his dynamic new enterprise
MediaU, it “pulls back the curtain
on how Hollywood really works.”
“Unlike traditional film schools, it's
designed to be very practical,” said
Leipzig, who developed the program
with learning expert Tiska Wiedermann,
and will be one of its instructors.
“Through the years, I've found that
film school graduates don't know
enough about how the industry really
works to find steady employment.
There's a gap in their real-world
experience and knowledge, and our
MediaU courses are designed to fill
that gap and prepare them to find
employment in film and media.”
Leipzig found that far too many
talented newcomers were forced to
support themselves with jobs outside
of entertainment. Well-paying
opportunities are simply too scarce.
“There aren't many good options,”
he said. “You have to start with
low-paying or no-paying jobs to get
needed experience, and it's just too
difficult, especially if you're saddled
with massive student loan debt.
We have too many terrific, talented
people who aren't able to share their
gifts with the world because they're
too busy making lattes for a living.”
Filling that practical experience gap
is where the Film & Media Studies
program comes in, a highly focused,
hands-on experiential program that
gives an in-depth look at how the
entertainment industry works in 2019.
It's the brainchild of Leipzig and
his colleagues at MediaU, which
aims to be a leader in world-class,
distance-learning programs, delivered
by accredited academic institutions
that cost a fraction of traditional
media or film school degrees.
“Most people aren't able to spend
four years getting a degree while
piling up a fortune in student loan
debt,” Leipzig said. “I know people in
their 50s who are still paying off their
loans.”
The DCE program is designed to
target three types of learners, he
said: “Those who want a career in
Hollywood but can't afford a film
degree; graduates who have a
degree but need to gain practical
experience; and people who have
always been interested in pursuing
entertainment but were pressured
by their families into other careers.”
Lights, camera, cloud
Still in development, the Film & Media
Studies certificate program will be
offered entirely online, utilizing cloudbased
course work and peer-to-peer
experiences that bring participants
together through immersive distance
learning. It's an approach that's
perfectly suited for the way today's
film, streaming and TV content is
being developed, Leipzig said.
“A good example is ‘A Plastic Ocean,’
a recent feature documentary of
mine that's streaming on Netflix,” he
said. “Our production team collaborated
and put it together entirely in
the virtual world, through cloud-based
applications — we had a producer in
London, our director in Hong Kong,
and editing in Silver Lake. You don't
need to be based in L.A. or New York
anymore.”
It's important to note that 80% of
content being produced today
doesn't involve traditional movie or
TV productions at all, but rather other
digital platforms, he said. The Film &
Media Studies program is perfectly
positioned to prepare students for
the new media.
The program's initial beta course,
Directors & Actors: Casting!, builds a
solid foundation, training actors and
directors to strategize the audition
process and build a fulfilling creative
partnership. Led by industry pros and
mentors, participants will learn the six
stages of casting and decision-making
— actors, by crafting effective
audition strategies, and directors
by planning and executing real
auditions.
Through a series of “live” sessions
and asynchronous lessons that can
be accessed anytime, participants
will analyze and critique audition
techniques and strategies, as well
as engage in practical experiences
themselves.
“This beta course will take it a step
beyond traditional film school,” Leipzig
said. “Actors will be able to learn from
experience, witnessing auditions in
front of a director with more than 40
credits to his name. Participants will
learn exactly what's expected of
them before walking into auditions,
and after walking out.”
Other, forthcoming courses from
MediaU will provide a deep dive into
the business and ethics side, the art
of storytelling and more, including
My Creative Career, a special course
designed to guide individuals to be
creative entrepreneurs for their unique
talents.
“It's all about taking control and
becoming the CEO of You, Inc.,”
Leipzig said. “The course will teach
learners how to craft a creative
career in 2019 by tapping into the gifts
they have that no one else can offer.”
All of the courses will be administered
through MediaU, taught by experienced,
successful professionals such
as Leipzig and Peter D. Marshall, who
has been the first assistant director or
director for a number of high-profile
projects, including “Happy Gilmore,”
“Dawn of the Dead” and “Legends
of the Fall.”
Getting a foot in the door
MediaU is a natural extension of
Leipzig's mission to educate and
develop talent — an endeavor that
benefits participants as well as industry
professionals.
“Yes, it's accurate to say that our
program can be an excellent way for
people working in the industry
to identify and nurture talent that can
be utilized for future projects,” he said.
Through a partnership with the
Slamdance Film Festival — held in
Park City, Utah, the same week as
the celebrated Sundance Festival —
MediaU is seeking to bring a select film
event to UC Irvine, as a way to showcase
the certificate program's best
student work.
Similar to its prestigious festival in Utah,
proposed Slamdance events at UCI
would offer outstanding opportunities
to gain recognition and network with
industry notables. Some of the events
would feature Slamdance's deep
roster of film and media talent as
on-campus guest lecturers, as well.
“It would be an excellent way for
students to meet other filmmakers and
gain access to people working in the
industry,” Leipzig said. “Slamdance is a
major event that can provide career
breakthroughs for top indie talent. In
the past it has paved the way for
Christopher Nolan, the Russo Brothers,
and lots of others. It's something we're
working hard to make happen.”
Stay tuned. The Film & Media Studies
program is just getting started.
Learn more at
ce.uci.edu/film