Welcome to the Senior Thesis - Pizza Pitch/Blue Sky Exploration Page! This is an experiment on stirring up ideas, concepts and partnerships for what might turn out to be your Senior Thesis Project. Think of this as somewhere between a Pictionary game with some really talented friends and participating on The Great British Bake-off show. Not every isea we come up with will find it's way into a Thesis Project, but the more we can begin with, the better our chances of finding a few that will hold up to the investment of an entire year.
The theory is that the more time we set aside to explore ideas around story and character, types of projects, and potential partnerships, the more likely we will have something tangible that we can launch you into your senior summer with.
We will be setting aside regular times from your junior production duties to explore possibilities. Keep thing loose and playful at first. As we move into the spring semester, ideas will become more concrete, and hopefully to gel into actual partnerships, projects and/or technical strategies. These will be presented at the end of Junior Studio II as a "Soft Pitch" for your Spring Semester Final Exam. Ideas that don't mature into actual Thesis Projects might turn out to be great candidates for a Personal Research Project.
RULES TO THE GAME
1. For now, stay Curious and Open. The only end we have in mind here is to stumble accross interesting possiblities. Where they lead us is a question we'll deal with later in the semester.
2. Keep things Playful. If you're feeling too stressed by your courseload (or by life in general) you may want to sit one prompt out and wait for the next. You'll still be included in whatever follow up we decide on, or you may consider a supporting role to what someone else brings to the table. You may find that supporting roles are really your thing!
3. Stay Positive and Take Risks. The best part of "blue sky" exploration is that it doesn't have a pre-determined result. This means suspending judgement in the short term to see where the craziest ideas may lead.
4. Take Queues from Faculty. While we're asking you to stay open to the process, there are some parameters to the Thesis Project that simply do not change. As ideas begin to take the shape of actual projects, it's important to take these fixed principles into consideration. The best thing you can do right now is to read over the criteria for Thesis Projects and keep them in the back of your thinking while we brainstorm.
The Sr. Thesis Exploration is an ongoing process
Stephan Leeper/Central Michigan University 2023