Student Producer Program develops leaders capable of taking projects to the finish line

By offering real-world experience managing teams and clients, MAGIC Spell Studios’ new Student Producer Program presents students with unique opportunities to fully engage in digital media projects under development. As a student producer, Kevin McNulty, a fifth-year game design and development student from Forty Fort, Pa., ensured projects remained on track and connected with clients and student team members to take the projects to the finish line.

What does your role as a student producer entail?
My role as a student producer made me responsible for running sprint planning and review meetings, assigning weekly tasks for all team members, and handling communication with clients. I worked to ensure that we kept projects on track and on budget to finish as expected, while also making sure that all team members had everything they needed to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

What projects have you helped manage as a MAGIC Spell student producer? 
I have worked exclusively on the client project side. One project that I can talk about is University of Rochester’s Medicine Recovery Center of Excellence multimedia project, which included three major initiatives. Firstly, regarding animation, I helped manage the team that created short educational videos to inform community members about the stigma around opioid use as well as ways to receive care.

Secondly, I oversaw the development of an app targeting middle- and high-school students to help break vaping habits using cognitive behavioral therapy. And thirdly, we migrated the project website site into a newly rebranded site and created project pages for newer initiatives.

In addition, I have worked on smaller projects involving web design and conceptualizing a 3D digital version of The Game of CULLS board game. Most recently, I’ve been working on the Plug Power Training project, which uses virtual reality to help onboard and train new employees before they get onto the factory floor.

How has this student producer role set you up for a future in this industry? 
It’s amazing to be able to say that all of the projects that I have helped manage are real-world initiatives in which clients are counting on us. Professional, experiential learning is a major component of MAGIC Spell Studios. Being a student producer has given me opportunities to lead teams, run meetings, and make high-level decisions within the context of the projects. It has also helped me build great relationships with everyone at MAGIC and it has given me a sense of professionalism that not a lot of other student opportunities could provide.