USC 2013 Undergraduate Transmedia Forum – Submission Deadline 3/15

The Institute for Multimedia Literacy, in partnership with the USC Office of Undergraduate Programs, is please to announce the USC Undergraduate Transmedia Forum, a new undergraduate student competition celebrating digital innovation in creative scholarly work.

The Transmedia Forum, previously known as USC Webfest, is an opportunity for USC undergraduate students to gain recognition for new forms of digital scholarship and expression. The name change, effective for the Spring 2013 semester, reflects a change of vision for the competition. The newly designed Transmedia Forum acknowledges the diversity and innovation that is actively pursued by a new generation of USC students. Going beyond tradition web design, these students are creating mobile apps for social change, experimental forms of scholarly video expression, interactive physical environments and locative media projects. The Transmedia Forum rewards these trailblazers of outside-the-box thinking and cutting-edge media forms, rather than becoming “just another website competition.”

About the Competition

The USC Transmedia Forum is an annual contest held in the Spring semester for USC undergraduate students honoring digital innovation in creative scholarly work. Students from all majors and schools across the USC campus are encouraged to submit entries – by entering, they can earn recognition (and prize money) for their work, while also meeting others who are interested in the development of creative and impactful media.

Today’s students understand the power of networked media as a means for creative expression, education, advocacy and social change. Across the USC campus, an increasing number of undergraduates are creating dynamic visual presentations, short videos and websites for their various classes and to demonstrate their research. The Transmedia Forum offers a chance to showcase this innovative work – not just to other USC students, but to the larger USC community.

The Forum seeks any kind of academic work that is not on paper, but instead takes advantage of images, video, networked connectivity, mobile devices or other media forms to make an argument or demonstrate a point. From websites and mobile apps to locative media and tangible computing, we invite a full range of projects that explore an idea, display research or promote change.

Eligibility

The Transmedia Forum is open to any current undergraduate student at the University of Southern California. Students are not required to be within any specific department or major to participate. Submitted projects should adhere to the following loose guidelines:

• Projects should educate the audience about a given topic, or should serve to advocate or challenge public opinion on a given topic (activism).
• Projects should not merely serve a commercial interest.
• Projects should not be of primarily functional purpose, i.e. a digital tool. Utilitarian projects should still convey some type of educational or activist foundation to the audience.
• Projects should have aesthetic value, but should not exist purely for entertainment purposes.
• Project should display some form of research or scholarly intent.

If you are interested in submitting a project to Transmedia Forum, or would like more information about the competition, please visit the Transmedia Forum website at http://transmedia.usc.edu. The submission deadline is Friday, March 15, 2013.