HartBeat Productions + BCE = Pitch Contest Open to Emerson Students
Three Emerson students who win the first-ever Finding Hart Pilot Pitch Contest will be flown out to Hollywood and receive an inside look at one of the industry’s hottest production companies.
The contest is a collaboration between the Business of Creative Enterprises (BCE) senior residency project and comedian/actor/producer Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Productions.
In the fall, BCE students formed their own mock consultant company, Empulse Innovation, and worked with HartBeat as their client. BCE students pitched different ways for HartBeat and Emerson to collaborate, and the pilot pitch contest excited HartBeat.
“The pitch contest is an opportunity for HartBeat to evaluate the talent pool Emerson has to offer,” said BCE Executive-in-Residence Jae Williams ’08, MA ‘16. For students, the contest “is like a ticket to engage in conversations with Hollywood executives.”
Winning students will spend several days at HartBeat, meeting with their production team, touring the studios, and experiencing what it’s like to work for HartBeat, Williams said.
Vina Ng, Director of People and Talent Acquisition for HartBeat, said the BCE students have shown they’re creative thinkers, tenacious, and proactive.
“Our partnership with this cohort has required patience and agility, as the students’ initiatives have been hinged upon HartBeat’s business goals and changing priorities,” said Ng. “These students were not dissuaded by changing circumstances, rather, they were willing to roll up their sleeves to assist where needed. The ‘can-do’ attitude and willingness to pivot of these Emerson students lend itself to a smooth partnership and has been very impressive to the HartBeat team.”
The pitch contest is open to any Emerson College student. The deadline to submit a pitch is March 31. Winners will be announced at BCE’s Showcase on April 25. The winners will be chosen by a panel of HartBeat executives.
To get the word out to students, BCE students developed and are executing a marketing plan. They created Instagram and TikTok accounts, are sending email blasts, and created digital signage across campus. They created a Linktree that provides all contest details, including submission guidelines on creating a pitch deck, and more. Pitch genres should focus on sketch comedy, improv, or scripted sitcoms/web series.
Williams thinks BCE and HartBeat are a great fit.
“Talent isn’t hard to find from a creative aspect. They’re looking for someone who understands business and understands the creative process,” said Williams. “That is lacking in the industry: creative executive leadership. This program is cultivating the next generation of creative executives.”
Ng said HartBeat is excited to see the BCE team carry out their thoughtful and well-laid plans in real-time.
“A project outcome is dependent on thorough planning and detail-oriented execution, and it seems the pitch team has put a lot of time and effort into thinking of all the components of this pitch contest. It has also been exciting to see the social posts and assets that have come from this project,” said Ng.
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