The Future of Media Franchising is Being Nurtured on our Doorstep

Each year at Swinburne, the students of unit MDA20007 - Screen Franchising and Innovation - transform the Junction study space into a sea of colourful posters and unique ideas as they present their final major assessment piece. Louie Cina and Sarah Rose reports.

The project is designed to prepare them for an exciting career in the industry and expose them to the intricacies of establishing a successful transmedia franchise such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) or Doctor Who. Students can pick any existing Intellectual Property (IP) with the potential to be expanded on that isn’t already a franchise. 

Associate Professor Liam Burke, unit convenor and brains behind the unique project, has been running the assignment for some time now but says he is “Constantly surprised and impressed” with what each cohort comes up with and is “introduced to things I don’t know.”

In the post-pandemic university world, he feels that projects like these are essential for those in creative industries. “I want students to turn up, to meet each other, form relationships… [these] are integral for their futures.” 

And turn up they did. Posters lined every wall of the room, with students milling around, asking questions, praising each other’s creativity, and gaining invaluable inspiration.

A generation with an abundance of content at their fingertips, the plethora of ideas conceived by each cohort is a feast for media and pop culture lovers alike. This year, students once again pulled out all the stops leading to a set of seriously convincing potential franchises.

“I think this one is actually gonna happen”, said one student of his group's Big Lebowski pitch, saying the project helped him envision a day where he “could be sitting in [a] boardroom being paid millions of dollars” for coming up with ideas like this.

Andre Barry, Mackenzie Bliss, Ed Lakusa, Simon Owen, and Sarah Wilson, pose with their final poster. Photos: Louie Cina

A franchise based on the 1998 film The Big Lebowski, directed by Ethan & Joel Coen. Photo: Louie Cina

From iconic films to video games, and recent TV hits like The Bear (2022-present) to popular collectible figurines, there was undeniably something for everyone to be interested in.

“Aging hipster mums are gonna snap that up” laughed Dr Andy Lynch, regarding a hypothetical Barbie doll of legendary British musician, Kate Bush.

There was also a strong emphasis on nostalgia in many of the pitches, with IPs such as The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky (2005-2009), puzzle book series Where’s Wally (1987-present), and cult classic Total Drama Island (2007) all making appearances.

Jemma Heitlinger, Jamie Nguyen, Paddy Pellegrino, Arden Philips, Pisey Seng, and Ava Votskos, tapped into childhood favourites. Photo: Sarah Rose

Tiarna Bett, Jay Davies, Max Hutson, Angus Larionoff and Ziyu Moey, brought props or visual aides to help woo viewers with their pitch. Photo: Sarah Rose

The winner of the People’s Choice vote was a 

franchise based on the 2022 horror-comedy Bodies Bodies Bodies (Halina Reijn), an already deliciously Gen Z film but with sufficient cross-generational appeal and multi-media platform potential.

With ideas including a makeup line, a podcast and an escape room, the proposed franchise hit many key components for a successful transmedia franchise.

“It’s been fun to work with like-minded people, to be able to bounce ideas off each other in a safe space,” one of the winning group members said.

Ashley Carbonaro, Anouk Kastropil, Georgia Neil, Saige Pearce, Jamin Sarmady, and Anabelle Strain with one of the event-winning pitches, as voted by their fellow students. Photo: Sarah Rose

Dr Kaz Horsley, a tutor, who has seen many pitches over the years, says, “Students are always really happy to see their posters in a physical format”, and that they relish the chance to share them communally. 

“[this project is] more transferable than writing essays” and perhaps most importantly, is a good opportunity to “show off our students to other lecturers,”

This is how established conventions and festivals such as Comicon and Pax would’ve started she says, and it’s a great opportunity for a bit of a celebration after the long haul of the semester.

Students mingle and discuss their pitches. Photo: Louie Cina

The transmedia franchising project will once again be the final assignment for the Screen Franchising and Innovation unit in semester 2, 2025. Associate Professor Liam Burke is excited to see all of the new ideas and invites anyone interested to enroll in the class.