Two media experts from South Korea led a documentary pitch contest and a workshop on AI tools for media production at UIC on October 11^th and 12^th.

 

         Dr. Kenny Kihyung Bae, senior producer at KBS, and Dr. Yougshin Cho, business strategist at SK Broadband encouraged student to explore more on media production. Dr. Bae focused on refining students’ proposal through documentary pitch consent, while Dr. Cho demonstrated AI tools used in media production.

 

         Six students from Media and Communication Studies shared their ideas on the documentary pitch contest which aimed at letting students practice skills need to raise funding for their media projects. Dr. Bae explained the importance of story pitches and how to present ideas to investors. “You’re trying to find a partnership, to make it a very profitable investment for your project idea,” he told those contest participants and audiences.

Dr. Bae is talking about what is a “Pitch”

         Students presented a variety of documentary topics, such as “Campus Relationships,” “Reviving Photos with AI,” “Bipolar disorder,” and “Doctor-Patient Dynamics.” Judges and audience members discussed the proposals with contestants, offering suggestions to help them improve their ideas.

Xu Bohan from Year 3 MCOM is pitching

        

            A MCOM junior student Ma TianXin shared her experience, “This opportunity gave me insight into how the real media industry works, and I’m now more eager to pursue documentary filmmaking.”

The contestants took a photo with the judges

         On the morning of October 12, the hands-on AI tools workshop began in a classroom filled to capacity, with both students and faculty from across the college. Dr. Cho covered the evolution of AI from Alan Turing’s contributions to the rise of generative AI and its transformative impact on creative industries. He demonstrated how AI can assist in every stage of documentary production—from planning and editing to distribution and marketing. “Generative AI helps you make your own product creation without the help of professional skill.” Dr. Cho added, “Creativity is the most important thing.”

AI workshop keynote speaker-- Dr. Cho

Audiences listen attentively

         

        Dr. Cho gave a live demo using AI tools including Kling, ChatGPT, and Suno.com to quickly create an AI-generated K-pop idol group and compose songs for them. MCOM junior student Zhang ShuoZhen said, “I was amazed by the lifelike portraits created by AI. When the song played, I thought it was a real girl group singing.”

 

         In the afternoon, Dr. Bae led a discussion on the ethical and social implications of AI, focusing on privacy, unemployment, copyright issues, and mis- and disinformation. He reminded students that while AI is a powerful tool, it requires ethical oversight, urging them to maintain critical thinking when using AI.

Dr. Bae discusses the ethical issues raised by AI with the audience

To close the event, participants formed groups and applied the AI tools they learned about in the morning to create short documentaries. After an hour of work, students presented their projects, receiving applause and praise from others.

Dr. Bae discusses AI documentary production with a participant

Group photo taken at the end of the workshop

written by Yu Peien