Creative Consultant

Creative Consultant Journal: Publishing and promoting Robert M. Luckett’s first book, “Solving for X”

Published: 28 August 2024
Written by jasonpittm@gmail.com
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Categories: Creative, Creative Consultant, Website Design
Screengrab of the first website and promotional cover that I created for Bob Luckett

In the early 2000s, Washington, DC, was terrorized by a serial arsonist, whose destructive acts left a community in fear. It was during this time that Robert M. Luckett, or “Bobby” as he prefers to be called, played a pivotal role in the investigation that ultimately brought the arsonist to justice. Now retired, Bobby has channeled his experiences into “Solving for X”, a gripping account of those harrowing days. As a consultant on this project, I had the honor of helping Bobby transform his story from raw, factual recollections into a compelling narrative that captures not just the events but the story of the people involved. 

 

When Bobby first approached me, he wanted help publishing his first novel. Bob is an amazing guy who’s lived an amazing life. He not only put the cuffs on the DC Serial Arsonist Thomas Sweat, he also played center for the 1972 TC Titans in Alexandria Virgina, the subject of the beloved Disney film, Remember the Titans. I jumped at the opportunity to collaborate and I knew that with the wide range of skills that I could offer, I could provide Bobby with a ton of support that fit within the budget of launching one’s own first novel. 

 

Sketch of Luckett I created during pitch-palooza.

Bobby shared his first draft with me and told me that he was grappling with a unique challenge: his natural writing style was deeply rooted in his years as a police officer. His first drafts read more like police reports—meticulously factual, but lacking the emotional depth and dialogue that bring a story to life. The first version of “Solving for X” had almost no dialogue, as Bobby was reluctant to write conversations he couldn’t remember word-for-word. His commitment to factual accuracy was admirable, but it also held him back from embracing the creative freedom of his own WELL DEVELOPED talents in storytelling. Among friends and family Bobby is known to have a huge personality and storytelling is an enormous part of that.

Through our work, I encouraged Bobby to see himself not just as a public servant, but as himself, the storyteller. Through our collaboration, I worked with him through the drafts and first few rounds of artwork to focus on unlocking his creativity and encourage him to infuse his narrative with the same personality and energy that makes him such an engaging storyteller in person. As we worked through the drafts, Bobby’s writing evolved rapidly. He started to see the value in balancing fact with the art of storytelling and bringing his audience right into the scene with the same vivid emotion he felt at the time. The result was a more vibrant and engaging manuscript, and it was such privilege to see Bob’s satisfaction grow each time his writing became more his own.

solvingforxthebook.com

A great points in the development of “Solving for X” came when I encouraged Bobby to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The challenge of writing intensively for a month while participating in online events to build support for his manuscript. NaNoWriMo helped Bobby push through some of the grind of the early drafts and edit, draft and edit process and take his story to the next 

level. His enthusiasm grew as he entered “Pitchapalooza,” a book pitch contest sponsored by The Book Doctors during NaNoWriMo. We developed a social media campaign together, which not only boosted his confidence but also earned him a win in the contest. This experience was transformative for Bobby, giving him a deeper understanding of the publishing process and the tools to navigate it successfully.

In addition to shaping the manuscript, I provided a wide range of services to support the book’s publication. Bobby wanted “Solving for X” to be more than just a book—it needed to be a multi-dimensional experience. I created artworks, maps of the Washington, DC, area to visualize the arsonist’s trail, and a graphic design system that integrated his collection of previously unreleased photos and artifacts from the investigation. This visual storytelling was crucial in bringing the narrative to life and giving readers a deeper connection to the events described.

As the book neared completion, the focus shifted to promotion. I helped Bobby design and launch his first website, which became the hub for all things related to “Solving for X”. We created a series of promotional videos and YouTube ads to drive pre-sales, and even ran a social media campaign where fans could vote on their favorite book cover designs. This not only generated excitement but also helped build a community of readers eager to get their hands on the book.


Promotional video from a series I created spanning presale to launch.

At publication, the time came to sell the book online, I redesigned the website to include all the necessary backend systems for processing payments and managing orders. The site was equipped with embedded videos, music, and other interactive elements to the user had come to expect with the previous web experience, and welcoming new readers to connect with Bobby’s story. Today, “Solving for X” is out in the world, and I continue to support Luckett in maintaining his website and encouraging his next project. 

 

Remembering the Titans: 50 Years and Beyond

Looking ahead, I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Bobby on his upcoming second memoir, Remembering the Titans: 50 Years and Beyond. This book delves into Bobby’s extraordinary experiences as a member of the legendary 1972 T.C. Williams High School Titans football team, famously depicted in Disney’s Remember the Titans. It offers a fresh perspective on the impact of that unforgettable season, explores the personal stories left out of the movie, and reveals how the team’s ongoing legacy has shaped their lives. From moments of triumph to the bittersweet challenges life has brought, Bobby’s memoir will provide a deeper, more personal look at the original Titans and their journey since those remarkable days.

To celebrate the upcoming book and its themes of resilience and legacy, Bobby commissioned me to create a custom pair of Converse All Star low tops—a unique artistic tribute to his life as a Titan and the stories in the book. Inspired by the work of Dillon DeJesus and the My Shoes My Cause campaign, Bobby asked for shoes that reflect both his memories as a Titan and the ups and downs his team has faced since.

The right shoe is designed as a nostalgic nod to the 1973 Virginia State Championship win. It features the old Titan mascot behind bold “TITANS” lettering in vintage red and white, with three red and maroon stripes along the heel referencing the iconic team socks. To give it a varsity feel, I added an embroidered patch with Bobby’s number, 50, and his signature. It’s a shoe that could have easily been chosen by a young Titan celebrating their victory.

The left shoe is a more reflective piece, telling a story of life’s complexities. It incorporates a hand-cut silver foil piece etched and painted based on Bobby’s state championship ring, a replica of the team’s Alexandria Sports Hall of Fame medal, and a collage of images representing moments both good and bad from the original Titans’ lives. One striking element is a dark silhouette of a lone player running through a blazing halo of red, orange, and yellow—a reinterpretation of the Remember the Titans movie poster, now symbolizing the strength required to face life’s challenges, supported by the power of a team.

These custom-painted shoes are more than just wearable art; they are a celebration of Bobby’s remarkable journey and the enduring spirit of the Titans. It’s an honor to collaborate with Bobby on such meaningful projects, from his books to personal tributes like these, and I’m excited to help bring his stories to life for all to experience.

Designing an Art Forward STEAM Curriculum

Published: 17 June 2024
Written by jasonpittm@gmail.com
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Categories: Creative, Creative Consultant, Education, Leadership, Website Design

Art in Action, a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing art programs in schools that have lost them, is making a significant impact in California and beyond. Through innovative projects and affordable solutions, Art in Action ensures that art remains an essential part of the educational experience for students. I was recruited to help them create the Art in STEAM project, which places art at the forefront of STEAM (integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) education. This approach not only champions creativity but also encourages students to synthesize and combine essential academic standards across various disciplines, providing a better simulation of real-world practices and more effective and meaningful learning experience for students.

 

The Challenge: Declining Art Programs in Schools

Many schools across the United States have seen a decline in formal art instruction due to budget cuts and shifting priorities. While some schools manage to incorporate art programs through temporary budget windfalls or half-day contracts, consistent and comprehensive art education is no longer guaranteed. I was particularly surprised, when I moved my work to California to find that nearly all public and charter schools had little to no regular instruction in art. California has a robust set of skills and practices in its state standards for art learning, but surprisingly poor implementation.

Art in Action steps in to fill this gap by offering affordable art programs that parent volunteers or Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) supported by school administrators can affordable purchase and implement with the help of volunteers. This model, while still a far cry from ideal learning experiences like regular art lessons in a dedicated classroom year over year, ensures that students continue to receive quality art education despite financial constraints. The big advantage for Art in STEAM is that administrators were much more eager to support an art curriculum that reinforces skills on state tests. These tests and the time needed to prepare students for them is largely the reason art has been cut from school budgets.

 

Art in STEAM: An Art-Forward Approach

Traditional STEAM projects often prioritize math and science, with art being relegated to a secondary, often decorative role. However, the Art in STEAM program flips this script by starting with California art standards and building the central project or lesson around them. This art-forward approach ensures that the creative process is central, not peripheral, to the learning experience.

For the Art in STEAM curriculum, projects were designed for kindergarten through middle school students, incorporating meaningful connections to math, science, technology, engineering, and literacy standards. This integration ensures that while students are engaged in creative activities, they are also reinforcing essential academic skills. To create this integrated curriculum, I developed my own tool for mapping out and quickly searching or connecting California and national learning standards across all grade levels from kindergarten through eighth grade. This searchable document allowed for the identification of common themes, skills and topics across different subjects and grade levels. This tool facilitated the creation of much more authentically integrated lessons. 

The STEAM + Literacy Roadmap

One of the key tools that facilitated the creation of integrated STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) and literacy lessons within the Art in STEAM initiative is the STEAM + Literacy Roadmap. This innovative tool is a comprehensive, searchable spreadsheet database that includes all the Common Core national standards in literacy and math, Next Generation Science Standards, technology and engineering standards from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and California’s state art standards. Designed to cover each grade level from PreK through 8th grade, the roadmap provides a systematic way to identify and connect standards across different subjects, fostering the development of art-focused lessons that integrate multiple disciplines.

The STEAM + Literacy Roadmap is organized into sheets for each grade level, with columns for the standards of each subject. This layout allows educators to easily search for a topic, skill, or concept that can bridge multiple domains. By facilitating these connections, the roadmap helps educators develop lessons that not only align with educational standards but also encourage students to synthesize information from various subjects in meaningful ways.

For example, consider a lesson designed for middle school students on drawing a realistic indoor scene with a single vanishing point. This exercise, a staple in art education, is directly drawn from the California Art Standards. Using the roadmap, the lesson was developed b searching for relevant standards from other domains using the STEAM roadmap. The lesson began with the art standards supporting drawing in one-point perspective, which inherently involves parallel and intersecting lines, angles, and geometry. By searching the roadmap for terms like “parallel lines,” “intersecting lines,” and “angles,” related math standards were quickly identified. The lesson can then provide students with practical meaningful experiences in use of parallel lines and exploring intersecting lines with complementary and opposite angles. Incorporating these math skills, the lesson provided students with practical applications of geometry, enhancing their understanding through practice, experience and artistic creation.

To further integrate the lesson, the roadmap was used to find relevant literacy standards such as “communicating with peers for understanding” and “using text features.” These standards were then woven into the lesson by having students create a picture dictionary for new students learning the user’s language, based on their one-point perspective drawings, labels and other text fetures commonly found in a picture dictionary. This task required students to write clear, descriptive labels and instructions, reinforcing literacy skills in a practical context, as the final result is a printed picture dictionary compiled by the volunteer teachers for classroom to keep and use when new students or speakers of other languages arrive in their classrooms.



Designing Integrated Lessons

The roadmap’s ability to connect standards across disciplines ensures that each integrated lesson is both meaningful and robust. For example, in the described lesson, students not only improved their drawing skills but also deepened their understanding of geometric principles and enhanced their communication abilities. Each integrated standard was intentionally chosen to provide sufficient practice and reinforcement, avoiding the superficial connections that often plague STEAM lessons.

By leveraging the STEAM + Literacy Roadmap, Art in Action can create lessons that are truly interdisciplinary, offering students a holistic educational experience that values creativity and critical thinking equally. This tool exemplifies how thoughtful integration of standards can transform traditional subjects into engaging, comprehensive learning experiences that prepare students for a multifaceted future.


Co-Hosting with Instructional Videos

A key component of the Art in STEAM curriculum is the use of animated videos. These videos, lasting about five to six minutes each, introduce the art lesson and provide a demonstration. After the video, the activity is handed off to an in-class volunteer, such as a parent or retired artist, who is associated with Art in Action. This format ensures that students receive a consistent and high-quality introduction to each lesson, while also allowing for flexibility in the classroom.

Impact and Reception

The Art in STEAM program has been well-received by schools and educators. By integrating art with other core subjects, schools can offer a more balanced and enriching curriculum that meets various educational standards. Principals and teachers appreciate that the time spent on art also helps reinforce skills in other critical areas, making it easier to justify the inclusion of art in the curriculum. Art in Action, through its Art in STEAM project, is making a profound impact on art education by ensuring that creativity is not sidelined in the rush to emphasize STEM subjects. By starting with art and integrating it with math, science, technology, and engineering, the initiative provides students with a well-rounded education that values creativity as much as analytical skills. This innovative approach not only revitalizes art programs in schools but also prepares students for a future where interdisciplinary thinking and creativity are paramount.

 

Modernizing MCAET TV

Published: 19 September 2023
Written by jasonpittm@gmail.com
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Categories: Creative, Creative Consultant, Education, Leadership, Television, Website Design

As the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Director for the Monterey County Office of Education(MCOE), I had the unique opportunity to lead a multifaceted curriculum while also taking on the role of Director for the MCAET (Media Center for Art, Education, and Technology) TV station. Located in Salinas, CA, MCAET has been a unique and innovative educational resource, broadcasting over the air and via cable TV stations throughout Monterey County, CA.

Building the Team

When I assumed responsibility for the TV station, I faced significant challenges. The founding director had recently retired, and key engineering staff had also departed, leaving the station’s infrastructure in a complicated transition. Compounding the issue, wiring connections were mistakenly disassembled during a renovation, rendering the station unable to transmit its signal to cable stations or its over-the-air tower.

To address this, I spearheaded a local and national search for engineers and enlisted the expertise of a retired national network veteran engineer to restore functionality to the station. I was also able to recruit former staff, students and interns from MCEAT’s past who had history and experience with the station and would be able to help MCAET get back on track.

FCC Re-Banding

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initiated a sweeping endeavor known as spectrum repurposing around 2018 while I was serving at MCAET’s director. This strategic initiative aimed to optimize the utilization of the radio frequency spectrum by reallocating certain frequencies for alternative purposes.

The rationale behind spectrum repurposing stemmed from the burgeoning demand for wireless services, driven by the proliferation of mobile devices and the 5G technology. By reallocating spectrum from legacy uses to more efficient and high-demand applications, the FCC sought to foster innovation, enhance spectrum efficiency, and meet the evolving needs of consumers, businesses, and technology operated by various federal agencies.

The UHF (Ultra High Frequency) rebanding initiative aimed to consolidate television broadcasters like MCAET into a more compact frequency range, thereby creating additional spectrum for wireless broadband services and other critical communications needs. However, the process of spectrum repurposing posed logistical and financial challenges for affected stations and their stakeholders who needed to new equipment and operations to comply with the new frequency assignments. The FCC provided financial assistance to mitigate the costs associated with spectrum repurposing, particularly for smaller broadcasters and public service entities.

As a TV station operating under a county office of education, we faced many financial and logistical constraints. I collaborated with departments throughout MCOE as well as several outside FCC specialist law firms to navigate the regulatory landscape and ensure the station’s compliance while securing reimbursement for incurred expenses from the government.

Engaging Hard-to-Reach Communities for the 2020 Census

As Director of MCAET TV at the Monterey County Office of Education, I led a critical media campaign to ensure an accurate count in the 2020 U.S. Census—an effort that directly impacted funding and resources for Salinas, CA, and other vulnerable areas. Undercounting in the census could mean fewer resources for schools, healthcare, and infrastructure, making it essential to reach historically underrepresented communities.

Screen grab from the We Count We Rise video campaign
This video campaign from “We Count We Rise” encouraged student art promoting the census.

To tackle this challenge, I built a coalition of pro bono design consultants and local high school students to create a multilingual media campaign that would resonate with Monterey County’s diverse population. Students studied the issue, wrote their own script, and performed in both English and their native languages, ensuring authenticity and cultural relevance. The campaign included a student art contest, a dedicated website (WeCountWeRise.org) and video content that aired on MCAET TV’s over-the-air, cable, and new streaming broadcasts, expanding its reach across the region.

The impact of this initiative was reflected in the regional census reporting, which showed that Monterey County’s population grew by nearly 6%, with over 20,000 new residents counted. By empowering students to take an active role in civic engagement and leveraging media to amplify community voices, the campaign helped secure the resources Monterey County needed to support its residents.

Classes at MCAET

MCAET is an innovative partnership between broadcasting and education and was once home to a magnet high school for students in Monterey County pursuing media arts, performing, and broadcast careers. I introduced a program offering college courses and in-studio experiences in partnership with local colleges and universities. Through these courses, students gained valuable hands-on experience in television production while earning college credits, bridging the gap between education and industry.

Bringing college courses to the MCAET studio was a significant milestone in our efforts to enhance educational opportunities. By partnering with local colleges and universities, we were able to offer students the chance to earn college credit while gaining hands-on experience in television production. These courses provided valuable real-world skills and insights, preparing students for future careers in the media industry. Students learning at MCAET have access to the facilities’ classrooms, audio recording booths two production suites for editing or live recording, an innovative sloped wall green screen studio, and a black box theather with audience seating for 75.

 

Designing a Streaming Service Website for MCAET

In addition to offering college courses, I also designed and launched a new website for MCAET that served as a streaming service for all of our programming. This website not only modernized MCAET’s platform but also provided students with relevant experience in navigating digital media platforms. With 24-hour internet streaming channels on Twitch and YouTube, we expanded our reach and accessibility, ensuring that our educational content could reach a wider audience.

By bringing MCAET up to date in broadcast technology, we also created more relevant learning for students in media arts courses throughout Monterey County. I developed lesson plans that allowed high school and college students served by MCOE to create 30-second Station ID promotional spots for MCAET. These hands-on projects empowered students to apply their knowledge and creativity to real-world scenarios, fostering a relevant understanding of modern media production concepts while promoting MCAET’s mission and services to the community. Through these initiatives, we aimed to inspire and equip the next generation of media professionals while enhancing MCAET’s impact and visibility in Monterey County.

 

 

I hope my tenure at MCAET was characterized by a commitment to overcoming operational challenges, forging strategic partnerships, and embracing emerging technologies. We transformed MCAET into a dynamic educational hub, empowering students and communities across Monterey County.