In an old folktale called "Stone Soup," two wandering vigilantes ride into a town with nothing but a dream of a hearty soup to fill their empty stomachs. But without a dime in their pockets, the vigilantes resort to tricking the townspeople into donating a different ingredient to their soup—and hence, their dream came to life!

Like the characters of the folktale, some SF State students have enlisted the help of others to create—not a culinary dish—but a new organization called SF Media Empire. SF Media Empire is a student club that creates media projects by pooling talent and production staff from different programs such as cinema, broadcasting and theater. The group is one of the newest official additions to the student organizations on campus.

“We wanted to do bigger, better, larger, grander projects than you can do inside a classroom environment,” said Chris Knox, director of SF Media Empire. “So we decided to do our really cool stuff outside of a restrictive classroom.”

The organization came about last semester when creative arts students Leigh Wolf, Sean Horan and Knox were enjoying late-night beers and venting their frustrations about the lack of available resources and people who create media projects in the creative arts department.

“Just like the American Revolution came about—a couple of guys sitting around venting—so came idea [for SF Media Empire]," said Knox.

The students set up a page on Facebook inviting anyone who wanted to be involved in creating media projects, such as films or online series, to join their organization. The online group currently has 117 members who come from all areas from production, from actors to lighting specialists.

Projects that want to be produced and funded by SF Media Empire are submitted to a board that is made up of five students and a faculty advisor. If the project is approved, money from members' union fees and donations from Associated Students, Inc. are allotted into each project. Each month, the organization dedicates itself to getting a different project off the ground.

Currently, SF Media Empire is producing its first sanctioned venture, a Web series titled, "Adventures with Seth." The film is the group's main project for the month of October, and will be a series of eight 10-minute Webisodes scheduled to air once a month beginning in December.

“[The people behind "Adventure with Seth"] have all done little projects,” explained Knox. “[But] this is the biggest thing any of us have done yet.”

Broadcasting major Sean Thomas wrote the complete manuscript in 2004, inspired by improvisational theatre. Thomas, Knox and Horan chose their words wisely when describing the film, as to not give too much of the plot away. According to the students, the film is about an obsessive-compulsive assassin who is brought into a dark world of ancient gods, lost heroes, corporate malfeasance and evil clowns.

All three agreed they have a "solid gold" formula for the project, which they described as "Sin City" meets "Spawn."

Thomas said he hopes the audience will enjoy the episodes and insists that the most rewarding part will not be the end result, but the means of getting there. “What’s inspiring [to us] is to make [the film],” said Thomas. “We’re not trying to revolutionize the way media is presented or anything.”

Knox and the rest the SF Media Empire encourages anyone with skills or desires to create large-scale media projects to get involved in their organization.

"If you've got an idea for anything, come join the SF Media Empire. We'll hook you up."

Beginning Dec. 15, viewers can catch the monthly Webisodes of “Adventures with Seth” at www.AdventureswithSeth.com.