Digital media professor wins scriptwriting competition with new ‘Twilight Zone’ episode

With an original script inspired by the classic television show “The Twilight Zone,” Liberty University Department of Digital Media and Journalism professor Dr. Carey Martin recently earned the Award of Excellence in a national faculty scriptwriting competition hosted by the Broadcast Education Association (BEA).

Martin combined his love for the iconic horror/sci-fi program with his career as a professor to write “The Substitute,” a supernatural story of a substitute teacher who finds himself in a situation that bends time and questions his reality.

“My script is what we call a spec script, which means it’s written about an existing show and you’re not writing it to sell it, it’s more of a display piece of how well you can write in that particular style,” Martin said. “I’m a big fan of the show, and I wanted to challenge myself since I had never written for the particular style before.”

Martin has over 20 years of experience in Christian FM radio, local broadcast television, and corporate and medical education video. Beginning at Liberty in 2007, Martin said he has taught almost every aspect of media in the department besides audio, with his current courses relating to the history of film and television, media ethics, and storytelling through episodic drama.

The BEA On-Location regional convention was held remotely in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consisted of peer-reviewed competitions in scriptwriting, audio, film and video, news (story), and documentary for both faculty and students individually, as well as student categories in interactive multimedia, mobile videos, and newscasts. The national parent convention, BEA Festival of Media Arts, is usually held annually in Las Vegas, in conjunction with the National Association of Broadcasters.