GETTING MOTIVATED; CD-ROM AIMS TO MAKE KIDS EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING, CAREERS.

Byline: P.J. Huffstutter Daily News Staff Writer

For more than a decade, Jim Hullihan has used Hollywood glitter to teach high school students about success. He lugged around slide projectors and huge stereo sets, and gave them a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the filmmaking process.

Look, he said. Look what you can achieve if you stay in school and work hard.

Time passed. Media changed. And Hullihan's antiquated equipment began to show its age.

Now, he's relying on the personal computer to update his delivery. By repackaging the program onto a CD-ROM, he hopes to lure tech-savvy teens to click their way toward the same positive messages.

``Kids have always been drawn to entertainment and we know they love magazines,'' said Hullihan, founder of the Burbank-based nonprofit organization Motivational Media Assemblies. ``It seemed like a natural fit to combine the two.''

Dubbed Sweet! Digizine, the disc is compatible with both Macintosh and PC machines. Pop the disc into a computer and readers can access interviews with Meg Ryan and Gen. Powell; snapshots from ``The X-Files'' and ``Seinfeld''; and music videos by the rock group No Doubt.

There's also tips about potential career paths. Tied to film clips drawn from the revamped ``Star Wars'' trilogy is background on the visual effects artists who did the work. Readers can then jump to files that offer information on how to enter the field from executives at Industrial Light & Magic, George Lucas' effects shop in Marin County, Calif.

``We're trying to show there is real-life relevance to what you see on the big screen,'' Hullihan said.

Hullihan started thinking about shifting into the PC market about three years ago, but said he wasn't sure how to actually create the product. Enter Apple Computers, which reviewed trial versions of Sweet!

``We liked the concept,'' Tom Pisano, senior marketing manager in Apple's education division. ``The crucial point was to make the material easy to access and, at the same time, entertaining to kids. It does both.''

To let teachers know about the digital magazine, and help foster interest in the product, Hullihan distributed several thousand free copies to teachers throughout the state. So far, the response has been positive.

``A product such as this is critical for today's youthful community,'' said Terence R. Cannings, associate dean of Pepperdine University's graduate school of education and psychology. ``Its compelling interactive format will hook youth who are growing up in a technological, fast-paced society where they are bombarded with different images daily.''

In general, the digital-format magazine has become fairly popular in the publishing world, said Pierre Debs, a business representative at the Screen Actors Guild's industrial and interactive contracts division. Debs notes that the number of requests from start-up entertainment titles has jumped over the past couple years.

The key behind this burgeoning field is the electronic press kits that movie studios use to promote their projects. These kits, which often include film trailers and celebrity interviews, offer a bounty of prepackaged material.

``We get a lot of requests from New York and the Northeast area,'' said Debs. ``As long as the product promotes the theatrical project, and it's within six months of its release date, a publisher can pay a moderate licensing fee and use the footage.''

Yet the success of such digital products remains sluggish. Only a few of the dozens of CD-ROM titles launched last year still exist, according to MediaMap, an information and software service provider that tracks industry trends.

``Most of the publishing houses here and in the United Kingdom have closed most of their titles because they just weren't making any money,'' said Debbie Centamore, an international product manager at MediaMap. ``It seems people want to read their magazines in print, not on the screen.''

Hullihan, who plans to sell the digital 'zine in bookstores, says he doesn't expect to make a huge profit.

``It's not really about the money,'' he said. ``It's about whether we can inspire today's kids to do great work tomorrow.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) The cover of Sweet! Digizine approximates the look of a newsstand magazine, but as a CD-ROM it offers moving pictures in sound unavailable in print. Combining interviews with career guidance information, the product is designed to inspire children to pursue their goals.

(2--Color) Jim Hullihan shows his latest motivational product, Sweet!

Gus Ruelas/Daily News