Autodesk and Electronic Arts have introduced a new project design workshop for Canada's first Masters for Digital Media (MDM) program at Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver, British Columbia.
As part of the 20-month MDM program, the workshop will equip students with techniques to plan and manage digital media projects in their academic and professional careers.
Glenn Entis, SVP at Electronic Arts, and Autodesk Fellow Tom Wujec developed the curriculum and will be teaching the workshop. Following the workshop, student teams will be equipped to work on industry funded digital media projects that include: multi-player online game development; the creation of next-generation digital social networks; the 3D graphical visualization of a sustainable ocean ecosystem; and a 3D virtual ride on the Canada Line -- the expanded rapid transit system, which will be in place for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
"Our goal is to shape the next-generation of digital media leaders," said Dr. Gerri Sinclair, exec director of the MDM program. "We're collaborating with industry luminaries such as Electronic Arts and Autodesk, so that the students can benefit from their forward thinking. The project design workshop will give students the tools they need to manage real-world digital media projects."
During the two-day workshop, students will map out the stages of their semester-long digital media projects. The workshop's collaborative framework will provide more than 20 techniques to design and plan digital media projects, understand client and end user requirements and generate a comprehensive production plan. Encouraging teamwork and critical thinking, students will use visual communication tools and techniques to explore topics.
EA's Entis added, "I'm very excited about leading this workshop. There's a clear need for better planning of digital media projects, particularly with the rapid pace of technological change. The right pre-production planning can make or break a project."
Autodesk's Wujec added, "Autodesk's knowledge and experience in multiple industries, including entertainment, automotive design, manufacturing and building, complement Electronic Arts' approach to thinking more broadly about digital project planning. There's growing demand for rigorous pre-production planning and visual communication throughout digital media projects. With this workshop, we're helping tomorrow's digital media leaders design better projects and arrive at the best choices in less time..."
Launched in September 2007, the Masters for Digital Media Program is a full-time, professional Masters Degree program. It offers students team-based experiences focused on project learning in close collaboration with the international digital media industry. Housed in the Centre for Digital Media at Great Northern Way Campus, the MDM is a 20-month program, and includes a paid summer internship.
Great Northern Way Campus (GNWC), established in 2001, is a collaborative university campus environment that combines the strengths of four leading academic institutions: University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design and British Columbia Institute of Technology. The MDM Graduate Degree bears the seals of these four academic partners.
Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts Inc. (EA, www.ea.com), headquartered in Redwood City, California, develops, publishes and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS, EA EA SPORTS BIG and POGO.
Autodesk Inc. (www.autodesk.com) is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction and media and entertainment markets.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
