Representatives from various California digital arts and film production companies, including DreamWorks, met with representatives of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) earlier this month to discuss the merits of a new academic program on digital arts.
Stanley Bowman, AAP associate dean for technology and a professor in the art department who is leading the discussion on the development of a digital arts program, said the more than two days of discussion yielded some good commentary.
According to Bowman, the industry representatives said the best preparation students can have for entering the burgeoning digital arts field is to be very skilled at problem solving and logical thinking.
"The representatives were very supportive of our efforts and extremely interested in seeing and hearing about the progress we make," Bowman said.
In addition to DreamWorks, the David Geffen-Steven Spielberg studio, the advisory group included representatives from Blue Sky/VIFX, Industrial Light and Magic, Cinesite, Rhythm and Hues and Pacific Data Images. The advisory group met on campus Oct. 3 and 4 and also offered students a look at the various jobs in the field at a Career Fair.
Bowman said a program on digital arts would draw on expertise from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering where digital labs are already in use in programs such as film, music, communication, computer science and planning.
Bowman said he hopes a program could be in place next fall by creating a concentration in digital arts from existing courses using the digital technology.