Centre for Digital Media: Difference between revisions
→Masters of Digital Media: - changed "Masters" to "Master" - as per SFU, UBC, Emily Carr, BCIT senate documents (see, for example http://students.sfu.ca/calendar/digital-media/digital-media-MDM.html) |
→Industry Partners: revised (see other edit) Masters to "Master" |
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==Industry Partners== |
==Industry Partners== |
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The Master of Digital Media (MDM) program was designed with input from industry partners throughout Vancouver’s digital media sector. These industry partners continue to collaborate with the Centre for Digital Media by providing internships, sponsorships, collaborative projects and prototype development opportunities for students. Industry partners also connect with students as guest lecturers, mentors, and faculty.<ref>[http://mdm.gnwc.ca/industry Center for Digital Media Website | Industry Partners]</ref> |
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*8 Leaf Digital Productions |
*8 Leaf Digital Productions |
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Revision as of 22:03, 5 February 2013
The Centre for Digital Media (CDM) brings together business, academia and the general community into an emerging district for the digital and creative sectors in Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] It offers Masters of Digital Media (MDM) and Executive Masters of Digital Media (EMDM) programs credentialed by its four partner institutions (the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design and the British Columbia Institute of Technology). Together, the partners are redeveloping the area immediately surrounding the building into office space for digital media companies, to facilitate the interaction between academic institutions and firms in the digital media space.[2]
Master of Digital Media
The Master of Digital Media (MDM) program is the first jointly credentialed academic program offered at the Center for Digital Media on the Great Northern Way Campus. It is the first professional graduate program in digital media to be offered in Canada.[3]
This full-time graduate degree program was launched in September 2007 with an initial cohort of 21 students. The 5th cohort of students graduated in September 2012, bringing the total number of graduates to date to 131. Approximately 60% of the graduates have been international students.
The 16-month MDM program is accredited by all four GNWC partners, and the certificates earned upon graduation bear the seals of The University of British Columbia, The British Columbia Institute of Technology, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and Simon Fraser University.
The Master of Digital Media (MDM) program was designed and established to develop work-ready, professional talent for Vancouver’s digital media industry. The curriculum, facilities and structure of the courses were developed with input from industry partners throughout Vancouver’s digital media sector, such as Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Disney Interactive Studios, Annex Pro, Autodesk, Zynga, Relic Entertainment, Rainmaker Entertainment Inc., Nokia, Microsoft, IBM Canada, GRAND NCE, Clark Wilson LLP, Blast Radius. The goal of the curriculum is to produce graduates with a flexible repertoire of skills, rather than a single specialization.[4]
The curriculum includes a combination of supervised project coursework for the first 12 months and internships for the final four months. Students work in interdisciplinary groups with both faculty members and industry professionals.[5] Courses include Foundations of Digital Media, Foundations of Game Design, The Visual Story, and ‘Projects’ courses of increasing scope and complexity. Professionals from Vancouver’s digital media industry serve as guest speakers and mentors, and industry partners offer internships, scholarships, and practical project opportunities for students. [6]
The program is backed by a 2006 grant of CAD$40.5 million from the Province of British Columbia[7] and by a 2007 commitment of CAD$1 million from the US computer game firm Electronic Arts.[8] It also charges students $10,000 per semester ($15,000 for non-Canadians).[9] Justifying this expense, the Trusts's first CEO, Bruce Clayman, described it as "premium tuition for a premium program."[10] To defray such costs, the Centre for Digital Media offers student scholarships valued at $5000 and $10,000 each, as well as a variety of awards that grant students rent-free accommodations on the Great Northern Way Campus. <ref.Masters of Digital Media Scholarships and Awards</ref>
The program won some media attention in 2007 for using Second Life as a recruiting tool.[10]
The MDM program is housed in the Centre for Digital Media, a multimedia facility located in a former office building. As of September 20, 2012, the program will move into the New Centre for Digital Media building to be known as CDM 685 after its 685 Great Northern Way address. In addition to 76 student housing units, this 49,000 square foot building includes a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) filming area and green screen, editing and filmmaking labs, and classrooms equipped with "full Dolby 5.1 capabilities, high-end wall projectors, Blu-ray playback.”[11]
Executive Masters of Digital Media
As of July 2012, The Centre for Digital Media has been offering an Executive Masters of Digital Media (EMDM), designed to be taken on a part-time schedule. The EMDM follows the same curriculum as the MDM, but with content delivered online and seminars delivered in the evenings or on weekends to fit within working student schedules. The EMDM degree is also accredited by the four GNWC partner institutions.[12]
Industry Projects
Industry projects are the key component of the Masters of Digital Media and Executive Masters of Digital Media programs. Students work in project teams to create products for industry partners and must stay within the time, resource and management constraints that characterize professional work schedules in the digital media industry. The team must both prototype and produce a tangible result.[3]
During Projects courses, teams of three to six students work on a focused project (or several, smaller related projects) during that semester. The primary objective of the courses is to provide a hands-on working experience with teammates who are from different backgrounds and disciplines, as well as familiarize students with industry expectations and prepare them for careers in the digital media sector by immersing them in real-world, team-based scenarios.[13]
Each team must comprise students from both technological and non-technological backgrounds. During the course of the project, students having an engineering or other technical background are expected to make an aesthetic contribution to the project and students having an artistic grounding are expected to make a technical contribution to the project. The work must be overseen by a faculty member approved by the MDM program for this project.
Students also have the opportunity to pitch their own ideas for projects, mimicking the early stages of managing their own startups.
Faculty
Director: Dr. Richard Smith
Founding Faculty
- Tom Wujec
- Dr. Tom Calvert
- Dr. Gerri Sinclair
- Glenn Entis
Full-time Faculty
- Patrick Pennefather
- George Johnson
- Lawrence Bafia
- Dr. Kimberly Voll
Part-time Faculty
- Dr. Jim Bizzocchi
- Dennis Chenard
- Dr. Steve Mamber
- Tom Frisina
- Snjezana Cvoro-Begovic
- David Eaves
- Scott Armstrong
- Nuria Oliver
- Steve DiPaola
- Matthew Toner
- Chuck Hamilton
- Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch
- Steve Bocska
- Jean Hébert
- Craig Dixon
- Jon Festinger
- Laura Ballay
- Rory Holland
Industry Partners
The Master of Digital Media (MDM) program was designed with input from industry partners throughout Vancouver’s digital media sector. These industry partners continue to collaborate with the Centre for Digital Media by providing internships, sponsorships, collaborative projects and prototype development opportunities for students. Industry partners also connect with students as guest lecturers, mentors, and faculty.[14]
- 8 Leaf Digital Productions
- Agentic Human Online
- AirG
- Animation Brewery Productions
- Annex Pro
- Arthritis Research Centre of Canada
- Autodesk
- Ayogo
- Bardel Entertainment Inc
- Be The Change Earth Alliance
- Bell
- BHG
- Big Fish Games
- Blast Radius
- Catstatic Interactive
- CBC
- Conquer Mobile
- Clark Wilson LLP
- DARE
- Disney Interactive Studios
- DSign Touchless Interactive Systems
- Electronic Arts
- Exploding Barrel Games
- Goldtooth Creative
- Grand Graphics Animation and New Media
- Hot Head Games
- IBM
- Industrial Brand
- InTransit BC
- Kelowna Museums
- LoudCrow Interactive
- M20 Productions
- MainSocial
- Media Awareness Network
- Mens health Initiative of BC
- Mingleverse
- Nokia
- Out TV
- PacificWild.org
- Pantheon Books
- Pixar Canada
- Pug Pharm
- Rainmaker
- Red Eagle Games
- Relic Entertainment
- Silicon Sisters
- Telefonica
- Tiny Speck
- Ubisoft
- V7 Entertainment
- Wavefront Accelerated Commercialization
- Zynga
Facilities
The Centre for Digital Media was designed to cater to the specific needs of digital media students. In addition to 76 on-site student housing units, the CDM features the following amenities[11]:
Wireless internet throughout the entirety of the Centre
Classrooms feature full Dolby 5.1 capabilities, high-end wall projectors, Blu-ray playback, multi-modal jack in capability and most surfaces are projectable.
The Information Resource Centre (IRC), forms the hub of the Centre for Digital Media’s growing library of resources, including video games, books, films and magazines. The game collection is stocked with an extensive selection of current and past video games supporting all platforms. The available books and magazines range in subjects from improvisational and pitching techniques, to film production and editing, and from texts on specific software suites to studies in game design. The film library covers a broad range as well.
For filmmaking and editing, the Centre features a 10,000 square-foot creative space dubbed “The Hangar” housing a large filming area complete with a large green screen. Additionally, a smaller, portable green screen and lights are available. Film editing and rendering, as well as 3D modeling are made easier through the use of the Centre’s 280-core render farm, which supports Maya, 3DSMax, After Effects, and Blender. There’s also a private recording and editing studio.
Students have access to many facilities of the partner institutions and through the Management Services Agreement with Simon Fraser University are enrolled as students with access to student privileges including UPASS, health insurance, and library access.
References
- ^ [1] Great Northern Way Campus | Our Vision
- ^ Center for Digital Media Website | Masters of Digital Media
- ^ a b Center for Digital Media Website | Master of Digital Media
- ^ 'Digital dormitory' to transform False Creek neighbourhood
- ^ Masters of Digital Media Programs Website
- ^ Masters of Digital Media| Industry Partners
- ^ "$40M for New Program Gives BC Competitive Edge in Digital Entertainment Industry, Media Release, UBC Public Affairs, Feb. 22, 2006".
- ^ "Digital program gets $1-million boost from EA, Vancouver Sun, May 03, 2007" (PDF).
- ^ "How much does the program cost?" MDM website
- ^ a b Randy Shore, "Second Life lands B.C. campus". Vancouver Sun (October 18, 2006).
- ^ a b Masters of Digital Media|Centre for Digital Media Facilities
- ^ Masters of Digital Media|Executive Masters of Digital Media Program
- ^ Center for Digital Media Website | Masters of Digital Media Projects Course Description
- ^ Center for Digital Media Website | Industry Partners