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2018 was a fun time at the Centre for Digital Media. MDM students worked on many interesting industry projects, we processed a record number of MDM applications, held an unprecedented number of IDEA-X’s (10!), hosted some fantastic events on campus (including a student panel discussion with BC Green Party's Andrew Weaver, and VIFF Immersed, an immersive experience to re-imagine storytelling through xR), and we welcomed our newest full-time faculty member, Laura Ballay, to our impressive team of faculty.
As 2018 draws to a close, we wanted to highlight the most popular stories of 2018.
1. From IDEA-X to UBC: Meet IDEA-X Alumnus Wenyi Gong
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Wenyi Gong initially planned to apply to the MDM program but when she missed the application deadline she found out about IDEA-X, a one-month intensive digital media program for international undergraduate students. After IDEA-X Wenyi joined UBC's Educational Administration and Leadership graduate program in Vancouver. Here she gives us her top 3 takeaways from IDEA-X and what she learned about herself in the program.
2. Students Build AR Storytelling App for Vancouver Chinatown Foundation
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In January, six MDM students were matched with the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation and the Chinatown Story Centre to help them find ways to use digital media to tell their stories in the museum. Here the team discusses the solution they found and what they learned working with AR.
3. From MDM to Managing Director of Thinkingbox: Meet Christine Clark
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Graduating from the Master of Digital Media program can lead to many pathways in the digital media industry. The program gives students a ton of career options and the path each graduate takes is always interesting.
Meet Christine Clark. Coming from UBC’s Theatre Program, she took the Master of Digital Media program in 2012 as part of the 5th MDM Cohort (C5) and is now Managing Director at Thinkingbox Toronto, one of the largest interactive production studios in Canada. She talks about her career trajectory from MDM student to Managing Director, and her advice for those applying to the MDM program.
4. Three MDM Student Cohorts Work Together To Develop VR Theater at SIGGRAPH
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SIGGRAPH was in Vancouver this summer and one of the main features was the VR Theater, which was a chance for attendees to watch some of the world’s top VR films within a unique VR experience.
The VR Theater project was run by MDM alumni, Yangos Hadjiyannis, who worked with a number of MDM alumni to develop, build and create the VR Theater experience. Here he explains how he worked with MDM alumni and faculty to build the VR Theater and how popular the experience was over the four days of SIGGRAPH.
5. The CDM Welcomes New Faculty Member, Laura Ballay, With 20 Years Experience in Interaction Design
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In September, Centre for Digital Media welcomed Laura Ballay as the newest full-time faculty to the Master of Digital Media program. Laura has worked at the intersection of human-centered design and technology for the past 20 years and is an expert in leading creative teams and defining product strategies. Laura discusses her new role and what she’s most excited about in digital media today.
And if you’re interested in reading more, these are our most popular blog posts, ever:
5 Tips for a Killer Graduate School Portfolio
6 Skills You Need To Become a Digital Media Leader
What’s the Difference Between Art and Design
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at the Centre for Digital Media. The campus will be closed December 21 - January 2, reopening January 3. See you in 2019!