The seven winners of the ETC@USC Future of Themed Experiences Challenge were rewarded on December 2, 2022 with a one hour meeting to ask fourteen senior executives from entertainment-related companies questions about trends, strategies and career advice. Every executive and student contributed to this outstanding discussion.
Here is the list of 9 topics covered, along with the timecode where that discussion starts in the video.
1:30 Jaden Kirshner, Sophomore, Marshall School of Business
Do you need to learn to code to break into entertainment technology? What are good ways to break into that field?
9:37 Powen Yao, Grad Student, Viterbi School of Engineering
How are you using XR to do something that is ONLY possible inside the XR space (e.g. beyond imitating what you can do real life, like training and work simulation)?
15:29 Aleksandre Lomadze-Gabiani, Junior, Viterbi School of Engineering
Specific question; How does the mass entity system in Unreal Engine 5 fit into Unreal’s overall metaverse strategy?
16:44 Aleksandre Lomadze-Gabiani, Junior, Viterbi School of Engineering
What do you think of Meta’s strategy of encapsulating the metaverse whole space in one go? Do you think it is wise?
21:32 Nathan Huh, Sophomore, Viterbi School of Engineering
How does someone who has focused on the technical and coding side of things move into the more creative side and become a better storyteller?
30:38 Kimisha Renee Davis, Junior, School of Cinematic Arts
Do you have advise for finding an internship?
37:10 Sophie Shack, Junior, Iovine & Young Academy
How do you balance creating for the future using new innovations versus creating for the reality of the market with the limitations of cost and manpower?
43:36 Tiffany Yoon, Senior, Viterbi School of Engineering
What are some visionary directions you see your company investing in in the next 4 to 5 years?
50:00 Jaden Kirshner, Sophomore, Marshall School of Business
How do you think entertainment technology will effect the job market specifically for creative individuals? Will tech like AI replace creatives or will it require artists and creatives to adapt?
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The participating executives were;
Amazon
Marty Sixkiller Principal Product Mgr., Tech
Dolby Labs
Chris Bennett CTO
Epic Games
Kim Libreri CTO
Connie Kennedy LA Lab Dir.
Tony Driscoll Head, Strategy & Bus Ops
Mike Sill Lead Operator, ICVFX Stage
Gracenote
Filiz Bahmanpour VP Product, Nielsen Solutions
Paramount
Ted Schilowitz Futurist
Sony
Bill Baggelaar CTO, EVP, GM Sony Innov. Studios
Disney
Chris Thomes VP Creative, Disney TV Studio
Matt Walters Dir Motion Picture Labs & Finishing
Universal
Michael Wise CTO
Warner Bros
Renard Jenkins SVP, Prod Integ & Creative Tech Serv
Mike Zink VP Technology