Guest Speakers

Special Events, and Networking

ECGC, Spring 2016
This gaming conference in Raleigh featured several North Carolina video game studios such as Epic, Insomniac, and Imangi, as well as numerous indie developers. Conference participants were able to talk directly with professionals and get advice for breaking into the industry. Many of the panels and lectures focused on virtual reality, narrative, indie development, portfolios, and technological improvements. Keynote Speaker Warren Spector delivered a talk on narrative and choice in gaming, which leading figures in the industry seems to be recognizing as an area that needs to catch up with the impressive graphics capabilities found in modern video games.

Thanks to Chimin Xiong, Katelyn Schubel, and Amanda Williams for organizing the event, and to UNCA for funding the ticket expenses.




Nic Fontaine, Christina Amick, and Daniel Kairoff, Spring 2016
This career panel of alumni provided some insightful advice about transitioning from college into the real world. All alumni cautioned about the risks and financial difficulties of freelancing, though they also acknowledged that references from freelance work may have helped their career prospects. Medical bioengineering and email marketing were mentioned as in-demand career options. The subject of moving to locations other than Asheville was brought up, as well as never letting yourself settle into a comfortable job that isn't challenging. You should always be looking for other options and keep sight of your goals and dream job.

The alumni admitted their careers weren't exactly what they planned on doing in college, but graduates should be flexible in their interests and try to at least focus on a broad area of interest or do personal projects in your spare time.

When applying for jobs, don't cold call or send unsolicited emails. Instead ask professionals to meet for coffee and share some tips on how they found success. Also don't be discouraged if you don't have all the job qualifications on application forms; most of these would be ideal, but as long as you have about 70% of the suggestions or are willing to learn new skills there's still a chance for you getting a job. Update your portfolio regularly to reflect your best work. It may also come as a relief to some to know that five years after graduating, a portfolio, website, or demo reel probably won't still have many of your college projects in it.
Christina Amick on Linkedin
Daniel Kairoff on Linkedin
Nic Fontaine on Linkedin

Thanks to Christopher Oakley and the Career Center for setting up this event




Chad Martin and Nic Fontaine, Spring 2016
Entrepreneur Chad Martin and New Media Alumni Nic Fontaine came to talk about the lesser-known career field of internet marketing agencies. Highlights of their talk included tips for building up a leads network with other freelancers and companies, as well as the importance of on the job learning. College can't really prepare you for all the niche markets, trade secrets, and nuances found working in the field.

Students also found out about the horrors of online metadata tracking, where internet marketers can use tools like Google Analytics, Google AdWords, A/B testing, VWO, Mouseflow, and Matterport to gather website feedback for their clients. This can range from number of views to real-time viewing of how many times a person clicks on a picture. Chad recommends anyone wanting to go into the web business know about the Google Analytics feature Acquisition-Channels-Dataset. Also, get certified for AdWords and Analytics by taking a short online test. It could help you in job interviews or assist in increasing traffic to your site.
Element-360

Thanks to Christopher Oakley for setting up this event




Cory McAbee, Spring 2016
Cory McAbee is an experimental film director, animator, actor, writer, and singer who works on a diverse array of international collaborative multimedia projects. His talk focused on the trend for directors to want to have total control over a project, when in reality letting go of that power to allow others to contribute can produce far more interesting and spontaneous results.

Cory McAbee also gave a special music performance in the Grotto that was a mixture of inspirational beat poetry and experimental music. A good time was had by everyone involved.
Cory McAbee Website
Smallest Star Patreon

Thanks to D. Forest Gamble, Amanda Williams, and Blue Echo for co-hosting this event




Gene Felice, Spring 2016
Gene Felice was a former MMAS faculty member whose work combines materials manufacturing, 3D printing, and ecological sustainability. He returned to UNCA to talk to senior students about his career as an educator and artist. The takeaway from his presentation was that pitching ideas and applying for project grants is a tedious experience, but once you build up experience you can be offered some pretty incredible opportunities.
Gene Felice Website

Thanks to the NM faculty for setting up this event




Kate Raney and Jeremy Bessoff, Fall 2015
These experimental animators screened some of their work to students and answered questions about their inspirations and methods.
Kate Raney's Website
Jeremy Bessoff's Website

Thanks to Peter Kusek for the special invitation




Jonathan Monaghan, Fall 2015
Jonathan Monaghan juried the 14th Annual Student Exhibition. Before the exhibition he presented an interesting lecture that revealed how he got started in 3D animation by modding video games. His work is now featured in prestigious museums, which is quite a paradigm shift. The surrealistic animation he showed to students took months just to render.
Jonathan Monaghan's Website

Thanks to Lei Han and Curt Cloninger for the invitation




Megan Jonas, Fall 2015
Megan Jonas is the Education Chair for the American Advertising Federation's local Asheville chapter. AAFA is an organization for designers that uses membership dues to host conferences and guest speakers while connecting members to a supportive professional network of fellow artists. Every year they also host the American Advertising Awards, an exhibition opportunity for designers. Details about how to join can be found on their website.
AAFA Website

Thanks to Lei Han for helping set up this event




SIGGRAPH, Summer 2011, Summer 2015
ACM SIGGRAPH is a major technology, computer graphics, and animation convention that takes place evey summer, usually on the West Coast in California. Prof. Oakley usually tries to sponsor a trip with a group of students. Attending isn't cheap, since Asheville is obviously not ideally situated so far from the tech industry center, but the benefits of meeting professionals in the industry is an experience that most students who have gone would highly recommend.
SIGGRAPH Website




Bryan Hudson, Spring 2015
Bryan Hudson is the CEO of Celestial Nation, a company that creates an extensive line of merchandise and clothing specializing in visionary art with a spiritually connective theme and humanitarian approach. His lecture focused on how virtual reality will revolutionize advertising and marketing in the next few years, with predictions that there will be ramifications felt throughout the industry and in our daily lives. Bryan Hudson returned to give a second lecture on the emerging applications for augmented reality.
Celestial Nation Website

Thanks to Lei Han and Amanda Williams for helping set up this event




Semmy Purewal, Spring 2015
An author and former faculty member of the computer science department, Semmy Purewal was offered a position working as a lead programmer for Netflix. He live-streamed a web cam conversation with students in video and interactive classes discussing freelance work and what it is like to work as developer for a major company like Netflix.
Learning Web App Development by Semmy Purewal

Thanks to Lei Han and Curt Cloninger for setting up this event




Claudia Hart, Fall 2014
Juror of the 13th Annual Juried Exhibition
Claudia Hart's Website

Thanks to Peter Kusek for the special invitation




Adrianne Wortzel, Spring 2014
An innovative roboticist, Wortzel's installation work combines whimsical experimentation with a subtle questioning of technology's roles in our everyday lives.
http://www.adriannewortzel.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYoVQZXDCw8

Thanks to Susan Reiser and the Art, Computer Science, and Engineering Departments for setting up this event




Benny Campa, 2013
Skype Session with the Creative Director of the Interactive Ad Agency R/GA

Thanks to Kora Manheimer and Sophie Berry for setting up this event




Eric Goldberg, 2011
Renowned Disney veteran animator Eric Goldberg and his wife Susan Goldberg juried the 10th Annual MMAS Student Exhibition. It was an incredible opportunity to learn from the animator who mentored Professor Oakley. Eric Goldberg co-directed Pocahontas, animated the Genie in Aladdin, and just a sample of his recent work includes Paperman, Wreck-It Ralph, and Moana.

Thanks to Christopher Oakley for the special invitation



More Guest Speakers can be found on the NM Department Website