Entertainment Technology Center

Checking off day 2 of this year’s West Coast Trip ✅

Today, students covered a ton of ground including visits to and where they learned about location-based entertainment and VFX technology. They made their way to and for a look inside the world of triple-A publishers, along with stops at studios like FUN-GI and to see how indie publishers are disrupting the industry. And, of course, that’s only a handful of the visits we made today 😉

Students got back to the hotel in time for a networking reception with our alumni — who deserve accolades for braving both the fires and the traffic to talk to our first year students!

Thank you to our alums and to the companies that hosted us during our time in LA!

Tomorrow, we’re hitting the road to go from Los Angeles to San Francisco so stay tuned 🚌

Day 1 of the West Coast Trip is a wrap! 🎬

Our first-year students got up bright and early and split up into four groups on four buses — each one with its own itinerary of company visits that took them all over Los Angeles.

This includes stops at where students got a tour of the studio and learned about all the technology that goes into computer animation for the big screen, a trip to offices to learn all about VFX and virtual production, a stop at to where students got a crash course in theme park design, and that’s only a few of the many places we visited today 😵‍💫

Thank you to all the companies who participated today for welcoming us into their offices!

Stay tuned for day 2 tomorrow ✨

You better get those applications in, because the deadline is TODAY if you want to be a part of the ETC next year!

More info at our website, which you can find at the link in our bio 🔗

And regardless, happy 2025! We’re excited to see what the new year brings 🎊

Just a reminder: applications to join us next year close in just two weeks!

So if you're out there sitting on an unfinished application, we recommend getting into gear and getting that application in on time... or else. (Just kidding. Though we would hate for you to miss out on the opportunity to join us.)

Learn more here: https://www.etc.cmu.edu/apply/

Working in a team setting with different personalities, it’s important to bond as a group.

So, earlier in the semester, the Questline team did just that: going out for sushi to unwind, refocus, and get to know their teammates on a personal level. 🍱🥢

Congrats to ETC faculty member Mo Mahler for landing a spot on the long list for Best Animated Short Film at the upcoming Oscars!

You can find his film near the top of the list right here:

Oscar Watch: The Long List of the 2024 Animated Short Award Contenders Figuring out the very long list of many shorts that will qualify to land on the shortlist for the Best Animated Short Film Academy Award each year is not an e

"I always get the most excited when there’s an opportunity to build something that no one’s been able to make before—just a way to make the world a better place by doing something new that no one’s ever done before." — Jesse Schell

Check out this interview with ETC faculty member Jesse Schell on Meta Quest's blog: https://www.meta.com/blog/quest/jesse-schell-games-vr-mixed-reality-history-future/

ETC faculty member Ruth Comley (ETC '05) designed her first haunted house at age 12. Then, it became her career — one that still informs how she teaches her Experience Design students at the ETC.

“It gives me the ability to try new things," she says, "and then to come back and bring it to the classroom, to talk to them about all the crazy things we’ve had to do.”

Read all about Comley's work — here and with Stage & Steel Productions LLC: https://www.etc.cmu.edu/blog/ruth-comley-haunted-houses/

"The ETC is a place with a rich history and a strong sense of tradition; it’s also a place where being on the cutting-edge is a priority. My goal as the new director is to honor that history and ethos while growing and strengthening the program through new opportunities. I’m honored to have the opportunity to do that alongside all of you." — Derek Ham

The ETC's new director has spent the past month being welcomed by all of you in the community. Now, he wants to say thanks: https://www.etc.cmu.edu/blog/etc-director-message/

Why use one post-it when you can use 500? At ETC, we believe there’s no such thing as too many ideas—or post-its.

Team work makes the dream work! The students on the Questline team hit up a local sushi joint for their recent team-building outing. 🍣🍱

Application for Fall 2025 is now open!

👩‍💻 Apply today at the link in our bio or by visiting the ETC website.

Application Deadline is January 1, 2025.

At the ETC, we bring together students from a diversity of academic backgrounds – talented people who are incredibly passionate about what they do, and who have experience working well with others.

So if you’re self-motivated, imaginative, play well with others, and are a strong critical thinker, apply today. And let ETC be your launch pad for a fantastic career and life.

Second-year student Nina Wang knew she wanted to create an interactive experience that combined her background in traditional Chinese dance with the cutting-edge immersive technologies she was introduced to at the ETC. Last semester, she pitched faculty Flow — a project that did just that.

And she already knew exactly the space she wanted to develop it for: the CAVERN, a room in the ETC with multiple projectors synced together and projecting in stereoscopic 3D onto a 20-foot diameter, 270-degree curved screen.

Check out the full story to learn all about Flow's journey — from pitch presentation to the CMU Motion Capture Lab to the CAVERN — and how it's continued well beyond the end of last semester: https://www.etc.cmu.edu/blog/nina-wang-flow/

“The results show that, broadly, there was a positive relationship with games console ownership and mental well-being.”

This new study demonstrating that video games can actually improve life satisfaction and relieve stress isn't news for any of us at the ETC:

Playing video games is good for you ‘as long as you stick to three-hour limit’ Researchers in Japan find owning a games console can lead to better mental wellbeing

We’re excited to welcome the ETC class of 2026 to campus this week for Orientation!

Students will be introduced to the ETC, meet each other and the second-year students, and get a tour of the building — which means for many of them, this will be the first time they encounter many of the features that make it unique.

"For years, I hoped that my children might develop a love of video games – not just any games, obviously, but specifically the ones I like." 🎮

We assume this is a sentiment many of our alums can relate to:

‘This is impossible!’ Can kids master the video games their parents loved? Our video games writers get their children to play the games they loved as kids – and get to grips with the ones they adore now. Will they be bored, baffled –or hooked?