The Austin Conference Will Focus On The Convergence Of Film And Games
“That puts a premium on leadership skills,” said Spector. “But what does it mean to be a leader in a creative medium, especially in media as collaborative and interdisciplinary as Games, Film and Audio? In discussing this crucial topic, I’ll draw from personal experience, historical perspective and recent emphasis on structured education in the area of leadership, and, in that way, offer some conceptual insights as well as practical advice.”
Graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a master’s degree in radio-television-film, Spector studied the art of storytelling in film and television. He began his career in tabletop games, before moving to electronic games where he applied the lessons learned in academia and in tabletop gaming to the telling of stories in a new medium.
Events have come full circle as Spector is one of the creators of the University of Texas at Austin’s Denius Sams Game Design Academy – a graduate school certificate program focused on the training of game development team leaders.
“This is the first program of its kind, focusing explicitly on the bigger creative leadership aspects of game development – on the management, production and creative leadership side,” said Spector, who will serve as the co-chair of the academy’s advisory board and part-time instructor.
The groundbreaking Captivate Conference and Expo is geared toward small to medium sized creative and technology companies interested in learning about the future of these industries, new technologies, building advanced leadership skills for experienced business professionals, as well as new entrepreneurs.
