ASU film and media studies professors envision a future when moviegoers can step into Kate Winslet's shoes and kiss Leonardo DiCaprio, as she did in "Titanic," via virtual reality.
"Rather than simply watching 'Titanic,' I could be on the ship!" associate professor Paul Privateer said.
It may seem a futuristic concept, but interactive virtual-reality films are only one of many possibilities that could happen sooner rather than later, Privateer said.
First, the entertainment and technology professionals would need to learn to speak each other's languages, he said.
ASU Film Studies professors are developing EnterTech, a new interdisciplinary certificate and master's degree program, with precisely that goal in mind.
Created by Privateer and professor Peter Lehman, director of ASU's film and media studies program, EnterTech is the first program nationwide to combine the entertainment and technology disciplines into an academic degree or certificate.
Video iPods, online video streaming and video games are all evolving quickly to meet entertainment needs, Lehman said. But the two industries are still communicating in a haphazard way, he said.
By developing the new 18-credit EnterTech certificate program and a professional master's degree, Lehman hopes to prepare students to take a leadership role as liaisons between the entertainment and technology fields.
"The two industries are coming closer and closer together, and their economic futures are tied," Lehman said. "At the moment, no one in either industry is well prepared for this convergence."
While both the certificate and master's degree program are pending approval by ASU's provost and the Arizona Board of Regents, some classes are already underway.
The programs are part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences School of Film and Media Studies, not to be confused with the Herberger College of Fine Arts School of Theatre and Film.
The Herberger program trains students in the artistic production of motion pictures. The EnterTech certificate and master's degree teach students the skills used to forecast the economic and technological future of entertainment, Privateer said.
Those skills could lead to work in research and development, independent consulting, academia or the business of entertainment, he said.
Jason Beazley, a film studies student who is also in ASU's bachelor's/master's political science program, is taking Privateer and Lehman's EnterTech class this semester.
He calls the program an "exciting experiment" but said he's not sure if he wants to pursue a career in the new field.
"I shy away from saying I want to do this as a job," Beazley said. "I don't know how it will be applied practically. I'm cautious."
Matt Rodgers, an English graduate student, said he's a little more hopeful about the program's career potential.
"I'm really excited just because it's the first kind of program like this in the country," Rodgers said. "There are a lot of different things you could do with it - like work in Hollywood developing technologies."
ASU gained national attention for the EnterTech concept on Sept. 6, when The New York Times published an article about the program's innovative new curriculum.
The article said ASU's program was one-of-a-kind compared with established film programs at the University of Southern California and New York University, which have tried integrating new technology in their film studies curricula but have yet to develop certificate or degree programs.
Reach the reporter at: annalyn.censky@asu.edu.
