Representatives from various California digital arts and film production companies, including DreamWorks, will meet with representatives of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) this weekend to discuss the merits of a new academic program on digital arts. As part of their visit, representatives will discuss careers in the field with students at a Career Forum, Oct. 4 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in David L. Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall.

AAP Associate Dean for Technology Stanley Bowman, a professor in the art department who is leading the discussion on the development of a digital arts program, says he is eager to hear what the industry experts have to say.

"We want to give these individuals a chance to talk with faculty and students to discuss the needs of the digital arts and film industry and hear from them on the ways we can prepare students with the skills necessary to advance in the field," Bowman said.

In addition to DreamWorks, the David Geffen-Steven Spielberg studio, the advisory group includes representatives from Blue Sky/VIFX, Industrial Light and Magic, Cinesite, Rhythm and Hues and Pacific Data Images. The advisory group will begin two days of meetings Friday, Oct. 3.

Input on the new program in digital arts also will come from William J. Mitchell, professor and dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who will discuss the digital revolution in a free, public lecture Friday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in David L. Call Alumni Auditorium. Mitchell is the author of City or Bits: Space, Place and the Infobahn (MIT Press, 1995), which examines the architectural, urban and social consequences of the digital revolution.

Bowman said a program on digital arts would draw on expertise from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering where digital labs are already in use in programs such as film, music, communication, computer science and planning.

Bowman said he hopes a program could be in place next fall by creating a concentration in digital arts from existing courses using the digital technology.