Creative development team.

I was just wondering. What kind of training would one need to get to be a part of a creative development team at a place like Universal. Also, what colleges would offer this kind of stuff.

Design, illustration, multimedia stuff... Art.

That would be my guess.

I believe they have jobs in many different fields. I have been looking into a job as an engineer in their creative development. I think almost all the jobs with the Universal Creative team require a college degree however.

-Cory

That's why I give them a lot of credit when they can pull off a ride like that, because there sure are a lot of disciplines involved to get the final product out the door. It does seem that in the case of The Mummy that they've pushed traditional film people into thinking about physical experiences, and it's neat to hear that they're pulling it off.

Well, I'd say Disney's Imagineers are on a whole different level from Universal's equivalents, and from what I've read many of them are accomplished artists - professional musicians, skilled painters or animators - as well as having the old Masters of Engineering tucked away in there too.

It's true that they're from all sorts of backgrounds, and you could have a calling just as easily as a qualified artist as an engineer. When you're talking Universal or Disney, you really want to be very creative (regardless) and very very skilled.

More than likely, you'll want to head for Hollywood and start off working in the film or television industry rather than knocking straight on Universal's door with an empty resume and expect anything to happen.

Pretty much, pick a creative art and become the best at it.
Imagineering employs (or at least USED to employ) creative people with experience in Theater, Film/Video, Songwriting, 3d animation, Illustration, Design, Sculpture, Fine Art, Interior Design, Architecture, etc etc etc. There is a schools that's been offering a multidisciplinary course in Theme Park Design (was it in New York? I can't quite remember) but frankly, you'd probably be more succesful with a good strong background in just one of the areas.

HOWEVER, Themed Entertainment is a tough racket. Check out www.descope.com for the rantings of one particularly disenfranchised member of the industry. Personally, I chose 3d animation over themed entertainment because it's a more stable industry. It's hard to believe _anything_ is less stable than 3d animation (well, anything except trying to be a prfessional illustrator. Yeeesh) Even Universal ramps up and down depending on projects in the pipeline. It seems, too, that many jobs require quite a bit of travel overseas, since that's where most of the themed entertainment money is being spent these days. To some that's a plus, to others with families etc that's a significant downside.

All that being said, I'm a firm believer in having a personal vision for your life. Just be sure to keep a foot in reality.

Well, creativity can go a long way, but as far as engineering goes, they just want you know just some plain old engineering principals (data acquistion, design, etc...). Universal also does have entry level engineering jobs too, straight from college, so don't think that you'll never get on there. I don't know that I would say Disney's Imagineers are on a whole different level from Universal's team though.