Queen sang it best.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? At Academy of Art University, students ask: Why not both?

Virtual reality has altered the way art is created across industries, extending as far as motion pictures to landscape architecture and beyond. In Fall 2017, the School of Communications & Media Technologies has partnered with popular camera company GoPro to launch a unique course in VR content creation focused on extreme sports.

“The Academy has always been on the cutting-edge of the most advanced technology as a way to express and push boundaries of art,” School of Motion Pictures & Television Executive Director James Egan said in Academy of Art U News.

As the first of its kind, the course—titled COM 246: VR Extreme Sports—arms students with industry-standard production techniques and experience using leading technology and software, including the new GoPro Fusion camera and Kolor Autopano Video. Open to students across departments, the course includes the creation of mid-term and final projects that will be major assets to any aspiring artist’s portfolio.

“This new VR technology is really not useful without content. People want content,” Egan said in an interview with VeeR VR. “At [Academy of Art University], we are content creators.”

In recent years, the Academy has actively integrated VR into its curriculum to keep students updated with trends in art and design introduced by the rapid advancements in technology. This past June, the Academy hosted Red Bull VR Doodle Art’s VR Gallery, in which participants from all over the world used Google Tilt to compose their work in the 3D space.

In addition, since 2016 the Academy has hosted its annual VR Summit to explore the latest technologies and practices emerging in the VR space. The event features a panel of guest speakers from the industry’s leading companies, as well as work from students participating in the Academy’s VR classes. Notable speakers include Academy alumnus and Jaunt VR producer Alex Pearce and Oculus Story Studio production manager Andy Wood.

Learn more about how you can enroll for VR Extreme Sports course by visiting www.academyart.edu. For updates on VR at the Academy, visit www.academyart.edu/vr.