Carsten Becker

Carsten Becker is faculty lead for extended reality at the Iovine and Young Academy for the Arts, Technology and Business of Innovation. Joining USC in 2019 as a lecturer for design and communication, he developed the academy’s curriculum in exploring creative technologies for the development of purpose-driven narratives and impact. He has created many industry connections for the academy and USC including with Niantic, Nike, Meta, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Snap and teaches courses related to extended reality, spatial computing and other narrative technologies for IYA bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

In his professional practice, Becker is a director-producert for immersive content and experiences. A lifelong passion for visual storytelling and interactivity put him behind the camera on film sets, on stop motion stages, leading social AR teams, and as head of a creative 3D and effects studio. He’s designed movie sequences, animation, avatars, and augmented reality games. His work has launched products and campaigns for A24, Adobe, Cirque du Soleil, Netflix, Marvel, Meta, Netflix, Snap and Sony. Carsten pursues the potential of maturing XR forms to surpass all existing mediums for human engagement. He works with design and development teams for AR, mixed reality, and Apple Vision Pro. The VR short film Echos of Ash Valley (exec producer) a premiered at the Venice Biennale.

Becker is an active member of extended reality and spatial computing communities at conferences and social platforms. He is a lecturer and liaison for the Academy in USC’s Fashion MFA and Minor programs, a mentor to the Neely MBA Ethics & Technology Fellows program, and faculty advisor of the Spatial SC student club for XR design and development.