Texas A&M Taps Sony for Virtual Production Institute
The College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts at Texas A&M University has selected Sony Electronics Inc. and its state-of-the-art equipment and technology for the emerging Virtual Production Institute.
With its innovative Crystal LED panels, BURANO and VENICE 2 digital cinema cameras and professional monitors, Sony offers opportunities for students and industry partners to utilize cutting-edge technology, said Tim McLaughlin, dean of the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts.
“Our partnership with Sony provides the immediate benefit of the top-quality LED panels and cameras for our virtual production volumes,” he said, “plus the capacity to address the scope of the college’s long-term goals through its range of different tools and technologies for imaging, audio and internet-connected devices.”
The institute will leverage the latest technology from Sony’s virtual production ecosystem along with its unique software — the Virtual Production Tool Set — which allows hardware to work together for improved performance and workflow.
“Exposing students to our latest technology through Texas A&M’s Virtual Production Institute will ensure future generations in the virtual production industry are trained and proficient in the technologies of tomorrow,” said Theresa Alesso, President of Imaging Products and Solutions Americas, Sony Electronics. “Our technologies will help the institute stand apart and create new forms of engagement and immersion.”
The Virtual Production Institute is based on Texas A&M’s main campus in Bryan-College Station with an extension atTexas A&M-Fort Worth. With funding support from the 88th Texas Legislature for faculty, staff and equipment, the institute will reach beyond entertainment and into workforce training and simulation for first responders, health care, the military, manufacturing, product and architectural design, digital twin environments and live performances.
Students will have access to four virtual production stages composed of large LED walls that display computer-generated imagery to create immersive worlds where subjects can see and react to what is happening around them. Real-time game engines process photorealistic imagery and live-action scenes to create in-camera visual effects.
Two of the virtual production stages will be in Fort Worth and two in Bryan-College Station. A temporary wall was recently installed in the Starlab facility at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus in Bryan for course instruction in the Visualization program’s new minor in virtual production.
Synapse Virtual Production was announced in August as the integrator for the institute. The Los Angeles-based company is designing, procuring and building the four stages, along with providing curriculum assistance and training faculty and staff on using the technology.
The institute will employ Sony technology including the BURANO and VENICE 2 digital cinema cameras, and the latest generation VERONA Crystal LED, a modular display ideally suited to demanding virtual production applications. The VERONA offers extraordinary black levels, low reflection, high brightness, wide color gamut and high refresh rate, which allow content creators to compose immersive and realistic visual experiences on any scale.
This technology will be featured in a Fort Worth event Nov. 22 for university, industry and community stakeholders. “Arts in Motion” at the Omni Hotel includes guest speakers and collaboration discussions among the college’s performance and visualization industry partners.
The event closes with a virtual production demonstration on a Sony Crystal LED wall at Red Productions’ Backlot Studios. As part of the institute, a permanent virtual production stage is expected to be complete in that space in January. SISU Cinema Robotics is providing a robotic camera arm for the demonstration.
David Parrish, director of the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts at Texas A&M-Fort Worth, said working with Sony Electronics will expose Texas A&M students to innovation within virtual production through top-of-the-line technology in real time. The “Arts in Motion” demonstration will be a showcase for this, and for extending that innovation to industry partners.
“I hope people take away that Texas A&M is at the forefront of this technology and at the forefront of collaboration with industry to prepare the workforce of tomorrow,” he said. “We are building on our established relationships with a variety of industries. And we are here to establish and nurture additional relationships, to offer the capability for them to collaborate with us, to research with us, to innovate with us. And to explore what we’re building and find new ways to put it to good use.”
