Offering engaged learning opportunities and increasing the sustainability of film jobs in Southern Utah, Park City Film Studios has provided a ROE Visual Black Pearl LED Volume to the Utah Tech University Digital Film Program.
Thanks to this partnership, Utah Tech students will gain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art, Hollywood-grade equipment and opportunities for industry collaboration. Currently set up in Studio B of the Jennings Communication Building on the UT campus, the LED panel will be shared with the Digital Media Program.
“This exact type of LED wall was used to film the Mandalorian, Westworld and Star Trek and will be the mainstay of virtual production for Utah Tech,” Greg S. Ericksen, general counsel of Park City Film Studios, said. “The wall and lighting will be synced to Unreal Engine and Moy’s motion capture equipment to give Utah Tech the ability to learn and create projects just like Hollywood studios.”
The availability of this technology on campus is in line with Utah Tech’s polytechnic academic mission, which emphasizes hands-on learning that prepares students to graduate career-ready.
“The whole point of this is to train a local workforce that knows how to use this equipment,” Patrick Smith, director of Utah Tech’s Digital Film Program, said. “Very few people have access to an LED Volume. If a student knows how to use it, they will be highly marketable when they graduate.”
The university’s goal is that the Volume leads to commercial partnerships through Utah Tech Creative Studios, a full service, student-created, faculty-mentored digital media studio. Offering everything from video production, animation and social media management to virtual reality, website and logo design, Creative Studios allows students to gain professional experience and is available to collaborate with any company or client.
“We are building a unique program,” Smith said. “I think the thing that sets us apart from every other program is that after the second year of our program, we are obsessive about getting students on professional film sets. This means you get paid, you get to build your resume and when you graduate, you have a massive resume.”
Once the Volume is fully implemented, St. George will be the only town in 200-300 miles that has this technology.
“If it’s mid-summer and 120 degrees outside, or mid-winter and it’s too cold, we can just make Snow Canyon happen right in the studio,” Smith said. “Our huge goal for students is getting you out of here feeling like a professional already.”
Utah Tech University’s Digital Film Program provides advanced production training in cinema combined with the opportunity to work on commercial projects and documentary productions in a real-world environment. In addition to learning operational aspects of digital film, such as lighting, camera and sound production requirements, students receive hands-on training in pre- and post-production techniques. The program also include academic coursework in film theory, history and criticism, screenwriting, editing and documentary production. For more information, visit film.utahtech.edu.