Students Explore Immersive Worlds With New Virtual Production Institute Stage At Langford Architecture Center
The new stage features Sony LED panels in a curved wall — which measures 52 feet in linear length and is 13 feet high — surrounded by top-of-the-line Sony cameras and digital cinema robots that move the cameras around.
A new virtual production stage on the Texas A&M campus is giving students access to state-of-the-art technology in creating immersive environments.
The Virtual Production Institute recently unveiled the new LED volume in the Langford Architecture Center, Building A. The institute, which is part of the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, has two stages in Fort Worth as part of the college’s expanding role at Texas A&M-Fort Worth. A fourth stage is planned for a location to be announced in Bryan-College Station.
Students in multiple classes in the Visualization program have started to experience the new campus stage with projects this semester. Dean Tim McLaughlin said the positive results have been immediate.
“It’s where they can step out of a class and step onto the stage and start working with their ideas and the products and the technology that they want to produce,” he said. “So I’m really excited to have this stage here at the Langford Architecture building set up and ready to go for students.”
Exploring New Technology
Virtual production stages incorporate large LED walls that display computer-generated imagery, eliminating the need for post-production work that is required with green screens. An early virtual production landmark was the 2019 Lucasfilm streaming series “The Mandalorian.”
The Virtual Production Institute debuted in 2024, with its faculty, staff and equipment funded as a special item by the 88th Texas Legislature. The institute partnered with Sony Electronics for its equipment and technology, and with Synapse Virtual Production for the integration of the stages and curriculum support.
The new stage features Sony LED panels in a curved wall — which measures 52 feet in linear length and is 13 feet high — surrounded by top-of-the-line Sony cameras and digital cinema robots that move the cameras around.
Wayne Miller, head of production and executive producer of the institute, called the equipment “the state of the art, the highest in digital cinema cameras.”
“We’re fortunate to be able to have these state-of-the-art tools,” he said. “Not only the stages themselves, but the highest-end equipment that’s out there in the industry, to be able to teach our students. They are getting some of the highest education and training that they could get at any university in the country, if not the world.”
The stage has already been utilized by the Texas A&M football team and 12th Man Productions, in a jersey-reveal video prior to the game against the University of Texas on Nov. 28. Similarly, the recent Texas A&M promotional commercial was partially filmed at the Virtual Production Institute’s stage at Backlot Studios in Fort Worth.
Transforming Industries
The institute’s goals extend 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.
“For this stage, its purpose is cinematic for our teaching,” Miller said. “But we’re also teaching students how to capture content and use it as a tool for health care, architecture, aerospace, and simulation and training for first responders.”
Problem-solving and critical-thinking skills can be utilized in different training scenarios, McLaughlin said, using an emergency scenario to illustrate his point.
“Imagine a first responder has to provide first aid on a barren hilltop with a swirling wind,” he said. “There are all sorts of environmental effects that are going to impact their performance. We can simulate that here on this stage, and give them the ability to understand how to set up that training scenario and how to make it as real as possible, so that it is an effective training scenario.”
Students In Action
Students have buzzed about their first experiences on the new stage, including those in the Virtual Production Techniques course taught by Stewart Ziff.
“Being able to work on this stage is a really special opportunity,” said Aida Packer, a junior Visualization student. “Everybody is really nice and supportive. And even when our project is a little bit out of scope, they’re still supporting us and trying to make that come into reality. I think it’s really wonderful in that way.”
Madeline Marcela, a junior Visualization student who is earning a minor in Virtual Production, said the most challenging aspect is configuring the lighting for a scene. The ultimate goal is to make the scenes look convincing, she said, so the lighting must be accurate.
“It can be very difficult,” Marcela said. “But I think on the flip side of that, the most rewarding part is the lighting. Because when you finally nail it, and it all looks put together, it’s very cool.”
The institute will benefit students in all artistic disciplines in the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, McLaughlin said, and extend to other colleges throughout the university. After investing years of work in establishing the Virtual Production Institute, watching the new stage develop and debut is gratifying, he said.
“To see it real, to see it realized, to see students walking onto the stage, putting their work onto the screens, it’s just an incredible sense of satisfaction — that, hey, that thing that we imagined actually exists. But now the anticipation is building even further, because I can’t wait to see what these students are going to do.”
