Watch Now: Students’ Short Films Showcase Virtual Production Skills Learned In Summer Industry Course
Visualization students recently premiered short films about triumph, discovery and enchantment using virtual production techniques at the Black Box Theater in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building.
The films were produced in the program’s Summer Industry Course and filmed on a virtual production stage at Stray Vista Studios in Dripping Springs. They will also screen at a joint Viz Industry Partners and Performance Industry Partners event on Nov. 22 in Fort Worth.
The course was supported by the Virtual Production Institute, which is part of the Texas A&M College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts. Dean Tim McLaughlin said the Summer Industry Course is a pivotal learning experience for students, and emphasized the partnerships for this year’s course.
“Significantly for this year, support provided by the Virtual Production Institute made it happen,” McLaughlin said. “Without that connection, which was made possible by support provided by the state Legislature, we wouldn’t have been able to partner with Stray Vista to enable this to happen.”
Virtual production stages are film sets that incorporate large LED walls that display computer-generated virtual environments. These digital environments are created using real-time game engines, such as Unreal Engine. Additionally, in-camera visual effects techniques allow an integrated view of onstage actors and set pieces with the environment on the LED screen.
Three groups, comprised of seven undergraduate and nine graduate students, produced short films that are about two minutes long. Mayet Andreassen, co-instructor for the course, commended students for their hard work over the 10-week course.
“While the students in these three teams did not have any prior experience with virtual production, that didn’t matter because they rose to the challenge,” said Andreassen, instructional assistant professor and associate program director for the Bachelor of Science degree in Visualization. “They created three amazing films, and I just couldn’t be prouder of them.”
In addition to the Stray Vista stage, the students worked with cutting-edge equipment including two cinema cameras and various lenses from Sony, which also made a $5,000 contribution toward student tuition for the course. A robotic camera arm was loaned by SISU Cinema Robotics. Wayne Miller, special adviser to the dean and a producer/director, coordinated these contributions and also shared a lecture with the students on directing during the course.
Students had to take on specific roles within their group. Each crew had a director, assistant director, production designer, cinematographer and virtual operator.
Caleb Kicklighter, instructional assistant professor and co-instructor for the course, said the students had about eight weeks to prepare for only two days of filming. The premiere included clips of the student’s pre-visualization plans, which helped them conceptualize their stories before filming.
“Each team used motion capture, Unreal Engine, and MetaHumans in order to visualize their films and share it with others before the shoot day,” Kicklighter said. “The students had to make sure everything was figured out ahead of time, and all of that hard work paid off when they finally got to the set.”
‘Abducted’
“Abducted” tells the story of a man who lost his wife and is searching the woods to find her. The film was created by Tessa De La Fuente, Gabrielle Chiong, Magnus Haarseth, Marisa Jacques and Genevieve Schulz; and features actor Steve Brudniak.
Haarseth, a second-year Master of Science student, said as the virtual operator he implemented detailed elements into the digital environment.
“Any part of the virtual environment or virtual lighting that is on the screen, I was the one going through it and changing it up to whatever the director or production designer needed to match the creative vision we had,” he said. “It was very fast paced, very high stress, but also a very rewarding experience.”
‘Cardboard Camelot’
“Cardboard Camelot” tells the story of a mother discovering an enchanting world within a cardboard castle her son made. The film was created by Rachel Barner, Madeline Duran, Alex Ford, Vidushi Gupta and Hayden Hanna; and features actor Lucia Vico.
Gupta, a second-year Master of Fine Arts student, said as the director she worked with the actor’s location in each scene. Her group also utilized a robotic camera arm, loaned by SISU Cinema Robotics.
“We rehearsed with the actor and the camera,” Gupta said. “The actor has a particular pattern and timing to walk. So, when the camera would start moving, my job was to cue the actress when to start walking or cue the camera when to start moving.”
‘Winded’
“Winded” features a broken windmill that needs fixing in a futuristic paradise. The film was created by Carolyn Hua, Finnegan Hein, Maggie Lloyd, Skyla Steven, Kassandra Thatcher and Alexa Zentell; and features actor Lilly Vandermark.
Hua, a first-year Master of Fine Arts student, said as the director she was responsible for the creative vision of the film. Hua said her team strived to push boundaries by filming their digital atmosphere at vertical angles.
“Virtual production is supposed to allow us to go to places that we can’t normally go to — and it was definitely a challenge trying to figure out how to get to a space we can’t physically reach,” she said. “My team did an excellent job in navigating that, embracing the unknown and learning along the way to achieve our current success.”
