Sony Electronics Selected To Provide Equipment And Technology 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 at Texas 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.
David Parrish, director of the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts at Texas A&M-Fort Worth, first took note of this quality in 2023 at a Sony launch event in Culver City, California. The Sony panels “immediately stood out to me as a step above,” he said.
“The LED panels are impressive in their display capabilities, their range, their contrast ratio, the resolution capacity — the technical aspects of these are top notch,” he said. “The reproduction of the scenes on these panels is incredibly vibrant and lifelike. This offers an opportunity for our students to operate at a quality level and technology level that otherwise would be difficult to access.”
‘Arts In Motion’ Event
The Sony 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 collaboration discussions among the college’s performance and visualization industry partners. Guest speakers include John Goff, investor and chairman of the Fort Worth-Tarrant County Innovation Partnership; Robert Ahdieh, dean of the Texas A&M School of Law; and keynote speaker Christine Kuan, president and executive director of Creative Capital.
The event will close 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.
“We’re spreading our footprint,” said Wayne Miller, special adviser to the dean in the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, noting that Visualization program courses have begun and will continue to grow at Texas A&M-Fort Worth. “I think it’s important for people to know that. And we’re part of Fort Worth’s expansion as well. We’re going to have state-of-the-art facilities in both Fort Worth and in Bryan-College Station.”
Barbara Klein, associate program director in Visualization and instructional associate professor, said the college’s advisory boards — Visualization Industry Partners and Performing Arts Professional Partners — meet twice a year. This allows faculty to share what is happening within the college with key industry members, and to consult on how to keep curriculum aligned with what’s happening in those industries. The two boards joined forces for this event to celebrate the college’s presence in Fort Worth and the growth of the Virtual Production Institute.
“Our goal for this event is collaboration,” Klein said. “We encourage our partners to collaborate across visualization and performance, and we support faculty in stepping outside their disciplines to engage with colleagues. Strong industry partnerships are essential for aligning our curriculum with current industry needs and hiring trends, ensuring our students are well-prepared for the workforce.”
Parrish 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 virtual production demonstration during “Arts in Motion” 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.”
Top photo of a virtual production stage courtesy of Sony.
