{"id":20404,"date":"2024-05-07T07:26:23","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T12:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/?p=20404"},"modified":"2024-05-16T15:24:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T20:24:35","slug":"new-minors-in-virtual-production-and-music-to-debut-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/07\/new-minors-in-virtual-production-and-music-to-debut-this-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"New Minors In Virtual Production And Music To Debut This Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts<\/a> will add new minors in Music<\/a> and Virtual Production<\/a> for the fall semester. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These join the existing minors<\/a> \u2014 Choreography<\/a>, Dance Performance<\/a>, Devised Theatre<\/a>, Film and Media Studies<\/a>, Game Design and Development<\/a>, Graphic Design<\/a>, Music Technology<\/a>, Performance Studies<\/a> and Studio Art<\/a> \u2014 in providing a wide array of options for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s a closer look at the two newest additions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new minor in Virtual Production arrives on the heels of the recently announced Virtual Production Institute<\/a>, the nation\u2019s first institute of its kind that integrates real-world scenarios and the latest in extended reality technology to advance problem-solving and support workforce development across industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The institute is part of the School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, and will be based on the Bryan-College Station campus with an extension at the new Texas A&M-Fort Worth<\/a> campus. Beyond media and entertainment, the institute will explore training and development across industries<\/a>, and creating digital twins of real-world objects and environments. Faculty, staff and equipment were funded as a special item by the 88th Texas Legislature at $25 million<\/a> with support from the state\u2019s growing media and entertainment industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Courses for the new minor will be offered at both campuses starting this fall. Virtual production prototype stages will be built in both locations, with larger stages set to be built in early 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Virtual production stages incorporate an LED wall showing computer-generated imagery to create immersive environments. Augmented reality is used with the LED wall to create enhanced visual effects. The 2019 Lucasfilm streaming series \u201cThe Mandalorian\u201d was an early game-changer in how virtual production<\/a> can be utilized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tim McLaughlin, interim dean, said the minor is open to students across the university, aiming to provide a foundation in working with real-time, immersive physical environments. That includes building out virtual environments; working with lighting, cameras and motion capture; and using streaming data for simulation, training and in creating digital twins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe minor will have a breadth to it in terms of giving students this introduction to the tool set, and then how you can apply it across different areas,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then at the end of it, to give them a chance to get specific about a particular part of that that they\u2019re most interested in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 18-hour minor includes three required courses \u2014 Foundations of Visual Computing, Virtual Production Techniques and On-Set Virtual Production. Students will select two of the following courses: Visual Computing; Pre-Visualization and Storyboarding for Virtual Production; Virtual Cinematography and Lighting; Motion-Capture Animation; and Art Direction for Virtual Production. An additional course selection will come from a variety of Visualization courses, including Interactive Virtual Environments, World-Building in Games, Applied Perception, Digital Rendering, Data Visualization, Virtual Reality and Game Level Design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal is to create virtual production specialists, McLaughlin said, whether students go into visualization or into industries that are starting to incorporate virtual production, including computer science, business, engineering and agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe virtual production minor moves the intent of the Virtual Production Institute forward,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cGrowth of the state\u2019s economy from incorporating virtual production requires a workforce. That workforce will come from visualization, but also from a range of different uses of the technology. Therefore, we need people who are deep in a major, in a discipline, who want to incorporate virtual production into what they do into that field. This really is an essential part of putting the Virtual Production Institute together and having it meet its expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nVirtual Production<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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