April 17, 2024
High Point University’s Qubein School of Communication is soon to be one of the only private institutions in the country with an AI capable video wall and a virtual reality filming system. HPU is set to be ahead of the curve and ahead of most schools.
In Dec. 2022, the sprinkler system froze, which caused the pipes to burst. This unfortunately ruined the studio. The School of Communication received a very generous insurance check, which allowed a complete studio revamp with the new expensive technology that is being installed.
When construction began, in March 2023, the original studio and control room was completely gutted, so the construction company started from scratch essentially. The studio was designed by that summer, but equipment was not being shipped until September. A studio of this size would typically take about a full year to finish.
With the “soft opening” of the studio in January, there has been some confusion around when the studio will be fully available to use. The studio is functioning but with a temporary wall in place of the new AI capable one they are waiting on.
Ross Video has supplied a lot of the gear such as the production switcher, graphics program, the router for all video signals, as well as the new virtual production equipment. The AI capable video wall was also set to be supplied by Ross. Early this month, Ross made the decision that they were no longer going to be manufacturing LED walls and wanted to stray away from that side of the business. They were willing to still complete HPU’s order and offer three years of support, but after that it would be a hard stop.
“This is something that we were not confident approaching as an institution. Losing that support after three years is like if something goes wrong at that point, things are going to go bad quick,” said Nick Blair, instructor of media production at HPU who played a pivotal role in the studio’s reconstruction.
Instead of using Ross, Blair explained that the HPU media production department professors involved decided to go through a different company that was recommended by the team’s integrator. The issue with this is that most LED walls must be ordered six to nine months in advance. The integrator was able to work with the new wall supplier and the wall is set to be installed on Feb. 15.
The team has still been able to work on the studio but once the wall is installed, then the virtual production elements can be set up. These elements could have been set up with the temporary wall, but they would have had to essentially tear the whole thing apart to get it working with the screen that is supposed to be there. Blair felt it was the best call to wait for the new wall to go up to install the rest of the equipment.
“It has four 4K cameras and a cinema camera. There’s a lot in there. So, the last two things to be hooked up are the wall, which will take them probably two or three days to put together, and then a system called Voyager. It is a virtual reality system,” said Joes Michaels, a professor of the practice of media production. “When that gets put in, we will probably be one of the few schools in the country that have that.”
The wall is slightly delaying the completion of the studio, but once it is put in place, along with the virtual reality system, HPU will be at the forefront of media production.
“We are way ahead of the curve, putting something like that in,” said Michaels.
Technology is difficult, and when a studio is undergoing that much change, it is almost inevitable that there will be issues here and there. The team has dealt with a lot of small “bugs,” Michaels called it, which is problems with the technology such as dealing with faulty cables. After dealing with the “bugs” waiting for equipment that is on back order and the upcoming installment of the wall, Michaels estimated that the studio should be fully functioning when students return from spring break at the beginning of March.
“More than anything, I want a lot of students to know it’s there. Even if they aren’t in media production, they can still get the experience in there,” he said.
With the completion of the studio, Blair and Michaels are hopeful that students will take full advantage of everything it has to offer. There is brand new equipment, new programs for students and entirely different ways to approach production.
“We put top of the line stuff in there…If they learn in that studio and they go out, they’re going to get a job. You master this equipment; you get a job as soon as you graduate. It’s incredibly up to date; it’s the newest stuff. Students can get ahead of the curve,” said Michaels.
It has been a long journey since last year, but the School of Communication was determined to create an experience for students that they would not be able to get anywhere else. Students will have the chance to be a part of this major shift in the production industry and become prepared for the ways media will be produced from now on.
“It’s amazing that High Point University had the foresight to say, ‘Other than just replace the stuff we have, let’s build something really cool,’” Michaels said. “That’s where we’re at.”