Wichita State University students now have access to cutting-edge virtual production technology at Shocker Studios with the addition of Synthetic Scenes — a 35- by 11-foot digital wall that will give digital arts students and professionals more tools to create innovative productions.

The digital wall allows actors and other performers to be filmed against any backdrop, and unlike a green screen, the digital wall is live and can be interacted with in real time, meaning performers can react organically, and post-production time is greatly reduced.

The incorporation of the digital wall into Shocker Studios amplifies the professional-grade, hands-on learning students within the School of Digital Arts are already receiving.

The wall has already been used for productions, filmed this past summer, and students get to work directly with clients on the production process.

“I think the biggest help to students is that it gives them a skill set that they’re likely to use when they go out there in those production jobs,” said Justin Rorabaugh, director of the School of Digital Arts and Shocker Studios. “It gives them the hands-on, real-world experience with virtual production technology. And on the flip side, you also have students in the acting concentration that have the opportunity to use modern technology.”

The space won’t just be a static TV behind actors; the screen can react to the movement of the camera and adjust the picture to match the camera move, providing a seamless viewing experience.

“The biggest thing is actually being able to move, especially with film projects,” said Luke Samuelson, senior game design major. “All of the stuff that you would do in the post-production, like editing and all of your special effects, has now been fully flipped and is now pre-production.”

Scenes shown on the wall are built using Unreal Engine. While normally used to create video games, Unreal Engine can be used to create expansive 3D worlds that work together with the new space and place actors anywhere, either realistic vistas, cityscapes or fantasy wonderlands.

“You can actually have actors engage with what the scene is going to look like behind you,” Samuelson said. “Everything is actually moving behind you, so it's a lot of fun to be able to play around that and now see actors being able to react to what they're actually being filmed for.”

As a collaborative effort between the School of Digital Arts and Justin McClure Creative, Synthetic Scenes supports both the public and private sector while providing students a unique opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology in the film industry and network.

“It opens the door for students to network with people that come in to use the studio through the commercial side,” Rorabaugh said.

Clients have already started using the new space, including a monster movie currently in production by an alumna, with even more to come.

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Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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