{"id":7885,"date":"2009-12-07T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2009-12-07T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=7885"},"modified":"2011-05-31T12:43:06","modified_gmt":"2011-05-31T16:43:06","slug":"donation-elevates-national-profile-of-digital-media-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2009\/12\/donation-elevates-national-profile-of-digital-media-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Donation Elevates National Profile of Digital Media Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"<p>A<\/a>
A pre-production event to review the technology behind the CRT production of Galileo. Photo by Peter Morenus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A generous donation of high-end computer equipment by Blue Sky Studios<\/a>, the award-winning creator of such popular animated feature films as the Ice Age<\/em> series, has propelled the University\u2019s digital media program into national prominence.<\/p>\n

The high-speed digital animation processors \u2013 more commonly known as a \u201crender farm\u201d \u2013 greatly expand the University\u2019s creative capabilities, expose students to cutting-edge technology, and help prepare a highly trained workforce to compete in today\u2019s vibrant digital media industry, officials say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis gift is huge for us,\u201d says Tim Hunter, interim head of the Department of Dramatic Arts and a professor of lighting and stage design. \u201cIt accelerates the work we are doing into a whole new realm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Theatre Gary English says the 104 central processing units donated by Blue Sky catapult the University\u2019s digital media production capabilities into the top 1 percent among universities nationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re competing with the best universities in the country right now,\u201d says English, who is also the founding artistic director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre located at UConn.<\/p>\n

Blue Sky Studios donated two racks of processors \u2013 one to the University\u2019s Department of Dramatic Arts and the other to the Department of Computer Science and Engineering<\/a> \u2013 in June. The equipment recently went online, and students in the School of Fine Arts used the high-speed processors to develop key background sequences for the Connecticut Repertory Theatre<\/a>\u2019s winter production of Bertolt Brecht\u2019s Galileo<\/em> running Dec. 3-12 at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre.<\/p>\n

Leaders from the School of Fine Arts<\/a> demonstrated the equipment\u2019s capabilities in the Harriet Jorgensen Theatre during a recent tour by state officials and representatives of Blue Sky.<\/p>\n

With a wall-sized image of a brilliant star nebula slowly twirling in darkened space behind him, Hunter talked about the processors\u2019 potential and how full-motion sequences that once took students eight hours or more to process now take mere minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime for us is precious,\u201d said Mark Novick, project designer for the Galileo<\/em> production and a second-year graduate student. \u201cWe\u2019re learning on the job. A lot of time we don\u2019t know what something is going to do. This allows us to take risks and go places we wouldn\u2019t be able to get to otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the recent demonstration, Novick oversaw more than a dozen students hunkered over banks of computer screens in the theater\u2019s back rows. The students were responsible for coordinating dozens of digital images projected onto the stage during a brief snippet of Galileo<\/em> that was performed for the visiting guests. Novick said the processors are crucial during rehearsal, in that they allow designers to make subtle changes quickly rather than wait hours or sometimes days to see new variations of their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting,\u201d Novick said. \u201cI don\u2019t know any program in the country that is doing what we\u2019re doing … If you want to be a competitive designer, you need to be doing this now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<p>Brian<\/a>
Brian Keane, executive vice president and COO of Blue Sky Studios, speaks. Photo by Peter Morenus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brian Keane, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Blue Sky Studios, said the equipment UConn received is the same equipment the studio used to create its Oscar-nominated film, Ice Age<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for it to create what the next generation of animation will look like, and we\u2019re eager to see what it does for you,\u201d Keane told students during a recent visit to Storrs. Blue Sky brought more than 350 jobs to Connecticut when the company located its new headquarters in Greenwich earlier this year. Keane said the studio was proud to donate its equipment to the state\u2019s premier public university to help grow Connecticut\u2019s digital media workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlue Sky is a high-tech company, which brings high-paying creative jobs to Connecticut,\u201d President Michael J. Hogan said. \u201cIt\u2019s precisely the type of business the state needs to bring economic prosperity. We\u2019re indebted to Blue Sky for this equipment, and thank them for their generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hogan pointed out that two University alums are already working in prominent positions at Blue Sky. Jason Wasserman (MBA \u201908) is the studio\u2019s vice-president of finance, and Puru Patnekar (MBA \u201907) is a member of Blue Sky\u2019s financial team.<\/p>\n

Provost Peter Nicholls noted that UConn\u2019s growing digital media program incorporates interdisciplinary courses that are a key component of the University\u2019s new Academic Plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a tremendous gift, really a transformational gift, for the School of Fine Arts and indeed other areas of the University,\u201d Nicholls said.<\/p>\n

\"<p>Tim<\/a>
Tim Hunter, professor of dramatic arts, right, explains the technology to legislators and representatives of Blue Sky Studios. Front row from left, Reps. Joan Lewis and Pam Sawyer, and Maryann Hanley and Rob Keating of the Office of Workforce Competitiveness. Photo by Peter Morenus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The School of Fine Arts \u2013 led by the Department of Dramatic Arts<\/a> \u2013 anticipates developing relationships with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences\u2019 Department of Journalism<\/a> and the School of Engineering as part of the digital media program. It is also working with the School of Business to include the Department of Marketing in a broader, campus-wide discussion of digital media studies.<\/p>\n

The University\u2019s digital media program is designed to reflect the demands of today\u2019s advertising, marketing, and film industries, which call for proficiency in marketing, journalistic research and expression, and creative design and technology to create brand messages at the national and international levels.<\/p>\n

Rep. Pamela Sawyer (R-Bolton) said she was pleased to see how interdisciplinary learning was being applied to the entertainment side of the University.<\/p>\n

Sawyer, a former science teacher, is the ranking member of the Connecticut legislature\u2019s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. With Connecticut struggling to create jobs and keep young professionals in state, Sawyer said, the Blue Sky donation to UConn is yet another way to create and maintain a viable workforce, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see the creativeness that is being enhanced by this donation to the state that is second to none.\u201d<\/p>\n

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