BERGEN, Norway—Vizrt and Ithaca College are working together to elevate the skills of the next generation of artists and provide a pipeline of new talent to transition into the media technology industry.
The university has added various Vizrt solutions to underpin its virtual production curriculum and address the media tech sector’s demand for highly skilled professionals.
“The media tech skills shortage is a challenge for customers. And we are dedicated to taking action to support and inspire the next generation of content creators, our partnership with Ithaca College does just that,” said Griet Johannsen, Vizrt’s global center of excellence lead, training and certification. “By empowering new talent with the necessary skills and hands-on experience, we promote the training of urgently needed new talent for our industry.”
Ithaca College sought a new graphics system that would best serve both student and industry needs. Already familiar with TriCaster for live production and seeing that TriCaster was now part of Vizrt, director of technical operations Nigel Martin decided that adding Vizrt graphics and tools into the curriculum was the natural choice, the company said.
“Many of the students that leave Ithaca College go to work for major sports broadcasters, and in speaking with them about their needs, we found a lot of them use Vizrt,” said Martin. “So, we got in touch about options, and worked closely with Vizrt’s Customer Success department. Not only did we bring in innovative technology, but we got students access to work directly with Viz University – with up to 600 students per year leaving as certified operators.”
Ithaca College brought in the Viz Engine 5 graphics platform and rendering engine, the Viz Trio graphics control application and the Viz Artist graphics design tool to serve as the foundation of its graphics solution. For its virtual production courses, TriCaster’s vision mixing was added.
Ithaca College is the first university in the world to incorporate Viz University into its teaching program and deliver dedicated classes that focus on Vizrt’s live production products and tools, alongside offering training courses and certification via Viz University, the company said.
Students are already using the technology to produce 25 shows per week for ICTV, the university’s student-run campus news station.
More information about Viz University is available on the company’s website.
