Grant puts MSSU students ahead of technology curve

Sep. 4—A technology used to create other-worldly playgrounds for Baby Yoda on "The Mandalorian" has arrived at Missouri Southern State University. Faculty said students will be better prepared for their careers by using these tools.

"It was Christmas 10 times over getting to unbox everything," said Brian Mehrens, communications and production instructor. "We're excited to have this as an asset to students, to say this is where production is going in the next five years. To have students come out of here already well versed in the technology is going to be really good for their futures."

The highlight is a 20-by-13-foot LED wall, like an enormous high-definition television. The screen is actually made of over 100 smaller LED panels fit together to make a larger unit. This makes repair easier because if a panel gets damaged it can be switched out for another one.

It took about four days for assembly, training and installation of a tracking system, all done over summer break in the renovated KGCS-TV studios on campus.

The tracking system is known as the StarTracker by Mo-Sys. The Alexa Mini LF studio camera has a tracker on the side of it, a box topped with a red ball. The StarTracker orients itself in the studio by reading a map of dots.

These dots are stuck to the ceiling of the studio, like adhesive stars stuck to the roof of a child's room. By being able to determine its location, the tracking system translates data into the production computer.

"Anytime our physical camera moves, if we move 2 feet this way, it also moves the virtual camera 2 feet in that virtual space," Mehrens said.

This system can change the perspective on the LED wall to what a person at that spot in the studio would see. If you would walk 6 feet across the studio, the background and perspective would change on the LED wall.

"It's that perspective change that makes it really realistic," said Frank Pishkur, chair of the art and design department.

Funded by grant money

Funding for this project was provided through a $1.5 million MOExcels grant, written by Mehrens and Ward Bryant. The grant was awarded for a collaborative education proposal, an overlap of computer science, art and communication at the university.

Because this is a workforce development grant, Pishkur said they talked with local TV stations, media and business owners to find out what technology would benefit students the most as they move into their careers.

"Being as close as we are to Northwest Arkansas, Tulsa, Springfield, all the other metropolitan areas, having these skills be taught would be such a huge boon for this area," Pishkur said.

In addition to studio production, this technology can be used by commercial production, marketing and design. This wide use is partially because of its flexibility. For example, they can change a scene from day to night with the press of a button.

"There are more and more studios moving in this direction, partially because of the cost effective element of production," Mehrens said. "It speeds production up. Instead of taking two or three days at a whole bunch of locations and having to build sets, you can shoot half a dozen locations all in one studio in one day."

Pishkur said his department overhauled their design curriculum about six years ago, adding more digital production courses. This included more motion graphics instruction, the starting point for animation. This new technology is another asset for the department to go where students are wanting to go, he said.

Mehrens said there's also a computer science application in virtual reality spaces and video game design. They can now create virtual scenes and assets, all of it in an interactive world with grant-provided virtual reality headsets. The LED wall can be used to plan and map out these worlds.

With so many departments using the new tools, faculty members say they are excited for the student collaborations.

"This mimics how the real world works," Pishkur said. "You don't just do your own little thing. You're always interacting with other entities, no matter what your business is. Plus, that's the quickest way to discover things, to sound things off with people who are not myopically focused on the same things you are."

Getting used to it

MSSU students said they've heard of the technology, but hadn't seen it up close. Students appreciate the opportunity to get to use it, said Tijorn Skelton, senior graphic design major.

"It's really something special to be able to experience it," Skelton said.

Darren Zustiak, a sophomore mass communications major, has been part of a group trying to get a sports show up and running at KGCS. Zustiak is in charge of making the studio for the show.

He said he's eager to try out different looks for the studio and get student feedback, rather than having to wait and purchase items and the long process of setting it up. The new technology gives students flexibility in their dream projects, he said.

Braden Kirklend, a junior graphic design major, said students will get a confidence boost from working with these tools. Also, if something doesn't work out in his planned field, he would have a wide range of experience with technology to enter another field.

Pishkur said that when writing the grant, they were aware this is just the beginning for students. The grant lets them develop the back end of their technology with room to expand.

"The part that makes us thrilled is to be ahead of the technology curve, rather than behind it and catching up," Pishkur said.