The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), a private, co-educational institution preparing students for careers in the visual and performing arts, design, the building arts, and the history of art and architecture, recently invested in a variety of high-definition production equipment from Panasonic Broadcast. A Panasonic customer for the past 14 years, the college’s school of film and digital media currently has more than 250 pieces of the Panasonic professional video equipment, ranging from 24p DV camcorders to the AJ-HDC27 VariCam® HD Cinema camera.
Earlier this school year, SCAD was named one of America’s hottest colleges by the editors of the 2006 Kaplan/Newsweek “America’s Hottest Colleges” guide, one of only 25 so cited. SCAD was selected as the hottest college for studying art, with the college’s digital media programs in particular spotlighted in the guide. “The Hollywood special-effects-company recruiters have SCAD on their speed dials, and graduates are working for Digital Domain, Pixar and Disney Imagineering, as well as more traditional employers of artists like Procter & Gamble and the TV networks.”
SCAD’S Panasonic gear, all purchased from dealer WH Platts (Charleston, SC), includes 74 camcorders (24 DVX100 series DV Cinema Cameras, 30 AG-DVC30 3-CCD DV camcorders, assorted DVCPRO/DVCPRO50 models and the VariCam), 53 decks (including 38 DV VTRs, two AJ-HD1200A DVCPRO HD production decks and assorted DVCPRO50 models), two dozen production monitors, seven 50” plasma displays, and more than 80 LCD and DLP projectors.
According to Robert Duncan, Director of Film and Digital Media, “The College’s success and reputation depend on our utilizing the same level of production tools that are in use by industry professionals, which prompted our purchase of the Panasonic HD gear. The VariCam has become one of the main teaching tools in our Digital Cinematography classes (graduate and undergraduate), where students learn how camera techniques are utilized in current film and television productions. Students evaluate digital image capture as executed by professional cinematographers, develop their own digital moving image techniques, and are allowed to submit projects and check the VariCam out for those productions.”
He added, “The HD post process involves rack-mounted and portable AJ-HD1200A production VTRs. The rack-mounted deck is used to digitize, record and playback for our Avid Nitris system. Our portable unit is used by professors to playback footage shot in lighting and field classes, as well as to review the day’s shoots. The AJ-FRC27 frame rate converter is used for student slow motion and fast motion effects. Since these are originally 60 frame progressive shots, the students have infinitely better results using the frame rate converter for special effects vs. 1080i.”
Duncan noted that, while most of the video gear resides in the Film and Television Department, some equipment is used by the Visual Effects and Broadcast Design departments for compositing and short-form video pieces.
He said, “The Film and Television department has a complete check-out facility that rivals any rental house in the country in the amount and quality of equipment. The Panasonic cameras and VTRs are used for both instruction and production. The basic progression of formats from DV up to HD follows a logical curricular track.”
Specifically, the AG-DVC30s are used in Introduction to Video classes; the DVX100s in Directing the Documentary and Lighting & Field; DVCPRO models in Lighting & Field, Directing the Documentary, Steadicam, and Panther Dolly; DVCPRO50 models in Digital Cinematography, Senior Project II, Thesis Project, Panther Dolly and Steadicam; the VariCam, as noted, in Digital Cinematography, Senior Project II and Thesis Project; and the TC-7WMSI field LCD monitor in Lighting & Field and Digital Cinematography.
About SCAD
e-Learning. The college, with an enrollment of more than 7,300 students, is a private, nonprofit institution accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor¹s and master¹s degrees. The five-year professional M.Arch. degree program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. The college offers Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Architecture, Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts and Master of Urban Design degrees and certificates. Degrees are offered in 30 areas of study. Minors are offered in 44 disciplines. For more information about the college, programs of study and cultural events sponsored by the college, call 800.869.7223 or 912.525.5100 or visit the college web site at www.scad.edu.
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast, professional video and presentation products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Panasonic Corporation of North America. The company is the North American headquarters of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, access the company’s web site at www.panasonic.com/broadcast.
