InEd Studios's 55-foot-long LED Volume screen
By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing
May 4 鈥 better known as Star Wars Day, or 鈥淢ay the 4th Be With You鈥 鈥 perhaps hits a little harder at USF鈥檚 Innovative Education Studios than anywhere else on campus.
Being a Star Wars fan isn鈥檛 required to work there, but it certainly helps if you want to fit in with the dozen or so staff who, through video, animation, podcasts and graphic design, power the state-of-the-art production facility that creates multimedia for USF鈥檚 online courses and university projects.
鈥淲e鈥檙e Star Wars geeks here,鈥 said Christine Brown, associate vice president for the Innovative Education department, which oversees the studio. 鈥淲hen a new show or movie comes out, we鈥檙e talking about it the next day.鈥
Even employees who aren鈥檛 Jedi-level fans appreciate the ingenuity of the 49-year-old franchise. After all, it鈥檚 Star Wars that currently helps put the 鈥渋nnovative鈥 in Innovative Education Studios.
In 2019, 鈥淭he Mandalorian鈥 did more than introduce Grogu, the cuddly Force鈥憌ielder known as Baby Yoda. The LED Volume screens, which create the show鈥檚 virtual worlds for characters clad in armor, were specifically designed for the production and then made available to the public.
InEd Studios installed a second Volume in their main facility ...
... and a third screen in a second location - Research Park
In 2023, USF鈥檚 facility 鈥 known as InEd Studios 鈥 installed one of its own. It proved so popular, that last year they added a second screen. This month, with demand continuing to increase, they鈥檙e rolling out a third screen at a new location in the USF Research Park.
The newest screen and production facility will also give more power to faculty who teach online courses as part of a DIY studio.
鈥淥ur goal is to make it as simple as possible so a faculty member can walk in, press a few buttons and start creating,鈥 said Jared Brown, director of InEd Studios. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 always need a full crew to support it.鈥
InEd Studios's 100-foot-long LED Volume screen
How LED Volume screens work
LED Volume screens are the latest tool for creating virtual locations.
An image cast in real time onto a background screen with a projector has a low resolution, so it looks dull and obviously fake on TV and the big screen.
So, most studios place a blank screen 鈥 usually colored green 鈥 in the background of a shot. Editors then digitally remove the screen and replace it with a virtual backdrop.
The LED Volume digitizes the virtual image in high resolution in real time as the scene is shot, allowing the actors and crew to interact with the environment as though it is authentic. Plus, the background can move with the camera, making the world both immersive and interactive.
Tampa was home to one of the early examples.
In 2021, , located near the Tampa campus, unveiled a 100-foot-long Volume screen, popularizing the approach for commercials and national campaigns.
USF's campus comes to life virtually inside InEd Studios
鈥淲hen V奴 opened its doors, we could only imagine how incredibly useful and efficient it would be to have an LED Volume,鈥 Jared Brown said. 鈥淚t felt like a pipe dream.鈥
V奴 CEO and co-founder Tim Moore attended USF and interned with the studio while a student.
Through that connection, Moore鈥檚 company sold virtual鈥憄roduction equipment to the studio, including its first LED Volume, which measures 55 feet by 14 feet.
The two additional screens 鈥 both obtained through V奴 鈥 measure 18 feet by 10 feet.
Bringing immersive learning to online courses
The screens are used primarily to create multimedia for USF鈥檚 digital content and growing number of online courses, helping faculty engage students through immersive, subject鈥慸riven environments. Faculty collaborate with InEd learning designers, support consultants and production teams to meet learning outcomes and tell their stories effectively.
Johnny El鈥慠ady, a professor of instruction in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, worked with InEd to create a video introducing himself to students in his online genetics course. The piece spoofs the Dos Equis 鈥淢ost Interesting Man in the World鈥 commercials, using the LED backdrop to place El鈥慠ady in a series of playful settings 鈥 from a library to a dusty, cluttered attic 鈥 as 鈥淭he Most Interesting Professor in the World.鈥
Screenshots from professor of instruction Johnny El鈥慠ady's video introduction to his online genetics course
The video - "The Most Interesting Professor in the World" - spoofs Dos Equis 鈥淢ost Interesting Man in the World鈥
鈥淚t's a Hollywood studio on campus,鈥 El-Raday said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an absolute treasure that I plan on using more and more.鈥
T.H. Culhane, an associate professor of instruction at the Patel College of Global Sustainability, created a 16鈥慹pisode sitcom for his Envisioning Sustainability course. Titled 鈥淣exus Time!,鈥 the approximately 10鈥憁inute episodes enhance each day鈥檚 lesson through narrative storytelling.
Set in the 1970s, the show stars Culhane as a teacher on a set inspired by the era鈥檚 hit sitcom 鈥淲elcome Back, Kotter.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 a child of the 鈥70s,鈥 Culhane said with a laugh. 鈥淚 loved that show. Now, I get to star in it.鈥
T.H. Culhane, an associate professor of instruction, is a big fan of the 1970s sitcom, "Welcome Back, Kotter" ...
... so he worked with InEd Studios to recreate the set for online course videos
Using the LED Volume, the production team created a vintage classroom where Culhane teaches environmental policy before transporting the class to a modern sustainability farm 鈥 a future world within the 1970s-era storyline.
鈥淚t鈥檚 liberating,鈥 Culhane said. 鈥淔or years, my students and I talked about a future where teachers and students could create their own content. Thanks to InEd, that day has arrived.鈥
The sustainability farm featured in the show is the Rosebud Continuum Eco Science Center where Culhane has resided for the last decade. The 14-acre Land O鈥橪akes nonprofit sustainability education and research campus was fully 3D scanned by InEd and then recreated on the LED Volume.
The Rosebud Continuum Eco Science Center's sustainability farm, recreated virtually by InEd Studios
鈥淚t makes it much more efficient than packing up our equipment and our crew to drive over an hour,鈥 Jared Brown said. 鈥淲hat would take five days on location we can now do in one day in the studio. Name the location and we can scan it and bring it inside our space, virtually, in a way that looks as authentic as the real thing.鈥
InEd Studios works on hundreds of productions a year, pushing the team to the limits of their available time.
The new DIY space in the Research Park will allow faculty to be trained on the most innovative approaches and be empowered to produce learning content on their own.
鈥淭his is how we scale,鈥 Christine Brown said. 鈥淭his is the present. This is the future.鈥
Or, as the Mandalorian would say 鈥 鈥淭his is the way.鈥