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Equipping the next generation of creative talent

Overview

Customer: Buckinghamshire New University
Location: Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Head of School, Creative and Digital Industries: Dr. Russel Stone
Lecturer, Animation, Visual Effects and Game Art: Miles Skarin
Watch the testimonial video here
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Originally established as a School of Science and Art back in 1891, Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) offers employment-focused education through seven different academic Schools. The School of Creative and Digital Industries covers a wide range of creative courses such as animation, audio and music, visual effects, game art, film and TV production, media production and computing. Its campus is located in the heart of the UK Film and TV Industry in High Wycombe, South Buckinghamshire. In 2021, BNU opened facilities at the world famous Pinewood Studio lot to offer its students an opportunity to experience how companies operate and try the technology used by industry professionals. Having access to a full working Animation & VFX lab with industry standard equipment gives students the practical experience and knowledge many production companies are looking for.

The challenges

Technology is changing the way the film industry works. New innovations are giving filmmakers the tools to create more immersive experiences than ever before. To keep up with the revolution of filmmaking, it is important that BNU’s courses reflect the needs of the industry. Therefore, it faces the challenge of equipping all of its creative courses with industry-standard technology.

“If you take something like our animation and visual effects and games courses, then it's very important we have the best technology available to our students so they can explore their creativity, but at a level that the industry would expect for them to enter,”comments Dr. Russel Stone.

The solution

ProArt Lab setup to bridge the gap

BNU collaborated together with ASUS ProArt to create an innovative industry-standard teaching space for its students. The ProArt Lab features top of the range monitors, workstations, and a projector that is designed for the post-graduate students to finish their work with industry-standard results.

Three different monitors for different workflows

BNU has installed three different monitors in the new ProArt Lab teaching space. The school uses the ProArt Display PA32UCG when their students are getting to the finishing stages of their projects. The monitor displays a true 10-bit color depth, which is crucial when students are in the color grading process. Miles Skarin explains why the team like using this monitor:

“It's so bright, you notice it when you walk into the room,” he says. “It is a fantastic panel to work with, and that's backed up by the 1600 nit peak brightness, which just brings out the image.”

The second monitor is the ProArt Display PA32UCR-K monitor which is a 4K HDR monitor with 1000 nits of peak brightness. The monitor is great for color-accurate work, because it is backed with DCI-P3 wide color gamut. The third monitor installed in the ProArt Lab is the ProArt Display PA348CGV, a 34” ultra-wide QHD monitor. It comes with a 120Hz refresh rate which ensures students have a smooth viewing experience when creating fast moving game content. Its ultra-wide form factor enables students to enjoy the extra space to work and interact with. Instead of two monitors, students can finish their work with a single display.

Additionally, ASUS ProArt monitors have flicker free, low blue-light technology, which is great for their students to work with because it makes sure they're working in a really healthy environment.

Empowering the work with Unreal Engine

All of the Scan 3XS workstations in the ASUS ProArt Lab are powered by ASUS ROG motherboards, which provide a great stable foundation to power out even the most demanding projects their students work with. Miles mentions how important this is especially when working with Unreal Engine and game development. Because their students are working on very high frame rate games, they need to retain the same frame rate that the monitor can output.

On top of the workstations and the monitors, BNU has installed the ASUS ProArt A1 projector, a full HD resolution projector with 3000 lumens and Calman Verified color accuracy, which is great when students are reviewing their final pieces of work.

Another great solution the university is investing and employing across one of their faculties is the VA24 series monitor which features ergonomic design and eye care features like flicker-free and low blue light. Their staff has been very happy with their new hardware and continues to work with the ASUS products.

The outcome

Both the students and the staff have been very pleased with the results of the new ProArt Lab teaching space. Students are not only learning the creative skills, but also the practical skills when working with industry-standard hardware.

“At BNU, we are committed to supporting the development of the next generation of creative talent. This partnership with ASUS and the creation of the ProArt lab provides our students with the best equipment and environment to hone their skills and create work that showcases their expertise to industry”concludes Stone.

Product installed