Virtual Production Studio Relies on Blackmagic Design

This press release was originally posted by Blackmagic Design.

Blackmagic Design announced that Raleigh-based North Carolina State University (NC State) has created a state-of-the-art Virtual Production Lab complete with a 22×12 ft. LED wall, Unreal Engine, VIVE Mars CamTrack systems and numerous Blackmagic Design products. As one of the few colleges in the U.S. that offers virtual production courses and the first in North Carolina, the university completed its maiden semester with students shooting on the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF digital film camera.

NC State’s College of Design faculty designed a comprehensive setup for the studio, which is managed by filmmaker and certified DaVinci Resolve trainer Ryan Khan. In the lab, students experience a diverse range of applications, including filmmaking, AR/VR, concept development and live events.

“Blackmagic Design’s ethos of empowering the creative is the reason NC State chose its products for the lab,” began Khan, virtual production lab manager for the college’s Virtual Production Lab. “The College of Design encourages a research-driven and collaborative culture, which is based on real-world technologies and enables students and faculty to participate as much as possible. Alongside my typical responsibilities of teaching and troubleshooting, I also bring my two decades of filmmaking experience to show how virtual production can enhance storytelling and bring a creative vision to life.”

For the initial semester, students were given access to a URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF and a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K digital film camera. “While most students had no prior experience with either camera, I had anticipated that most would choose the Pocket due to its ergonomic design,” Khan noted. “However, they opted for the URSA, preferring to practice on a camera that mimics an ENG style. They also marked the image quality thanks to the OLPF.”

According to Khan, the studio employs a standard Unreal Engine nDisplay setup, which includes the LED flat wall running Unreal Engine 5.5, as well as a VIVE Mars CamTrack system to track the URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF. “A signal is sent from the camera to the computer into the DeckLink 8K Pro card, while genlock from the Mini Converter Sync Generator is used as house sync to ensure synchronization with the camera, Unreal Engine, VIVE Mars CamTrack and the video processor for the LED Wall. Additionally, we split the signal on several LCD TVs for monitoring and analysis. This comprehensive setup enables a diverse range of virtual production-oriented executions, spanning from mixed reality to presentations,” he said.

As a certified trainer, Khan also shares his knowledge of DaVinci Resolve Studio with the students to further their filmmaking education. “I made the switch to Resolve, as the vision of creating a haven for filmmakers and access to high-quality editing and grading tools perfectly align with my own philosophy,” he said.

NC State plans to expand its course offerings to include broadcast and livestreaming techniques and will integrate further Blackmagic Design equipment, including ATEM switchers, Ultimatte real-time compositing processor, and DaVinci Resolve panels.

“Blackmagic Design’s commitment to versatility, quality, and accessibility at an affordable price makes it an academic touchstone that enables creatives to realize their ideas, regardless of their experience,” concluded Khan. “Its extensive range of broadcast and post-production equipment aligns with our curriculum and our program’s wider focus of production specialisms, giving our students a great foundation for their future careers.”

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF, Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, DeckLink 8K Pro, Mini Converter Sync Generator, DaVinci Resolve Studio and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About NC State College of Design

The NC State College of Design prepares students for a career in design through interdisciplinary engagement, innovative exploration of technologies, and a core foundation of design thinking and practice. The College of Design offers undergraduate, graduate, Doctor of Design, and PhD in design degrees and currently has over 900 enrolled students. NC State University is a leading public research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In response to an ever-expanding global interest in all disciplines of design, the College’s curriculum incorporates relevant practices reflecting both the university’s Tier 1 Research status and its land grant mission. Effective design requires attention and sensitivity to the social, economic, political, cultural and behavioral understanding of the environment and people. Our graduate and undergraduate programs in Architecture, Art + Design, Design Studies, Graphic Design, Industrial Design and Landscape Architecture are intended to develop a designer’s perception, knowledge, skills and problem solving abilities to develop design solutions for public interest and to serve the needs of all users and to impact the myriad of sustainable and life quality problems across the globe.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real-time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award-winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground-breaking innovations, including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world-leading post-production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.