USC Equips New Cinema Arts Facility With Avid Audio And Video Solutions

Avid Technology has announced that the University of Southern California (USC) has opened a new 137,000 square foot state-of-the-art School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) complex, featuring more than 260 Avid audio and video systems.
The new facility is home to one of the largest Avid workflows in any US film school, with approximately 1,000 students expected to work on the systems in the first year. By standardising its digital media curriculum with Avid solutions, such as Media Composer and ProTools, USC enables students to learn the tools they will use in a professional setting, exposing them to real-world post production workflows.
Meri Weingarten, Director of Post Production at the School of Cinematic Arts, said: "We couldn't do what we do here without Avid, as our goal was to create a modern facility that would appeal to the next generation of talented media creators, as well as one that would deliver an environment in which theory and practice are closely integrated.
"Over the years some of the entertainment industry's most influential members have emerged from our cutting-edge film programs. A key piece of that success is equipping our students, who are coming on the scene, with the skills they need to function in a professional capacity. We outfitted the new facility with Avid audio and video solution knowing that our student must be well-versed in Avid (products) to be competitive in today's job market."
For recording, editing and mixing sound, the new facility houses 72 ProToolsLE and 22 Pro ToolsHD systems, as well as six ICON digital console systems that allow students to work with unparalleled hands-on mixing control and flexibility. For picture editing, there are more than 140 Media Composer systems, including Media Composer software, Mojo DX, Nitris DX and Symphony Nitris systems.
Approximately 25 additional Media Composer systems are located in theatres, classrooms and media conference rooms.
All systems throughout the building are connected to an 80 TB Avid Unity ISIS shared storage network. The Avid Unity ISIS set-up enables students, faculty and staff to simultaneously access media and a broad range of third-party applications from any workstation on the network, creating a truly collaborative environment representative of today's professional production settings.
In addition, interoperability between Avid's digital audio and video tools fosters collaboration throughout the post process, mirroring real-world workflows such as exchanging sound files and picture references. Overall, SCA's Avid implementation rivals that of larger professional studios, offering an environment that paves a smooth transition for graduates who are interested in becoming professionals.
Kirk Arnold, GM and EVP of Customer Operations at Avid Technology, said: "USC is recognised as one of the world's leading educational institutions for film, television and interactive media and we are thrilled to be a part of the process of creating tomorrow's most promising media professionals.
"Avid is committed to serving students, educators and institutions with competitively priced, world class solutions that allow them to unleash their creative talents at an early age and then go on to create some of tomorrow's most watched and loved media in the world."
The first two buildings in the new School of Cinematic Arts complex opened for classes this January, with another four slated to go on line in August 2010.
(KMcA/BMcC)