School of the future

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The University’s multi-purpose studio.

It has been five long years since Professor Anthony Collins first dreamed of developing an integrated media facility for students of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Sharjah. The objective was to help students at the University move beyond conventional forms of "fine art" to more contemporary forms of practice. When the idea was brought to the notice of the Sharjah Ruler two years later, the project was given the green light.

Today, the College of Fine Arts and Design boasts an integrated film and digital media production facility that is unlike any other in the Middle East. It allows students to explore and collaborate within the broad spectrum of practice areas in fine arts and design, including their interests in broadcast and alternative new media, graphics design, spatial interior design and so many other areas.

Dubai-based systems integrator, Oasis Enterprises, was contracted to undertake the US $2 million broadcast and AV installation project within the new multi-million dollar building along with other companies such as Wecom Global and Adobe Systems.

"There are only a couple of such facilities in this region; one of them is Subash Ghai's Whistling Woods in India, but nothing else in the Middle East or Asia comes close to what we have here," claims Collins, as he takes us on a tour of the College's extended media workshops. "Here, we have a well-equipped programme of study that integrates all aspects of fine arts, not just in terms of the technical side, but in taking a holistic approach to creative expression within the broader landscape of arts and design."

The new facility includes a mini screening room with 5.1 surround sound and a fully-equipped control room; a high-ceiling multi-purpose production studio that doubles up as a hall that other students with video or photo, sculpture, theatre or dance presentations can use; several individual non-linear editing rooms equipped with a variety of hardware and software tools from Avid, Adobe and Final Cut Pro; an audio "recording arts" and post production studio with ICON ProTools systems; a Yamaha Sampler keyboard and a fully-equipped Avid and motion graphics teaching room with 10 workstations. This entire solution is, in turn, integrated with an AVID LANShare and is centrally administrated and interconnected into one coherent network system.

Other parts of the project include a film and digital photography lab as well as areas designated for graphics and interior design students. What sets this installation apart from other projects in the region is its very futuristic, yet practical, appeal and the integration of the various art forms at the college.

"We have tried to integrate everything including new media, painting, print making, sculpture, critical and historical studies, drawing, music, fashion and textile design, interior design, and jewellery making and put all of them under one roof. In most places - even in Los Angeles or London or Hong Kong - you will have these departments in different areas of the campus. Film students might go in one direction; the graphics design department would be elsewhere and theatre in another area of the same campus," claims Collins.

"Here, having everything together is cool because of the potential synergies that can be created between graphics design and painters, and new media artists and interior designers. The ability of these students to work together will enhance the discovery of new possibilities and ideas, new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things. By doing this, we hope not to just mass produce batches of students to fit specific jobs in the industry. Rather, I hope they will create their own jobs in the future, bringing a new and more complete perspective to the creative process and their own self-image," explains Collins.

To ensure this, the College has spared no effort in investing in professional solutions. For instance, the College of Fine Arts is currently the only academic facility other than the SAE Institute that has an Avid ICON system in place. Likewise, the mini screening room is a first and it is equipped with a true-HD projector - the DLA-HD 10KSE projector from JVC. From the adjoining control room, students can project video work in both SD and HD, as well as in multiple formats including NTSC and PAL.

The screening room comes with an in-house transfer unit to enable students to transfer their material to HDV, DV, S-Video or composite, and copy this content on to tapes and DVDs. The installation includes a 5.1 professional Rotel processor that produces a 5.1 Dolby effect. Additionally, an integrated Crestron system allows students to control the projection, sound and lighting in the screening room through a touch screen.

"There are some high-end viewing and learning possibilities at this presentation facility, which opens up the potential for diverse areas of interest such as HD cinematography, film programming, and highly sophisticated postproduction work. This screening room is meant to be both a workshop and a classroom, and can accommodate 26 students. Here, you can critically view, work and edit your footage in a way that most closely resembles the environment that professionals rely upon to do their work. This is the best way to look at raw footage - with a big screen, good sound and great seats," explains Collins.

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