The Communication Arts and Sciences Building is under construction with a new media center and studio ready on the blueprints.
Slated to open sometime this fall and to be used for classes next semester, the media center has equipment for a wide variety of creative endeavors.
Blueprints for the studio show a “motion capture area” and a newsroom complete with a news desk and cameras, as well as seating for approximately 100 people.
The College of Communication Arts and Sciences said in a press release, the space can be utilized to design virtual reality, create holograms, broadcast live and more.
Media and information senior Elise Conklin said the studio will help students afford expensive hobbies like filmmaking or game design.
“Comm. Arts (Communication Arts and Sciences) has a lot of great programs,” Conklin said. “I’m excited to see how these new additions will integrate within them and help show off student talent.”
She said the new studio and equipment was sorely needed by students.
“I think Comm. Arts — the faculty and the students alike — have a lot to offer and one thing that gets in our way is we just don’t have the tools,” Conklin said.
Peter Burroughs, a media and information senior and president of MSU’s game development club, Spartasoft, said he thinks the space will be useful for his organization and to display student projects.
The studio’s glass windows will “showcase students doing hands-on work,” Burroughs said.
Andrew Dennis, an instructor in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, assisted in planning the new studio, and took the opportunity to get his media and information class involved. Dennis took the opportunity to get his media and information class involved.
Burroughs, a student in Dennis’ 3D Modeling class, said students were aware of the new media center early on, creating 3D renderings of what they hoped the space will look like as a class project.
“We haven’t really gotten to showcase what Comm. Arts students were doing, but the new design will help show what students are up to,” Buroughs said. “The windows will really help with that.”
Although the media center and studio isn’t ready yet, students are excited to start using the space.
“We have a lot of really passionate and talented students and I can’t wait to see what they end up making,” Conklin said.
