the studios

The Studios features three distinct creative spaces, each designed to offer different aspects of artistic development and creative thinking. The Pod is a professional recording studio where students and faculty record a variety of podcasts. The xR Studio has a Stagecraft LED volume wall that lets students transport actors anywhere and create realistic virtual scenes. The Innovation Lab includes virtual reality headsets to take learning to the next level.
The Studios aligns with DCDS's holistic educational philosophy and complements the school's three pillars: academics, arts, and athletics. The Studios hosts PK3 through 12th-grade students, as well as alumni, helping them create and share stories.

Gifted by Danialle and Peter Karmanos, Jr., The Studios has propelled DCDS to the forefront of educational technology and put the school on the map as the country's premier school for film, digital creation, and video production.

It is a place where students can find inspiration, create content -- and, most importantly, tell stories because storytelling is everything. It's how we make sense of the world around us. // Danialle Karmanos

EXPLORING THE XR STUDIO: The LED Volume Wall

The LED volume wall in The Studios is a large display made of linked high-resolution LED panels used in virtual production to project real-time digital backgrounds behind actors. The screens connect to Unreal Engine in order to render 3D environments instantly. Sensors track the physical camera's position on set, and the background perspective can shift in real time to match the camera's movement, creating natural three-dimensional depth. Unlike green screens, the bright LED panels cast natural ambient light, color, and reflections directly onto the actors and physical props on stage. Actors can see and react to the environment around them, unlike with a green screen. This gives our filmmakers complete control of weather, time of day, and locations digitally on the fly without traveling.