May 14, 2012

The Westphal College has been named a founding member of Sony Electronics new higher education initiative, Sony Digital Media Academy. The collaboration between the Westphal College, one of nine institutions named nationwide, and Sony, will foster innovative approaches that facilitate new applications for digital media technologies. We have begun development on a sustainable paperless studio proposed by Architecture Professor Frank de Santis. In an architecture studio, students use over 13,000 square-feet of paper to print their design schemes each year, not to mention the use of toner, ink and cartridges. The paperless design studio allows our students to seamlessly integrate audio, 2d, 3d, and animated imagery into fluid presentations through the Sony FWD S47H1 presentation environment.

Initial projects are primarily supported by Sony consumer electronics, and areas of research include high-definition mobile media production, innovative digital media processes, 3d cinema, and augmented reality. The paperless studio is our first project in a multi-year engagement with Sony that will develop into larger, more sophisticated projects with greater use of Sony Electronics, specifically digital media-based products, in our classrooms.  Among the eight other founding schools are NYU’s Tisch School, UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Click here to watch a short interview of Dean Allen Sabinson that was played during Sony's announcement of our partnership.