Diamond View Studios Contributes $500,000 in Cutting Edge Technology

Diamond View Studios and V Technologies have given a contribution to the University of South Florida’s College of Arts and Sciences to fund virtual production instruction and training in the Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications. The gift, which was provided through the USF Foundation, comprises a $500k in-kind commitment of cutting-edge virtual production technology and camera equipment.

This will provide a 40-foot LED wall for virtual production in the Communication and Information Sciences Building on USF’s Tampa campus, which will be dubbed V Studio in honor of the donor. USF President Rhea Law said, “This generous gift from Diamond View Studios has given new life to our video production programs, allowing our students to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology and graduate with the skills needed to contribute immediately to this field. We are grateful for vision and support.”Diamond View has also given a $39,000 financial grant to fund a faculty fellow at the Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications, in addition to the in-kind donation.

Ryan Watson, a full-time instructor in the program, has been selected the inaugural Diamond View Teaching Fellow and will help to shape the curriculum around the new technology and equipment. V Technologies, Diamond View sibling firm, has quickly risen to become North America’s leading producer of LED volumes for virtual production, which uses photorealistic virtual settings on enormous LED domes to replace the necessity for filming on location or the usage of green screen. Because it reduces the need for travel and enables for a more regulated shooting setting, this innovative technology has quickly acquired favor during the pandemic.

Since opening its first virtual production studio in Tampa, a 35,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art virtual production campus near the USF Tampa campus along Fowler Avenue, the company has attracted clients ranging from Mercedes Benz to Disney, Apple, and many more.