School of Film to introduce cutting-edge LED wall to support student productions

In early April, the School of Film will unveil a cutting-edge addition to its Equipment Circulation Center, located in the basement of the Central Classroom Building on 67 W. Union St – a state-of-the-art LED wall. Spearheaded by Justin Daering, the School’s director, and Wynn Yoder, a sophomore media arts and studies major in the Honors Tutorial College, this exciting new installation promises to elevate the department's creative possibilities.

“What they used to do with green screens, they now put these big LED panels up and project an image behind the actors that’s actually there and gets photographed in camera,” Daering explained. 

This technology requires much less effort in post-production and has thus become the future of film backgrounds. LED walls have been used for shows like “The Mandalorian” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” and although the same level of production as these massive hits won’t be possible with OHIO’s incoming wall, the updated technology will be a gamechanger for students.

“We are seeing this technology become what green screen once was…and being familiar with it is going to be important for students,” Daering said. “We don’t have access to a ton of high production value resources at the school, so on a production value level a lot of our films end up looking pretty similar, and there is a desire to tell stories that are set outside apartments and campus locations.”

The acquisition had been discussed by previous students, but Daering knew it would be possible when Yoder came to Ohio University in 2023 and started working at the Equipment Circulation Center. 

“Wynn had been working prior to coming to school, so they came in with a lot of experience, just a lot of technical knowledge way beyond what you would normally have for an undergraduate,” Daering said.

Building off of previous interest, Yoder began researching specifics about the wall when the idea surfaced during fall semester and ended up handling a majority of the technical research surrounding the installation.

“Wynn was very detail-oriented in terms of looking into what the different technologies were and what value they had, what capabilities they had, and we’re very excited for the ones we got,” Daering added.

Yoder’s interest stems from a desire to be involved in the new technology before entering the workforce and gaining hands-on experience that will be a huge resumé booster.

“I’m most excited about having this opportunity to do this in college because it’s pretty rare to have in college,” Yoder said. “It means I should hopefully be able to leave college and go right into a higher-level job.”

With a minor in IT and Cybersecurity, this technology exists at an intersection of Yoder’s interests.

“Some of the networking and base level topology of how a system like this works and connects is kind of a juncture of those two interests of mine…this is a nice overlap of something that’s technical and interesting…but something that’s not too creative that I can easily get burnt out,” Yoder explained. 

After the wall is installed at the end of the semester and tested over the summer, Yoder will help formulate a course that will introduce students to the logistics of using the complex technology.

“We’re hoping to hire a new faculty member for the fall with some experience to teach the class, and Wynn is really interested in continuing to work in a technical capacity facilitating that instruction,” Daering said.

The wall will be approximately 20 by 11 feet, and will included a computer, camera tracking system and other miscellaneous accoutrements. The project was funded in part by the Thomas F. Peterson Jr. Charitable Trust.