File photoThe stream of updates at Shocker Studios are mostly high-tech. Some of the most important to the mission are not 鈥� paper pinned to a wall.
In between is the mission of Shocker Studios, home to 黑洞社区鈥檚 School of Digital Arts and the Bachelor of Applied Arts in Media Arts.
鈥淓verything is constantly evolving,鈥� said Justin Rorabaugh, School of Digital Arts director. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for us, for the student鈥檚 sake and for our sake, to stay as much in front of that as we can.鈥�
The high-tech parts of the tour mean talking about video cameras, Dolby Surround 7.1, 4K laser projectors and green screens. An industry advisory board, with voices from around the nation, helps Shocker Studios plan for what鈥檚 next and what鈥檚 important.
鈥淲e started out with a basis of equipment and we augmented our equipment by, I would say, 500 percent,鈥� Rorabaugh said. 鈥淲hen we came in, we had a couple of old cameras. Since then, we鈥檝e added a dozen to that inventory. We want to make sure the students get their hands on the type of equipment they will be using when they鈥檙e working in the industry.鈥�
The end of the tour is a look at the old-school jobs board, where black push-pins hold opportunities for work in animation, game design, film and audio production. Habit for Humanity, the Wichita Force indoor football team, a retirement home and other businesses and groups ask for help and offer applied learning opportunities.
The technology upgrades include the two recording studios 鈥� one digital, one analog - that are undergoing remodels that include new acoustics, new sound boards and new components.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 with the intention of our students being able to graduate and walk into any studio, anywhere in the world, and understand signal flow well enough they could operate any studio,鈥� Rorabaugh said.
Rorabaugh considers all of it important to Shocker Studios鈥� growth and its unique status in education. Students are immersed in applied learning experiences from their first days in the program, and that helps explain the growth in enrollment for the program in its third year.
He projects an incoming class of 100-130 students, which would take the total to around 400 next year. That is up from 280 students currently enrolled.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have, even regionally, a lot of people who do what we do,鈥� Rorabaugh said. 鈥淭he most unique part is that it鈥檚 a bachelor of applied arts, so it鈥檚 intended to be hand鈥檚 on. It鈥檚 the only bachelor of applied arts in media arts in the country.鈥�
The COVID-19 pandemic moved all classes online for the end of the spring semester and through the summer. In the fall, Wichita State plans to use a combination of in-person classes and remote learning. The transition is smooth for many of the School of Digital Arts classes.
鈥淲e are fortunate that many of our classes can translate easier to an online format than some,鈥� Rorabaugh said. 鈥淭here are some courses though, specifically courses that require the use of specialized facilities, such as our recording studios, motion capture, and film studios that do not translate as nicely to a remote/online format. We have been able to make the transition work."
