Lab Space Renovation – August 2021

With generous support from Dean Alzada Tipton and the building expertise of Nelson Construction of Walla Walla, a space adjacent to the Computer Science Commons has been updated to be the home of the Immersive Stories Lab.

Hollaender Speed Reel overhead pipe grid and curtain track

Hollaender Speed rail pipes were installed at 9.5 and 10.5 feet heights since the space has a sloped ceiling that ranges from 9-feet to 15-feet high. We installed a curved curtain track hold a 20-foot wide chromakey green screen curtain. The overhead pipe rail grid will support an assortment of studio LED lights, projectors, and the Vicon motion-capture cameras.

Chromakey green screen curtain

The space can be quickly configured for one of three different virtual background systems including a chromakey green screen, a front-cast projection screen, or a rear-cast projection screen. The green screen curtain can be rolled aside to reveal a 12-foot wide front-cast projection screen on the rear wall.

front-cast projection screen test with Star Wars X-Wings

front-cast projection screen test with Star Wars X-Wings

When needed we can move in a portable 10.5-foot wide rear projection screen. I had explored LED wall options, but found that this flexible combination of more cost-efficient virtual backgrounds made the most sense in a Computer Science lab where our focus is on learning and building the algorithms (software) that makes the magic of virtual movie production.

The space outside the lab will be a flexible sitting lounge with several teaching workstations that we will use to host hands-on tutorials on how to use the equipment and software of the new lab.

Teaching space outside the lab

Teaching space outside the new lab