Middlesex CC hosts VR workshop for high schoolers

MIDDLETOWN — Each area high school that participated in a recent workshop at Middlesex Community College took home an accessory-equipped camera for students that will allow them to prepare a virtual reality video on their own.

More than 70 high school seniors visited the college to engage in a fivehour workshop, “360-Degree Learning: VR Video,” Nov. 17. Students traveled from Nathan Hale-Ray (East Haddam), Portland, Valley Regional (Deep River), Vinal Tech (Middletown) and Westbrook high schools, according to a news release.

MxCC faculty and partners from CTGS Productions, of Thomaston, led three sessions at the Center for New Media classrooms. They included shooting video with 360-degree cameras, video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro software, and a high-end VR experience, the release said. Students interacted with the cameras, computers, software and VR equipment provided by MxCC during each session.

They will bring back their creations to the MxCC arts and media festival in May.

“It’s so interesting to see new technology like this. It’s like you’re in another world,” said Emily Miner, a senior from Deep River considering attending Middlesex next year, said in a statement. “I especially enjoyed learning about the 360 video camera, since I plan to study cinematography in college.”

In the 360 camera session, Craig Ziogas, producer and partner at CTGS, introduced the Ricoh Theta, a camera that shoots everything in 360 degrees. The camera easily fits in the palm of the hand or on a tripod, according to the college. Users press a button and the device records in three dimensions as well as audio.

Smaller groups of students dispersed around campus to experiment with the camera and tripod for 20 minutes before returning to the classroom. The Ricoh Theta connects to a computer and the students downloaded their video files into the Ricoh Theta software, the release said. By dragging the files into the app on the desktop, the software converts the video segments and “stitches” them together.

Participants also learned how to edit video using the Adobe Premiere Pro software in a step-by-step session presented by Tim Coakley, a partner at CTGS. Using video samples provided on Macintosh desktops, they shortened segments of a VR tour of a town in Connecticut, a popular way to use virtual reality online, according to the release.

“Psychotherapists also use virtual reality to treat veterans with PTSD. By simulating and controlling elements in the patient’s past experience, they can relive these situations and draw back from them,” Coakley said in a statement. “It can also be a way to overcome your fears, such as being in an airplane.

“Organizations such as the Smithsonian, The New York Times, CNN, Huffington Post, etc., have embraced 360 journalism, and VR is very useful in the travel industry.”

Middlesex digital media professors Rick Eriksen and John Shafer explained the video assignment to the attendees before bringing them into the Center for New Media broadcast studio for the experience. Each student took turns wearing the HTC Vive headset or the Oculus Rift VR headset to view the VR world up close.

Hosted by Middlesex Community College, the workshop was funded by the Perkins Postsecondary Enhancement Grant.

Contributed photo Area students take part in a workshop on virtual reality video at Middlesex Community College.