Places & process
Two disparate cities
two contrasting insitutions of higher education
and the UltraGrid
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, 18 miles south west of Bristol. Attractions include the Helicopter Museum, Weston-super-Mare Museum, a pier and an aquarium. Owing to the large tidal range in the Bristol Channel, the low tide mark in Weston Bay is about a mile from the seafront. Although the beach itself is sandy, low tide uncovers areas of thick mud, hence the colloquial name, Weston-super-Mud. It has a population of 76,000 and is home to Weston College.
Weston College
Weston College is a general college of further and higher education in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It provides education and vocational training from age 14 to adult. At the end of 2013 it had 2883 full-time and 8114 part-timestudents. In an OFSTED inspection in January 2014 it received an overall grade of "outstanding". In February 2015, the college was named 'College of the Year' and 'Overall FE Provider of the Year' at the TES FE awards. It is a major employer in Weston-super-Mare.
Performing and Production Arts
The Wessex Academy of Performing Arts at Weston College is home to several degrees in Performing and Production Arts. From theatre to TV to film, from make-up to design to choreography, there are lots of career and progression opportunities in this exciting, dynamic and creative art. Industry professionals and guest lecturers who are working theatre artists, directors and technicians bring up-to-date training and practices to the educational environment. Students have the chance to showcase their work locally and nationally and all University and College Applicant Services (UCAS) participants were offered places at prestigious and reputable universities last year.
http://www.weston.ac.uk/subject/performing-and-production-arts
Process
This presentation is made possible by the use of UltraGrid.
UltraGrid from Laboratory of Advanced Networking Technologies is a software implementation of high-quality low-latency video and audio transmissions using common PC and Mac hardware. UltraGrid uses uncompressed or very low compression-ratio streams to achieve up to 8K resolution with as low as 100 milliseconds end-to-end latency. Latency is the delay between source and destination.
Data transmission through a fiber optic cable is 200000 km/sec. Network processing equipment, switches, routers, etc. are slow compared to the speed of light inside fibers. Even on the currently fastest links (like Internet2 in US, Janet in UK), it still takes at least another 80 or 100 milliseconds to cross the Atlantic. So…the total latency between the two sites is at least, with UltraGrid, close to 200 milliseconds. Will you notice? Watch and see.
UltraGrid is used, among other specialized softwares, in areas like collaborative environments, medical cinematography, broadcasting applications and educational activities.
UltraGrid is open-source software.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, often known as simply Vegas, is an internationally renowned major resort city known primarily for gambling, shopping, fine dining and nightlife and is the leading financial and cultural center for Southern Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its mega casino–hotels and associated entertainment. A growing retirement and family city, Las Vegas is the 30th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 603,488 and is home to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas .
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
UNLV is a public research university located approximately 1.5-mile east of the Las Vegas Strip. Noted for its strong emphasis on science and technology, business management, and law programs, it is classified a "research-intensive university" by the Carnegie Foundation. The William Harrah College of Hotel Administration is annually ranked among the top hospitality programs in the US due to the university's proximity to the Las Vegas Strip. It has about 28,000 students, full and part time, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral.
College of Fine Arts
Department of Dance
The UNLV Department of Dance is among "the Best in the West”. Entertainment industry employment and artistic opportunities abound in Las Vegas. Advanced-level dancers are working professionally while completing their dance degrees. Eight full-time professional dance faculty, a rotating guest artist-in-residence dance position, and 16 part-time dance specialists compose the Dance faculty. The department offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance/Choreography or a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Production.
College of Fine Arts
Department of Theatre
The UNLV Department of Theatre offers a diversified curriculum, taught by experienced faculty that allows students to immerse themselves in all aspects of theater, while taking advantage of the entertainment richness of Las Vegas. Whether it's in the classroom, on the stage, or behind the camera, the department fosters creative development and growth. Students work with professionals acting, stage managing, and designing for the Nevada Conservatory Theatre, the producing arm of the department.
College of Urban Affairs - UNLV TV
UNLV-TV is a full-service media production facility housed within the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies on the UNLV campus. The unit supports the educational mission of the school by providing hands-on production experiences for UNLV students. Since 1990, UNLV TV has produced documentaries, talk shows, musical and theatrical programs, campus affairs programs, panel discussions, lectures and other educational programming for and about the UNLV campus.