Viscom Project
Viscom challenges RGU students to a taste of the real world — in 3D
Design for Digital Media students from Gray’s School of Art at Robert Gordon University are being challenged by Aberdeen video and multimedia specialist Viscom to demonstrate their expertise and creativity by producing their own 3D animations to a commercial standard.
The 15 students have been given six weeks — until the end of April — to fulfil a brief drawn up by Viscom General Manager Bruce Milne and are competing to demonstrate their abilities in three individual categories and also be crowned overall winner:
* Most creative approach
* Most technically accomplished piece of work
* Most thorough research and development process
* Overall winner
The brief is to produce a 3D animated introduction for a theoretical DVD-based educational pack for Calderglen Country Park, a four-star tourist attraction just outside Glasgow which has a children’s zoo, extensive nature trails, adventure and special needs play areas, and a golf course.
Mr Milne said: “The 3D piece would set the tone for the DVD content and might be repeated throughout the programme. It needs to capture what Calderglen is all about and invite viewers to explore — through the DVD — what’s on offer.”
“The overall winner will be the student who has shown the greatest all-round technical, creative and understanding in executing the brief. There will also be prizes for the runners up, and something for the rest of the team — as long as they complete the work to the standard required.”
Viscom is also offering one of the students taking part the possibility of a summer placement.
The students’ first task is to produce storyboards — which Mr Milne will assess — before they get down to work on the production phase.
“We greatly welcome the opportunity to work with RGU on this project,” he said. “It gives us the chance to showcase what we can do to students who will be looking for employment once they graduate, and it gives us the chance to assess the creative talent on our doorstep.”
RGU Digital Media course leader David Crossen said: “We are delighted to be working with Viscom. This project gives our students the opportunity to work on actual commercial projects, and being exposed to the real business world in this way is invaluable.”
Viscom was founded in 1987 and is the leading provider of passenger safety briefings to the North Sea helicopter sector. The company moved to 430 Clifton Road, Aberdeen, in 2002 and has since expanded into new markets. The shareholders — all significant — are The Robert Gordon University, Heli-One, and Bristow Helicopters.