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Feb. 10, 2015
CONTACT: Dr. Leigh Browning, 806-651-8477, lbrowning@wtamu.edu
COPY BY: Rana McDonald, 806-651-2129, rmcdonald@wtamu.edu
University’s MEDIAMinds Students Testing Time Code Product
CANYON, Texas—A West Texas A&M University alumnus with a passion for film making has given a group of WTAMU students an opportunity of a lifetime with the beta testing of a product that could revolutionize the world of video production.
Paul Miller, who graduated from WTAMU with a M.B.A. in 2011, is working with Dr. Leigh Browning, professor of business communication and marketing and the Jerry Miller Professor of Entrepreneurship, and the student group MEDIAMinds in the testing of a new digital slate called a Time Code Sync Master. The group is testing four of the pocket-sized slates in relation to audio sync when editing multi-camera shoots. The Sync Master, a product of Microframe Corp., offers film crews a visual time code that stays synced plus or minus one frame of deviation in an eight-hour time frame.
"The Sync Master is to video production what Google is to research," Browning said. "It’s important and it’s a good opportunity to show our students the entire process of beta testing a product. They are on the ground floor of something that is going to change the industry and make the process easier for everyone."
Miller, who has a background in video production, knew the challenges of syncing time code when using multiple cameras. He visited with Dan McCullough, operations manager at Microframe Corp., about the technical problems of time code, and an idea was born. Miller provided the functional design on how the product should work, while Microframe provided the technical aspect. After a year of production, the Sync Master was ready for testing.
"I called my friend and former professor Nick Gerlich," Miller said. "He connected me with Dr. Browning, and after a 10 minute demonstration, it was clear the Sync Master would be a good fit for WT. Dr. Browning was absolutely thrilled to test it because it would help them solve a challenge of editing multi-camera shoots her students were working on."
The accurate visual time code provided by the Sync Master offers numerous advantages in audio syncing and can cut down editing time in television and film production.
"The Time Code Sync Master basically delivers a new level of experience students usually encounter with equipment that would cost thousands of dollars more in the industry. There are truly no boundaries to where the Sync Master can function in the film industry. It’s an accurate and well designed product ready for all levels of film and video production."
And the value of testing the product hasn’t been lost on the students, either.
"It makes me proud that an alumnus wants to give back to his alma mater by giving us a chance to beta test a product and see how it works," Adriana Gallegos, a senior marketing major from Amarillo, said. "The testing makes it more than a lecture or just reading a textbook—it’s real world experience."
—WTAMU—
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