26 August 2011
Brian Cox to officially open Visual Effects Research Lab
Photo opportunity: 1-2pm on Monday, 29th August at Visual Effects Research Lab, Matthew Building, DJCAD. Brian Cox will officially open the VERL facility.
Dundee University Rector and Hollywood star Brian Cox will next week officially open a major new lab facility that will bring scientists, artists, clinicians, and filmmakers together and promote interdisciplinary research.
He will mark the opening of the Visual Effects Research Lab at Level 6, Matthew Building, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design from 1-2pm on Monday, 29th August. VERL is a groundbreaking project that will bring together the worlds of film, art, technology and computer science.
Part of the EU-funded North Sea Screen Partners project, the lab has been created to produce cutting edge visual effects and new and innovative research. It is also the focus for the new Visual Effects Research Network. The 6 million euro project aims to help companies produce, shoot, and learn across all media. The partners enjoyed Oscar success this year with 'In a Better World', which was supported by Film Fyn in Denmark. Dundee itself is already a hub for the games industry.
The Lab offers companies the chance to work with the latest technology and the network is helping post-production companies to network and collaborate so they can get involved in larger and more lucrative projects. VERL has already been nominated for the Best Collaboration Award 2011 by Creative City Challenge.
VERL Project Leader Peter Richardson said, 'The initial three-year project will challenge established notions of visual thought. Interdisciplinary research will be promoted, and researchers will be encourages to share methodologies
'We aim to create new synergies between scientists, artists, clinicians, and filmmakers and demonstrate the potential of them combining their respective expertise. The skills of artists and other practitioners in the creative professions can be of immense value in a wide range of other areas, and I am sure that work carried out at VERL will go on to have a significant impact in scientific and medical research and industry.
'As he is one of Dundee’s greatest cultural ambassadors, we are delighted that Brian Cox will be joining us to officially open the Visual Effects Research Lab. He is also University rector and a long-standing supporter of the research carried out at Dundee and so he is the perfect guest to open the facility.
'I think the fact that we have already been nominated for an award shows just how groundbreaking this project is, and how strong the culture of collaboration is.'
DJCAD is part of the University of Dundee, and academics and students already work closely with colleagues from Life Sciences, Medicine, Computing and other areas on collaborative work that demonstrates how the creative industries can contribute to seemingly disparate disciplines.
Funded by the European Union’s North Sea Interreg IVb programme, the project will consolidate established world-class research in a diverse range of areas, such as video art, digital film, visual effects, medical visualisation, animation and underwater imaging.
Councillor Will Dawson of NSSP lead partner, Dundee City Council, said 'We're delighted that the Lab has been developed in Dundee and adds to the city’s growing reputation in games and digital media.'
The lab offers a custom-built environment to realise projects with state of the art compositing, editing, animation and visualisation software. Breakout spaces and meeting rooms are also available for academics and partner organisations.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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