Walter Murch speaking to students via video conferencing tools in pilot mode at NYU. The students in the class recently had their final guests for this semester: Walter Murch via video conference and Larry Blake, an award-winning sound mixer and author/writer/journalist, who is also Walter's friend, joined the class over the phone.
What was new about these live conversations was that Walter was not speaking with the students through Skype as he had in the past. Walter joined the class from George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch through video conferencing tools that are currently in pilot mode at NYU. Professor Zivkovic partnered with NYU ITS for the easy-to-use, high-quality video and audio conferencing which allowed for real-time conversations between the artists and students. As Professor Zivkovic told NYU ITS, "Talking to renowned filmmakers and hearing directly from them about the filmmaking process makes a big difference in getting their perspective." Jake Peterson, a student in Professor Zivkovic's class, said "Walter gave us the great advice that our best way of learning how to make movies was to make movies, and not to limit yourself. Larry Blake also spoke along the same lines, saying no matter what technology is available, it's better than what Walter had 40 years ago, so there's no excuse to not go out and make whatever it is you want to make." Here is the full article from NYU ITS.
Video Conferencing Brings Film Legends to the Classroom Over the country into a New York University classroom to share their expertise with students? It may seem daunting, but Tisch School of the Arts Professor Brane Zivkovic has found a simple solution: audio and video conferencing. In his inaugural course titled "Portrait of an Artist: WALTER MURCH," Professor Zivkovic is leading the charge in classroom innovation by using video conferencing tools, tools currently in pilot mode at NYU, to bring well-known filmmakers into his classroom and enhance the student s learning experience.
As the course title suggests, students study the life and works of Walter Murch-the only person to win the Academy Award for both Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing. Murch himself collaborates with Professor Zivkovic and the students throughout the semester by guest lecturing using audio and video conferencing and sharing his invaluable expertise. In addition, several other industry greats have joined the class as guest lecturers throughout the semester both over phone and video conferencing, including Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather), Mark Levinson (Particle Fever), Chris Newman (The English Patient), Pat Jackson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest), Gill Dennis (Walk the Line), Fairuza Balk (The Craft), Charles Koppelman (CEO of CAK Entertainment), Lawrence Weschler (creative nonfiction author) and Rick Schmidlin (film preservationist and silent film scholar).
"Talking to renowned filmmakers and hearing directly from them about the filmmaking process makes a big difference in getting their perspective," said Professor Zivkovic. When such distinguished legends can t be there in person, easy-to-use, high-quality video and audio conferencing is of utmost importance. That is why Professor Zivkovic decided to partner with NYU s IT department to help pilot NYU s video conferencing tools for his classroom. Professor Zivkovic was able to invite some of the best and brightest minds in film directly into his classroom by just emailing them a URL. After downloading a simple plug-in, the likes of Walter Murch and Francis Ford Coppola were transported into the Manhattan classroom via video conferencing to share their expertise on film editing and design. "[This class] really shows the opportunities that this institution affords its students," said student Zach Baum. "The fact that we can have two masters of their respective fields speak directly to a class is astounding. These talks help shape us as artists because they push us in the right directions." In the fall semester Professor Zivkovic plans to invite the same guests back into the classroom to impact their wisdom on a new batch of students.
And rumor has it Star Wars legend George Lucas may even make an appearance from Skywalker Ranch. Beyond Professor Zivkovic s class, this technology can be used in other ways to enhance learning in all areas of study and differentiate the educators who are using it. NYU is striving to deliver audio and video conferencing tools that are easy to use, are compatible with NYU s high definition video infrastructure, and can be leveraged both internally and externally for guest lecturers, webinars, distance learning and even global campus expansion. The possibilities are endless.