Since conducting its first classes in 1957, UNLV has grown from a small college into a thriving research institution.
The university, in Las Vegas, has become a vital resource in one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and now with a newly renovated film department, UNLV has set its sights on becoming one of the top film schools in the nation.
UNLV’s ability to offer its students the same opportunities previously found only at elite institutions comes from individuals such as Frank Alaimo.
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A senior AV systems specialist at UNLV, Alaimo was aware that the school’s film department required a much-needed upgrade.
Enter Kevin Potts, David Starck and Sean Greener of Coherent Design, and integration manager David Peterson of CCS Las Vegas, whom Alaimo had worked on various other projects over the years.
Together, this group helped to bring a state-of-the-art film department to the UNLV campus.
Inside the UNLV Film School Installation
Transforming a nearly 50-year-old lecture hall into a 250-seat Dolby Atmos theater represented the type of project that had never been undertaken at UNLV before.
The objective was to provide the spring semester class with a new facility and new equipment, which meant an extremely tight timeline of approximately 100 days from demolition to completion.
“The potential of this space to enhance and improve our film program is nearly limitless, and CCS has been instrumental in getting us here,” said Alaimo. “From the beginning of this project, Peterson asked, ‘What do we need to do to make this happen?’”
Peterson guided his crew through the entirety of the project. His ability to communicate and manage the many moving parts that comprise such an undertaking was on full display—as was his team’s willingness to work late nights and weekends to stay on schedule.
Providing film school students with a facility that best captures their artistic intent also requires the right tools and materials.
With a state-of-the-art film school theater and post-production facility, professional filmmakers, editors, and sound engineers cannot only work to create their visions, but they can also bring their visions to life on-screen.
Central to the UNLV installation is a Stewart Filmscreen Director’s Choice fixed frame screen system measuring about 30 feet maximum diagonal in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Continuous four-way masking allows the students to view content in any aspect ratio imaginable.
The screen material is SnoMatte 100 with CinePerf sound transparency. Chosen for its reputation for superb color and white field uniformity, SnoMatte 100 is the standard for digital intermediate (DI) and color editing during the filmmaking process.
CinePerf’s acoustical transparency ensures accurate sound imaging for the students during the audio post-production phase of their project.
