Durham College (DC) and Sheridan College (Sheridan), with support of up to $100,000 from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), are pleased to announce that they will undertake university-industry projects by sharing their applied research centre services and by providing expert time to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Canadian media industry. The contribution from NRC IRAP will help support projects with up to 10 high-potential, growth-oriented companies who are aiming to develop media production workflows.

DC’s Mixed Reality Capture (MRC) Studio, in partnership with Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT) at Sheridan College Pinewood Toronto Studios, will lead applied research and development projects with industry clients to help fuel the growth of Canada’s media industry by assisting SMEs in conducting the feasibility to create media content workflows, offering technical expertise and proof of concept for the inclusion of advanced technologies in the creation of media.

The colleges’ joint offering includes an integrated suite of the following technologies, all powered by leading-edge infrastructure technologies such as 5G and SIRTNET:

• Live performance tools for content creation using the film development kits for integration of all aspects of content creation.
• Virtual production techniques allowing content creators to plan, imagine, or complete a filmic element with the aid of digital tools to simplify content generation workflows.
• Integration of digital techniques such as AI, special sound effects and immersive experience using AR/VR techniques across all platforms.
• High-fidelity virtual human creation and aggregation to maximize productivity for content generation across all platforms.
• Access to Multi-National Enterprise (MNE) technologies such as leading-edge processor and graphics platforms from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

The MRC Studio and SIRT Centre are recognized for their demonstrated track records of success assisting SMEs with the development of proof of concepts in a variety of content generation projects. DC and Sheridan will use the funding to enable SMEs from coast to coast to gain technical skills, adopt new technology, commercialize innovations, create jobs and increase revenues within a globally competitive market.