About Us
Thank you for visiting our website! This semester, METX collaborated to build engagement within the university community. Working with University Communications and the Alumni Association, we've developed a variety of campus stories including:
- Creating videos that highlight successful alumni and graduating seniors to showcase the impact Chico State made on them
- Utilizing augmented reality to create an app available to Android
- Generating a website and social media content showcasing our projects
Augmented Reality Team
What is augmented reality?
AR is a technology that inserts virtual elements into the user’s real world by capturing the existing environment and inserting virtual information on top of it. Some examples of these are Snapchat filters, the virtual analytics tools used in sports broadcasting, or even Pokemon GO.
What has the AR team been working on?
The METX AR team has been working for University Communications and Chico State's Alumni Association with the creation of Chico State’s exciting new and innovative mobile app “Rockin’ With Ru.” The app enables users to take pictures with Ru the Wildcat on their personal devices anywhere in the world. This app will provide Chico State with a tool that the community can engage with on multiple levels. “Rockin’ With Ru” will be a great way for prospective students to interact with the campus in a new way. Alumni returning to visit their alma mater will now be able to capture the moment alongside Chico State’s mascot. Samuel Keeley is the Computer Animation & Game Development major on the team, and he is very excited for “Rockin’ With Ru” to go public. “There’s some small legacy piece to it. Future students who will be here will get some enjoyment out of something I made,” Keeley said.
What does the technology look like behind the scenes?
The AR Wildcat is captured by taking thousands of photos at every possible angle and feeding those photos into a software program. This process is called photogrammetry, and former Chico State professor Dan Cahill did the initial capture. The photo information is used to create a “mesh” that Sam Keeley uses to apply colors and texture the object, making it look as real as possible. To place the rendered wildcat into the app, the file is fed into a script (chunk of code) and the object spawns into the scene.
Branding Team
The METX J&PR Team handled the branding aspect of this whole project. This included participating in a university fundraiser and building our behind-the-scenes website.
What is Giving Day?
For the first time, METX participated in Chico State’s Giving Day, which is a yearly 24-hour fundraising event that benefits several campus clubs and organizations. These donations aid in financing future METX projects. With the goal of receiving as many donations as possible, the J&PR team collaborated on launching the fundraising website and an email campaign to METX alumni. This required attention to image selection and copywriting, university training and extensive knowledge of analytics.
What did creating the website entail?
Building a website is no easy task. It requires a lot of outside work, communication, planning and attention to detail. J&PR students spent many hours coding a website that is not only visually appealing but user-friendly. The final METX website is the site you’re looking at right now! The main goal of the website is to showcase work from all three teams. J&PR students conducted profile surveys that display a bio about each team member. Some students wrote content for the website that describes the project while others used their photographic skills to capture headshots and behind-the-scenes images. Other responsibilities include interviewing peers and copyediting. Adobe software was used to code the whole website, which was a foundational skill taught in early journalism classes.
How was social media used throughout the semester?
Showcasing the completed projects, the team developed a social media strategy that responded to the question, "What can catch the audience's attention?" With a focus on images, colors, typography and captions, the team got the word out on the J&PR Instagram, and tagged our METX partners MADT and CAGD.
Video Team
What did the video team accomplish?
The METX video team developed two video projects for University Communications and Chico State's Alumni Association. The videos consist of different visions, however, their goal is the same: to show why current graduating students and alumni chose Chico State and how the university has helped them exceed in their career goals.
The video for University Communications, titled Senior Sendoff, focuses on graduating seniors. This video celebrates the students and their accomplishments. It highlights their time at Chico State and what made it a unique experience.
Chico State’s Alumni Association videos showcase three successful alumni under 30-years-old: Cheyenne Cameron-Pruitt, Matthew Munoz, and Natalie Collins. These videos give prospective students a glimpse of clubs and organizations the alumni were involved in during their time at Chico State and how they impacted launching their professional careers.
How did the team decide on equipment?
Their video development process consisted of creating outlines for interview scripts and treatment plans for the videos. The team began testing the lighting and video equipment to determine which they would prefer. After numerous tests, they decided to use a 6K Black Magic Pocket camera. Tanner Simpson, an English major on the team, described it as “a cinema camera that fits in your back pocket and films in Braw format, which has the most dynamic file range for editing.” For their lens, the team used the Rokinon Anamorphic Lens Kit, which gives them six lens options for wide or close-up shots. For long filming days, they rely on the V-mount battery packs that power the camera for hours on end. They also utilized a multi-track recorder to ensure they were picking up audio from various sources. For lighting, the team relied on the RGB LED Light Panel GVM Kits. The compacted kit makes traveling easy and they use Sony battery packs to eliminate the hassle of finding outlets. Lastly, they wrap their lights in soft boxes for diffusion, making shadows soft.
What was the filming process like?
The team interviewed METX students for the behind-the-scenes video first and then went on to interview their subjects for the video projects. Yasmin Mack, a MADT major on the team described this experience as fun and was happy with how patient the interviewees were during this process. “It was my first time using the camera on my own because I’m usually just assisting someone with it, so it was a great learning experience for me as well,” Mack said.
What were the team's finishing touches?
After gathering all the B-roll footage, the team edited their content.They used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit together the videos and audio. During the final cut, they used Davinci Resolve for color grading. After adding the final touches, the team produced these two videos for the Chico State Alumni Association and University Communications.
Behind The Scenes
Watch this video to see how the team put these projects together and share what it's like working across disciplines.
Timeline
With each month, the team progressed to finish the final products.
January
The beginning of the journey.
In January, all of our METX students came together for the first time and learned about this semester’s exciting new project. We split up into smaller groups and began to think about our different project pieces based on the client’s needs. Once we were split up, our groups began to research our two clients, the Alumni Association and the University Communication Team.
February
Meet the clients.
During this month, our teams spent most of their time brainstorming potential ideas and drafting strategy guides for our respective projects. The teams went on to share the ideas with our clients to get final approval before getting to work. At the end of the month, we dedicated time to Chico State Giving Day where METX was able to raise $350 for the program.
March
Get to work creating content.
During this month, the augmented reality team began coding for the Rockin’ with Ru Android app and created branding pieces that would be used in the app store. The video team, at this time, was reaching out to potential subjects for their videos while drafting scripts and laying out storyboards. The branding team began to break ground on the website and worked on behind-the-scenes photography as well as social media.
April
All hands on deck!
This month, the augmented reality team finalized the last touches to put onto the Rockin’ with Ru augmented reality app. The video team was hard at work shooting video clips all over Chico, whether it be with their fellow METX peers, Senior Sendoff, at the Campus Center, or even on the Chico State farm. The branding team continued to dive into the website, working hard on coding and writing copy for the website.
May
Time to wrap things up!
During this time, the video team was busy finishing all of their work, while the AR team was making the final edits to the app after presenting to the clients. Lastly, the website team was pulling all of the work together, getting ready for the website to go live on May 16.
The Ru-print
Artist
The 7-foot-long, 1,500-pound brass statue was designed and created by artist Matthew Gray Palmer. His statues appear around the country in national parks, zoos and aquariums.
Scientific Reasoning
The statue “Ru” is named after Lynx rufus californicus, which is Latin for California Wildcat.
Willie vs Ru
Ru (the statue) is commonly referred to as Willie by mistake. Willie the Wildcat is the cartoon character and smiling Wildcat you may see walking Chico State’s campus in the mascot costume.
Chico State Today:
For more information regarding the statue’s creation, please visit the article in Chico State Today!
Download Rockin' With Ru
"Rockin' With Ru" allows Android users to take pictures with an augmented reality version of Chico State’s beloved statue, Ru, on their personal decive.
The Team
Jolie Asuncion
Logan Bertsch
Brandon Chavez Garcia
John Chiu
Megan Gauer
Thomas Gonzales
Rubi Ha-Hernandez
Isa “Scout” Hernandez
Samuel Keeley
Kiana Liclican-Pippitt
Yasmin Mack
Josh Mannix
Mawil Mateo
Eve Miller
Adrianna Felicity Rose
Tanner Simpson
Stephen Taylor
Lucy Ventura
Debra Johnson
JOUR Instructor
Jeff Underwood
CAGD Instructor
Quinn Winchell
MADT Instructor
Frequently Asked Questions
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What Is METX?
The Media, Entertainment and Technology Experience is an interdisciplinary collaboration spanning two colleges and three academic programs. Over the course of a semester, students receive a client, conduct research, plan, and execute the proposed project.
METX provides students with practical, hands-on experience using industry hardware, software and processes, just as they will in their professional careers.
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Who Is METX?
Students majoring in Computer Animation and Game Development, Journalism and Public Relations, and Media Arts, Design and Technology come together to create one team. Each student gains hands-on experience, broadens their skill set and tries new things. Whether a student was a part of the AR team, video team or branding team, everyone contributed and worked hard to make this project happen.
Together, we are three departments, two colleges and one team!
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How Can I Join METX?
METX is typically offered to students who have been approached by one of the faculty members first. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the project coordinator, Debra Johnson via email.
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How Do I Become A Client For METX?
We take on a new client each year. If you are interested in becoming one in the future for you or your business, please contact the project coordinator, Debra Johnson via email.