Mars Insights｜Oral Roberts University Embraces ICVFX with VIVE Mars CamTrack

Oral Roberts University (ORU) is advancing its cinematic arts program by integrating virtual production technologies, led by the Artist-In-Residence and filmmaker Dan Rubottom. This semester marked a pivotal moment as students utilized in-camera visual effects (ICVFX) tools, including the 26ft x 13ft Vu Technologies' Vū One LED wall and VIVE MARS CamTrack.

Students demonstrated their creativity through various projects on the Vū One LED wall, including a standout simulated car scene filmed entirely in-studio.

“The students’ creativity skyrocketed! What they wrote, acted, and shot was so good it brought tears to my eyes.”

Plans to foster collaborations across departments such as theater, costume design, and music scoring are set to enrich future projects further. “The studios are housed in the new Media Arts Center, designed to merge creative arts disciplines,” Rubottom explained. “Having a costume shop, scene shop, and music scoring program within reach has opened incredible possibilities for collaboration.” These efforts provide students with hands-on experience in professional-level production environments.

Looking ahead, ORU plans to incorporate virtual production into upcoming courses, equipping students with skills applicable to various industries. “We’re excited about exploring the possibilities of virtual production,” Rubottom noted. “As costs come down, we see great potential for using virtual production in cinema, episodic content, church production, and podcast. It’s a growth area we’re eager to dive into.”

By adopting these technologies, ORU offers students invaluable real-world experience, preparing them for careers in the evolving fields of filmmaking, music, and beyond, while encouraging innovative storytelling and production methods.

🚀 VIVE Mars: This semester marked the first time using ICVFX, and the students recently showcased their work using the Vū One. How was that experience for them and for you as a mentor?

Dan Rubottom: It was an amazing and rewarding experience! The students fully embraced the new tech and created some very compelling stuff! The fact that you don’t have to make company moves, fight the elements, have location changes or issues with parking, and just stay focused on creating, in the zone, was really eye-opening for them.

🚀 VIVE Mars: What has your experience been like with Mars CamTrack?

Dan Rubottom: We are in the infancy of this program, so we have primarily done more 2D plates, but have been diligently learning Unreal and how it works with CamTrack. What I like about it so far is its simplicity; the interface tells you what you need to know, and once you get it connected in UE, it is not complicated.

🚀 VIVE Mars: You mentioned plans to add virtual production and VIVE Mars to a class next fall. Can you share what the course will include?

Dan Rubottom: We are exploring how to best teach VP next fall, whether it is integrated into other classes or be its own class. Beyond that, it's inevitable that we will need multiple classes in VP, and who knows, maybe its own degree path. We can see already that this will be an integral part of the program for years to come.

🚀 VIVE Mars: How are you introducing students to virtual backgrounds and camera tracking?

Dan Rubottom: So far, they have just done one project without tracking, but that will come soon, and the simplicity of CamTrack will be a huge win in overcoming a normally complex workflow.

🚀 VIVE Mars: How does involving departments like costume design, theater, and lighting enhance film students’ productions at ORU?

Dan Rubottom: This is an area we are particularly excited about, as the studios are contained in the brand new MAC (Media Arts Center), which includes Theater, Music, and Dance. The massive scene shop is just down the hall, and the costume shop is across from us, so we have already been discussing how we can all work collaboratively on some very cool film projects. Also, the commercial music program is upstairs, and we are also in talks about students scoring our film projects. The vision of this building (just opened Fall of 2024) is to merge these creative arts together into one facility - which traditionally have been in their own silos.

🚀 VIVE Mars: How important is real-world experience for your students, and how do you plan to involve productions from Tulsa and Oklahoma City to provide those opportunities?

Dan Rubottom: This is huge. Real-world experience is vital to the students’ success, and part of my role is to help them understand more advanced techniques from lighting to set etiquette. We also stay engaged in the local film community, with actors, crew, film commissions, and plan to do much more.

🚀 VIVE Mars: Were there any standout “wow” moments you experienced this semester?

Dan Rubottom: We did a poor man’s process car shot in studio. That kind of blew their minds. It was also probably the most fun I’ve had on set in a long time, to see how it gave their creativity a real boost. In fact, I gave them an assignment on the spot to write a short dialogue scene for a car parked in an urban street at night. What they wrote/acted/shot actually made me tear up a few times, it was so good.

🚀 VIVE Mars: What skills and knowledge do you aim to teach through this new technology?

Dan Rubottom: Probably the main thing is the ability to quickly think on your feet on how to problem solve. Of course their preproduction will be vital with VP, but also just how to think about blocking, eye-lines, coverage, which is a little different on this type of stage. Also, how to use the wall as a tool, not as an end all approach, but hey, how can you fill in that one window or part of a background instead of trying to frame the whole wall. That also will help them know when to use this technology on their films, maybe it's one shot in a feature, or maybe it’s the whole thing, but think it through and use it for how it can best tell your story.

🚀 VIVE Mars: What areas can students who learn virtual production and CamTrack apply their knowledge to?

Dan Rubottom: I’m looking forward to really exploring new ways to use CamTrack for other types of productions. Church productions have gotten quite sophisticated in recent years and I think this will be one of those areas we will see it used - promos, intros/outros, live productions. Doing VP podcast shoots is definitely a big growth area too, as costs come down.

🚀 VIVE Mars: What other areas or technologies are you excited to explore in 2025?

Dan Rubottom: I think this year, I’ll be just diving deeper into VP and UE, but any tool that will continue to make things easier and less expensive, like CamTrack, will have my attention!

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👥 To contact Oral Roberts University:

🔗 ORU Cinema Media Arts' Instagram, Dan_Rubottom's Instagram, Vū's Website

🔗 Email: Dan Rubottom danrubottom@gmail.com

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Film schools and universities are already making Mars CamTrack part of their virtual production curriculum with our ready-to-teach software package.

Contact us directly at VIVE MARS or email mars-partnership@vive.com to see what’s possible.