Facilities
Vilas Communication Hall was built in 1972. The Instructional Media Center originally housed 16mm film equipment and had a back hallway dedicated to editing stations, where undergraduate students edited film by hand. Since then, as the industry has transitioned to digital videography, so has the media center. Thanks to generous support from the Hamel family, the editing hallway has been converted into dozens of computer editing stations, and new computer labs have been built for both classroom use and individual work with digital media.
3153 – Class Room: This media classroom is one of the primary rooms for media production courses in the program. Here, cinematographer Jim Frohna (Afternoon Delight) meets with production students to discuss the film and his other work.
3155 – Mirisch Room: This seminar room was a gift from UW grad Walter Mirisch, the famous film producer who went on to make such classics as The Magnificent Seven, In the Heat of the Night, and West Side Story. On March 20, 2018, filmmaker Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas) visited campus and met with students in CA 466: Writing for Television and Film.
3161 – Hamel Lab: A gift from UW grads George and Pamela Hamel led to the creation of this lab, which is the primary classroom for introduction to media production and editing courses.
Living Room Lab: Designed to replicate the experience of playing video games and watching television and movies at home, the Living Room Lab is a seminar room for the modern era. Pictured here, students go head-to-head on an Atari console in the popular CA 547: Digital Game Cultures course.
Editing Suites: Private editing suites are also available, for students who wish to have fewer distractions while they work. Like the Hamel Lab, these suites are equipped with iMacs. A few advanced suites are equipped with Mac Pros, Avid control surfaces, and Pro Tools, as pictured here.
2050 and 2060 – Studios: These fully-equipped film production studios were once used for television broadcast courses. Now they are used for narrative film scenes. With dozens of moveable lighting batons and a stockpile of light fixtures, the studios are a little-known production gem in the heart of Madison and a great resource for Comm Arts media production students.
4070: This lecture hall and theater is the crown jewel of the Communication Arts department. It is used for large lectures, course screenings, semesterly UW Cinematheque screenings, and is one of the venues for the Wisconsin Film Festival. With its state-of-the-art, expertly crafted sound system and 16mm, 35mm, and 4K DCP projectors, it is one of the best film screening facilities in the state.