Cinematography program at South Plains College adds virtual production training and direct-to-career projects
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Summary
Andrew Taylor, an instructor in the School of Cinematography, described hands-on cinema and live-video instruction, short-film projects and plans to build a virtual production LED volume for student training.
The School of Cinematography at South Plains College teaches both live multi-camera video for events and cinema production, instructor Andrew Taylor said, and students leave the program able to work on music videos, short films and event-based video jobs.
"We are teaching them skills that they can take and apply directly to jobs," Taylor said, noting that students sometimes work as directors of photography and that the program connects student musicians and cinematographers to produce content such as music videos.
Taylor said the program runs classes that take students from basics to independent project production; an entire semester can be dedicated to producing a student short film from idea to post-production. He also described ongoing plans to build a virtual production "volume" — a LED wall system used in modern productions (the kind of technology used on the TV series The Mandalorian) — so students can gain experience with that workflow.
Why it matters: the program emphasizes technical skills that are directly hireable in regional production markets and is updating equipment and curriculum to reflect industry practices. Taylor cautioned that the program also teaches ethical and legal concerns around new tools — including AI-assisted rotoscoping and composite tools — and flags copyright and attribution issues.
Context and limits: Taylor’s comments describe curriculum and planned facility upgrades; no procurement, costs, or external funding commitments were announced during the interview.