Unreal Coalition of ATLanta

The Unreal Coalition of ATLanta (UCA) mission is to provide low-income minorities in our community the opportunity to obtain high-paying jobs as the next generation of content creators by training them to become masters of Unreal Engine 5.0

UCA Origin Story

UCA Founding Partner Ola Gardner Explains Our Mission
Watch Video

The Problem We Want To Solve

Atlanta, GA leads the nation in two categories:

#1

Entertainment
Production

#2

Income
Disparity

Income inequality and lack of economic mobility are especially pronounced among minorities. The median household income for a White Family is 3 times that of a Black Family.

according to a U.S. Study By

Price waterhouse Coopers

Computing Workforce Gender & Minority Disparity:

26%
Female Employees
Women are barely a quarter of the workforce.
3%
African-American
Minorities represent a fraction of female hires.

Entertainment & Arts Employment Disparity:

22%
Women
Represent less than 1/4 of the entertainment workforce.
10%
Minorities
10.4% of the entertainment workforce are minority hires.

UCA seeks an Epic MegaGrant to complete their vision of a state-of-the-art production campus that pairs XR “Smart Stage” technologies with world-class training enabling minority applicants to become masters in Unreal Studio 5.0

The Pandemic, affecting life for all, has forced dramatic changes to both entertainment production and education. New advancements in virtual production are hurting minorities due to the disappearance of entry-level jobs and the increased need for a new breed of skilled creatives at a time when the education industry is struggling to find an effective solution to bridge this unforseen divide. 

who we are

About UCA

The TriStar Foundation and Visual Art & Design Academy (VADA) are Georgia-based 501c3’s that have combined their resources to drive economic mobility for minorities in the entertainment industry.

“Economic policy has not kept pace with the transition of skill sets needed in the modern production workplace,” says JB Vick, founder of TriStar, “It’s an issue that will become more acute in the coming years for those leading the industry.”

TriStar serves as the philanthropic arm of MVP Studios, Atlanta’s only virtual production studio, which has hosted over 60 major productions in the last two years. VADA, an art education provider for programmers and artists, focuses on virtual and physical education to empowering women and minorities for job readiness. Together, they formed UCA with a mission to provide the next generation of creators with the skills needed to find success and ultimately push the new paradigm of Entertainment (Film, Television, Music, Gaming) and Education even further.

“We will accomplish our goal with workshops, boot camps, locally hosted group meetings, and industry meetups to empower artistic growth through Unreal Engine training and practical applications of XR Smart Stage technologies,” says Ola Gardner, founder of VADA. 

creating the creators

The Training

Training will be comprised of both virtual learning and onsite production labs. Led by VADA’s faculty of seasoned educators who have deep experience teaching within traditional classroom and distance learning. All our staff members have the wisdom of real-world experience as working professionals at high profile studios in Atlanta.

UCA Educators

Leadership
Faculty
French Spencer | MS

Audio, TV & Film Production Professional, 12+ Years Educational Experience

Dr. Delminquoe Cunningham | 3D Generalist

16 Years Pre & Post Production Industry Experience, UX/UI Designer, 10 Years Educational Experience

Anthony Handy | Digital Conceptual Artist

BossKey Games

Production labs will be held in our downtown Atlanta facility where students will be fully provided with instruction, hardware, and software free of charge. The goal of our training and workshops is to make each student “pipeline ready” for immediate job placement. Our curriculum is modular-based instructional design that adheres to the latest Unreal software and hardware requirements fully preparing our students for:

Problem Solving
A focus on practical ways to solve problems
Skills Building
How to use industry specific skills to think and plan ahead
Job Readiness
How to grow supporters of the Industry

Planned Curriculum

Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Session 1

Programming for Unreal

Gaming Basics | Logic & Programming Basics Object-Oriented Programming C++ for Gameplay | Design Basics | AI | Programming for VR

This program is for students who seek a skill set that allows them to work in a variety of positions. We will teach the Unreal engine and focus on gameplay through both Blueprint coding and C++.

  • Project-based assignments
  • Opportunities to work on a real-world projects
  • Taught by seasoned faculty and industry partners
Session 2

Asset Modeling for Unreal

Intro to 3D Hard Surface Techniques | Surfacing & Lighting | Lidar for Location | Layout & Unreal Lighting

Students will learn to create and integrate 3D models in the Unreal Engine. The curriculum covers subjects with a focus in project workflow and processes, utilizing the power of the Unreal Engine.

  • Technical training with a focus on project workflow and processes
  • Project-based assignments
  • Opportunities to work on real-world projects
  • Taught by seasoned faculty and industry partners
Session 3

Real Time Cinematics

Lighting in Maya Basics of Cinematography | Lens Translation in Unreal | Shooting HDRI Lighting | Film Production for Unreal | Audio, ADR & Foley

This program is for students who seek a skill set to work in a variety of positions. They will learn to create films and cinematics using digital and real-world lighting, basic film principles and film production, and how to use external cameras to control cameras in Unreal.

  • Technical training with a focus on project workflow and processes
  • Project-based assignments
  • Opportunities to work on real-world projects
  • Taught by seasoned faculty and industry partners
Session 4

VFX in Unreal

Rendering & Composition | Nuke to Unreal | Color Grading | Basics of Photography | Particle Effects

This program is for students who seek a skill set that allows them to work in a variety of positions. They will learn how to create particle systems, explosions, lighting effects within Unreal. They will also investigate color grading and special effects from Nuke to Unreal. The curriculum covers subjects with a focus on project workflow and processes, utilizing the power of the Unreal Engine.

  • Technical training with a focus on project workflow and processes
  • Project-based assignments
  • Opportunities to work on real-world projects
  • Taught by seasoned faculty and industry partners
Session 5

VR with Unreal

Intro to GamePlay | Mechanics of VR | Systems & Tools | Camera Controls | Studio Project

This program is for students who seek a skill set that allows them to work in a variety of positions. They will learn the different types of hardware tools that can be used with Unreal to create virtual reality experience, game play, logic, and interactivity for virtual reality. The curriculum covers subjects with a focus on project workflow and processes, utilizing the power of the Unreal Engine.

  • Technical training with a focus on project workflow and processes
  • Project-based assignments
  • Opportunities to work on real-world projects
  • Taught by seasoned faculty and industry partners

In support of the modular curriculum or for those applicants who are not full-time students, our Bootcamps will serve as intense weekend sessions covering the fundamentals of coding and terminology while teaching critical thinking and logic to navigate through a project. Our online model addresses current concerns of safety while in the COVID pandemic.

Our Unreal Engine Bootcamps will be a series of workshops divided into phases providing attendees the knowledge and experience to execute from concept to completion.

Phase One covers the methodologies and best practices to understand and utilize the tools within the Unreal Engine framework.

Phase Two provides students the ability to apply what they have learned in a practical “production lab” environment using the MVP Studios facilities to master their skills, gain real-world experience and complete their training ready for job placement that commands higher salaries.

setting the scene

The Facility

Training & Education Spaces
Production Spaces
Offices & Base Camp
Training & Education Spaces

Learning Environment for Unreal

Learn-by-doing production labs equipped with the latest technologies

  • Unreal Hands-on-Training for Film & Gaming
  • Academic & Commercial Media Development
  • Innovation Labs for R&D
  • Co-Labs for Game Jams & Collab Projects
Production Spaces

Real-World Experience for Unreal

Multiple stages for client productions and student labs

  • XR “Smart Stage”
  • Volumetric Capture Stage
  • Chroma Key Stage
  • Unique Interior & Exterior Shooting Locations
  • Editing & Post-Production Suites
  • Scoring & Audio Recording Facilities
Offices & Base Camp

Centrally located Modern Offices

From single offices to full suites, manage your production in the heart of downtown Atlanta

  • Short & Long-Term Leases
  • Full Commissary
  • Equipment Storage
  • Private Covered Parking
  • Highly Secure Facility
Site Map

Building 1

Building 2

UCA Budget

The Ask

500 K
Asking for Full Funding of $500K for Operational & Equipment Costs
TRAINING
200K
$50K INSTRUCTOR SALARIES
$50K COURSE DEVELOPMENT & MATERIALS
$50K LEASES & UTILITIES
PRODUCTION
300K
100K STUDIO EQUIPMENT
150K IT & DATACENTER INFRASTRUCTURE
50K OPERATIONAL EXPENSES
Why Fund UCS

The Benefits

Job Placement
Georgia has a generous tax credit which assures a constant supply of new productions which in turn creates an ongoing supply of new opportunities for our trained students
Qualified Candidates
Georgia has the HBCU historically black colleges which provide us a ready source of qualified candidates
Location, Location, Location
In the heart of Atlanta, our downtown location is sought-after by incoming productions and central to the best schools and universities in Atlanta making it ideal for our students to attend and gain real-world experience
Experienced Team
Our leadership and educational staff are all working professionals with years of production and teaching experience providing a turn-key solution to put Epic MegaGrant funds to work right away resulting in news-worthy success stories in the first year
Success Story for Epic & Unreal
UCA's goal is to make Epic & Unreal a hero to Atlanta and it's minority communities. For those who have been left behind, a new generation of creators will be empowered with success and prosperity through the opportunities UCA provides with the help of Epic's MegaGrant.