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

Atlanta, GA leads the nation in two categories:
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.
Computing Workforce Gender & Minority Disparity:
Female Employees
African-American
Entertainment & Arts Employment Disparity:
Women
Minorities
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.
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.
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.
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:
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++.
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Project-based assignments
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Opportunities to work on a real-world projects
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Taught by seasoned faculty and industry partners
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.
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Technical training with a focus on project workflow and processes
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Project-based assignments
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Opportunities to work on real-world projects
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Taught by seasoned faculty and industry partners
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.
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Technical training with a focus on project workflow and processes
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Project-based assignments
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Opportunities to work on real-world projects
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Taught by seasoned faculty and industry partners
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.
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Technical training with a focus on project workflow and processes
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Project-based assignments
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Opportunities to work on real-world projects
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Taught by seasoned faculty and industry partners
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.
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Technical training with a focus on project workflow and processes
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Project-based assignments
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Opportunities to work on real-world projects
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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.
Learning Environment for Unreal
Learn-by-doing production labs equipped with the latest technologies
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Unreal Hands-on-Training for Film & Gaming
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Academic & Commercial Media Development
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Innovation Labs for R&D
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Co-Labs for Game Jams & Collab Projects
Real-World Experience for Unreal
Multiple stages for client productions and student labs
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XR “Smart Stage”
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Volumetric Capture Stage
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Chroma Key Stage
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Unique Interior & Exterior Shooting Locations
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Editing & Post-Production Suites
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Scoring & Audio Recording Facilities
Centrally located Modern Offices
From single offices to full suites, manage your production in the heart of downtown Atlanta
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Short & Long-Term Leases
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Full Commissary
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Equipment Storage
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Private Covered Parking
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Highly Secure Facility

