To engage prospective students, York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) has launched a virtual tour resource to showcase its 300,000-square-feet worth of facilities, share student stories and highlight experiential education opportunities.
The AMPD Virtual Tour offers visitors the ability to view state-of-the-art facilities associated with different departments and programs within AMPD, including cinema and media arts, dance, design, digital media, music, theatre, visual art and art history, as well the integrative arts. A total of eight tours are available, with different “scenes” contained in each tour that students can interact with in a similar way that they would at an open house.
Each viewable location gives virtual visitors the chance to step into these dynamic spaces through 360-degree photos of AMPD facilities that include hot spots focused on noteworthy features and videos of student profiles. Furthermore, the images showcase students in action to highlight the various hands-on, industry and experiential education opportunities available. For example, a virtual tour of the Cinema & Media Arts program facilities shows AMPD students shooting large-scale scenes in a soundproof studio.
The AMPD Virtual Tour was built with Circuit Virtual Tours, a leading technology company based in Toronto that enables the creation of immersive digital experiences for higher education institutions and other physical spaces. From start to finish, the project took four months, from plotting out scenes and crafting the script to organizing photo shoots and curating media assets.
Through the virtual tour and embedded calls-to-action throughout it, AMPD aims to increase student interest in arts, culture and design programs – particularly from international students who cannot physically attend events, tours, showcases and performances. The new virtual experience puts the learning opportunities available at AMPD on stage 24-7 for students around the world.
Experience the AMPD Virtual Tour today at virtualtour.ampd.yorku.ca.