WEDU ARTS PLUS Goes Behind the Scenes with Dylan McDermott at Ringling College of Art and Design

SARASOTA, Fla. - Aug. 5, 2016 - PRLog -- Dylan McDermott took a moment to give direction to an actor sitting in the driver's seat of an old pickup truck strategically surrounded by production lights, cameras, cables and more. The Golden Globe winning actor and director is working with Ringling College Film students to shoot and film a web series in Sarasota.

For the moment, the cameras capturing the scenes of the web series have stopped, however the cameras for WEDU ARTS PLUS have continued filming. WEDU's award-winning, weekly arts and culture program will profile the development of the web series during this Thursday (8/11/16) night's episode beginning at 8 p.m. The segment goes behind-the-scenes at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota as McDermott writes and directs the pilot of a web series with students as part of a collaboration that aims to bring the professional film industry to Sarasota with famous talent and a brand new soundstage and post-production facility.

WEDU PBS, Semkhor Networks and Ringling College of Art and Design announced in June that they had signed a letter of intent to develop a wide ranging collaboration centered on a new sound stage and post production facility. While the first large stage will open later this year, the collaboration is already creating new opportunities. The WEDU ARTS PLUS behind-the-scenes segment is the first project for the partners.

Future projects being discussed range from ongoing web series to traditional television. The approximately 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art professional soundstage and film and television post-production complex is tied to Ringling College of Art and Design's academic needs and is expected to attract a broad range of commercial production, as well as WEDU productions.

When complete, the college will conduct filmmaking classes and students will work on any commercial productions that use the complex. The new facility will be designed to take full advantage of the rapid advancements in digital production and distribution with the flexibility to support a wide range of content production. The facility is slated to be fully operational in 2017 and the web series directed by McDermott will premiere in early 2017.

WEDU ARTS PLUS airs on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. and repeats several times during the week on WEDU's multiple channels. Programs are also available for viewing on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. To learn more about WEDU ARTS PLUS or to view past episodes, visit the website at www.wedu.org/artsplus.