DMC
DMC is the abbreviation for the "Research Institute for Digital Media and Content." Its purpose is to realize international leadership in the creation and distribution of new knowledge through the fusion of various academic fields regardless of the humanities or sciences, and to contribute to the creation of new industries, education, culture, and art fields. Its predecessor was the "Digital Media and Content Research Institute" established in 2004. In 2010, the organization was changed to the current research center, and in the following year, 2011, it moved from the Mita Campus West Annex to the Hiyoshi Campus West Annex. It is a coincidence, but the fact that it is located in the West Annex on both campuses feels like some kind of destiny. As one of the Research Centers and Institutes of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡, DMC is working on various things, albeit on a small scale. Three main research and educational activities as of 2018 are introduced below.
FutureLearn is a free online course delivery entity headquartered in London, UK, in which approximately 160 universities, public institutions, and companies from around the world currently participate. ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ is the only participant from Japan, which was realized in 2015 through the passionate vision of President Akira Haseyama (who was Vice-President at the time of participation). Since then, DMC has been in charge of operations under Deputy Director Keiko Okawa. Since fiscal year 2016, two new types of course content have been produced and distributed annually in cooperation with and commissioned by the faculty members in charge of the lectures, graduate students from the Graduate School of Media Design (KMD), ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Press, and others. In August of this year, the total number of registered learners for all six types of courses delivered from ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ exceeded 50,000, and the number continues to increase.
MoSaIC (Museum of Shared and Interactive Cataloguing) makes it possible to create virtual exhibition spaces by giving unique contexts to digital cultural resources around the world. Preparations are underway so that MoSaIC can contribute to a new exhibition model through the fusion of analog and digital at the "ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Museum Commons" (provisional name), which is scheduled to open in fiscal year 2021.
In addition, based on the specifications for digital cinema equipment proposed by the DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) in the United States, we conduct paid compliance certification testing for equipment requested by digital cinema equipment manufacturers. Only three locations in the world are certified for this, and DMC plays an important role as one of them (the others are in the U.S.).
Furthermore, annual research results and findings are published at the DMC Symposium, held once a year since fiscal year 2011, and in the "DMC Bulletin," which was launched as an electronic journal in fiscal year 2013. Other services provided by DMC include the free provision of automatic recording and distribution of lectures and events using the Hiyoshi Media Center AV Hall (in cooperation with the Media Center), and high-quality video shooting and editing production (paid) for research activities and results within ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡.
(Tokutaro Murakami, Administrative Project Director, Jukukan-kyoku (ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Corporate Administration))
*Affiliations and titles are as of the time this magazine was published.