More than 25 Ball State students have helped shape the direction of one of the university's new immersion learning centers through a new high-definition film produced by the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Center for Media Design. Students from theatre, music and telecommunications programs have collaborated to write, act and produce this original work.

"Mahd" will premiere at 7 p.m. April 12 in Strother Theatre. "Mahd," a 15th-century German word meaning "aftermath," will serve as the precursor to Ball State's Institute for Digital Entertainment and Art (IDEA).

"Mahd" is helping lay the groundwork for the institute, an immersion learning center. The institute will serve as a production house that will bring artistic vision to life and provide Indiana filmmakers access to a proven infrastructure and talent pool.

The innovative partnership will benefit Ball State theatre and telecommunications students, who will be able to showcase their award-winning talents on a daily basis to up-and-coming filmmakers while building professional and artistic relationships that may grow as the students and filmmakers progress in their careers.

"This institute will be Janus-based — the Roman god with two faces," said Rodger Smith, the film's director and director of IDEA. "One face is looking toward curriculum and students, while the other looks outward at commercial development and the media world students will encounter in the next few years."

The institute will be an interdisciplinary environment that collaborates to explore the intersections of art and technology. It will be one of several immersive-learning centers on campus established as part of the Digital Exchange, the $20 million digital media initiative funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. that is helping Ball State build one of the most technologically advanced digital educational environments in the nation.

Jessica Keffaber, the film's producer and a telecommunications senior from Wabash, Ind., said working in such an advanced environment shaped her career goals. After working on a high-definition film last year, she knew she had found her calling. Working with the latest equipment and with other students outside of her major has given her a taste of what to expect in her career.

"We filmed with the newest hi-def camera from Canon, the XLH1," she said. "Few professionals have had a chance to experiment with this new camera — and we've been using it on a daily basis since we began filming in February."

Keffaber also enjoyed collaborating with professionals in her field, such as Derek Hammer of Hammer Motion Pictures in Fishers, the company that helped with the film's lighting, she said.

"Mahd" is a love story and a psychological thriller about a woman's struggle to adjust to her husband's death. She spirals downward until she finally realizes that she must move on and deal with the aftermath of her grief.

"Mahd" will run through April 15 with showings at 7 and 9 p.m. each night. The cost is $5, and tickets can be purchased at the University Theatre Box Office.

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Smith at (765) 285-8756 or rsmith@bsu.edu.)