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MONTCLAIR, NJ, August 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Today, The smash-cut, the digital learning platform and content studio designed to develop collaborative online education for the visual and media arts announced it has raised $ 7 million in Series A funding from Pearson Ventures. Pearson Ventures invests in companies creating new market opportunities using innovative business models, future technologies and new educational experiences.
With this strategic investment, Smashcut will support Pearson’s visual and media arts-focused programs, starting with animation and game development courses at Escape Studios at Pearson College London. The Smashcut platform combines high-quality learning content with a fully integrated feature set that promotes collaboration, communication, and creation, all in one place.
“We created Smashcut because video-centric courses like visual and media arts require specific tools that teachers and students need to seamlessly collaborate and create. The financial and strategic support from Pearson, a global leader in learning, both validates the opportunity and accelerates our growth as we aim to nurture the pipeline with skilled creators, ”said Daniel Blackman, CEO and Founder of Smashcut.
“In an increasingly video-centric world where the demand for highly skilled creative professionals is on the rise, there is a tremendous opportunity to create and deliver top-notch learning programs focused on the visual arts. and media. Smashcut is the perfect partner to help Pearson Ventures continue its commitment to improving student outcomes through digital services and investing in businesses that positively impact students, ”said Pedro Vasconcellos, Vice President of Investments strategies and partnerships at Pearson.
Escape Studios uses Smashcut to develop and deliver online courses to complement their highly successful classroom programs in games, animation, and visual effects. Ian Palmer, Director of Escape Studios, said, “We chose Smashcut because we wanted to replicate the natural interactions that occur between students and instructors in our classroom lessons. Obviously, all of our courses are based on artistic excellence across a range of different digital media. So it was essential to have a platform based on delivering high quality videos and support for video meetings. These features and the tools to support teamwork, another key part of our offering, made Smashcut the obvious choice.
Smashcut’s first clients include the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Smashcut provides a NYU branding platform and broadcast-quality content development and production to bring the school’s online courses in filmmaking, screenwriting and branded storytelling to life. NYU online courses are offered to NYU and visiting students, high school students, working professionals, and adult learners who want to develop their skills.
“We selected Smashcut because they really understand how visually rich subjects are best taught and learned, and we wanted a partner who shares our vision to deliver a quality experience and the best learning outcomes for our students,” said said Annie Stanton, Executive Director of Special Tisch Programs.
Visuals are front and center on Smashcut, making it easy for educators and students to host, stream, share, upload, annotate, review, and comment on video content without leaving the platform. Built-in collaboration features like live chat and video meetings connect students and teachers, facilitating seamless group interaction and fueling creative work. Instructors can easily and efficiently manage all aspects of their online courses, share information, track student assignments, progress, and more.
About Smashcut
Smashcut is a next-generation online learning platform and content studio designed to advance collaborative online education for the visual and media arts. Smashcut partners with universities and educational brands to develop and deliver online media-based programs. Smashcut was designed to help develop high-quality online training for the next generation of digital creators by fostering collaboration between industry peers and experienced instructors. Smashcut was incubated and funded by Learn Capital. To learn more about Smashcut, watch the video and visit https://www.smashcut.com/
About Escape Studios
From VFX to the art of gaming, animation to motion graphics, Escape Studios is recognized by the creative industries for helping to teach world-class talent, through a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and graduate courses. short duration. With leading industry partners including Epic Games, Industrial Light & Magic, PlayStation London Studio, Framestore, The Mill, DNEG, Milk, Creative Assembly, Cinesite, Blue Zoo and MPC, Escape Studios ensures that students leave the studio ready! www.escapestudios.ac.uk
CONTACTS
CommStrat
Liz Scanlon, CommStrat for Smashcut
smashcut@commstrat.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3d8e5d98-f381-4de4-86e5-01042733a9c6
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