Brantley Gilbert Shoots Music Video on MTSU’s Cutting-Edge XR Stage

Country star Brantley Gilbert recently tapped into the cutting edge audiovisual technology at Middle Tennessee State University by shooting his latest music video on the College of Media and Entertainment’s extended reality, or XR, stage on campus.

Promoting his latest song, “Over When We’re Sober, ”and featuring rising singer-songwriter Ashley Cooke, Gilbert took advantage of the XR stage’s state-of-the-art AV capabilities that is primarily used by MTSU faculty and staff to train the next generation of AV professionals and creatives.

College of Media and Entertainment Dean Beverly Keel, who has previously worked closely with Big Machine Record Label, the label Gilbert is signed to, called the experience an “unforgettable day” and credited “the vision and generosity” of MTSU President Sidney McPhee and his administration in support of her college that now “boasts unparalleled technology that prepares students for multifaceted careers.”

“We are so honored that Big Machine chose MTSU as the location for Brantley Gilbert’s video with Ashley Cooke,” Keel said. “The College of Media and Entertainment is dedicated to educating our students on the latest technology, whether it is recording studios, video cameras, mobile television/streaming production equipment, digital animation or our $1 million XR stage.”

XR technology allows creators to produce work that looks like it was shot anywhere — real or imagined — through a series of LED screens and lighting technology that allows an actor or artist to be dropped into a variety of virtual worlds that can be changed at the push of a button. MTSU’s stage features 403 square feet of high resolution LED panels.

Gilbert’s music video with Cooke features a kaleidoscope of dynamic backgrounds throughout but uses lighting and shadows to focus primarily on the artists as they move around the XR stage.

XR, or extended reality, is a type of film and video production stage that uses high-resolution video screens as virtual backgrounds behind the actors and other foreground elements. The visual effect is further enhanced using Unreal Engine.

MTSU’s Media Arts Department launched its XR Stage, one of the university’s most advanced virtual production facilities, in the fall of 2022.