Dave School of Digital Arts
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2000
- Employees
- 11-50
- Offices
- 1
About Dave School of Digital Arts
Dave School of Digital Arts is a digital arts education institution offering vocational and degree programmes in visual effects, game production and virtual production. Widely recognized as The DAVE School, it combines specialized instruction with hands-on production training designed to reflect commercial studio pipelines. Founded in June 2000, the school operates on the Universal Studios Florida backlot in Orlando.
Production-focused education
The school offers 12-month accelerated diploma programmes and online Bachelor of Science degrees in Digital Arts and Technology. Degree tracks cover Visual Effects Production, Game Production and Virtual Production, connecting artistic development with the technical processes used in contemporary entertainment production.
Training encompasses 3D modeling and animation, rigging, motion capture, compositing, matchmoving and real-time technologies. Game art and game production sit alongside visual effects instruction, while virtual production training includes LED stages, in-camera visual effects and Unreal Engine pipeline integration. These disciplines support preparation for work across film, television, games, interactive entertainment, advertising and simulation.
Studio residency and project-based team production form part of the educational model. Students work within a production environment intended to reproduce industry workflows, bringing individual technical skills into collaborative projects. The curriculum connects classroom instruction with practical production exercises rather than treating each discipline as an isolated subject.
Campus and institutional history
The school's 18,000-square-foot backlot facility combines production classrooms with dedicated spaces for motion capture, virtual production and screening. This setting supports its emphasis on learning through studio practice and access to specialized production infrastructure.
Originally independent, the school became part of NUC University in February 2018. Following the university's transition to the Northbridge University identity in February 2026, the school adopted the public name Dave School of Digital Arts while retaining its established DAVE School identity. It continues to operate as a specialized academic unit within the university, with both campus-based training and online degree study.
More about Dave School of Digital Arts
Founders
Jeff Scheetz, an industry visual effects supervisor, and Anne Scheetz founded the school on June 8, 2000. The research does not establish their current executive roles.
Production infrastructure
Specialized equipment includes a Vicon optical motion capture system, an LED production volume, a green cyclorama stage, 3D printing and VR/AR labs, and a second-floor ADA-compliant lecture screening theater. Production classrooms feature individual dual-monitor workstations.
Academic collaboration
Epic Games recognized the school as an Unreal Engine Academic Partner in March 2026.
Student activities and access
The school operates a collegiate esports programme under the Narwhals name. The report also describes student theme park access and backstage studio amenities as part of its backlot setting.
Notable credits
3 creditsOffices
Where Dave School of Digital Arts is based
- Sound Stage 25, 2500 Universal Studios Plaza, Suite #25, Orlando, FL 32819, United StatesOrlando, Florida, United States
Main Studio Facility & Campus
HeadquartersOverall school headquarters and production-training campus on the Universal Orlando Resort backlot.
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