ID

Hi all,

I have a few things today! First off, I had a great first semester at the Student Multi Media Design Center.  I learned so much about the equipment and software at the center.  I also enjoyed working with everyone and look forward to next semester and hopefully semesters after that! 

Also the other week I had a male student present me a females ID while attempting to loan out equipment.  I immediately turned to a supervisor and presented them with the ID. I often don’t even think to check the student ID and make sure that the person looks like their identification photo.  However, now, after this scenario I always check! So, just some friendly advice to watch out for identity thieves.

Lastly, last week we had a student come in and try to hook up their personal iPad to the mac desktops in order to download material to iMovie.  However, the computer was not recognizing the connection.  And after quite a deal of hassle we realized we just needed to open iTunes…. may seem quite obvious, but took us awhile to figure out.

Until next semester!

Naomi 

Computer Restart Hot-Keys

Hello everyone-

For my last blog post, I wanted to talk about a time-saver that had come up today during the morning computer restarts: hotkeys for restarting the computer. These are a combination of buttons that will attempt to restart the computer, and will help you save steps when restarting a large amount of computers.

I was aware of the hotkeys for the PCs, but had not known there was a Mac equivalent until this morning.

Mac- Pressing Command+Control+Eject will make the Mac attempt to close out all programs and try to restart.

PC- Pressing ALT+F4 will close out any open windows and eventually open up a restart prompt.

These keys can help cut the time down significantly. Anyways, Happy Graduation to the Seniors!

Sam

Canon T2i and Macs

So you've taken photos on the Canon T2i and want to upload them onto a Mac computer. You plug the camera in and ... the camera does not appear on the desktop. What to do? Go to iPhoto, which will recognize the camera. According to Mike G. some other cameras do not appear on Mac desktops either so it's good to let people know to use iPhoto if the camera does not appear on the desktop.

Camera Archives

School year wrap up time, which means it's also time for an under the wire blog post.  Prepare to get learned something awful (and then promptly forget everything until student reorientation at the beginning of next year).  Also, we're mostly dealing with the memory based intermediate and advanced cameras for this one.  HFS20s and such.

Learning.

After the recording of any video and before the beginning of any post production manipulation, a camera archive must be made.  It's a simple step, but like all simple steps, it's ridiculously easy to overlook.  I've had more than a few incidents with camera archives and the lack thereof.

The lack of your project's potential for future changes if you forget to make a camera archive.  Yeah, it's a stretch, but the Google Image results for "the lack thereof" aren't exactly bountiful.  I gotta work with what I've got.

It's helpful to think of a camera archive in analog terms.  The files are digital, but a camera archive kind of functions like a stack of tapes.  So keep a camera archive for the same reason people hoard VHS's.

Misplace nostalgia.

 If you have all that footage saved, you can access it later.  It also helps because the cameras save MTS video files in a really weird and esoteric way.  You can play them if you double click them, but you can't just pull them out of the STREAM folder.  That's when something breaks.

Metaphor.

I don't know what that something is.  I encountered the problem once, long ago, and I never wanted to do it again.

Camera archives do pose one other problem when it comes to memory space.  I used to think thumb drives were acceptable methods of backing up videos and projects.  No, wrong.  Bad Dillon.

Word documents and pictures.  Promise me that's all you'll use these for.  Maybe some music.  But just a little.

The problem gets down into the formatting, but the basic gist of it is that thumb drives can't handle the data transfer sizes that video projects require.  Sure, you could reformat them, but it's safer to use an external drive.  That way you're not skirting the edges of memory sizes. 

Just look at that 4 GB.  It's trying so hard to be a big boy drive, but the best it'll ever get is "Most Improved"

Anyone who comes up to the desk with a video camera in hand and questions about editing should get a recommendation for an external hard drive.  It'll make the whole project easier in the long run.

Studios

Hey guys!

Don't forget to check in on people when they're in the studios! A student recently told the desk that they were going to use a studio so they could use Garageband for a music project...but really they were just studying and listening to classical music!

Since it's finals week everyone's looking for a quiet place to study, but the studios are still just for multimedia use. So, even if someone says they're using the studios for a multimedia-related reason, check up on them too.

Hope everyone's finals are going well and you're all having a great Memorial Day Weekend!!!

Education Resource Center

Hi guys!

So some of you may already know, but for those that don't I wanted to talk about another multimedia center that is on our campus, the Education Resource Center (ERC) located in Willard Hall.

Today a patron wanted to loan out a projector. However, the ones we carried were already checked out. We at the desk suggested he try the ERC. To make sure he didn't make trip up there for no reason, we decided to check the availability of the item. Thankfully for the patron, it was available and to our surprise the ERC has a very large variety of equipment.

A short list includes laptops, iPads, calculators, projectors, Karaoke machine, cameras and camcorders, projection screens, tripods, digital voice recorders, cassette recorders, microphones, transcription machines, desktop presenters, TV/VCR combos, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, amplifier/speakers systems, and CD players.

Since it is the end of the semester, the ERC has slowed down loaning items but for next semester it is good to know in case we don't have the equipment the patron wants.

Saving InDesign file as PDF

Hey guys! As we trudge through finals week, the question of how to save an InDesign document as a PDF has popped up a lot. In order to do this, you must click "File" > "Export" (or the shortcut "command" > "E" on macs) and then the traditional "Save as PDF" dropdown will be there. Adobe InDesign allows you to choose between saving your document as an "Interactive PDF" or a "Print PDF." A standard PDF is considered a "Print PDF" whereas Interactive PDF will allow the student to embed motion graphics and sound.

Smartboard & Camtasia

A couple days ago I had a group of guys want to use the Smartboard in Studio 2, but also wanted to record their screen as they drew on it. On Windows there is an application called Camtasia which allows the screen to be captured, but the problem was that only the monitor was being recorded and not the Smartboard. In order to fix this I was able to change which display that was being use, so the Smartboard would be the main Windows Desktop screen with the Smartboard application running, and boom it worked out smoothly. Then a couple minutes later they came back asking if there was a way to get better precision on the screen. If you click on the Smartboard setting there is a option that allows you to recalibrate the board through clicking on certain areas shown on the Smartboard.


Key Points

• Windows studio has Camtasia to do Screen capture videos
• Smartboard actions can be recorded through Camtasia
• Calibration setting allows for better precision if the drawing is a little off.

Microsoft Office for iPad

This March, Microsoft released its Office for iPad suite which includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  The suite has become increasingly popular on the iPad and has hit 27 million downloads this week. I have not used Microsoft Office on an iPad yet and was concerned about the practicality of it, but the pictures online show an easy-to-use interface with similar capability as a personal computer's Microsoft Office.  The suite is free but its full capabilities require a purchased subscription. Viewing documents is free but to edit, you need to be subscribed to Office 365.

This type of transition from personal computer to tablet/device for Office will be interesting to see in the future. And if anyone is interested in Office on our iPads, we might be able to share some of this information.

Here is the article about its rising popularity.  Are there any issues that would keep a patron from accessing these applications on our iPads? Would this only apply to the Airs because of an iOS7 requirement?

Documenting Disaster Student Film Screening

Tricia Wachtendorf's Sociology 471 class has been working on creating short documentary videos about disasters all semester long using the resources in the Student Multimedia Design Center, and they'll be having a film screening that will be open to the public on Friday, May 16 from 5-7:30pm at 116 Gore Hall. Here's more info:

 

Hard drive alternative

If you've noticed, all sixteen of our hard drives have been in use.  An alternative may be to use Google Drive.

• Sync or upload video files up to 10GB in size
• Sync or upload video files in the following formats:

• WebM files (Vp8 video codec; Vorbis Audio codec)
• .MPEG4, 3GPP and MOV files - (h264 and mpeg4 video codecs; AAC audio codec)
• .AVI (MJPEG video codec; PCM audio)
• .MPEGPS (MPEG2 video codec; MP2 audio)
• .WMV
• .FLV (Adobe - FLV1 video codec, MP3 audio)
• .MTS

READ MORE:  Video files in Google Drive  
Give it a try.

University of Delaware Library thanks students

Sam Kurkoski, Amelia Wang, Matthew Green, and Brandon Blue are all shown proudly displaying their chosen book.  Taylor (Benjamin) Patterson is recognized for his extensive service record.  The University of Delaware Library thanked its many library student assistants at the Library Student Assistant Appreciation Reception on Tuesday, May 6.

Read more:  Library thanks students

Looking for a part-time job? Apply to be a Multimedia Student Assistant!

Do you love helping people? Do you have experience making movies, creating soundtracks, or working with computers? Do you want to make money while having fun and gaining valuable experience at the same time? Then apply to be a Multimedia Student Assistant at the Student Multimedia Design Center!

We're looking for proactive, tech-savvy students who would like to work in a dynamic, public service driven environment. Applicants should have a working knowledge of one or more video editing applications, such as iMovie, Windows MovieMaker, and Final Cut on Mac OS or Windows. Preferred working knowledge of Audacity, Garageband, Publisher, Blender, Roxio Creator, Camtasia Studio and Adobe Creative suite. 

If this sounds like the job for you, what are you waiting for? Fill out the Library Student Employment Application Form and send it, along with your resume, to Eve Ellis at eellis@udel.edu. You can also check out the official job description here. 

Tape is dead! Or is it?

Sony announced yesterday that they have developed a special kind of tape capable of storing 185 Terabytes (!) on a single cassette tape.  At the NABShow there were many vendors selling LTO-6 tape drives, advertising them as the best backup solution available.  Will we see a resurgence of tape as a storage medium or do you think it is dead? Spinning disk drives will probably slowly phase out as flash storage and cloud storage become more and more popular, but I think tape or some other real physical media will always be in the mix.

Adobe OnLocation

The other day I went to go help two users in Studio 1 who were recording a video with the in-studio camera.  They had recorded their entire project in Adobe OnLocation and the video file ended up saving as an .xls file which is an Excel file.  OnLocation is a program normally used for post production file management.  The users were frustrated that they couldn't watch the video they just recorded.  To fix this problem we tried using Miro Video Convertor (which is available on all our computers) to convert the file to a .mov file.  Unfortunately this didn't work.   In the future when students unfamiliar with video recording are using our equipment we definitely need to remind them to record in iMovie or a similar program that creates movie files ready for instant playback. 

PowerPoint Sound

So tonight a patron using Studio 1 came to me asking for help with their PowerPoint presentation. The group he was with recorded sound into the presentation in Studio 4, transferred the file via email and opened it on the PC computer. To the group's dismay, no sound played from the presentation.

The odd thing was that the time lapse on the sound clip showed that the file was actually playing. I checked the fire rack, making sure the speakers were on. I made sure all the functions on the rack were on the right settings as well. With the help of another student worker, we also checked the settings under the control panel.

But Diana came to the rescue when she looked at the back of the rack and realized that the audio cable was not properly plugged into its designated port. A simple solution to what seemed like a big issue, the students were relieved that they did not have to re-record their presentation.

This was also not the first time Diana helped me by simply plugging in a wire that should be plugged in (ALWAYS CHECK)!

I did Google some common occurrences with sound not playing in PowerPoint though and it shed some light into possible causes. There's a bunch here!

Should a patron come to you with the same problem (and all the plugs are where they should be), here are some reasons you should know.

Come to the VC Portfolio Show: Blink!

Hi All!

I am sure you are aware by now that many of the students here at the Student Multimedia Design Center are Visual Communications majors (myself included) and we are pretty amazing at art... as well as being incredibly humble. Anyhoo, we would like you all to come out tomorrow MAY 2nd, at 5pm to the Chris White Gallery in Wilmington to look over some of the awesome work we all have done! The show runs until 8pm and we will have drinks for you older folk and appetizers for everyone, except Rich, no chips for you. So come on out! We would love to see you there.