Guest Post by Michael Faber, manager of the Multimedia Project Studios for OIT
The Multimedia Project Studios are two specialized computer labs on East and West Campus built specifically to help facilitate the execution of your multimedia project. Our two studios are located in on East Campus in 115 Lilly Library, and on West Campus in 016 Old Chemistry.
In addition to having some of the most capable Mac hardware on campus, we also feature a selection of industry standard production software, including the Adobe Creative Suite and Final Cut Pro. For projects that require a simple set of tools (and a shorter learning curve), we also have the iLife suite, including iMovie.Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the MPS is not just a lab, but a service. We have capable staff members, many of whom are students, working as Multimedia Consultants in our labs during our staffed hours, which run from noon to midnight, Sunday through Thursday and noon to six on Friday during the Fall and Spring semesters. An always-up-to-date view of our schedule can be found at https://swat.oit.duke.edu/public. There you can also plan your visit around a specific employee based on their expertise before coming to the lab. That way if you know you need a Final Cut Pro expert, you can find one on our schedule, and plan to visit the lab when that consultant will be working. Although each of our consultants have expertise in their own area of interest, all have a base of knowledge in general multimedia production and can help you triage the issues you may have with your project. All of our staff go through extensive training on customer service, multimedia production and campus academic priorities so they help you connect to the best tools for your class projects. The MPS is not, however a drop-off service; our consultants are there to provide informal one-on-one technical and creative direction, but are not permitted to work on patron projects directly. For training during your class sessions, OIT’s training program may be able to help; contact Christine Vucinich at clv4@duke.edu for more info.
There are several ways of getting in touch with us at the MPS. If you have a question about our services, a project, or just generally want to get in touch, the best way is via our mailing list at mpslab@duke.edu. Both staff and the student consultants monitor that list regularly and answers are usually provided very quickly. If you are planning on having your students complete a multimedia project at the MPS this year, feel free to shoot us an email with the assignment details – that way we’ll be better prepared to help with the specifics of the project. If you have a question you’d like to ask me directly, feel free to contact me at maf13@duke.edu. Finally, a great place to find information about the MPS, as well as many tutorials related to the software and hardware we have at the lab is at our blog, The Spark: https://sites.duke.edu/oit-mps.
Looking forward to seeing you at the lab this year!