By Sherrie Williams and Matisse Sanchez, Sept. 20, 2022
The new media studio, which opened at the beginning of fall semester in Cal Poly Pomona’s library, lets students record professional quality videos for presentations or podcasts. The studio provides a green screen for edited backgrounds, a camera, microphone, overhead lights and two monitors to use for video editing and to display the camera’s screen.
The studio is located on the second floor of the library in room 2434. Reservations can be made on the university library website. The media studio can be reserved for a maximum of three hours once per day with a maximum occupancy of three students.
According to the university library website, “each overdue hour will be charged at $5 and a replacement fee of $100 will be charged if the key card is lost.”
During students’s reserved time, they will need to check out the Media Studio Kit from the Circulation Desk on the second floor and sign a tech lending agreement while booking a time slot for access.
The kit includes two computer mice, a keyboard, instructions on how to use the equipment and the access key card. Students are to bring their own 2.0/ or 3.0 USB thumb drives.
“It’s based on a very simple concept where all you do is put in your thumb drive in and push a (record) button,” said Jéanne Brooks, senior director of Library Operations and Development.
The new media studio will not be completely soundproof but will have all the necessary requirements for a student to work and get their projects, homework and much more done.
CPP is trying to accommodate students and help out with media-related projects that may be assigned by teachers or even for themselves.
“In higher education, the traditional class projects that are assigned to students are to write a research paper,” Pat Hawthorne, dean of the university library said. “Pedagogically that’s been changing a lot over the last couple of decades because faculty are trying to create assignments for students that are more creative.”
In classes today, speeches and presentations are still something that students see throughout their college career. Media projects such as videos or podcasts have been assigned more frequently than typical essays to allow students to get creative and step out of their comfort zone.
“Some professors have become very creative with all the technology that’s out there,” Hawthorne said. “It provides an opportunity for students to get some real-world experiences.”
Anyone is allowed to reserve the studio and record to create whatever they’d like, either for pleasure or business purposes. Ryan Rush, digital collections coordinator, and Leslie Jones, access services unit head discussed how once more advertisement goes out about the space, reservations will be like other study rooms — booked.
“The library is a bit more democratic because we serve everyone,” Hawthorne said. “This provides just another service that the library can offer and based on either an assignment or the creativity of a student who might be putting together a project.”
Feature image by Sherrie Williams.