Equipped with high-definition cameras, microphones, studio lighting, a green screen, teleprompters and all the equipment needed to create media, a former professional recording studio has opened for student and staff video production.
The studio is in Room 138 of the University of New Mexico’s Woodward Hall. Having opened Aug. 18, the studio is free for all users after completing a mandatory training.
The studio brings access to these tools closer to students located on Main Campus, where they would previously need to visit the Mesa del Sol Aperture Center, a media creation site on South Campus.
People can use the studio for creating videos of themselves, presentations for classes, demonstrations, interviews, video resumes and more, Associate Director of Academic Technologies and UNM IT Learning Environments, Sally Bowler-Hill said. Bowler-Hill is leading the department to reevaluate the purpose of the studio.
“After (the University) moved to Zoom and video capture, this studio sat unused,” Bowler-Hill said. “The purpose of this studio is to really give students of all disciplines the opportunity and access to this studio. It’s fairly easy to use and will give you a professional production.”
Steven Williams, the designer and manager of the studio, said that students and staff who wish to use the studio do not need any prior knowledge of how the equipment works. The training resource on its website will teach users how to navigate the technology, and there is staff on stand-by in a nearby room for assistance.
The studio’s limits are time-based, with one to four hour slots available, and no limit to the amount of people who can join the session, Williams said.
“If you have a full production — like someone to switch and run audio — that’s perfectly fine,” Williams said.
Users can also bring any props or furniture, and the media is recorded via hard drive.
For students who have an idea but are unsure of how to execute it, Manuel Machuca, an IT support technician of the studio with over 30 years of media creation experience, said he and other technicians are ready to help with tips on how to do just that.
The studio has already hosted a group of nearly a hundred students from the Anderson School of Management to record portfolio videos for potential employers, and Native American Studies students who used the studio for recording voiceovers required for their classes, Machuca said. Even professors have used the studio for recording classes for online courses, Machuca said.
Staff emphasized the importance of having the users and students as a priority regarding the studio.
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“Anyone who comes in, we ask how they are or any feedback, and we’ve had some ideas. It’s an ever growing idea, since (the studio) just opened up. New ideas that we get from students, we’ll try to implement those for future semesters,” Williams said.
The studio is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
“If (users) really, really want to take it up a notch, and make (their media) professional, even students, this is where you should come,” Machuca said.
Marina Olmstead is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
