A campus-wide solution to supporting rich media capture, conversion, & production: the media conversion lab at the University of Michigan

Increasing numbers of faculty are making assignments involving rich digital media, and the use of audio, video, and digital images is becoming de rigueur in student projects. Although we see demand for the use of digital media coming from all across the university, support for media editing and production was too often supported only at the departmental level, if at all. GroundWorks, the Media Conversion Lab at The University of Michigan , was created to meet this demand, and does so by providing a self-serve media and computing lab staffed by experienced professional staff and knowledgeable student consultants. The expense and complexity of supporting media production justifies a more centralized approach, and this lab was developed as a resource available to the entire university community. The lab is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and makes available video editing workstations, a "Virtual Room" (a soundproof audio recording booth with adjustable acoustics), document and slide scanners, and even a large-format printer. The most-used aspects of the lab are the Conversion Racks. These racks hold a multitude of audio and video decks, supporting nearly every format of video (including international formats) and audio. A touch screen interface is used to connect any two devices in the racks, allowing a faculty member to easily convert an old VHS tape to DVD, or allowing a music student to copy the miniDisc recording of a recital to an audio CD, for example. This paper will provide an overview of the technology, staffing, and support of the lab.