What inspired you to pursue this project?
Our Mac literate students needed high-powered Mac Studio computers to greatly reduce rendering time for 360-degree video and other extremely large visual files. There are a plethora of powerful PC computers but there were no powerful Mac computers available before the Catalyst grant provided these two Mac Studios! We have one Mac Studio in the library's DSL, as many students use it to create videos for the 360-degree theater there and the other is in the Immersive Journalism Lab in ComArtSci Room 357. Both computers are available for all students in the university to use. The grant also supported the creation of a comprehensive tutorial by Alyssa Bradley (both in video and written form) for students, faculty and staff to follow when creating 360-degree video for YouTube and Vimeo, as well as for the 360-degree theater.
Who was involved in the project or made a significant contribution?
Paul Cooper, Alyssa Bradley and myself.
What are some of the successes that you have experienced on this project?
Judy Walgren teaches a 360-degree documentary filmmaking class each Fall, and many of the students benefited greatly from having unfettered access to these high-powered computers which greatly reduced rendering time. Previously, students' computers were crashing or student had to render the videos for sometimes 24 hours which impacted their other classes and ability to meet deadlines.
What are some of the challenges that you have experienced on this project?
Getting the students to use the computers and to follow the tutorial.
Describe some of the unexpected outcomes that occurred during this project?
That students used the computers and the tutorial!
What are the key lessons that you learned from the project?
Key lessons are listen to student feedback on their needs and the revise accordingly--whether that is course content, equipment, workflow etc...
How would you describe the final status of the project?
The computers and tutorial are in full use for all!
What are the next steps for this project or research?
To increase the use of the Mac Studios, the library's 360-camera kits, the MetaQuest VR equipment, the Insta360 tutorial and the overall video production for the DSL's 360-degree theater. We also want to spread awareness of the JRN 492 course in immersive journalism held every Fall semester during which students make non-fiction 360-degree films for the DSL's 360-degree theater.
Would you like to include links to references, resources, published works, etc.?
