UD Admissions Counselor Video "Reading Season: The Musical" By Avi Amon

Check out all the attention recent UD grad and now UD admissions counselor Avi Amon is getting for his youtube video Reading Season: The Musical.

http://collegewebeditor.com/blog/index.php/archives/2009/12/03/higher-ed-tv-reading-season-a-glee-ish-video-from-a-udel-admissions-counselor/

Check out his video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DFJ2j3206k&feature=player_embedded

Video course sponsored by the Department of Geography

New Way to Eject Disk

Another way to eject a disk from the Windows side of a Mac is to go into
iTunes, go to the Control Menu, and select Eject Disk. Just another option
if the Eject button on they keyboard does not work. 

New Video Contest

-The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and mtvU are sponsoring an "Oscar Correspondant Contest. Through Dec. 18, college students are invited to submit a video showcasing their broadcast journalism skills and proving why they deserve to cover the Oscars. All videos submitted must be from teams made up of one anchor and one videographer. The Academy and mtvU will select the top ten videos to be posted online at mtvU.com, where students and other viewers can watch and vote for their favorite journalists from Jan. 20 through Feb. 10.

Get all the info here in the UDaily article

Vendprint

As I am sure everyone has noticed, the Vendprint station has been having a few problems lately (yesterday someone was overheard describing it as very similar to Windows 95 in slowness). Please remember to be patient with both the printer and those who are having issues printing. If someone is having a problem, help them if you can, and even if there is little that can be done let them know that we are doing everything we can.

Making Sure to Check Kits for Damage

When checking in an HV30 earlier this week, we noticed that the camera had some damage to it.  Please be sure to check the cameras - along with other equipment - for any possible damage when checking stuff in/out.  Here are some pictures of the kind of damage the HV30 had to give you an idea of what to look for.

Another cool google thing

Google is coming out with Google Voice- a way to merge and manage all your phones in one simple place. Check out the video here.

A Few Websites of Interest

Ken Stone's Final Cut Pro
Don't let the name fool you.  Although this website deals primarily with hints and guides for Final Cut Pro, it also deals with the programs Motion and Color.  Also, the website contains reviews for different plugins and hardware for those of you looking to keep up-to-date on the new.  Worth a look for those of you who are interested in learning more about Final Cut, Motion, or Color.


Tech Crunch
This website has the latest news concerning internet-related topics, useful for those of you who like using Google products and such.


70 Excellent Photoshop Resources
Exactly what the website title is.  Contains links to quite a few photoshop tutorials.

Important info when checking out kits

Just to remind everyone of what Rich posted on the Wiki Blog-

Please remember when checking back in kits esp. cameras to actually check for the memory card, battery etc. when checking out and in -- don't just scan the barcode on the camera assuming they're there! Also remember that optional parts do NOT stay in the kit bag when returned. Battery chargers are now optional parts for all the cameras (except the advanced where it's still in the kit) so they should be pulled out and placed in the optional parts drawers when returned. Thanks!

For those who love film

The University of Delaware's fall International Film Series will be held at 7:30 p.m., Sundays, from Oct. 11 through Nov. 29, in the Trabant University Center Theatre. There are some very interesting films being played, and the films are free and open to the public, and all foreign language films are shown with subtitles. The International Film Series is made possible through the support of the Committee on Cultural Activities and Public Events (CAPE).

Upcoming films to be played:

Oct. 25: Mary and Max. Animated Drama from Australia. Mary (voice of Toni Collette) is a shy and withdrawn Austrian girl. Max (voice of Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a middle-aged single Jewish New Yorker suffering from Asperger's syndrome. Two lonely people who strike up an unlikely pen-pal friendship in this darkly humorous animated tale.

a scene from "Mary and Max"

Nov. 1: The Wave. In 1967, a California teacher conducted a bold classroom experiment to demonstrate to his students how easily Hitler was able to use rhetoric and fear to inspire a whole country to follow him and how easily it could happen again. This true event became the basis for a book and a highly rated television special. Denis Gansel's acclaimed new film transfers the story to present-day Germany where the students have grown-up inundated with the stories and lessons of the Third Reich. In spite of this knowledge, the German teens are just as susceptible to the allure of fascism.

Nov. 8: Rumba. Fiona and Dorn are teachers in a country school. They share a passion for Latin dance and spend their weekend nights sweeping up all the local trophies, until one evening, returning from a competition, they chance upon a maladroit would-be suicide, and their lives begin to change. This hilarious and touching story of a strange threesome is beautifully filmed in bright and elegant color giving it a naive and lovely poetry. A heart-warmer without schmaltz.

Nov. 15: A Film with Me In It. Directed by Ian Fitzgibbon. Mark Doherty and Irish comic star Dylan Moran try to cope with the mounting body count resulting from freak accidents they didn't cause but, if discovered, will make them look like murderers in this “gleefully cruel Irish black comedy.”

Nov. 22: Sin Nombre. An epic dramatic thriller written and directed by Student Academy Award winner Cary Joji Fukunaga in his feature debut. The filmmaker's first hand experiences with Central American immigrants seeking the promise of the US form the basis of the Spanish language mopvie. Sin Nombre tells the story of Sayra, a teenager living in Honduras, and hungering for a brighter future. A reunion with her long-estranged father gives Sayra her only real option -- emigrating with her father and her uncle into Mexico and then the United States where her father now has a new family.

Nov. 29: Katyn. A competitor for the Oscar for best foreign film, this courageous film depicts the Katyn massacre perpetrated on Stalin's orders to eliminate the fine flower of Polish intelligentsia. Thousands of Polish officers were massacred in a forest, including the father of director Andres Wadja. “Searing and devastating,” offered a review in The New York Times

Don't forget about last two Workshops!

The library is hosting four workshops during the 2009 Fall Semester focused on multimedia programs and resources available at the Student Multimedia Design Center. Although the first two have already taken place, the last two, LiveType2 and Motion 3, are coming up.

LiveType will be held 3 to 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, in the Student Multimedia Design Center Classroom B.

Motion 3 will be held 3 to 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 10, in the Student Multimedia Design Center Classroom B.

The workshops are available at no charge and are open to University of Delaware students, faculty, and staff. Seating is limited and registration is required. To register online, go to the workshops Web page.

New Printer arrangement

The color printer and its release station have been moved over to the
green column area with the black & white printers. Users can release
single-sided, double-sided, and color jobs using either VendPrint
release station.

Laptop Registration Program

Public Safety will be in the Library Commons on the following days to offer laptop registration for students at the UD:

October 7, 2009 (Wed): 7-10 p.m.

October 13, 2009 (Tues): 9 p.m. – Midnight

October 14, 2009 (Wed): 4-7 p.m.



When a laptop is registered, information such as the serial number for the laptop will be added to a national database. In the case of a stolen laptop being recovered, the police can look up the information on the database and return the laptop to the owner.

New Ken Burns Film- Check it out

Thanks Bryce for the heads up about Ken Burns' new film, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," coming out Sept. 27, 2009.

You can check it out here.

New Software Available--Sibelius 5--In Studios Only

There is now a new software, Sibelius 5, available in studios 1-4, and 6. This is an audio software and is not available on any other computers other than in the studios.

More info available here.

New UD Video Contest for Environmental Sustainability Day

There is a new video contest at UD and the winners will be shown on Student Environmental Sustainability Day, October 22, 2009.

All of the information as well as the UDaily article is available here.

Due Date: October 8th, 2009

Video Length: 5 minutes or less

Topics: Sustainable energy, policy, or any other related aspect that students would like to address

Prizes: Top three groups will receive a $300 scholarship voucher that can be used for books or other student-related expenses

cassette recorders

There are cassette recorders for students to use in the Instructional
Media Collection department. Please steer students there or have them use Studio 6, the sound studio, to record to cassette (the instructor called saying that her students were told that there are none).

FAX anyone?

There's a website called faxzero <http://www.faxzero.com>
which allows users to fax up to 3 pages for free and up to 15 pages for
$1.99. Users can scan the document using the scanner/copiers or flat bed
scanners and then use the website. I helped someone this morning and it
only took him a couple of minutes to complete the process. (This link is
on the Q & A section of our website).

MatLab --Print to Adobe PDF to print

There has been a problem today and yesterday with students printing from
MatLab to the black and white printer. Print to Adobe PDF instead and
then print from Adobe and it will work. Incidentally, printing to the
color printer does work for this. This affects Dells and the Windows
side of the Macs.
Shelly

Gaming systems in Instructional Media

There are 2 gaming systems in the Instructional Media Collection Dept.
for a Japanese culture class of 100 students. Because demand for the
gaming systems may be high, the students can take the games to the Hen
Zone in Perkins Student Center to use their gaming system. The library
has 40 games on Reserve for these students to check out.

Shelly

Foreign language programs and Electronic Checklists

Just a recap of Rich and Diana's last entries on the SMDC blog. Students coming in looking for Foreign language programs (I know for French it is the FV French Verb program) should be redirected to 006 Jastak-Burgess Hall, where the Foreign Language Media Center is located (Near the Little Bob) http://www.udel.edu/fllt/main/FLMediaCenter/index.html.

Also, as you probably know by now, we have new electronic checklists for checking out kits. Although not every kit has been converted to this new system, almost all of them have been. To use the new system, you scan the kit's barcode (beginning with 31741) and you will see the checklist pop up on the screen. Its easiest to just remove all items from the kit, and as you scan them place them back into the case. Don't forget to ask if they need any of the additional items available for the kit when you are prompted by computer. A box pops up that asks if any additional items are needed, if so check the appropriate boxes, and if none are wanted then simply select "none."Once you have done this, you will be asked to type in your initials. After this, you must still check the kit out in Aleph.. DO NOT FORGET THIS! If a kit comes back with missing or damaged parts, find a supervisor.

-Kristin

Reel Productions Film Society Meeting

Just a friendly reminder that our first film club meeting of the semester is tonight in room 156 in Trabant at 7PM.

Also check out our blog @     http://reelproductionsfilm.blogspot.com/

EDUCAUSE 2009 Computer Security Awareness Contest

This contest was posted on the SMDC website. I entered the poster contest and ended up getting an honorable mention (Fantasyland-Get Real). I also noticed that the 2nd Place Video Contest Winners (Vanished Erased Gone) were UD students, Hillary Luvshis and Matt Crescenzo. I think it's really awesome that UD was represented in this contest. As a Visual-Comm major I know that contests such as this one are really appreciated by students, and I hope that we can continue to advertise similar contests on the SMDC page.
-Kristin

http://www.researchchannel.org/securityvideo2009/

Reel Production Film Society Meeting

Reel Productions is a new club here on the University of Delaware campus, dedicated to student involvement in filmmaking.

Whether you love to watch films, make films, scriptwriting, or want to learn more about film production and getting involved hands on, this is the club for you!

The main goal of Reel Productions is to be a productive film club, making original shorts and films fully written, directed, produced, and edited by students.


This is a quick remember that Reel Productions will have its first meeting this Tuesday, September 8th at 7:00 PM. We will be next to the copy center in Trabant Room 156. If you need directions, feel free to call our secretary, Kelly Emery, on her cell at 410-707-0818 or ask an attendee at the information desk.

Please e-mail our president, Alyssa Benedetto, at alymarie@udel.edu if you have any questions or concerns!

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog for the Student Multimedia Design Center! Hopefully your summer went well and you're ready for another semester.

This blog is a work in progress, so if you have any questions/suggestions/recommendations about the blog, please reply to this post and someone will respond as promptly as they can. Thanks!

-James