The Media Production Studio is operated by IST's Instructional Technologies and Media Services (ITMS) team and housed in East Campus 5 (EC5). Studio staff can help you create a wide range of instructional media, ranging from course introduction videos, Light Board videos for course content, audio-only, or videos for online course modules.
Video studio
The Media Production Studio team collaborates with clients to create engaging, polished and professional videos that may be posted on YouTube and linked to the course through LEARN, or uploaded directly into LEARN. They work closely with Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) and Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) to ensure quality standards are met and content is approved for posting. The investment of your and the studio time is worthwhile, as good quality videos may be reused for years to support student learning. And, there is no need to memorize your script as the studio is equipped with a teleprompter. Nervous about being in front of the camera? Robert Laurin has worked with many instructors and does an excellent job of putting subjects at ease.
Steve Balaban from the the School of Accounting and Finance said of Robert, “Robert’s collaborative approach in the pre-production process ensured that we were well prepared for the video shooting. I had very high expectations in 2018 since Robert well surpassed my expectations in [videos created in] 2016. Robert exceeded my new expectations by a wide margin!”
Robert reading from teleprompter in studio
High-level view of studio space
Examples of work
The planning and amount of work that can go into a video project can range quite significantly, as you'll see from the examples below.
Example one
What: Using a white background screen to record the instructor, text or equations can later be added to help illustrate difficult topics where students might be struggling.
Time required: The video series was filmed over two days and required roughly one month of editing to the final product.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7SJwNdlopU&list=PLCY0NbwAygWkchCJdugt6L2Skh2Bo28VM.
Example two
What: Another video shows students how to navigate the undergraduate academic calendar. The goal was to support students in their programs by informing them of the importance and possibilities in using the Arts undergraduate academic calendar as a reference. Watch on YouTube:
Time required: The video was planned over the course of a week and recorded on location in two hours. It required roughly one week of editing.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtB5sukJEeM&index=81&t=8s&list=LL-U1btTiqzKgKDSpE8q9A0Q
Sound booth
The Media Production Studio sound booth is the perfect space for:
- creating instructional podcasts
- creating course module content
- screen capture recordings
- pre-recorded news radio interviews
Light Board
Light Board videos are proving to be increasingly popular for when drawings, equations, or other visual aids help to illustrate a lesson. They also increase engagement with students because the instructor is facing them, not back-to them as with the traditional whiteboard. On average, 10 videos each with a five-minute length can be recorded during a half-day session, assuming the content is prepared in advance.
Instructor Tamara Maciel recently created a Light Board video and had the following to share regarding her experience, “I’ve received tremendous positive feedback from my students about how these videos help to reinforce some of the topics we cover in our course. Robert was able to provide me with great suggestions for best practices and the recording process was quick and easy. If your course includes diagrams or visual components of any kind, this is a great resource that we have available to us on campus.”
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tdbQto4TtM
Learn more about these services
Contact us at waterloostudio@uwaterloo.ca to learn more about these services or to book some time to get your project started!
