Expand AU Menu

New Media Center

The New Media Center is located on the lower level of the library next to Media Services. Hours are the same as other library service desks, and overnight access can be arranged by reservation.

Technical assistance is available for all NMC software.

The NMC hosts:

  • 22 high-level Mac Pro computers

  • A wide variety of multimedia development software

  • A staff of technical experts ready to assist you with your project


New Media Center User Support Guidelines

The New Media Center (NMC) is a Macintosh computer lab dedicated to supporting multimedia projects from across the curriculum. The NMC staff are multimedia software experts and capable of assisting users with most projects but their time is a limited resource and they are unable to provide one-on-one software training to those with no experience in a particular application. It is incumbent upon you to learn the basic skills needed to use a particular application. Basic skills include how to open an application, create new files, execute basic editing functions and finalize the project in a distributable format. The NMC provides training sessions throughout the semester on several applications and more comprehensive tutorials are available on Lynda.com.

This policy further defines the scope of assistance the NMC staff provides to users.

  1. NMC staff can troubleshoot your projects; we will research and suggest solutions for technical problems you may encounter while working in the NMC.
  2. NMC staff can suggest methods you can use to accomplish specific tasks including, but not limited to, the following:
    1. How to apply a specific effect or state to a project in a multimedia application.
    2. How to convert video, audio or images to different formats as your project requires.
    3. How to format external hard drives and other storage media.
    4. How to fix various hardware issues pertaining to cables, recording, drives, scanning, etc.
    5. How to create DVDs, CDs and upload media to various sharing sites.
  3. The NMC provides pre-scheduled training sessions to provide basic skills in some of the commonly used multimedia production software available in the NMC. 
  4. NMC staff can instruct you on how to access and use Lynda.com video tutorials. Staff can also recommend pertinent video tutorials on Lynda.com to gain specific skills.
  5. NMC staff can provide feedback on the aesthetics of a multimedia project.
  6. NMC staff can teach you how to use any item in the circulating equipment collection and provide advice on how to achieve the best results for your project.
  7. NMC staff can provide “on-request” training sessions for faculty members who would like specific training for their classes. On-request training sessions must be scheduled with New Media Center Staff (libnmc@american.edu) at least two (2) weeks in advance, no exceptions. Please note, some dates and times may not be available.
  8. NMC staff cannot provide “on-demand” or single-user training sessions for those without any experience in a given software package. If you need to learn a software package from the beginning, you should attend an NMC training session or speak to the NMC staff about how to use Lynda.com to learn an application’s primary functions.
  9. NMC staff cannot complete projects for you and will not take over the keyboard or mouse when assisting you.
  10. NMC staff cannot provide multimedia post-production services (including, but not limited to, DVD creation, audio/video editing, image manipulation, audio mastering and video ripping). Faculty requests for post-production services for course-related projects should be referred to Molly Hubbs, the Media Services Collections Coordinator; please see an NMC staff member for her contact information.

A Note to Users with Disabilities
NMC services are available to all American University faculty, staff and students and NMC staff will ensure that the full range of services is available to users with disabilities. If you feel you are unable to use NMC software or resources without physical assistance, please see an NMC staff member or email libnmc@american.edu and s/he will help you arrange a consultation. Our staff will develop a plan to accommodate your needs in conjunction with the Academic Support and Access Center and communicate that plan to the NMC staff.

Software Training Workshops

Workshop schedule

Workshop titles and descriptions

There are many ways you can learn software at the New Media Center.

The New Media Center offers open workshops on a variety of topics related to multimedia production. These 40 to 60 minute sessions are open to all AU faculty, staff and students with all levels of multimedia production experience. There are usually five or six workshops held each week. The majority of our training sessions focus on topics like video editing, Photoshop and podcasting and are appropriate for beginners. We provide the software and exercise files; you don’t need to bring anything and RSVP is not required. For more information, contact the NMC staff (202) 885-3250.

If you can’t make it to one of our training sessions, Lynda.com is available 24 hours a day to all faculty, staff and students. Lynda has a huge variety of software training videos and most of their tutorials come with free exercise files so you can work along with the instructor. Begin by clicking here www.american.edu/lynda (authentication required).

 

A note for teaching faculty
The New Media Center training schedule and Lynda.com cover most training needs, but faculty may also schedule an on-demand training session for their classes. To do so, please email the New Media Center staff (libNMC@american.edu) and make arrangements at least two (2) weeks in advance. In addition, on-demand training sessions may not be scheduled after October 31st during the fall semester or after March 15th during the spring semester. 

  

Software Available

The NMC provides wide variety of multimedia development applications including Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Pro X, Photoshop, After Effects, Flash, Dreamweaver, iMovie HD, Logic Pro, and a wide variety of compression and DVD authoring tools.

Software in Campus Computer Labs

A current list of software available in computer labs across campus can be found - here.

Suggestions for alternative software.

 

Online Training Resources - Lynda.com and More

There is a wealth of multimedia training resources availble online. AU faculty, staff and students have access to thousands of hours of free training at Lynda.com.

The easiest way to get to Lynda.com resources is to go to www.american.edu/lynda.

More information about resources can be found at Multimedia @ AU.

SPSS, SAS, ArcGIS and other software

A list of online tutorials for non-multimedia software such as SPSS, SAS, ArcGIS and others.

Onsite Use Equipment

There are a number of peripherals and other pieces of equipment that AU students, faculty and staff can use on-site in the New Media Center. Users are personally financially responsible if equipment is lost, stolen, or damaged.

  • External hard drive
  • iGrabber DVD and VHS video capture [using iGrabber (pdf)]
  • Logitech web camera
  • Headset
  • Craig audio cassette transcriber
  • Audio cassette recorder
  • Mini-cassette recorder
  • Yamaha DGX-505 music keyboard
  • Multi-format cardreader

Overnight NMC Access:

Overnight access to the NMC is by in person reservation only. The NMC workstations can be reserved for overnight use the nights the library is open 24 hours (Monday 12:00AM through Friday 8:00AM). Access is by reservation only. Users can reserve an evening (midnight - 8:00AM) to use a specific NMC studio with the software they need. Users will be given access to a keybox in the library front lobby and can then retrieve the NMC key they need. Key access is available only after midnight - the NMC is cleared of users and locked when Media Services closes. Users must leave if they are in the NMC before midnight.

Making an Overnight NMC Reservation:

  1. You must make a reservation in person at the New Media Center desk between 10:00AM and 6:00PM.
  2. Present a valid AUID when you make your reservation.
  3. You will be granted card-swipe access to the key lockbox in the library front lobby. It is your responsibility to test your AUID on the lockbox in advance. If your card is damaged or demagnetized, it will not work on the lockbox.
  4. Each Fall and Spring semester you must have a NMC Overnight Use Agreement signed and on file at the New Media Center before you are given overnight access to the NMC.
  5. Overnight reservations are for single evening. You will have access to a specific NMC workspace based on the software you are using.

Take a look at a video tutorial about how to access the NMC overnight. For more information contact the New Media Center staff at (202) 885-2560.
http://www.american.edu/library/technology/nmc.cfm
www.american.edu
crawl=CC-MAIN-2014-52
68777
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:XU4A5FLOVHU3SOALJ7Y5QWB3NJCQETEA
<urn:uuid:954aaf01-a7b2-44e4-b433-c9f92a15258a>
2014-12-20T02:29:21Z
147.9.1.186
sha1:TA4Z67DAU5CYC5DR4RLM6Y6P7NYB6AON
<urn:uuid:e47e244c-78a0-4477-a407-479166f128f6>
http://www.american.edu/library/technology/nmc.cfm
response
<urn:uuid:d5132c50-fa0b-4495-9000-bd6fbc91f31d>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2014-52
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web with URLs provided by Blekko for December 2014
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf