I. equipment to buy
CAMS production classes require students buy a 500 GB harddrive with Firewire 800 and USB. CAMS recommends bus-powered, ruggedized hard drives of 1 TB or larger. An hour of footage transcoded as Apple ProRes 422 can take about 65 GB of space on your drive.
CAMS recommends students checking out production gear buy a pair of closed-back, over-the-ear headphones such as Sony MDR-V6 or MDR-7506, widely prized for their audio accuracy as well as durability.
Depending on how much footage students plan to shoot at one time, you may wish to buy additional Class 10 SD card(s) of your own in denominations of 16 GB or more from Lexar or Sandisk. To give a sense of scale, one hour of footage shot at maximum quality takes about:
-21 GB of space on SD/SDHC/SDXC card on a Canon 60D or
-11 GB of space on SD/SDHC card on a Sony HXR-NX5U.
Students wishing to buy their own PCM-based audio recorder might wish to consider a model with XLR inputs, such as the Zoom H4n in use in CAMS, or new devices such as the Roland/Edirol R-09.
II. equipment to check out
A_. general_
Students currently enrolled in CAMS production classes (including comps) have access to cameras, microphones and accessories to complete class assignments. This equipment is reserved in the CAMS Production Office (phone 5698; pbernhardt@carleton.edu). The CAMS Production Office is open for equipment check-out and check-in:
Sun 4:30-7:30pm
Mon 3:30-6:30pm
Tues 3:30-6:30pm
Weds 3:30-6:30pm
Thu 3:30-6:30pm
Fri 3:45-5pm
Sat closed
B_. examples_
These are the primary instruments for field production, available from the CAMS Production Office, that students are likely to design a production around:
1. microphones
a. Rode NTG-2 short shotgun
b. Audio-Technica
c. Audio-Technica
d. Audio-Technica
e. Audio-Technica
2. Zoom H4n audio recorders
3. cameras
a. camcorders
i. Sony PD-170
ii. Sony HXR-NX5U
b. Canon 60D dSLRs
4. camera support
a. Fig Rig (designed by Mike Figgis, author of [Digital Filmmaking|http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Filmmaking-Mike-Figgis/dp/0571226256/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316529536&sr=8-1]) ingenious hand-held mount that lets you use your arms as a natural shock absorber while walking
b. Spider Brace II lightweight shoulder mount
c. various tripods and tripod dollies
III. governance
A. rationale
Carleton production equipment and studios are shared resources. As with shared resources elsewhere, there must be governance around them. People who successfully complete the Moodle-based qualification training form a media production community at Carleton. This governance was created to protect our personal health and safety, our ability to meet work deadlines, and the production equipment we use.
It’s vital to the Carleton media production community’s well-being that facilities are safe to use. This safety is not external to our creative activity but arises from the sum of our actions.
Learning to navigate complex deadlines under tight time pressure is part of the creative endeavor. Just as other people’s actions can affect your ability to do your creative work and finish assignments on time, your actions affect others’ ability to do the same. The importance in this context of returning gear on time can’t be overstated. Treating well the gear we use, so that it stays in good working order, turns out to be just as important. Replacing lost or damaged gear not only costs money but causes delay likely to compromise your ability and others’ to finish work on time.
The Cinema and Media Studies (CAMS) Production Office exists as a resource to help you serve your vision. The most obvious form this takes is equipment for checkout and studios for use, but students are encouraged to consult in detail with the Production Office, along with their instructors and advisors, to make realistic plans for how much time you’ll spend in production and, consequently, how long to make reservations.
Use of these resources is a privilege granted under the conditions described above. Use privileges may be suspended if these conditions are consistently unmet.
You are responsible for your own actions. The quality of your production experience depends to a large degree on how we are to one another as colleagues.
B. policy
In exchange for using Carleton College production facilities and equipment, I agree to follow these rules, which are subject to ongoing review and amendment by CAMS faculty and staff:
1. I will not use gear or facilities without becoming qualified to do so, as outlined at http://moodle.carleton.edu/go/prodcert
2. I will follow safety procedures outlined in the qualification training (linked above) or seek further clarification from either the CAMS Technical Director or the Carleton Manager of Environmental Health and Safety Compliance.
3. I will use gear and studios only by making a reservation for it in the CAMS Production Office. In general, reservations must be made at least two business hours in advance of pickup time, to allow Production Office staff to prepare the equipment package. Reservations may be made on the spot for items such as a mic for use in studio. Production Office staff will only check out gear to the reservation holder. Weitz Center and PEPS/Idea Lab staff will not check out gear to Carleton production community members who have CAMS production equipment overdue.
4. I will bring gear back on time or contact the Production Office before my reservation expires to request the reservation be renewed. If the gear cannot be renewed (because someone else needs it), I will bring the gear back within the grace period.
5. I will leave the studio on time or contact the Production Office before my reservation expires to request the reservation be renewed. If the studio reservation cannot be renewed (because someone else needs it), I will leave the studio within the grace period.
6. I will clean up after myself where I work. This includes mopping up any spill immediately, coiling cables neatly, striking all equipment and returning it to its home location, and sweeping up. This also includes throwing away all props, furniture and other scenic elements that you brought to the set.
7. Repair or replacement cost of items I have reserved, will be charged to my Carleton tuition account.
8. Studios and computer labs are accessed by swiping your Carleton OneCard at the door. I will not loan my OneCard to anyone for this purpose.
9. I will not bring food or drink of any kind into a control room (37, 41, and 46 Weitz) or the main portion of Advanced Edit (134 Weitz).
10. I will not bring food or any beverage other than water into a studio (38, 40 and 45 Weitz as well as inside the Wenger unit in Advanced Edit). If I bring water into a studio, it will be in a container with a lid that closes securely. This mirrors policy in the Libe.
11. I will not bring food or drink of any kind into the Media Lab (136 Weitz) except during receptions such as orange couch sessions.