MEWS Services

How can the Video Consultants help you?

Here's a short synopsis of some of the services we offer in the MEWS. Drop by for help during consulting hours.

This video was created by the MEWS video consultants using Adobe Premiere.

Video Consultation Hours During Exams

Regular consultant hours will end for the term at 10pm on Tuesday, December 10, 2013. We are offering some additional opportunities during exams to obtain help finishing your projects.

If you need help outside of these hours, please send an email to our Video Consultant list.

Research Guides -- Your Online Research Friend

Ever felt like you have no resources for your assignment or project? Don't know where to go for royalty-free videos and images? The MHC Research Guides are here to help you!

From academic research to creative commons pictures, Research Guides can help you  find many different resources .

To start, access the Research Guides website from the LITS main website.

From there, you will reach the main page for research guides. There, not only will you see topics distributed according to academic subjects like Humanities and Social Science, but you can also view how-to topics (such as citing, finding images, etc) that can help you with your research. If you wish to see research guides for specific courses from specific semesters, you can click on one of the links under  "Previous Course Guides".

After clicking the topic you wish to explore, you will arrive at that topic's main research guide page. This page is built specifically to help you with research on the chosen topic. Different types of  resources are listed under the tabs. If you need further help from a librarian for your research, you can contact the LITS liaison whose contact information is displayed in the main page.

Happy researching!

Why Isn’t My Computer Using My External Microphone!?

Whether you are using an external microphone for communicating through programs like Skype, G-Chat, or a video game, or you are wanting to record some audio into a program like Audacity or GarageBand, you probably want your external microphone and computer to get along. If they don’t, here are some basic troubleshooting techniques that might keep you sane.

1)    Make sure your computer has recognized your microphone

Mac                                                                

a)     Click on “system preference” located in the apple menu at the top-left corner of your screen

b)    Click on “sound” in the “hardware” menu

c)     Make sure that your external microphone appears in the “Input” list

d)    Make sure that your external microphone is selected in that list.

***If you do not see your external microphone, try unplugging and re-connecting all of the wires associated with your microphone****

            PC

a) Open the start menu, Select Devices and Printers

b) If you do not see your microphone in the Devices Menu or in the Unspecified Menu, try unplugging your external microphone from the computer, making sure that wire is plugged firmly into the external microphone and re-plugging it

2)    Make sure that the program you are using is accommodating your external microphone

This is done by going to the preferences for your specific program (this varies from program to program) and making sure that your external microphone is selected as the audio output option.

For example, in Skype: Open the Audio Settings of Skype by going to the Skype preferences menu under tools > options > audio settings

Most external microphones can be plugged directly into your USB port or headphone. Some require interface boxes (this is more common among higher-end studio recording microphones. If this were the case, your microphone would not plug anywhere into your computer. You would probably know if this were the case).

These steps work most of the time. If they do not, you can also try re-booting your computer or reflecting on whether your external microphone is functional and whether your computer is capable of recognizing external microphones.

As always, don't hesitate to come into the MEWS consultant help hours if you are still having difficulties and we can aid you in person!

Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 Video Transitions!

Are you cringing because the switch between two of your clips are just so rocky?  Never fear, transitions are here!!!

Here's how you use them:

1. Go into "Effects" in the project pane (bottom left hand box) and open "Video Transitions" folder.

2. Open the folder with the name of desired transition type.

3. Drag desired transition and fit it in the line between the clips requiring a transition
                                                          -OR-
    Select all the clips you want to have this transition between by using shift or clicking/dragging with  
    the mouse and going to "sequence" in the bar at the top of the page.  Select "Apply Default
    Transitions to Selection".

NOTE: The transition with the yellow bordered square to the left of the title is the default transition.  You can set the default transition by right clicking the desired transition and selecting "Set Selected as Default Transition".

4. To adjust the duration/speed of the transition use the gray squares on either side of the gray bar at the bottom of the timeline and drag left or right to visually enlarge the project material.  Use the long gray bar to scroll until you find the transition.  Click the transition and drag right to extend it/slow it down and drag left to shorten it/speed it up.

5. You can also control how much of each clip is seen at the start and end of a transition by clicking the transition and dragging the little pentagons on the bars under Square A and B that appear in the source monitor.

6. You can control whether the transition is primarily in the first or second clip by double clicking the transition and hitting +1 or +5 to move it more toward the second clip and -1 or -5 to move it more toward the first one.  Use the middle button with the black and white rectangle to set it back to its default position.

Hope this helps!  Remember, if you need help, our consultants will be happy to help you!

Adobe Premiere CS6: Features to Get Excited About!

Daunted at the thought of learning a new video editing software? Never fear! 

Premiere CS6 looks just like Final Cut Pro. In fact, the core editing commands are almost completely the same! 

Here is a complete list of the Premiere key commands.

And here is a list of just a few cool features that are new in Premiere:

• You can bring projects from Final Cut or iMovie into Premiere, including transitions and layers!
• Premiere supports every footage format, and enables you to mix and match different types on your timeline!
• It even lets you export in any format!
• There is no limit to the amount of effects you can put on a clip! (in FCP there was - it's called auto-nesting) 
• J-K-L TRIMMING !!!
• Your footage bins are much more organized with thumbnails of each file. You can drag your mouse over these thumbnails to scrub through each clip! 
• You can even mark In & Out points on your thumbnails, allowing you to make rough cuts faster!
• The audio mixing feature allows you to have a great amount of control over your sound, in ways that FCP or iMovie never did. It shows you the peaks and valleys of your audio clips, and lets you isolate and edit different clips at once. 
• Premiere's appearance is completely customizable! (from Preferences, you can change the color of any part of the interface.)

Welcome Back!

 The RISE video consultants are back to help you with your multimedia projects. Check the schedule of staffed hours and  drop by the MEWS to ask a question. 

Want More than Drop-in Help?

Make an appointment with a MEWS consultant during our regularly scheduled hours. Select a Consultant Appointment slot in the Google calendar linked below:

Video Consultant Appointments

If none of these times will meet your needs, we will be glad to make an appointment. Please send an email with some times you can meet to the email address posted in the MEWS Teaching Space.