Last semester our library gave me the amazing opportunity to work as the Instructional Media Fellow. When I began, I certainly did not know what kind of journey I would be embarking on or that I would be turning the Media Center into my second home. I knew that the library staff wanted to begin producing a series of short tutorial and informational videos about the library, and as a film and media major, I was beyond excited to gain hands-on experience creating videos.
Because this was a new project, I was given full creative range of the videos. I spent many hours watching Youtube videos produced by other libraries to try and get an idea of what techniques or ideas were successful, what ideas really did not work, and what kind of information students were interested in. After many brainstorming sessions and several failed logo designs the “SMCM Library in 60 Seconds” was created.
The “SMCM Library in 60 Seconds” videos are meant to be short videos that clearly highlight a resource/feature of the library or present a quick tutorial on how to use different services within the library. We want students to be able to use our videos as a way to make their experiences and time in the library more enjoyable and efficient.
In my position, I conceptualize, design, film, and edit (and then delete, film and edit a few more times) each video. Not every video topic can be approached in the same manner, so each video needs to be created, filmed and edited differently. I’ve learned that my first idea is never my best idea, and that even after many hours of editing, I might still have to start over. But thanks to an amazing support team and an extremely cooperative student body (thank you to everyone who has let me film them!) I have been beyond thrilled with this experience. I have learned more than I ever expected and am looking forward to everything that I still get to learn.
Keep an eye out for new videos on the SMCM library Youtube channel, and if you haven’t already, take a minute to watch your fellow students in our first video, This is My Library!