As technology has improved digital cameras have become more and more portable. Smaller and more ergonomic cameras have made digital photography more practical - however, there are times when it is preferable to use a more static system with camera and computer connected. This is known as tethered camera operation. This document is aimed at anyone who might need to operate their camera from a distance, in an awkward position or wants to preview the image on a high quality computer screen.
Read full advice document...Scanners and digital cameras are the most commonly used devices for capturing still images; the digital files they create fit seamlessly into the modern workflow. This document looks at scanners and digital cameras and how they can be used to capture non-typical objects. In this document we look at a range of different objects and how we can capture them with a camera or scanner and a few accessories.
Read full advice document...Most modern digital stills cameras have built in flashes, however these do not always produce a pleasing light, have a limited range and the flash can be distracting in some situations. Professional photographers normally like to have complete control over lighting in order to produce the highest quality images. It is however possible to produce high quality images without the cameras built in flash or in situations where you do not have total control over the lighting. Available or ambient light is the light in the scene before the photographer starts work and this FAQ document looks at common problems associated with available light and how to overcome them. You may also be interested in our Light Sources for Still and Moving Images advice document.
Read full advice document...This document is intended for users who wish to record groups. This includes events like workshops and seminars where more than one person is speaking; for events where only one person is speaking the user should refer to the Basic Guide to Videoing Lectures.
Read full advice document...Everything you need to know about choosing and using a USB microphone for voice recording and communication.
Read full advice document...A guide to choosing and using a portable digital audio recorder, covering everything from digital dictaphones to professional field recorders. If you need a self-contained device for recording audio on location, audio note taking, or for any other scenario where recording with a computer is impractical or inconvenient, this document examines the alternatives.
Read full advice document...A guide to the types of headphones available for various listening tasks, their features, strengths, weaknesses and relative merits. This guide is intended to help users choose the best type of headphones for their needs.
Read full advice document...An illustrated introductory guide to the various methods of acoustic treatment for improving room acoustics and reducing sound transmission, and some simple methods for identifying acoustic problems.
Read full advice document...A comparison of the features and specifications of some popular and suggested audio interfaces.
Read full advice document...Explanation of the various specifications quoted for computer audio interfaces, and their relevance to functionality and sound quality.
Read full advice document...The implications of different types of audio and video project for your choice of audio computer interface.
Read full advice document...Guidance on the principle, ethics and practice of recording telephone conversations for Remote Interviews and Oral History.
Read full advice document...A guide to some of the considerations when installing a Digital Audio Workstation, and preparing and optimising the space for recording and listening.
Read full advice document...Until very recently if you needed to shoot video you purchased a video camera and if you needed to shoot stills you bought a stills camera. However, over the last couple of years manufacturers have started to release stills SLR cameras that can also capture video. With many of the middle and higher range camera models now offering video capture we should look at this new feature and try to identify its strengths and weaknesses. This document is aimed at anyone who has or is about to purchase an SLR camera and needs to know if the video option is of use to them.
Read full advice document...An overview of all the elements involved in producing screencasts at different levels of complexity, and for a variety of educational purposes. We examine some technical tools and methods for screencast creation from the ground up, and for those already familiar with screencasting there are ideas and tips for improving quality and effectiveness.
Read full advice document...This document looks at the camera lens (stills or video) and how it contributes to the quality of the photographic image. It describes the component parts of the lens and how they contribute to the final image. The document should also help the reader to select a specific lens for a task.
Read full advice document...The following units are the BTEC accredited assessment components of our still image professional development certificate and award.
Read course description...The use of video in education has ceased to be an occasional occurrence, but the quality of videos has not kept pace with their popularity. This course is intended to instil basic competence in the many areas of knowledge that are needed to produce good video work. A hands-on approach is taken, such that during the two days of learning about video techniques the participants will actually produce two short videos. All equipment and facilities will be supplied.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a two-day course. Course fees are as follows:
Bringing together experts in digital media and copyright law this seminar created by the JISC Advance services, JISC Digital Media and JISC Legal, uses common real-world scenarios to focus on how copyright impacts on the use of digital media. The seminar will allow participants to gain an understanding of the common issues and challenges facing institutions in the current copyright landscape.
Seminar fees: £100 per participant. Includes lunch and refreshments. There will be a pre-seminar online exercise attendees are requested to complete. This is merely to provide some background knowledge prior to the seminar.
Screencasts - videos of on-screen computer activity, accompanied by voice-over, and possibly other media (webcam video, Powerpoint slides etc) - have in recent times increased massively in popularity, scope and acceptance, and can now provide a sophisticated learning experience, incorporating slides, images, video, audio, screen annotation, subtitles, interactive quizzes and more.. Whether you want to narrate a presentation, demonstrate the use of software, or record and share your screen for any other reason, a screencast may well be the answer.
This practical one-day workshop provides an opportunity to learn how to maximise the value of screencasting in presentation, demonstration and digital storytelling for teaching and learning, in the context of the whole workflow from planning your own short screencast to rendering it as a video. We've even had some delegates posting finished screencasts to YouTube by the end of the day!
Read course description...Analogue media deteriorates at an alarming rate and few digitisation projects can hope to retrieve great signals from aged collections. In order to archive maximum usefulness some basic digital remastering is often required. Fortunately, today's digital tools mean we can easily remove unwanted 'defects' whether hisses and scratches from shellac discs or the distorted colours of old videotapes
N.B. This course covers digital restoration of audio-visual resources only. It does not cover restoration of still images
Read course description...This course looks at the technical background behind, and procedures for, image capture and optimisation delivered through hands-on activities. This workshop will teach you how to produce the correct end product for your intended purpose and teach you the easy 'science' of scanning to remove the guesswork from your image capture.
Read course description...This action packed course looks in depth at using a digital SLR's creative controls to put you in charge of your photography. You will also have plenty of hands-on practice with the camera and be shown how to effectively illuminate 2D and 3D objects using tungsten and fluorescent studio lighting.
Read course description...This entry level course will provide you with an understanding of the techniques and skills needed to produce great quality images from a digital SLR camera with ease. Some illuminating background theory will be supported by hands-on practical exercises in photography.
Read course description...Effective colour management is vital within the digital workflow and anyone working with digital images should understand and be employing the core principles. This training course introduces colour management theory and 'good practice' to ensure that you understand how to achieve consistent and accurate colour between applications, platforms, and devices.
Read course description...This course will provide you with the knowledge and skills to record and produce recordings of spoken word audio, with specific emphasis being placed upon the recording of lectures, seminars and events. You will learn the basic concepts of recording technologies and through practical exercises you will learn how to confidently apply these to practical situations. The workshop will also introduce you to ideas for delivering new media such as podcasting, and suggest methods for managing your digital recordings.
Read course description...This course is designed specifically to help you consider how to effectively incorporate metadata into the fabric of your image collection, through explanation, discussion and practical activities.
Read course description...Over the past fifty years the videotape has grown from an obscure television production tool into a vibrant and vital social document. But videotape has proved to be a fragile long-term medium and its contents are at risk. This risk can only be mitigated through careful planning. This workshop will investigate the challenges associated with the preservation of videotapes. Through practical exercises, we will look at how digitising materials to archival standards can both safeguard and help develop a collection. We will also look at the challenge of creating a sustainable digital collection. Quality assurance procedures and best practice will be referred to throughout.
Read course description...This entry level course provides an easy to understand theoretical overview of digital images and image capture combined with practical exercises using both a scanner and digital SLR camera for those getting started with creating digital images.
Read course description...This one day workshop focuses on the effective use of digital media online including the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). During the workshop attendees will discover how to improve their presentation resources, know when and how digital media can be used to enhance learning materials and be able to successfully embed their new knowledge in their VLE and online services.
Read course description...If you've ever needed to find images, video or audio you can use in your work materials then this course is for you. It will guide you to all the best places to locate free-to-use, copyright-cleared digital media resources for use in teaching and learning. You'll never use Google to find digital media again!
Read course description...This course will get you up and running with Adobe Photoshop. You will learn key concepts and skills to enable you to understand and start using this exciting application with confidence.
Read course description...Now that many important materials are in a digital form, building an accessible online media collection which successfully delivers images, sounds, video and other media is a goal of many institutions.
Until recently, expensive Digital Asset Management systems where the most viable option, but now open source server applications such as Dspace, Omeka and Drupal hold the promise of truly interoperable and standards-based collection management.
This one day course will offer a model of digital collection management, based upon open source solutions. Attendees will gain hands-on experience of planning, building, managing and delivering a digital media collection.
Read course description...This course covers the essential skills you need in order to maximise the quality and visual appeal of digital images from both scanners and digital cameras. You will learn the tips and tricks necessary to transform your images quickly and easily.
Read course description...This course will provide you with a hands-on experience of creating, managing and delivering a departmental image collection. You will acquire the foundation knowledge required to make well informed decisions about building an image library. You will also have the opportunity to discuss and share information with people from the HE/FE/Cultural sector facing similar issues in order to help you develop practical solutions.
Read course description...This informative and stimulating course is run by a leading expert in copyright. It looks in-depth at how copyright and other legal issues impact upon digital media and it will enable you to develop practical approaches to clearing and managing those rights within your own collections.
Read course description...To meet the skills required by libraries, archives and institutions to digitise their existing analogue collections, this course aims to provide a complete introduction to the theory and practicalities of successfully digitising analogue audio resources. The workshop will provide hands-on tuition alongside presenting theoretical knowledge with group discussions of topics surrounding the digital lifecycle, in a digitisation project based context. The workshop has been designed as a precursor for our more technical, media specific training modules. The practical elements will involve digitising audiocassette tapes as example media.
Read course description...This course provides a thorough practical overview of how to digitise images and text from print-based materials. You will use a desktop scanner and related technology to effectively enable you to leverage the rights granted to you by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) scanning licence.
Read course description...This course is designed to meet the requirements of staff in libraries, archives and other related institutions needing to digitise existing analogue collections. The course builds on our Digitising Analogue Audio workshop, by introducing a range of legacy audio media and examining them in more detail.
The workshop will provide the opportunity to both handle these media and configure the equipment needed for their successful playback. A recommended, pragmatic workflow will be followed.
Essential theoretical and interesting historical information is included which together contribute to understanding: the development of audio recording technologies; how to handle and best reproduce each medium; how to digitise each medium to archival standard.
Read course description...A suggestion for a compromised but usable low-cost, lightweight solution to video recording your presentations.
Read blog entry...It has been possible to operate a digital SLR from a mobile device for some time but this has required a direct conection between the camera and a PC.
Read blog entry...Photojojo has just released a new product: a mount which enables you to use standard SLR lenses on an iPhone 4.
Read blog entry...A newcomer to the photography market is close to launching an impressive new camera which allows the user to refocus the picture after it has been taken.
Read blog entry...I know a few photographers who can quite accurately predict the correct exposure to use under a variety of challenging lighting situations, most of us however require a little help from a light meter.
Read blog entry...The cameras built into most portable devices use fixed focal length lenses, to alter the framing the user normally has to move closer or further away from the subject or use the dreaded digital zoom. The digital zoom simply crops into the original frame to give a closer look. The zoomed image has no more image detail than the un-zoomed shot and so digital zoom should be avoided whenever possible.
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Tuesday the 7th of December 2010 sees JISC Digital Media launch the 12 Days of JISC Digital Media Christmas, a very lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek series of videos.
Read blog entry...A new advice document focussing on microphones which connect directly to computer via USB.
Read blog entry...Last week I attended a really inspiring day run by the Engaging Students Through In-Class Technology (ESTICT) SIG Steering Group and hosted by the University of Bath.
Read blog entry...Latest iPod Touch adds microphone and cameras
Read blog entry...A new guide to the different types of Portable Digital Audio Recorders, from digital dictaphones to professional field recorders.
Read blog entry...Video capture is an increasingly common feature in today's digital SLR cameras. While the controls are crude compared to those of a dedicated camcorder the video output has a cinematic look popular with many filmmakers.
Read blog entry...I recently purchased a Zumi, properly known as the Digital Harinezumi 2++ and have been getting a lot of enjoyment out of it.
Read blog entry...We have just published a new advice document on Tethered Camera Operation.
Read blog entry...Here at JISC Digital Media we've made a very brief (79 second) video to compare the Kodak Zi8 and Flip Ultra pocket camcorders with the considerably more sophisticated (and considerably more expensive) Sony Z5.
Read blog entry...We have just released a new introductory document on lenses, it describes the main components of the lens and what you should consider before choosing a lens for a task.
Read blog entry...We have just published a new Headphone Guide.
Read blog entry...Eye-fi have recently released their new (and the first ever) range of memory cards fitted with wireless technology that allows you to upload photos and videos directly to your computer or the web.
Read blog entry...Of the very many photography apps for the iPhone that exist, two have struck me as particularly nice, DOFMaster and DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition.
Read blog entry...There's a very interesting article in Creative COW about the Canon 5D Mk II, a very advanced digital SLR (or HDSLR) that the author has been using to shoot video with.
Read blog entry...An overview of acoustic treatment methods and materials, and advice on identifying and meeting the acoustic needs of your room.
Read blog entry...My mother wanted to show off her new car (little red base model) to me this weekend, and the best feature of which is the connection/jack/hole to play music and/or podcasts from your mp3 player.
Read blog entry...A new JISC Digital Media screencast offering advice on microphone technique and choice for voice-over. Recorded for today's online surgery.
Read blog entry...Three new advice documents designed to assist you in choosing an audio interface for your computer system.
Read blog entry...New entry-level audio interface from industry heavyweights Apogee, aimed squarely at the podcaster, but boasting quality suitable for serious music usage.
Read blog entry...Steve Hull, one of JISC Digital Media's Technical Support Officers for moving images, gave a talk at this year's DIVERSE conference in Aberystwyth on the 25th of June.
Read blog entry...The new Zoom Q3 audio/video recorder offers simple video, combined with high quality stereo audio capture.
Read blog entry...Ever been shooting still images or video and wondered, "How can I possibly provide a steady support for my camera here?"
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