Mediapods

What is a Mediapod?

A Mediapod is a device designed and manufactured by the company Rapidmooc, for UCL we have rebranded these as Mediapod. Two of the devices incorporate a computer, a large 40+ inch screen with a PTZ camera and a wireless microphone, and lets anyone make professional quality videos in minutes without specialist skills or post-production. The third is a smaller mobile 'Go' version for transporting around UCL to be used in-situ by departments for larger projects. You quite simply switch on, select your chosen recording mode, then stand in front of the camera and press record, finally you can download your recording or share to edit the video.

The two rooms housing the Mediapods have both green screen and plain backgrounds. Included are microphones, lights and ancillary accessories required to create your recording.

Who can use the Mediapod?

Any UCL staff member or student, who has a need to create a quick, simple video.

Where are the Mediapods located?

Currently we have our fully supported Mediapod in the basement of the Cruciform Building, this is accessible is via our department entrance on Huntley Street, and is available Monday to Thursday, we offer 8 two hour booking slots per week.

Our second device is located in our Video Collaboration Suite in the UCL South Wing, this is Room 1.13 on the first floor.  We offer this space and device to the DigiEd Plus Group, and users who have previously booked the Cruciform device who are confident to go it alone, the room is locked via a keypoad and access is granted once a firm booking is made. This room is available in slots Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Our third device is a mobile unit which splits so that it can be used in either a freestanding mode or on a desk. We offer this unit to users who may want to use it their own space or if they have a significant number of videos to produce. We offer this on either a short (1 week) or medium term (1 month) loan. The Educational Media team will deliver and collect this unit to all departments based in or close to the Bloomsbury campus.

How do I book a Mediapod slot

The Mediapods are booked on a 'first come, first served' basis and we have dedicated email addresses for each Mediapod.

isd.mediapod1@ucl.ac.uk (link) for your initial session based in B.3.09 in the Cruciform
isd.mediapod2@ucl.ac.uk (link) for access to the DIY device in UCL South Wing, Room 1.13
isd.mediapod3@ucl.ac.uk (link) for booking our mobile Mediapod

For all general enquires or to book a viewing/taster session contact isd.mediapod@ucl.ac.uk - all queries

If you wish to cancel or rearrange  your booking, we ask that you give us one full working days’ notice, so staff who are making themselves available, can reschedule their time in the office as we are still working from home.

What times are the Mediapod available?

The principal around the Mediapods is that they are DIY devices.

The Cruciform Mediapod (1) is currently available to book: Monday to Thursday, in two slots per day, from: 10.00am - 12.00pm and 2.00pm - 4.00pm
The Media Prodution staff are based in the adjacent room are available to assist during your booking

The Mediapod (2) in South Wing 1.13 is currently available to book Monday to Friday and slots are available from 9:00am to 5:00pm **This is an unsupported device and our Media Producers are not able to assist with you with your recording.

In the event of a device failure you can receive telephone assistance via 020 3108 9354 or 020 8138 7054

How do I use a Mediapod?

All first time users are directed to our device based in our Educational Media creative spaces based in the Cruciform. Please turn up at your allotted time to our entrance on Huntley Street, this is at the back of the Cruciform Building, we will take you down to the Mediapod room and set you off. After that, it is self-service unless you come across any difficulties, then there is a media team member in the room next door to help.

Please see below for “how-to” use instructions, for the Mediapods.

Is there anything I need to bring with me?

• If you have a presentation, please bring this on your laptop which connects to the device via a HDMI cable.
• The Mediapod will recognise tablet devices please ensure you have a suitable connector which accepts a HDMI input.
• If you wish to use the in-built telepromptor, create your text in a Notebook ++ or plain text editor application and ensure you save this as a .txt file. You will need to convert any MS Word or similar files prior to using the teleprompter.
• If using the green screen function, then having a comb or hair brush helps to keep your hair tidy and improves the final capture.
• We do not advise you use USB 'pen' drives with our Mediapods for security reasons.
• The devices are connected to a MS Office 365 account so your files can be delivered through OneDrive.
• The team will assist or for the device in South Wing 1.13 will do this for you after your recording session.

Instructions for using the Mediapod

Mediapod Screen	Action
	Choose "Record a video"
	Choose "Video mode"
	Choose from the "Video mode selection"
	Choose "Start" to record your video
	Choose "Stop" to end your recording
Framing yourself in the video	Choose "Share" and then the "OneDrive"   Educational Media staff will send the link to your video within one UCL working day. We request that you do not use USB sticks for security and virus protection.
	To change camera framing click on "Settings"
	Choose "Camera framing" from the new menu Click on the camera feed then using the touch screen, mouse pad or remote, you can move, reframe and resize your image on the control panel that appears. Choose "Back" when you are happy You can save different settings as presets but they will not be held beyond this session.
	If you choose "Green screen" (this lets you drop in whatever background image you want behind the speakers face) as an option. Use the sliders to change the quality if the default settings are not to your liking.
	You can choose the feed from the connected "Laptop source" for presentations, video etc., and background images from the Mediapod's selection
	Choose the "Microphone volume control" to adjust the sound record level

Once you have completed the recording session, your files have been saved to the device, we upload these to OneDrive and a member of the team will share them with you as soon as possible after you session has completed. 

The concept of using the Mediapod is that you can easily redo your recording if you make a mistake and this should mean that there is no requirement to make wholesale edit changes. However, we do know that you might wish to combine different videos, add bookends or include additional clips. We have an iMac available in our office with basic editing software available for you to make simple changes, if you need professional assistance the team can do this for you, we are a cost recovery unit and do have to charge for this, further information regarding our charges can be found here.

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