Digital Media Committee Meeting 20161029

This meeting will be held in Modified SRC3 format.

Time, location

16:00, Dallas Makerspace

Prior minutes

Digital_Media_Committee_Meeting_20150913#Minutes

Financial Statement

It was reported that we have approximately $1200 in committee funds available.

Consent Agenda

$X for (name)

Problem: ipsem lorem.

Solution: Allocate $x for the purpose of ipsem lorem.

Relevance: Ipsem lorem.

Food and Drink Policy for Digital Media Room (Sam)

Problem: Sam is concerned about allowing food and drink in the digital media room and the potential damage to equipment (loaned and donated).

Solution: It was suggested that we disallow all food and only allow covered drinks in the room.

Relevance: To reduce the potential for damage to equipment in the digital media room.

New Business

Topic One (Presenter)

Problem: Ipsem lorem.

Solution: Ipsem lorem.

Minutes

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DRAFT MINUTES
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Attendess:
Draco
David Groce (not in RSVP list)
Alan Gascamp
Sam Peterson
Member 5
Member 6

Late arrivals:
Alan's son
Mitch

Other participants:
Mark (online via Hangouts)

Draco dialed out using Hangouts a little after 4pm to invite others not at DMS to participate. 
A static link has been created for future calendar events that members can join as they are able if not able to attend in person.

Draco brough the meeting to order and began by explaining the was the new committee chair. 
He then moved to a discussion about revitalizing the committee and use of the digital media room.

The first topic of discussion was the media room and that it needed some attention. 
The goal of the committee in the near term is to bring the room to a better state of readiness for the DMS membership.

Several items are required to accomplish this.

The first is the clutter in the room. There are several items in the room that have no real function that need to be removed. 
The small metal cart, several obsolete items on the shelving unit, the blankets that were intended for covering the walls.
Some PVC pipe intended for lighting supports was also discarded.

In addition it was discussed that the two tables for the computer workstations were not adequate. New smaller tables were proposed. 
Draco showed an example of a standing table available online. 
The need for tables that can be adjusted and be on casters for easy re-positioning or moving to another room was voiced.

It was decided that the current use of the studio space as a storage room for equipment needs change. 
The committee discussed acquiring two locking cabinets to replace the existing cabinet, lockers and the shelving unit and cable rack in the room. 
All equipment with the exception of the large microphone stands and three CFL soft lights will be stored in the cabinets when not in use.

Additionally bins will be procured to store audio and other grip equipment in an organized manner. 
Sam will be providing Draco with several choices to fit that need. 
Once secured Sam and Draco (others are invited) will organize the equipment in bins and label each.

To provide additional room and raise funds there are a few items that will be sold on eBay, these include the two Canon XL1 camcorders.
These have been discussed for sale previously. One of the two larger audio mixers will also be sold. 
This was approved by the committee by voice vote.

Once the workstations are rearranged Draco suggested we rearrange the current 3d scanning workstation. This will make it more usable for other tasks.
We will also reorient the current "right hand" workstation for audio production (including sound deadening and microphone/mixer placement).

All of these projects costs were estimated as follows:

1) sound dampening $350 + $100 (backing material)	$250
2) three workstations	                                $400
3) two new cabinets like CA ($200 x 2)	                $400
4) containers for organization and storage	        $150

The expenditure of these funds was approved by unanimous voice vote.

In considering the rearrangement of the room Sam suggested that at least half of the room needed to be easily vacated of equipment.
This is so that lights and cameras could be used on the chroma key wall. The above mentioned actions should help in that endeavor.

Sam brought up the wiki and the purpose of the committee to verify that all of our actions were inline with that purpose. According to the wiki:

The Digital Media Committee's responsibilities are to:
	i. Maintain the digital media room and equipment
	(order, organization, safety, cleanliness, and utility)
	ii. Includes Audio, Video, 3D modeling, and software development
	iii. Members will have opportunities to collaborate on DMS and personal content
This was acclaimed by voice vote.

The wiki was discussed as needing some updates, those will largely be addressed in the future.

An additional policy issue was brought forward regarding food and drink in the digial media room. 
It was proposed that food be disallowed in the room going forward. 
Drinks were also discussed but at this time the recommendation was to allow for drinks, but only in a container with a lid. 
Those policies were approved by voice vote and the Wiki was updated. 
A sign that states this policy should be posted on the digital media room door and inside the room as well.

Draco presented the need to provide live streaming capabilities to spaces other than the digital media room and the classroom with OpenCast. 
It was suggested that a small setup be piloted comprised of a laptop and two USB cameras and a USB attached microphone using OBS. 
Sam will put together a test system that can then be used as we refine the requirements.
Additional equipment (such as tripods) that may need to be tweaked to get appropriate positions for the cameras. 
A smaller light kit may be required to augment these systems.

Draco also showed the committee the current status of the OpenCast setup in the lecture hall,
He explained the need to finalize that first system and setup a quick guide and training program so that usage could begin. 
A firm timeline was not set for this as there are still come configuration details being worked out.

Motion capture and game development were discussed. There is a need to deploy development tools to enable these capabilities. 
A very brief discussion on the relative merits of Unity vs. the Unreal Engine took place. No definitely action was taken or suggested. 
It is a topic of interest.

In reconfiguring the studio the need to coordinate with Kee Fedak regarding the 3D scanner. 
Draco will circle with Kee so he is aware of what is happening.

Future desires for the studio include track lights for the workstation.
Also a better way(s) to mount the studio hot lights for the chroma key wall is desired. The handing LED strips on conduit idea was scrapped.
These future needs will be addressed again once the other items previously voted upon are completed.

In discussing the purpose of the committee it was agree upon that the committee's purpose was not to record or edit the classes of other groups.
Our purpose is to train, enable and guide the use of the facilities offered by the committee.

To best enable that use the top of room reservation was discussed and it was agreed that studio reservation was a reasonable policy.
This is to ensure that resources were available when a recording session or live video event required it. 
Scheduling conflicts are to be minimized using the reservation system when multiple people are needed to accomplish a studio event.

So that the digital media capabilities are better understood Sam will help create a looping presentation that can be played on a monitor.
This display to be sourced by Draco and placed just outside the studio. 
This will help explain the purpose of the committee, demonstrate what can be done in the studio, and show examples of other digital media assets.
The intent is that all material shown will have been created by DMS members using the facilities provided by the committee.

Finally it was agreed that we need to teach some classes. 
Sam offered to teach some classes and mentioned that the topics with which he was comfortable were listed on his DMS wiki page. 
Some of those could start before the room is reconfigured. 
No timeline was set but he and Draco will work out a start time and schedule regular classes. 
It will be important for the members of the committee to help recruit students so that the three person minimum is met at every class offered.

Meeting adjourned at 18:05

Approved Spending Tracking

TBA.