Although the Brandeis library may seem small compared to many, it houses a lot. One of its hidden gems is the Getz Media Lab. Amongst the stacks of knowledge the Getz Media Lab is nestled conveniently on the third floor. What will you find? Macs on Macs and experts on media and its innermost parts. We caught up with one of the Getz Media Lab tech specialist and marketing head, Zelle Rettman and the Getz Head Supervisor, Mark Dellelo to find out what this lab is all about.
HC: What is Getz?
ZR: Getz is a multimedia lab on the third floor of Farber. It is a really fun and chill place for media-related work like editing video, designing sound, creating graphic designs. There are 30 big screen Apple computers running tons of different professional software that anyone can use. We also rent out A/V equipment.
HC: Why is it called Getz and when did it start?
MD: The lab is named for Emma and Oscar Getz, who donated money for the creation of a listening and viewing center at Brandeis many years ago. In 2006 we identified a need for a creative space that Brandeis students could use to assemble their own material to be viewed and listened to: a video and audio production lab. So we converted the old Getz Media Listening and Viewing Space into the Getz Multimedia Lab and opened our doors for business in January of 2007.
HC: What can Getz do for you?
ZR: Getz provides a space for people to work on their media projects. The staff at Getz is trained in many of the programs and can help any visitors if they get stuck or have questions. As I said before, we rent out A/V equipment, which we can teach you how to operate. We also provide media duplication services like if you have a VHS that you want to copy over to a DVD.
HC: When is it open?
ZR: We are open every day during the week.
Monday – Thursday: 10am – midnight
Friday: 10am – 6pm
Saturday: noon – 6pm
Sunday: noon – midnight
Times vary during breaks and such.
HC: What kind of equipment can people rent? Do they need any special training?
ZR: We have three levels of equipment rentals. Level I you can rent without any prior training, but we of course make sure you know how to use it before you leave. Level I has devices like Canon Vixia video cameras and H2 Zoom voice recorders. You can take these items out for three days at a time.
For level II and III equipment you do have to be trained, but it doesn’t take very long and trainings generally happen on Fridays. Level II and III equipment include our DSLR cameras, Panasonic video cameras, lighting kits etc.. We have a form online that students and staff can complete to rent out the equipment.
HC: What other cool features does the lab have?
ZR: You can make special appointments through a form on our website if there is a specific program you want to use. This is useful because each employee has strengths with different programs and by making an appointment your assured to have a staff member who is well versed in that specific program.
We have access to an online tutorial site that is awesome; it’s how I learned to use different programs, and anyone can access it from the Getz lab computers.
We are constantly thinking about new programming ideas and would love to hear input from people who use Getz regarding what they would want tutorials/workshops on. We always try to provide a few sessions on Photoshop since it is a popular program but are happy to look into more if anyone has suggestions.
We also have a recording studio with a keyboard and more advanced voice-recording capabilities. It is really great if you need to record yourself and want a quiet space with no background noise.
Like what you read? Check out the Getz Media Lab Facebook page and their page on the Brandeis site.