Do You Voodoo? We Voodoo.

This past Fall Quarter, students started using Voodoo to conjure up magical sights and sounds in the Student Technology Resources Center (STRC). Voodoo, in this case, means video-editing computers. The state-of-the-art computers include two terabits of hard-drive space, dual DVD burners and video cards, and 24”-widescreen monitors. Not only are these computers powerful, but they are also attractive. They come in ultra bright colors such as Monaco yellow and infineon red with see-through panels that show off their inner workings.

The majority of the students who used the Voodoo computers during Fall Quarter were undergraduates, but the STRC also welcomed several graduate students as well. The students came from almost every college at the university.

More than half of the students had never used video-editing software before stepping into the Voodoo suites. This is where the trained and helpful staff and students of the STRC came in. The staff worked with students from the start of their project to its completion. As with all new technology there is a learning curve to using the Voodoo computers. Recognizing this, STRC staff spent more time helping the students at the beginning of their projects, moving to more of a consulting role as the students became more familiar with the video-editing process.

The videos created with Voodoo were diverse in subject and tone. Of the 70 projects created during Fall Quarter, some were comedies, some tear-jerkers, and several were meant to cause a fright. Some of the videos were created for entertainment, some for a grade, and others to educate and inform.

Melissa Brankamp was the first student to use the Voodoo computers. Brankamp, a high jumper on UC’s track-and-field team, edited video of her high jumps to study them in preparation for upcoming events.

Betsy Ruwe, a fine-arts major, came to the STRC upon the recommendation of her Advanced Electronic Art Professor Ben Britton. Her video had two objectives: to complete a course assignment and to promote the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Southwestern Ohio where she works. Ruwe’s video followed four eight-year-old girls and their fight with leukemia. Ruwe’s 50 hours spent in the STRC resulted in an A+ on her project, as well as an inspiring video that will be shown in grade schools and high schools across Southwest Ohio, thus fulfilling both of her objectives.

The Voodoo computers are just one example of the technology available to students in the STRC. In addition to editing videos, students can design Web pages, create presentations in PowerPoint, work with images, and more. For additional information, visit the STRC on the 4th floor of Langsam Library or online at <www.libraries.uc.edu/services/strc>.

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