1. Project Short Title (5 to 8 words): Final Cut Server: Networking Functionality

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1 Proposal Form for FY10 Student Tech Fee Competitive Process (Oxford) Complete one form for each project by February 27, If the project lead is a member of CAS, FSB, SEAS, SEHS, SFA or LIB the proposal to the dean; otherwise, it to techfee@muohio.edu. Project Lead s Name: Dan Battistone battisdr@muohio.edu Telephone: Affiliation (Student, Organization, CAS, FSB, SEAS, SEHS, SFA, LIB, Other Division,): LIB Other Project Team Members: Lisa Santucci, Mike Wells 1. Project Short Title (5 to 8 words): Final Cut Server: Networking Functionality 2. Brief Description of Project: Final Cut Server is a server-based file management and workflow automation package from Apple, used mainly to manage projects that use Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Studio. Final Cut Server is powerful enough to make the most elaborate productions run smoothly, yet simple enough to do the same for smaller ones. With the University Libraries increase of video editing applications and the upgrade to Final Cut Pro from imovie for all IMS courses, Final Cut Server could aid students in dealing with the functionality of the University s computer labs and classrooms. 3. Impact on Students Served or Evidence of Student Need, starting with the number or percentage of students or courses served: The courses that would be served by Final Cut Server, specifically, are Interactive Media Studies (IMS) 101V and Interactive Media Studies (IMS) 201. However, all students who use Final Cut Studio in the Center for Information Management (CIM) or digital media computer labs in King Library will also be served by Final Cut Server. King Library s Center for Information Management is a digital media lab that specializes in creating, editing, and sharing digital information. Staffed with both undergraduate and graduate student employees, the CIM Lab offers individual assistance for all of its equipment and services. As the scope of courses that utilized digital technologies widens, the amount of students making use of the CIM Lab has too. With students from every discipline, including Spanish, Early Childhood Development, and Geography assigned everything from video and audio Podcasts, to PowerPoint presentations complete with narration, the range of students served by the CIM Lab has definitely grown. One of the most noticeable growths has been the usage of video editing applications in CIM over the past year, the number of students served will continue to grow. Final Cut Server will also allow media to be shared between CIM and other digital media computer labs in King Library, allowing for maximum file sharing and file management for students and professors. 1

2 4. Justification for Funding this Project: This past semester (Fall 2008) we had a variety of obstacles with the IMS 201 courses switching from imovie to Final Cut Pro. The largest of these obstacles were the IMS Drive and CIM Drive crashing due to a large amount of files being stored there, the lack of convenient networking between digital media computer labs in King Library and CIM, and lost files and Media Offline errors. Digital video files can get extremely large, extremely quickly. The influx of raw video footage to the IMS Drive and CIM Drive caused some problems, resulting in the server crashing. As a rule of thumb, 1 GB should be designated for every 5 minutes of captured video. If the math is carried out, based on the amount of students in IMS 201 and IMS 101V courses, it could warrant a designated storage system for video editing alone. There are also the Final Cut Pro project files, image files, audio files, etc that need to be stored in the same location. The lack of convenient networking between digital media computer labs in King Library and CIM also became an obstacle last semester. Because these computer labs do not always have open lab hours, students often attempt to edit their projects in the only other location where Final Cut Pro is available, the CIM Lab. File management became difficult as students attempted to work between the two computer labs. Lost media connections and render files resulted in lost time because files needed to be reconnected and sequences needed to be re-rendered. Media Offline errors occurred repeatedly last semester and are usually the fault of the operator. However, this problem has also happened when customers who do not understand how Final Cut Pro operates attempt to use the application in the CIM Lab. Telling a customer that the video file they saved on the Desktop is gone and cannot be reconnected is similar to telling someone that their hamster passed away. Final Cut Server will help in a variety of ways, by both simplifying the workflow of video editing classes and by making it more efficient. First, Final Cut Server acts as a gatekeeper to files and projects. It can be tailored to only allow students from IMS 201, Section B, Group A to access files and media for IMS 201, Section B, Group A s project. Students from another section or group would not be able to delete, move, or change any aspect of another groups project. Not only would this offer more privacy and control for each class and group while editing their project, but it would also help sustain academic integrity. Second, Final Cut Server will either organize and regulate existing storage drives or offer the ability to establish a large storage system specifically for video editing. Most importantly, digital media computer labs in King Library and the CIM Lab will be linked for video editing. Third, Final Cut Server will provide a shared location that students can store and access their projects and files without the fear of losing anything. As long as the media is stored on the server it can be accessed and edited from any machine with the client installed. Final Cut Server can also be pointed to a specific drive or location and will watch for new files that are created and will add them to the server automatically. This could potentially be used as a backup, pointing to existing 2

3 storage, the Desktop, or the Temporary Storage. Fourth, Final Cut Server will expedite the grading process for professors and instructors. Rather than burning a project to a DVD or trying to find some sort of blank media that is large enough to hold a full quality Quicktime file, professors and instructors will have access to students final projects through proxies in Final Cut Server. The proxies simply link to the original asset in Final Cut Server, allowing the professor or instructor to view a final Quicktime file quickly and easily, without downloading a large file or attempting to grade a project based on a poor, web quality video file. Final Cut Server also has the ability to work directly with , allowing another layer of communication between professor and student. In addition, Final Cut Server will provide technical solutions as far as maintenance and storage. For instance, current projects could be stored on the Final Cut Server, freeing up space on the existing network storage. At the end of each semester, if necessary, final projects could be easily transferred to an existing storage from Final Cut Server for further storage, while providing space for the next semester of courses on the Final Cut Server. Final Cut Server does have many qualities that could aid Interactive Media Studies in its switch to Final Cut Pro for digital video editing, as well as the University Libraries is our transition to a digital age. It seems as if it could eliminate the burden of working with Final Cut Pro in a lab atmosphere for both students and employees of the CIM Lab. The versatility and automation of Final Cut Server is rather impressive and shows potential to be a powerful asset within Interactive Media Studies and the CIM Lab. In an effort to optimally use the Final Cut Server product, it has been strongly recommended through various meetings with Apple, that a budget allotment be made for securing professional services to assist in the setup and configuration of this server. These services will assist not only in the setup, but also in the detailed configuration of the software so it can be used in our current environment to meet our academic goals. Though possible to deploy this application without this professional assistance, it will be far more challenging to meet the goals outlined in this document without it. 3

4 5. Detailed Budget Include all items requested for this project and update the total cost field: Item Category Item Requested Number Requested Unit Cost Total Cost Software Final Cut Server: Unlimited Clients By Apple Hardware Xserve 1 6,254 6,254 Promise VTrak RAID System 1 13,499 13,499 Contractual Services/Installation Shipping / Maintenance Mac OS X Server Maintenance Final Cut Server Professional Services -highly recommended by vendor (Apple) 1 10,000 10,000 Student Assistant Salary Graduate Assistant Salary &Tuition Other (Explain) TOTAL $30,851 Add additional lines/pages as necessary. 6. Briefly describe any additional funds available for this project, if any: Technical support will be provided by Library Systems Department. 7. What happens to the project in year 2 and beyond? Describe any ongoing costs such as software or hardware maintenance, supplies, staffing, etc. and how these will be funded: Ongoing costs may include an upgrade in storage. As technology improves, the storage system (RAID, etc) may need to become larger. If a large enough storage system is set up initially, the upgrade may not have to happen for some time. 4

5 8. How will you assess the project? Post-Project Assessment Criteria: Identify one or more milestones and/or expected project outcomes that indicate project progress and completion. How will you assess the value to students? Measures of enhanced student learning or usage are highly desired. These items should be chosen to facilitate independent evaluation of project completion and value to students. The workflow of IMS courses using Final Cut Pro will be greatly improved with Final Cut Server. Technical errors that bring class periods to a halt will no longer hinder student s learning. Working with Final Cut Pro between CIM and Room 27 will become seamless, allowing for a more in depth teaching of Final Cut Pro and what it can do. 9. Attach any other supporting information regarding this request. Please supply a vendor s URL rather than scanning printed material. This could be from the Department chair(s) if curriculum is being changed. This could be from Dick Pettitt for SUG, if you requesting that space be changed