There are two bookable audio/video editing rooms located in the Nanaimo Campus Library: 305-366 and 305-370. These rooms are equipped with hardware and software that can be used to record audio projects, as well as import, edit, and export audio and video files.

The editing rooms can be booked for up to three hours at a time during the Service Desk open hours. Rooms can be booked from the Room Booking page. The editing rooms are kept locked when not booked; prior to your booking, please visit the Library Service Desk to pick up the key to access the room.

Each editing room has an iMac computer for use with the equipment in the room. The iMac is typically kept powered on, but if you find that it is off when you enter the room, it can be turned on using the power button located on the back of the monitor. You can log in to the iMac using your VIU computer account credentials (student number and VIU Learn password for students, employee account name and computer password for employees).

Several different formats of video tapes can be imported and digitized using hardware in the A/V editing rooms. Switching between the various formats is done using the Kramer 8 Port FireWire Switcher.

Each switch is connected to a different video playback device. On the switcher, Port A should always be set to 1 (the computer), and Port B can be switched between 2 for digital8 tapes, 3 for miniDV tapes, and 4 for VHS tapes. Each of the playback devices is labeled with the corresponding number.

To begin, switch port B of the switcher to the appropriate playback device, insert the tape you will record from, and ensure that the power is turned on to the playback device. If you are importing footage from a VHS tape, turn on the small TV as well.

On the iMac, open iMovie and click Import Media. Select the Canopus ADVC-100 Camera as your input location. If you are importing from Video 2 (digital8) or Video 3 (miniDV), you can control the playback of the video using the iMovie controls to find the portion of the video you plan on importing.

If you are importing from Video 4 (VHS tapes), the computer controls cannot be used. Footage form the VCR will play on the small TV. Use the controls on the front of the VCR to find the portion of the video you plan on importing.

Press play in the import window of iMovie to begin importing (for VHS, press play on the VCR first - both the TV and the import window should play the video). You can stop and start importing at any time, creating multiple video clips in iMovie.

In addition to the video tape importing equipment in each editing room, room 366 has an external disc drive available for the import of CDs and DVDs, and room 370 has a tape cassette recorder for the import of audio cassette tapes. Both of these devices are connected directly to the computer, and do not require the use of the video switcher. Once the device has been powered on and a disc or tape has been inserted into it, it should appear as an import option.
 
Files can be imported from other locations, including U: drives and USB storage devices. Connect your device and find the appropriate device or drive location in the Import Media screen.

Audio recording and playback in the A/V editing rooms is controlled by the ARC-Talk-Blue mixers located in each room.

Each room has labeled mics connected to the mixer: room 366 has two Rode NT1000s, while room 370 has three Studio Projects C1s. To turn a mic on, press the corresponding red button on the bottom of the mixer. The indicator light above the red button should light up green. Pressing the red button again will turn the mic off. The volume of the mic can be adjusted using the slider above its power switch. While each mic has a separate power and volume switch, they all record in stereo through one channel on the computer - recording will always be balanced left and right on playback.

To listen to playback using the speakers in the room, turn the mic power off (the speakers will not play audio while the mics are on to prevent feedback), ensure the speakers and the External switch on the mixer are powered on, and adjust the volume using the Monitor slider.

To listen to recording and playback using the headphones in the room or your own headphones, ensure the External switch on the mixer is powered on, and use the headphone switcher to adjust power and volume.

There are four headphone ports, each with a separate volume switch. You can use personal headphones by connecting them to the correspondingly labeled 3.5mm jacks to listen to recordings and playback.

Each editing room is equipped with one set of headphones connected to output 1. The headphones allow you to listen to your audio while recording, which is not possible with the speakers.

You may notice a faint humming sound while listening to the headphones during recording. This is for grounding purposes, and will not be present in the finished recording.