The eStudio
With the mobile eStudio of the eTeach network Thuringia, teachers and students can try out technical settings, develop didactic scenarios for their media-enriched teaching and receive support in the implementation of their media productions. This allows courses to be streamed and recorded in high image and sound quality. It is also possible to create learning videos (screencasts, lecture videos, etc.) and edit them immediately afterwards. This studio technology is available to all Thuringian universities via a free rental and shipping service. We support you in setting up and dismantling the studio as well as with questions and requirements during production.
Your contact for this topic
Zaryab Chaudhry
Center for Media Technology
The concept of the eStudio is guided by the idea of creating a place where creative media-related teaching concepts or media projects can be developed and implemented using simple technical means. This ambition includes the low-threshold recording, streaming and post-processing of lectures, seminars or workshops in high image and sound quality as well as the creation of tutorials or podcasts by providing the necessary (post-) production software. Our aim is to create an open and accessible environment in which teachers and students can continuously expand their skills and knowledge in the field of digitized teaching and learning and have a space in which digital creativity and innovative educational methods can be lived.
The mobile eStudio has been in use since 2022:
Concept and detailed planning: In winter 2021, concrete plans were drawn up for setting up and linking the technical components of the studio. In particular with regard to the interaction of the cameras, microphones and input devices as well as the lighting design based on a 3D model. Possible technical components were researched and financing was clarified. After several rounds of coordination, preparations for the tendering process and request for proposals began in spring 2022.
Procurement and assembly: The acquired components were initially set up and tested in the Experimental Architecture Workshops at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Subsequent adjustments and readjustments related, for example, to the optimization of the Lighting control using an app, camera control and the processing of video and audio signals on the video mixer were checked. At the same time, initial plans were made for the packaging and transportation of the studio.
Tests and tutorials: After the initial tests, assembly aids were created, technology and cable connections were labeled and transport boxes were ordered and equipped. Small parts also had to be reordered. At the same time, the first tutorials for setup and usage scenarios (laying technique and screencast) were created.
At the FH Erfurt: The first official event took place at Erfurt UAS in July 2022. There, the studio was available to teachers and other interested parties as part of the Thuringian Digital Festival on July 4, 2022 and on Teaching Day on July 13, 2022.
At the Cooperative State University in Eisenach: The eStudio was then loaned to Eisenach from the end of July to September 2022. There it was looked after by the contact point of the Gera-Eisenach Cooperative State University and used in various ways.
To the eTeach annual conference 2022 at the TU Ilmenau: On November 17 and 18, 2022, the eStudio was presented during the trade fair day. Amidst the crowds of interested visitors, we presented the technical possibilities, encouraged people to try them out and made it possible to shoot recordings, for example. The suggestions and findings from the trade fair presentation were incorporated into the further development of the eStudio.
At the Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences: The studio was on site in Nordhausen from April to June 2023. In addition to great projects and extensive testing, new needs on the part of the users were explored. With this in mind, new technical components were procured to achieve higher-quality results.
To the eTeach annual conference 2023 at the FH Erfurt: Once again this year, the opportunities to try out and exchange ideas were used on the day of the fair. This mainly involved questions about technical installation and use.
Inspiration for application scenarios
Andrea Kenkmann & Miriam Kunde | Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences: Interview
Anja Bachmann-Duscha | Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences: Nachdenkfilm
eTeach-Netzwerk Thüringen: 3D animation of the mobile eStudio
Zaryab Chaudry | eTeach-Netzwerk Thüringen: Explanatory film on the subject of screencast
FAQs about the studio
The eStudio consists of two monitors, supported by a laptop as the main hardware and an iPad for controlling and implementing various usage scenarios. Video is recorded using two cameras (including tripods) and a BlackMagic mixing console, which allows the camera positions to be changed quickly. Audio is recorded via a condenser microphone with a flexible arm and is amplified by two acoustic walls (each consisting of three individual modules). Finally, a studio lamp, four small ambient lights and an extendable green screen ensure clean image quality.
The main software consists of OBS as the recording software and BlackMagic software for fine-tuning the image (e.g. picture-in-picture) and the transitions between the camera perspectives (top view and frontal view), which can then be quickly accessed via the BlackMagic mixer. The light sources can be controlled and flexibly adjusted via the Sidus Link iPad app. Finally, post-production can be carried out using the DaVinci Resolve program provided or ShotCut.
Depending on the space and setup, all types of recording scenarios are possible by adjusting the tripods and setting the recording quality of the cameras. However, a front perspective and a top view of the desk are provided as standard. In addition, recordings in action with a gimbal are also possible, away from the fixed tripod.
An area of at least 3×2 meters is required to set up the eStudio.
The eStudio is packed in two compact boxes (monitors, accessories and cameras). Only the green screen, the acoustic walls, the light screen and the tripods need to be transported separately. If you prefer compactness, you can even get the studio in a station wagon. The maximum total weight is 100 kg. Approximately two people are therefore sufficient for transportation and set-up.
