A new high-tech recording space in the Student Center offers students and faculty a way to create professional-quality media projects with no prior experience or training.

The One Button Studio, located in one of the music practice rooms on the third floor of the Student Center, was launched this fall as a new resource to easily record videos, presentations and other creative projects. 

It has a Dell monitor, Sennheiser microphone, a Blackmagic Design ATEM SDI Pro ISO production board and a remote control for the Canon CR-N300 4K rotating camera in the studio. 

“We wanted to have as little training and as high quality equipment as possible,” said Jeff Meyers, Columbia’s director of academic curriculum support who helped develop and build the studio.

The Student Center studio space, managed by the TechBar, is unique because it is not tied to a particular course or discipline, meaning anyone can reserve it regardless of major or background experience. 

The live TV and digital content studios on the second floor of 33 E. Ida B. Wells building were designed similarly to be accessible across the campus community. 

Ames Hawkins, the interim director of the School of Communication and Culture, said it is important to have interdisciplinary accessibility for creative spaces at Columbia, as “our students may come here because they are creative in multiple ways.” 

While other studio spaces on campus require a level of class instruction and background knowledge to use, anyone can walk in and create professional content in the School of Communication and Culture studio spaces or the One Button Studio in the Student Center.

The One Button Studio instructs users to power the system by switching a power strip on before activating the camera and microphone. Next, all that’s left for users to do is plug in a USB 2.0 or higher flash drive into the designated port and press one button to record anything they want.  

“Whether you want to record a podcast or a video of you singing or playing an instrument, it basically streamlines it so all you have to do is press one button,” said Jewel Pratt, a student worker at the TechBar and senior graphic design major.

The Chronicle asked Jordan Foster, a part-time radio instructor in the School of Communication and Culture, to take a look at the space. He said he liked how “simplistic” and “beginner-friendly” it was.

“When I was in college, it was always throw somebody in the deep end and see how they mess around with a complete board,” Foster said. “So to be able to start here with ‘training wheels’ I think is really cool.”

Foster said the studio would only work for “anything that doesn’t require multiple voices,” however.

Sophomore audio arts major Remington Haynes said he has mostly used studios in The Music Center and the 33 E. Ida B. Wells building.

“It’s a great resource, and I’ve recorded some of my best music using their facilities,” said Haynes. 

He has heard about the One Button Studio, and while he hasn’t had time to check it out, he’s looking forward to using it sometime this semester.

“It sounds like a great idea and perfect for Columbia and its wide array of students,” Haynes said.

Justin Rodriguez Ligon, a junior music major, said he uses the practice rooms in The Music Center and Student Center for guitar and rehearses with other classmates. 

He had seen the new One Button Studio when he walked by but didn’t know what it actually was.

“I kind of would pass that door and see a bunch of lights blinking inside,” he said.

After learning about it from a Chronicle reporter, Ligon said he would definitely use the new studio because it’s not a resource he would otherwise have access to.

As a junior composition major, Wynton Haulcy used rooms in both music buildings and audio studios in the 33 E. Ida B. Wells building to complete a final.

Haulcy had never heard of the One Button Studio but said it would be useful. 

“That’s a nice setup, and you have a mic, kind of all you really need,” they said.

Although the college promoted the studio through a Canvas notification along with an email at the beginning of the year, Dok Kang, the head of the TechBar who manages the studio, expected the number of people using it this semester will be low until more find out about it.

“We’ll continue promoting it by hanging posters at the TechBar area so that more people become aware of the space,” Kang said. 

The One Button Studio hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. It can be reserved online at space.colum.edu. 

Copy edited by Matt Brady