Reserving Equipment
- Mass Communication equipment can only be used by students, faculty, and staff in the MC program. There are no exceptions to this policy.
- You will only be able to reserve equipment that MC faculty have given you permission for. This includes equipment you receive training for in MC classes or experiential workshops hosted by MC faculty.
- Students checking equipment out must pay the Mass Communication Equipment Fee each semester.
- All equipment reservations must be scheduled via the uReserve software system. You must log in to view the schedule and make reservations.
- You may only reserve one camera at a time. (If more than one camera is needed, see the policies for Special Projects Requests below.)
- Equipment may be checked out for up to four hours during the day. If you only need the equipment for 1 or 2 hours, please create a short reservation, and return it promptly to respect the next reservation.
- Overnight and weekend reservations are available. When reserving equipment for overnight use, make your reservation the 4 p.m. timeslot. Overnight equipment is due back by 9 a.m. the next morning. Weekend reservations should be made for 4 p.m. Friday. Equipment checked over the weekend must be returned the following Monday at 9 a.m.
- Equipment checkout administrators (Dr. Cofield, Dr. Finklea, Mr. Vest, or Mrs. Savannah Grace) may cancel reservations for failure to follow the rules.
Picking Up & Returning Equipment
- Students must allow 15 minutes to pick up and return equipment. All equipment must be inspected and signed in or out by the faculty, staff, or student worker assisting you. Students will be assisted with checking out and returning equipment in the order they arrive at the Department Office. If there is a line, students must wait their turn.
- Do not leave any equipment unattended, even inside Strong Hall. Do not drop off any equipment and leave. Equipment must be properly signed out or signed in by the student workers or equipment checkout administrators. Failure to do so will cause the account to be flagged.
- If you are going to be more than 15 minutes late picking up reserved equipment, call the Department of Communication office at 665-6625 to confirm or cancel your reservation. Failure to cancel unnecessary reservations may cost your checkout privileges.
- Equipment MAY NOT be transferred between students. Contact MC Faculty or staff to arrange a swap. Failure to do so will result in loss of privileges.
- Check all equipment before leaving Strong Hall to ensure it is in proper working order. The last person to check an item out will be held responsible, per the guidelines on the relevant production class syllabi.
- Strong Hall closes at 5 p.m. on Fridays. This includes the computer labs and edit suites. Lab workers do not have a key for the Equipment Room.
- The Department Office and Equipment Room close promptly at 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Students must make arrangements to pick up or check in equipment no later than 4:45 p.m. to ensure that there is enough time to inspect all of the equipment being checked out or returned before 5 p.m.
Special Projects Requests
- Equipment is for MC Majors whom have paid a Mass Communication Equipment Fee for the semester.
- Equipment is to be used for MC-approved projects.
- No student is allowed to operate MC Equipment that is not an MC Major.
- The student whom made the uReserve Reservation must be present to pick up the Equipment.
- Not all equipment may be available for Special Projects. Students wishing to reserve equipment must demonstrate proficiency to the faculty well in advance of the production date. While the faculty may be available to provide advice and help, this is not guaranteed, so to avoid wasted student time, unusable results, or equipment damage, proficiency by the MC major who will be operating the equipment is required.
- Proposals for Special Projects must be submitted seven days before production is planned to start, which will require:
- A Proposal of the Production. The Proposal must include:
- 300 word Synopsis or Treatment of the Project. (The 300 word Synopsis or Treatment is separate from the criteria below)
- the Goal of the Project
- the estimated total running time of the Project
- the expected completion date
- the names of MC Majors who will be operating the equipment
- A specific list of the equipment the MC Majors will be reserving and picking up
- A Crew List (which includes Cast and Crew and all Positions)
- The Production Date and Time
- The Location
- Final Script
- Shot List
- If being submitted to a competition, webpage links to Category and Rules must be provided in the proposal
- Permission by MC faculty. If Permission is not granted by MC faculty, the Special Project cannot be produced with Mass Communication facilities or equipment.
- All Proposals must be complete. Incomplete Proposals will not be viewed or discussed by Faculty members until a complete proposal has been submitted.
- Proposal must be emailed to each Faculty member and Proposal must be printed and given to each Faculty member for consideration of a Special Project.
- The final edited project must be made available in a Special Projects folder on the Evo Server.
BEA Camera Policies
To have access to the BEA camera, a student must:
- Be an active, dues-paying member of the University of Montevallo’s chapter of the Broadcast Education Association.
- To be considered an “active member,” you must regularly attend NBS-BEA meetings and participate in NBS-BEA-related activities. Simply paying BEA dues does not qualify as being active.
- Only use the camera for video projects for the UM BEA chapter or MC class projects
- Any use for non-BEA or non-MC class projects will result in permanent loss of checkout privileges for the BEA camera and related gear
- BEA video projects get priority over use for MC class-related projects when making reservations in EQ Checkout
- Submit a written proposal for their video project* to the chapter’s faculty advisor (Prof. Martin)
- The proposal should include a list of all active BEA members and non-members who plan to participate.
- This proposal should be submitted at least one week before the equipment is needed. Proposals are not required for MC class projects.
- The majority of the crew for the project must be active BEA members
- Demonstrate proficiency operating the XA11 and accessories to either the BEA advisor (Prof. Martin), Savannah Grace, or the MC Equipment Manager before checking out the gear.
Special Note: Any of the MC faculty member may veto any proposed video project for any reason.
