Our Media Librarian, Chris Lewis, has been hard at work on a new sources for faculty (and students!) in the School of Communication. His new subject guide, “Films/Videos for Teaching School of Communication Topics,” compiles lists of useful films on over a dozen communication topics, including political communication, public speaking, and dissident media. This is […]
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We’re on Google+ now!
Hey everyone – we just opened shop over at Google+. Thanks to wonderful Google integration, our Google+ page will feature all of our wonderful blog content. If you’re subscribed to our RSS feed and will miss Google Reader once its gone, or if you’re just looking for something new to spice up your feed, add […]
Continue readingSorry, VHS players. The Blu-rays are in!
For the longest time, Media Services has helped patrons view movies on-site with over a dozen DVD-VHS combo players. Sadly, they’re falling apart and hard to maintain, and fewer patrons are using VHSes now than even a few years ago. We’ve future-proofed ourselves by replacing the majority of our stations with new Blu-ray-DVD players. They’re […]
Continue readingIs the special effects business in trouble?
Common sense dictates that special effects sell movie tickets. If you look at a list of the most successful movies in the world, 18 of the 20 highest-grossing live-action films are notable for their high-quality CGI. Big, splashy effects drive people to seats, get them to buy DVDs, and frequently win critical acclaim. One recent […]
Continue readingArchivist finds a lost film from… 1980?
In the last few years, film historians and collectors have found prints of famous lost films, including the earliest surviving Hitchcock and an extra-length version of Metropolis. These early silent films almost carry an expectation that they’ll be missing or damaged in some form. You would never expect to lost a film made in, say, […]
Continue readingNational Film Registry adds new films for 2012
The National Film Registry, a subset of the Library of Congress, preserves a collection of American films deemed culturally or historically significant. Each year, the NFR adds 25 new films to their archives, ranging from major recent hits to silent shorts from the 19th century. The Library of Congress has released this year’s batch, and […]
Continue readingMeet the Poster Printer
The library has a fun new addition: meet the poster printer! This dashboard-sized behemoth prints large-form posters for presentations and events. No longer will you have to awkwardly print out paragraphs and glue to them to CVS posterboard; you can design the whole poster with software available at the New Media Center. Price varies by […]
Continue readingAU professor debuts documentary series on Showtime
Time for a little AU horn-tooting: a faculty member and frequent patron of Media Services got their television debut last night! American University professor Peter Kuznick has spent the past four years working with filmmaker Oliver Stone to write a new documentary TV series, Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States. The series covers […]
Continue readingHurricane update
As a result of the incoming hurricane, the library will be operating on limited hours tomorrow. Media Services will be open from 11am to 6pm.
Continue readingWe’re on Pinterest!
Media Services is now on Pinterest! We’re using Pinterest as a way to visually organize some of the popular titles in our collection. One of the most popular parts of our browseable Home Use binder is the poster section in the back, so we decided to take the next step and put them online. We […]
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