York University Libraries – Digital Scholarship Centre
Home » The Digital Scholarship Centre » Media Creation Lab » Studio, Lab, and VR Spaces

Studio, Lab, and VR Spaces

Booking Process

  1. Use the Book buttons to book studios and workstations for up to 5 consecutive hours or VR rooms for up to 2 consecutive hours.
  2. Wait for email that approves or declines the booking (one business day).
  3. (If approved) Bring your YU-card to the Media Creation Lab in Scott Library, Room 207 (past the Learning Commons).
  4. Meet staff who guide you to the booked space.
  5. Check in using the web-link and verification code in the approval email. You must check in within 30 min of the scheduled start.
  6. (First-time visitors) Do an orientation session with staff as part of your booking.
  7. Create with curiosity and responsibility!
  8. Check out using the web-link and verification code.

Users must follow our booking policy and safer space policy. Groups are welcome, but consider space-limitations and nearby workspaces. Non-booking group members must sign-in with staff in Room 207. For Glendon students, visit the Glendon Digital Media Lab!

The MCL is currently in the process of piloting its workflows and processes with a limited group of partners. We will be working to expand our offerings to a broader set of partners as our pilot progresses. Your feedback is important to us. Please contact diginit@yorku.ca for more information, or fill out our pilot feedback form. 

Media Creation Lab Quick Links


Space Categories

Media Editing Lab: Scott Library 207

Workstations 1-5: Dell G7

Dell G7 7700, laptop computer
Dell G7 laptop with external monitor and mouse
Book Workstation 1 (Adobe CC software)
Book Workstation 2 (Adobe CC software)
Book Workstation 3 (standard software)
Book Workstation 4 (standard software)
Book Workstation 5 (Hindenburg software)
  1. Non-booking group members must sign in with staff in Room 207.
  2. MCL workstations don't permanently store files. Use online-storage services (like Google Drive) and/or portable hard-drives to save your work!
  3. MCL workstations automatically reset after 60 min without manual input!
  4. Adobe Creative Cloud requires signing into Adobe's online service. You can create a free Adobe account if you don't have one. Or you can sign in with an existing Google, Facebook, or Apple account.
  • Dell G7 7700 PC running Windows 10
  • Integrated 17" screen @ 144Hz
  • External 24" monitor available
  • Intel i7-10750H CPU @ 2.6 GHz, 6 cores
  • NVidia GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card
  • 16GB DDR4 RAM
Top of tab

Workstation 6: 27-in iMac, 2017

iMac with keyboard, trackpad, and mouse
Book Workstation 6 (Adobe CC software)
  1. Non-booking group members must sign in with staff in Room 207.
  2. MCL workstations don't permanently store files. Use online-storage services (like Google Drive) and/or portable hard-drives to save your work!
  3. Adobe Creative Cloud requires signing into Adobe's online service. You can create a free Adobe account if you don't have one. Or you can sign in with an existing Google, Facebook, or Apple account.
  • 27-in iMac (2017)
  • Retina 5K display
  • Intel Core i5 CPU @ 3.5 GHz, 4 cores
  • Radeon Pro 575 4 GB graphics card
  • 16 GB DDR4 RAM
  • Apple Magic Keyboard
  • Apple Magic Trackpad
Top of tab

Studio Spaces

Audio-Recording Studio: Scott Library 203K

Audio-recording room entrance
Audio-recording room workstation

Note: This room must be used for producing or recording audio, video, and/or imagery.

Book the Audio-Recording Studio
  1. Patrons must electronically check-in no later than 30 min after their booking starts. The check-in link and verification code are emailed in advance.
  2. First-time visitors must do an orientation session with staff as part of their booking.
  3. Non-booking group members must sign in with staff in Room 207.
  4. MCL workstations don't permanently store files. Use online-storage services (like Google Drive) and/or portable hard-drives to save your work!
  5. MCL workstations automatically reset after 60 min without manual input!

This room accommodates three people. It has the following equipment:

  1. Computer workstation for monitoring (listening), recording, and editing
    1. Widescreen, curved monitor (32 in)
    2. Recording-editing software (Hindenburg Pro)
    3. One microphone (Audio-Technica AT2020) with boom arm
    4. One set of headphones (Sennheiser HD 280 Pro)
  2. Sound booth (6 x 6 ft, 65 dB of sound attenuation, wheelchair-accessible)
    1. Two microphones (Audio-Technica AT2020) with boom stands
    2. Two sets of headphones (Sennheiser HD 280 Pro)
    3. Two music-sheet stands
    4. Two sets of dimmable and colour-adjustable lights
  3. Zoom LiveTrak-8 mixing board with multiple recording options
    • Record separate tracks directly to storage card on sound board
    • Record tracks to connected computer using Hindenburg Pro software
Top of tab

Flex-Studio: Scott Library 204

Flex-studio podcasting setup
Flex-studio lighting setup

Note: This room must be used for producing or recording audio, video, and/or imagery.

Book the Flex Studio
  1. Patrons must electronically check-in no later than 30 min after their booking starts. The check-in link and verification code are emailed in advance.
  2. First-time visitors must do an orientation session with staff as part of their booking.
  3. Non-booking group members must sign in with staff in Room 207.
  4. MCL workstations don't permanently store files. Use online-storage services (like Google Drive) and/or portable hard-drives to save your work!
  5. MCL workstations automatically reset after 60 min without manual input!

This room accommodates up to eight people. It can be used as a studio with stations for podcasting, video-recoding, photography, and more.

  1. Podcasting
    1. Desk with four desktop microphone stands (On-Stage DS7200)
    2. Four microphones (Audio-Technica AT875R)
    3. Four pop filters (Thronmax P1)
    4. Four headphones (Sennheiser HD 280 Pro)
    5. Audio interface with multi-microphone input (Focusrite Scarlett 18i8)
    6. Multi-headphone amplifier box (HM-4)
    7. Connected PC with audio-recording software (Ableton Live)
  2. Video-recording/photography
    1. 4K camcorder (JVC GY-HM180U)
    2. 6K-capable video camera (Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2)
    3. Set of LED lights with stands (ikan Onyx)
    4. Set of smaller LED lights with stands and softboxes (Neewer)
    5. Green-screen wall
    6. Curtain system to create black-box space
    7. 10-foot-wide portable backdrop with black, white, or grey background
  3. Lecture-recording
    1. Lightboard (by Revolution Lightboards) with erasable surface and markers
    2. Lightboard-mounted camera (Avaya HC020)
    3. Optional desktop microphone (Shure M5VC)
  4. Object photography
    1. Lightbox (80 cm x 80 cm 80 cm) with
      • Dimmable light
      • Top- and front-flaps
      • Grey, orange, black, or white backgrounds
  5. PC for general content-creation
    1. Audio-editing software (Ableton Live, Audacity)
    2. Video editing software (DaVinci Resolve, OpenShot Video Editor)
    3. Two keylights with adjustable desktop arms
    4. Video-capture card (AVerMedia HD Capture GC573)
    5. Webcam with 1080p resolution (Logitech StreamCam)
Top of tab

VR Rooms

Scott Library 203A & 203B

VR room entrance
VR room workstation and headset

Note: These rooms must be used for VR experiences or producing artifacts for VR experiences.

Book VR Room 203A
Book VR Room 203B
  1. Patrons must electronically check-in no later than 30 min after their booking starts. The check-in link and verification code are emailed in advance.
  2. First-time visitors must do an orientation session with staff as part of their booking.
  3. Non-booking group members must sign in with staff in Room 207.
  4. MCL workstations don't permanently store files. Use online-storage services (like Google Drive) and/or portable hard-drives to save your work!

Each room accommodates one person. They both feature:

  • Curated collection of VR experiences and tools for AR/VR creation work (see the following list of available experiences)
  • High-end Windows PC equipped with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 video card
  • 32" curved display
  • HTC Vive Pro 2 VR headset, including
    • Wireless adapter for cable-free use
    • Facial-tracking hardware
    • Object tracker

You may use the computer to build AR/VR/3D content, or to view existing VR experiences. Our growing catalogue of material includes the following:

Workstations also have Sansar VR and SecondLife software available.

More content is being added regularly, and you are not restricted to experiences we have on hand! You are free to explore any freely-available content compatible with HTC Vive systems (i.e. Viveport and SteamVR content)

Top of tab

Upcoming Workshops

Get In Touch

Contact us
Book a consultation
Borrow equipment

Unless otherwise noted, all content on this site is available under a Creative Commons-Attribution 4.0 License