360-degree video equipment now available at Penn State Altoona Library

Penn State Altoona’s Library recently acquired new equipment that enables patrons to make fully immersive 360-degree videos. The library offers two Nikon KeyMission 360 cameras, a variety of specialized clamps and stabilizers, and two View-Master Deluxe VR Viewer Headsets for viewing the videos.

The library purchased the gear to support an innovative assignment for lecturer Bryan Schlake’s fall 2017 Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE) 303 course. Schlake’s students worked in groups to record 360-degree videos of railroad routes.

Schlake first contacted Altoona Library director Bonnie Imler about the purchase request over the summer. Imler then reached out to Nick Smerker from Media Commons and Dan Getz from the Immersive Experiences Lab. Smerker says, “Bryan wanted to acquire the gear for his RTE students, but he also wanted to include it in the general loaner pool to share with everyone at Altoona.” Getz met with Schlake several times, offered recommendations, and visited Schlake’s class to teach the students how to edit the videos with Premiere Pro.