8:30am - 6pm | Library Hours
The studio is a space for video, audio, and photo production. The room contains a video camera, microphone, audio recorder, lights, and backdrops including a greenscreen/chromakey backdrop.
The studio may only be reserved for media production usage. Personal, academic, and extracurricular media production are all welcomed. Reserving the room for non-media activities is prohibited, and those who attempt to use the room for non-media activities will be asked to leave and could be blocked from future reservations.
Editing and other post-production activities may be done in the Vitale Digital Media Lab, where staff are available to help with software like Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro X, iMovie, Audition, and Audacity.
The studio is open free of charge Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9am-5pm, by reservation only.
You may reserve and use the recording studio only if at least one person in your group using the room has received a Recording Studio orientation.
Please read the studio policies (below) before booking or using the studio.
For more information, see the FAQ below
Additional equipment may be borrowed from the Vitale Digital Media Lab
The room is approximately 19-feet-by-22-feet with 9-foot ceilings. There is sound absorption material on the walls to reduce echo, and there is a sound-treated door to help prevent external noise from entering the room.
Although the we have made every effort to make the studio as quiet as possible, the room is not completely sound proof, and you will occasionally hear noise from the environment. We strongly recommend having someone monitoring the sound throughout your recording session.
The Hechtman Recording Studio is available for use by current University of Pennsylvania students, faculty, and staff only.
You may reserve and use the recording studio only if:
There are no exceptions to this rule.
There are no fees associated with using the Studio during our standard operating hours unless the facilities or the equipment are damaged or the studio key is returned late.
At this time, we do not have the ability to broadcast from the studio. We may add that functionality in the future based on user requests and assessed need.
Absolutely. Feel free to bring your own camera, lights, microphones, etc. You can also borrow equipment for free from the Vitale Digital Media Lab, located on the 1st floor of Van Pelt in the Weigle Information Commons.
Everyone wishing to reserve the studio must first attend a training/orientation session. Sessions last 45 minutes and are held in the recording studio (Van Pelt 322) Contact David Toccafondi to set up an appointment.
Once you have attended an orientation, you may reserve the studio for up to 3 hours per week.
Studio reservations are first come, first served.
While we make every effort to accommodate scheduling requests, sometimes it is simply not possible to schedule an engineer during your booked time. Please be flexible and work one-on-one with us to ensure things are planned in advance.
Ask us for help! The staff of the Hechtman Recording Studio and the Vitale Digital Media Lab (215-746-2661) are here to help you make the most of our resources. Many of them have probably run into the same problems that you have.
322 Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 3rd floor
Everyone wishing to reserve the studio must first attend a training/orientation session.
2 large gender-neutral, accessible bathrooms are located near the 3rd floor east bank of elevators. 8 gender-neutral, accessible bathrooms are located in the 3rd floor west elevator lobby. (see floor plan)
