In 2017 dean Kaili Yieh had a vision to develop the consumer lab and invited James Stanworth to translate her concept into reality. Director Shih-chi Chang kindly provided an unused classroom in the basement for the project.
Development has been in three main phases.
2017年，葉凱莉院長邀請James Stanworth攜手合作，利用張世祺主任位於地下室提供的一間閒置教室，成功將消費者實驗室的理念轉化為實體。此計畫目前的發展主要分為三個階段
The first phase was the most daunting as we faced transforming an empty classroom into the lab! To improve the acoustics, we built and installed a new door and then mounted on the walls DIY sound deadening panels. The initial budget funded purchase and installation of two main cameras, a green screen, two mics, lighting and a equipment rack for the ceiling. While by the end of the first phase we had a basic functioning lab there was plenty of room for improvement. Where a typical lab has dedicated engineers for sound, lighting, cameras, and recording we (James and his assistant Juli) were only four pairs of hands working out how to get the best results in each of these technical areas.
第一階段是最為艱鉅的，因為我们面臨著將一間空蕩蕩的教室變成實驗室！ 為了加強聲光效果，這句黃線的話不知道是不是醬子翻的我們換上一扇全新的門並DIY將所有墙壁黏上消音面板。 最初的预算主要花費在購買和安裝兩架主攝影機，一個綠屏，兩支麥克風，照明設備和一個架設在天花板的設備架。第一階段達成後，我們有了一個基本功能的實驗室，但仍有很大的改造空間。 典型的實驗室通常會有專門負責聲光照明、攝影機和錄音工作的工程師（James與他的助理Juli），現在的我們只有四隻手來解决如何從這些技術領域中獲得最佳效果。
In the second phase we removed the center part of the false ceiling in order to raise the equipment rack. This involved clearing a large number of disused pipes from the ceiling – a big DIY job. By raising the rack 40 cm and moving it towards the back of the room we greatly both improved the quality of the video and flexibility. Moving the (subject) lights forward increased the distance to the green screen – a key factor in increasing the quality of the final video.
During this phase we added more lights and with increased technical know-how started using equipment like a light meter to systematically adjust our lighting and so improve our results. We purchased various tables and chairs to make it easier students to participate in recording and to take part in activities they wanted to do (e.g., shooting with the green screen background).
While now the space was bigger we quickly saw a disadvantage; our green screen was too small thereby limiting shooting angles.
為了抬高設備架，我們將中間的天花板和內部的廢舊管道移除。這是一項浩大的DIY工程，我們透過將設備架抬高40公分並移置實驗室後方，增加主燈與綠幕之間的距離，藉以提升影片品質及拍攝的流暢度。
在此階段，我們購入更多的燈光器材，並隨著技術知識的增加，開始使用諸如測光儀等技術器材，讓我們能更有系統地調整燈光並提升我們的結果。此外，我們也購入各式桌椅，讓學生能更輕鬆參與錄製或進行其他活動（例如：在綠幕背景下拍攝影片）。然而，隨著能使用的空間變大，我們發現了致命的缺點，那就是「我們的綠幕太小，限制了拍攝的角度。」
This phase focused on improving the flexibility to shoot from different angles (e.g., to support group shoots). We extended the green screen to create a l-shape layout with greatly increased the range of shooting angles. During this phase we mounted a dedicated set of lights to illuminate the green screen. Further light purchases also meant we could handle more complex lighting scenarios. During this phase we also worked on improving the quality of the audio through deepening our understanding of the use of noise-gates, adjustments in sound frequencies and positioning of microphones. We added a third camera which also increased flexibility to capture group conversation.
Improvements are on-going and no doubt there will be fourth phase in the near future!
為了讓我們能更輕鬆地在不同角度進行拍攝（例如：支援團體攝影），我們將綠幕轉換成L字形狀。在這個階段，我們安裝了一組專門用於綠幕拍攝的燈光器材，也因為隨著購買的燈光器材越來越多，我們才有能力處理更複雜的照明場景。
在此階段，透過加強對隔音門板的使用、音頻設備的調整以及麥克風的擺放位置，我們有了更好的收音品質;也購入第三架攝影機以提升團體拍攝時的流暢性。
我們持續的在精進自己，我們也相信在不久的將來會有第四階段的誕生！