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Faculty of Humanities
Facultyof Humanities

Photo: Krasser/DL-Büro GW

Lecture recordings (Lecture2Go)

This recording service is free of charge for you. However, please note that this is an extremely staff and resource intensive service for us. We therefore assume that you have read and accepted the following general conditions.

Are you planning a lecture series with recording?

Then we would like to recommend the “hybrid lecture halls”. There you can easily record your events yourself using modern recording technology. We will be happy to support you with a preliminary introduction and post-production, including publication on UHH's own Lecture2Go platform. Further information can be found at the bottom of this page under “Recording in a hybrid lecture hall”.

General conditions for our regular on-site recording service in the lecture hall

  • There is no entitlement to a recording.
  • Accessibility: The contact people for the accessibility of events are always the organisers themselves; if accessibility is indicated for the Lecture2Go recordings, this is also their responsibility - for example, by ordering and authorising the recording of sign language interpreters or providing subtitles. Here you can find more Info  and a checklist for your planning.
  • Subtitles: The Lecture2Go platform offers the option of automatic German and English subtitles and thus supports accessibility reception. In principle, this function is provided for recordings managed by us; when the video starts, the subtitles can then be switched on by the individual users as required. Please note, however, that the subtitles are generated automatically and can therefore be imprecise. Unfortunately, our staff resources do not allow for post-processing of the subtitles; however, this can be done by your team if required.
  • Discussion rounds pose a special challenge from a technical point of view. Not every scenario can be recorded satisfactorily. Therefore, please contact us as early as possible if you are planning a discussion round.
  • Unfortunately, technical complications cannot always be ruled out; in very rare cases, an entire recording may even be lost. We therefore ask for your understanding that there is unfortunately no guarantee for a successful recording. However, the student team of the DL office will make every effort to achieve a successful recording; in addition, the Lecture2Go team responsible for the technology at the Regional Computer Centre of the UHH is constantly working on optimising hardware and software.
  • Contact person on your side: Together with you as the coordinator, our team plans as much as possible regarding the upcoming recording dates before the start of the semester. Nevertheless, separate arrangements are usually necessary for the individual dates during the semester; in addition, there is a regular need for coordination on our part. Therefore, it is necessary that there is always at least one permanent contact person from both sides. If you as the coordinator cannot or do not want to arrange this yourself, please name a person in advance who will plan time resources for this communication for your event planning. Arrangements on the following points, for example, are necessary
    • The provision of PowerPoint slides in advance of each event,
    • the creation of descriptive texts for the event in general and for the individual videos,
    • if necessary, clarification of remaining questions before the publication of a video.
  • Delivery: We usually need five to seven working days for post-production.
  • Crediting: In order to guarantee the findability of the recordings, please mention - promptly after the publication of the first video - the link to the video or video series on the Lecture2Go platform on the website for your event and name our team as producers according to the pattern: “Video production: DL office of the Faculty of Humanities (website: uhh.de/gw-dl-buero)”.
  • Immediately after post-production, the recordings are made freely accessible on the internet as Open Educational Resources (OER) on the University of Hamburg's video portal Lecture2Go. In the post-production phase, it is possible in individual cases for our team to cut out copyright-critical passages such as film examples or YouTube videos. In order to preserve the context of the digital lecture, the lecturers can integrate the information or the link into the PowerPoint slides. As the coordinator of a lecture series, please inform the lecturers in advance about the licensing situation and their responsibility regarding the materials they use. If necessary, it may make sense to refrain from recording altogether for these reasons. Please also refer to the guidelines of the Lecture2Go team at the RRZ, which is responsible for legal issues relating to L2Go, in particular the following passage:

Legal: As your presentation will probably be recorded, please make sure that you provide third-party illustrations and quotations with references. As a rule, as long as you use an image, film clip or text to explain what you are saying, it is permitted to use it if you also cite the title, author, year and, if applicable, page number. A mere illustration to "spice up" your contribution, on the other hand, is not considered a quotation. In case of doubt, we recommend the use of public domain image data (for example from Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org). All presenters are required to sign a legal agreement allowing the university a non-exclusive publication of your videos within the scope of the user group you have specified. Furthermore, with your signature you assure that the sources you use do not infringe any copyrights of other individuals. We ask for your understanding for this procedure, which has been coordinated with the University of Hamburg's legal department, and who are also available to answer any further questions you may have on this topic.

About the application process

If you agree to the general conditions above, you will find the specific steps for the application process below:

  1. Your application to us: If you are interested in having your lecture recorded, please first fill out the following application and email it to  dl-buero.gw"AT"uni-hamburg.de. In general, we can only make a binding commitment to a recording once the student assistants have their timetables for the semester, as their own courses have priority according to the guidelines. This is usually the case in the week before the semester starts.
    • Application (PDF in German, can be filled out after downloading in Adobe Acrobat).
  2. Your consent to OER: If you have received a preliminary commitment from us that the recording series can probably be managed by us, please confirm with the following agreement that you agree to the general publication online on the L2Go platform:
    • Agreement (PDF in German, fillable after download in Adobe Acrobat)
  3. Consent of the speakers: If your event is a lecture series, please contact all speakers to find out whether they actually agree to the recording and publication and to signing the following consent form. Experience shows that 30% do not give their consent. When allocating capacity immediately before the start of the semester on the first day of the OE week, we only take into account those dates for which – in addition to the “agreement” – we have a signed declaration of consent from all lecturers on this date.
  4. Confirmation/cancellation: In general, we can only make a binding confirmation of a recording when the student assistants have their timetables for the semester, as their own courses have priority according to the regulations. This is usually the case in the week before the semester starts. Please note: There is no entitlement to a recording.
  5. Evaluation: In order to review our offer and modify it if necessary, we will ask you to participate in a short evaluation after the support has been completed. By using our L2Go service, you also agree to complete the evaluation sheet.

Recording in a hybrid lecture hall

Two lecture halls in the Faculty of Humanities are currently equipped with high-quality cameras, professional audio technology, a screen for media control and the option of recording events; the equipment also includes a computer with a touch-sensitive display. You can also use notebooks that you have brought with you. These two lecture halls are:

  • ESA-O 221
  • ESA-W 221

The general conditions for this recording setting are the same as for our regular recording service. However, the following additional points should be noted if you would like our support:

  • If required, you will receive a briefing from our team. It is best to schedule a separate appointment in advance for this, as a briefing can take around an hour, depending on the scope and requirements of your recording.
  • Obtain a separate “declaration of consent” in advance for each recording date from each person who will be seen in the picture.
  • At each appointment, you will then record the events independently and take care of obtaining the microphones from the porter's lodge yourself.
  • Always inform the audience of the recording process at the beginning of each event and ask them to postpone interjections and questions until the discussion section after the presentation.
  • The audience or even discussions with the audience may not be recorded for data protection reasons. It is therefore essential that you always stop the recording immediately after the actual presentation.
  • We will then request the recording from the RRZ and post-produce it for publication on UHH’s own platform Lecture2Go.

Alternatively, you can record and operate completely independently. The RRZ has provided instructions for operating the lecture hall technology on its “Hybrid teaching” website. However, even if your team is recording completely independently, please observe the above-mentioned regulations, in particular the need for a “declaration of consent” signed by all lecturers and the data protection regulations regarding the audience.

Studio recording

The DL office has a studio on the 9th floor of the Philosophenturm. Feel free to contact us at dl-buero.gw"AT"uni-hamburg.de if you would like to record high-quality videos for your digital teaching either

  • done by our team or
  • record them yourself or
  • carry out live sessions, e.g. for conferences.

Let us know how long and to what extent you would like to use our studio for your media production. Please contact us with your suggestions as early as possible so that we can reserve the studio for you.