Gathering Resources
This is the most irritating part of the entire Virtual Tour process because it requires to to rely on other people. Most of these people are professors who do not share your enthusiasm for the Virtual Tour. Getting what you need from professors requires persistence, patience, persistence, diplomacy, and persistence.
Scheduling Appointments
Scheduling photo shoots with professors is the most difficult part of the process, but fortunately you can get it out of the way first. The first step is to find out who you want to schedule appointments with. There is no set strategy for this. Sometimes a professor will approach ECN and ask to have their lab included in the tour. This is very rare. Usually, you will have to hunt down the labs and their respective professors or administrators. Sometimes asking the main offices of the Engineering schools for list of labs will work. Be creative. Sometimes the solution is as simple as walking through the halls of a building and writing down the names of the labs from their doors.
Once you know of a lab that you want to photograph, the next step is to contact the professor in charge. You should always use the telephone to make your first attempt at contact unless you cannot find the professor's phone number. If you cannot contact them by phone on the first try, send an e-mail. If they do not respond to the email within two or three days, try the phone again. Continue trying phone, then e-mail, then phone again until you establish contact.
Through years of trial and error, I have developed an outline for the most effective communication with professors concerning the Virtual Tour. The exact wording below is only a suggestion, and I reccommend that you develop your own flow. However, you should note the key points that are mentioned and be sure to mention them yourself.
- Introduce Yourself- "Hello, Professor _______. My name is _________, and I'm currently working on a project for the Dean of Engineering." (Note: At the time of this writing, the Virtual Tour is being funded by the Dean of Engineering's Office. Use whatever organization Marian tells you to use in its place.)
- Introduce the Virtual Tour - "The project is called the Virtual Tour of Engineering Labs. It is a website featuring 360 degree interactive panoramas of labs from Purdue's Schools of Engineering."
- Explain Why We Want Their Lab- "Our goal is to include every research lab in all of Purdue Engineering, and [the Dean's Office] feels that your lab would be a good addition to the tour."
- Explain The Procedure- "What we need to do is take a series of sixteen photographs from a central location in your lab. The photography takes about fifteen minutes in most labs. We then 'stitch' the photographs together to make an interactive panorama, which we can put up on the website." (You'll understand more about this step after you have read the rest of the tutorial)
- Tell Them What You Need From Them- "What I need from you is a brief, one- or two-paragraph text description of your lab. I also need to schedule an appointment, either with you or someone you designate, to come to your lab to take the photos. I would like to pick up the text description when I come to take teh photos."
Once in a while, the professor will be immediately helpful and set up an appointment on the spot. Usually, however, they will have some questions or objections.
Common Questions/Objections and Your Proper Response
We already have some photos of our lab on our website. Can you just use those?
"Unfortunately not. The Virtual Tour software that we use requires a very specific series of photos that we have to take ourselves to ensure compatibility."
I'm just too busy to deal with this right now.
"I understand that you have a busy schedule. In that case, do you have a graduate student or assistant that could work with me on this project? As long as they have your blessing, I am perfectly willing to work with them instead of requiring more of your time."
My lab isn't very interesting to look at.
"Many professors feel that way, but I find that every lab has its own unique qualities that make it interesting. Also, since we are trying to represent every engineering research lab on campus, we are not making aesthetically-based distinctions about what labs should be included and which should not."
Our lab is/will soon be undergoing major renovations. Would you be willing to wait until they are completed?
This situation is up to your judgment. I advise you to say yes, but get a date when you should contact them again. If the renovations are scheduled to be finished in three months, mark in your calendar that you need to call them in three months.
I'm just not interested
Here's where you need to be stubborn with them. First, try to determine the source of their indifference. Often, it is one of the objections listed above, and if you can resolve their problem, you can move on. If they still refuse despite your reasoning, leverage a little bit of authority. If the project is still under Dean's funding, emphasize that the Dean wants all labs represented. Make it sound like participation is mandatory. If all of these options fail, inform Marian, and she will exert some of her influence on them. If she fails, at least she won't hold their lack of cooperation against you.