Q. What is LMU Canto?
A: LMU Canto is the university’s new photo and video archive that organizes, manages, and shares digital assets that have been approved for marketing, communications, and other public-facing purposes. Often referred to as a Digital Asset Manager (DAM), it provides a centralized repository where these photos and videos can be cataloged, tagged, and easily accessible for users to search, download, and share. Through LMU Canto, departments will be able to to streamline workflows, ensure brand consistency, improve collaboration, and maximize the use of digital content across different platforms.
Q. What kind of images are in LMU Canto?
A. LMU Canto is populated with a range of photos and video clips that bring life to our mission and brand, animating and bringing visual form to our stories for all university audiences. These include campus scenes, student life, academics, spiritual life, marquee university events, and other important visuals that help drive LMU’s reach and impact. Images found in LMU Canto can be used by anyone at the university who has an LMU story to tell or a program to promote that attracts our audiences and moves them to action.
Q. Who manages and populates LMU Canto?
A. LMU Canto is curated and managed by Marketing, Communications, and External Relations. MarComm’s Creative team supports the university with quality visuals that document the entire institution and can be used in brand campaigns, advertising, media opportunities, and other promotional tactics. We help colleagues attract audiences, raise awareness, form impactful and emotional connections, compel support, and cement LMU’s reputation as a leader and innovator among academic institutions. The team works across all three campuses to capture photography and video, curate collections into LMU Canto portals, tag assets with metadata for search, and upload, collect, and manage portals for download.
Q. How can images from LMU Canto be used?
A. The professional photo and video assets found on LMU Canto can be used to promote university programs and initiatives on LMU websites, social media accounts, internal email newsletters, department print collateral, and other LMU-owned distribution channels. Images and video clips found in LMU Canto cannot be used for paid advertising, paid media campaigns, or news media outlets without approval from or release by Marketing, Communications, and External Relations. To request assistance with paid advertisements or news media placements, please reach out to the MarComm professional assigned to your area. For more information about LMU’s policies regarding acceptable image usage, see our Media Release and Notice of Filming Guidelines and Standards.
Q. Will there be more images?
A. LMU Canto is under constant development. On a near-daily basis, we are adding new photography, video, and portal collections. LMU Canto can be thought of as LMU’s own stock image service. It is refreshed and populated regularly, to ensure the visual collection is timely and relevant to university life.
Q. Can I add my department’s photos to LMU Canto?
A. Yes! We encourage you to send us recommendations that you would like uploaded into DAM so they may be shared out with the wider campus community. For suggestions and/or recommendations please send an email to lmuphotovideo@lmu.edu and CC your Comms Lead. Include a short description of why you think these should be included in our digital asset manager along with a box folder link where we can access images for downloading.
Canto is LMU’s official photo and video archive for assets approved for commercial and promotional use. Even though LMU’s Creative team doesn’t snap every photo or shoot every frame of B-roll, LMU Canto represents the collection of our best visuals for use across the institution. If you have visual content to recommend for LMU Canto, consult the MarComm representative in your area to help facilitate image transfers. You can also contact the LMU Canto team directly at canto@lmu.edu.
Additionally, if you see something missing in LMU Canto that the team should consider adding to the collection, we want to hear it! Fill out our Wish List Form and someone from our team will reach out to you directly.
Q. What happened to NetPix?
A. NetPix, LMU’s previous photo archive, did not have the features and functionality necessary to support the entire institution as it has continually evolved since NetPix’s launch in 2009. NetPix accommodated LMU’s basic needs for storage and delivery, but it lacked sophistication in asset management, tagging, and metadata; search; content curation; download and archiving; and administrative support and tracking. NetPix users often reported frustration with failed attempts to find even the most basic university visuals, without wading through countless frames of little relevance or use. LMU Canto is a professional asset tool with a user interface that rivals commercial stock image services such as Getty Images and iStock Photos.
Additionally, NetPix did not accommodate video B-roll clips. With the demand for video continuing to grow across the institution, it was critical to transition to an archive that would allow users to retrieve video files.
Q. I can’t find what I’m looking for, what do I do?
A. LMU Canto is the official university archive of powerful, high-quality images that support our goals of attracting interest to LMU programs and offerings, and telling the broader LMU story. If you see something missing in LMU Canto that could help achieve these goals, chances are good that others in our community would find it useful as well. Fill out our Wish List Form and someone from our team will reach out to you directly.