The Digital Arts Initiative offers courses in all areas of the digital arts taught by professionals in their fields. Courses are divided into two sections - Digital Literacy courses which serve as a foundation in the digital arts, and upper level, specialized courses that take advantage of our diverse faculty's areas of expertise. All courses maintain a careful policy of interdisciplinary learning and are made up of four students from the three areas of the College (Art and & History, Music and Dance, and Theatre and Film) and four students from outside the College.

Of special note to Art students: all Digital Arts Initiative courses (even those without Art prefixes) count as studio credit.

Please select from the following courses for more information:

 

ARTP 170 - Digital Literacy: Static Image

Jeff Thompson - Dept. of Art & Art History

This course is designed as an introduction to making images using digital media. A variety of projects will be used to introduce you to different tools, but the focus will be on art-making as opposed to technical tutorials. Over the course of the semester we will use industry standard software as well as emerging and new technologies. By the end of the semester you will have skills for creating and manipulating digital images as well as basic programming skills that can be applied to other software environments and larger, more complex projects but most importantly, this class is about creative thinking and making meaningful and visually interesting images. The course culminates in a self-proposed, independent final project.

Sample projects include: a revisiting of historic cabinets of curiosity to create photographic collage self-portraits, complex mappings of the structure of common websites such as Wikipedia, and algorithmic quilts created only through hand-written computer code. Technologies covered include basic introductions to Photoshop, Illustrator, the programming language Processing, and basic website authoring using Wordpress.

In addition to studio projects, you will be introduced to a variety of artists, musicians, film-makers, and others whose work is relevant to the course. Additionally, all students keep course blogs to record their projects in progress and in their final state, and as an ongoing digital sketchbook.

 

ARTP 171 - Digital Literacy: Motion

Jeff Thompson - Dept. of Art & Art History

This course is designed as an introduction to making moving digital images with a focus on digital video and Final Cut Pro. A variety of projects will be used to introduce you to different tools, but we will be primarily concerned with creative art-making as opposed to technical tutorials. Over the course of the semester we will use industry standard software as well as emerging and new technologies. By the end of the semester you will have skills for planning, shooting, editing, and exporting digital video and basic sound editing but most importantly, this class is about creative thinking and making meaningful and visually interesting images and sounds. The course culminates in a self-proposed, independent final project.

Sample projects include: re-editing existing Hollywood footage into new video works, using simple materials to create abstract videos that engage the viewer visually and emotionally, and a sonic exploration of Musique Concréte and field recordings. Technologies covered include introductions to Final Cut Pro video editing software, as well as video camera and audio recordings techniques, and basic website authoring using Wordpress.

In addition to studio projects, you will be introduced to a variety of artists, musicians, film-makers, and others whose work is relevant to the course. Additionally, all students keep course blogs to record their projects in progress and in their final state, and as an ongoing digital sketchbook.

 

ARTS 398 - Special Topics: Digital Media in Art

Jeff Thompson - Dept. of Art & Art History

This course is designed as an extension of conceptual and technical problems and processes introduced in the Digital Literacy courses.  Students will create projects that span media and software/hardware both individually and in collaborative group projects.  The goal of all coursework is an open-ended exploration that results in the students finding an artistic voice of their own.  Depending on the expertise and interests of the students, we will define a “research topic” for the course (such as the landscape and technology, etc).

Specifically, this course will continue work with Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator, FinalCut Pro, and basic programming skills.  In addition, students will be introduced to other technologies as needed, possibly including interface design for interactive projects, spatial possibilities of installation and multi-media environmental works, and non-musical sound.

** This course requires either a prerequisite of either 170 or 171. However, if students can demonstrate technical qualifications (expertise in Adobe Creative Suite, FinalCut, programming, or some other area) exceptions are possible.  Diversity of approach and background encouraged.

 

ARTS 398 - Special Topics: Performance, Programming, and Interactivity

Jeff Thompson - Dept. of Art & Art History and Damon Lee - School of Music

Learn to program for interactive musical and visual performances using Max/MSP/Jitter (cycling74.com), a graphical creative programming language. Create your own expressive instruments and visual interfaces, including audio and video synthesis and sampling, 3d images using OpenGL, and gestural input with webcams, Wii Remotes, and Kinect. The course will culminate in a collaborative public performance. A rare chance to participate in a completely collaborative course, team-taught by two professors in the state-of-the-art Digital Arts Initiative studio.

 

THEA 282 - Digital Video Production

Steve Kolbe - Johnny Carson School of Theater and Film

This course is an introduction to digital video production. The student will learn basic camera, sound and lighting technique, as well as elementary story structure. Students will learn concepts of shot composition, shot sequences, movement, pacing and timing. They will also learn the basics of preproduction, production and postproduction. Participants will develop many basic production skills and will be introduced to conceptualizing, planning, storyboarding, directing and editing. Students will be introduced to Digital Non-Linear Editing (DNLE). Students will also learn about traditional and new distribution possibilities, including delivery to large screen, mobile devices and the internet.

While technical proficiency is important to any aspiring digital visual storyteller, even more important is the ability to express ideas clearly and creatively. Students are expected to push their creativity to develop original stories that can be expressed visually and in a short format.

 

THEA 368 - Digital Media Production

Steve Kolbe - Johnny Carson School of Theater and Film

This course is an introduction to varying types of digital media production. The student will learn basic web design and motion graphics as well as DVD authoring. Students will learn concepts of web usability, on-line structure, basic color theory and image optimization. The class will be introduced to motion graphics using After Effects and Motion software. Students will ultimately be tasked with generating a media package that brings together all of their elements into one cohesive self-branding portfolio.

 

THEA 387 - Digital Animation

Steve Kolbe - Johnny Carson School of Theater and Film

This course is an introduction to computer generated animation.  The students will learn basic modeling techniques, core animation principles, texture mapping basics and lighting for digital environments.  The class will be introduced to these concepts using the software package, Maya. Students will learn to think and navigate in 3D space as they generate their own 3D models (both organic and non-organic), construct a basic character, learn to make objects move in 3D and explore the art of digital lighting.

 

MUNM 282 - Introduction to Music Composition and Production

Damon Lee - School of Music

Fundamentals of music composition with attention to creating original music in digital mediums including MIDI and digital audio. Theory and practice in improvisation as related to composition as well as techniques for reworking musical ideas towards creating a finished composition.