Syllabus
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ARTS 104
Introduction to Digital Imaging and 4-D Design
Meets MWF 12:20pm - 2:15pm, Room 305 Moakley Center
Instructor - Neil Salley
Course Description
Welcome to Digital Imaging and 4-D design. This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of time based media and design through a survey of concepts, techniques, and current technological practices.
Course Structure and Goals
Over the semester we will build our skills and knowledge of media tools and concepts through a series of projects that reinforce and expand upon our aesthetic and technical abilities. Students will acquire proficiency in computer graphics, digital animation and as well as sound and video editing software. The course will also cover techniques on how to effectively use digital cameras (including cell phone cameras), microphones, lights, and scanners. Each project will extend over several classes with progress checks each week.
The goal of this class is for students to obtain a fundamental proficiency with using digital media tools as a means for effective communication in an environment that fosters diverse artistic expressions.
Objectives
Students in this course will be provided the opportunity to:
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Gain a fundamental proficiency in communicating with a variety of 4D design tools and processes including visual design, sound design, text, and compositing.
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Develop a means of critically evaluating our own work as well as a critical awareness of the media saturated environment we live in.
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Understand the importance of research, critical thinking, and critique.
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Show an ability to discern artistic merit of diverse forms of art/design in their contexts.
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Be able to defend critical interpretations concerning the significance of artistic expression.
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Make valid assessments of quality and effectiveness in communication design projects and art works-especially their own.
Project Preparation
“Homework” for this class will be all about making the essential preparations for the upcoming class. This could mean gathering materials such as photographs, sounds, video, making conceptual sketches for compositions, writing proposals, making storyboards or producing “treatments” that articulate how you would like to approach a particular project. Always come to class with the materials for the project you are working on so you can use class time efficiently.
Preparation is also about catching-up on projects you may be falling behind on so you can be ready to present your work on critique day. There will be available lab times posted in the Resources section of this website as soon as I have them.
Our Projects
This course is “project based” and centers around the production of a series of assignments that are designed to build upon the students’ growing knowledge of media tools and practices covered in this course. Work must be put together skillfully, demonstrating that the student is developing sufficient proficiency with the tools associated with each project. Attention and care should be given to detail and all work must be well made and presented in a form that is orderly. Most importantly the student should show evidence of a search for their own unique creative voice and an effort to experiment with developing original content.
Project 1, Your Evolving Web Portfolio
Due - 12/13 at the time of Final Critique with progress checks throughout semester
For this class all students are required to have a website that will serve as a core database to store media and provide documentation for all of our class projects. This site will also be used as a means of sharing work, research and hyperlinking to sources that have informed your practice.
Consider using your website as a means to develop an online identity. Brand yourself! Use this project and this class an opportunity to experiment with packaging and presenting yourself and your ideas online. Post your original artwork, sounds, writing, photos. This website is your virtual studio/showroom. If your not comfortable publishing your own name, then create a pseudonym! The only rules are that the contents of your site is original, clean and fun!
This evolving website will not be formally critiqued or graded until the end of the semester. However, the class will collectively review the progress of each student’s website as part of our scheduled critiques.
We will be using WIX, a cloud-based web development platform. WIX is FREE and allows users to create HTML5 websites like this one.
Project 2, The Art of the GIF
Due - 9/15 - Critique 9/18
For a long time GIFs were relegated to twirling icons, flickering flames and cheesy animations - but not anymore. The GIF has become an art form in itself!
For this project students will introduce themselves to the class by participating in the creation of a collective GIF “Class Portrait”. A GIF (graphics interchange format) is a graphic image on a Web page that moves. After exploring a range of GIF artists and GIF galleries and taking part in GIF making tutorials in Photoshop, students will explore what their own animated GIF "self-portrait" could be. Each student will create a minimum of 4 GIFs and then choose one of these to be published on the class website. Each GIF will also act as a link to the student's web portfolio.
Project 3, Surreal Animation
Due - 10/6 - Critique 10/11
The objective for Project 3 is to expand upon the skills we have acquired with Project 2:
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Phase 1 – We’ll talk about the evolution of surrealism and look at examples from Salvador Dali, Meret Oppenheim, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Rene Magritte, and others. We'll discuss the philosophical aspects of what it means to be surreal. Each student will then create a surrealist collage using images harvested from the internet and composed using Adobe Photoshop.
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Phase 2 – Students will bring their composition to LIFE in the form of a 7 second animation using Adobe After Effects. Students will then render their animations and explore adding sound using Garageband software.
Students are encouraged to incorporate text into this project if possible.
Youtube After Effects tutorial
Project 4, Creating Audio Narratives
Due - 10/4 - Critique 10/23
Here the objective is for students to gain technical skills in the acquisition, manipulation, production and presentation of sound as a form of design & communication. After reviewing several examples of audio narratives and taking part in a demonstration on the proper use of microphones, field recorders and editing tools, students will create an multi-track audio narrative that will include recording a voice over, environmental sound, and sound effects. Students will then integrate these elements using Garage Band or other comparable audio editing software. For this project students are required to research and plan their project and to gather their sound materials as homework outside of class. The final piece should be 1 to 2 minutes in length - though slightly longer pieces are acceptable.
Completed projects will be published to student websites and presented to the class for a group critique.
Project 5, Video Ventures
Due - 11/15 - Critique 11/17
The objective of project 5 is for students to integrate the effective use of video into their growing skill set. For this project students are required to research and plan their project and to gather their video materials as homework outside of class. Students may choose one of the following options:
Option 1: Creating Video Narratives
Tech us something, tell us a story - or take us on a journey. For this project students will create a “video narrative” that will include recording live motion images and then integrating these images with graphics and sound using "Garage Band" and “Final Cut”. Students will learn how to effectively use a smartphone camera to capture high quality video and take part in demonstrations on the principals of image composition, shooting and lighting techniques. The final piece should be 1 to 2 minutes in length. Completed projects will be published on student websites and presented to the class for a group critique.
Option 2: Appropriation and Remix
Propaganda is a powerful tool for politicians, corporations, advertisers, cultural institutions and anyone who is looking to manipulate a story, but it is also the starting point for acts of subversion, humor, and creative resistance. Early examples of Video Art often featured the appropriation, deconstruction and manipulation of mass media and culture as a form of social critique. For this project students will find a means of political and imaginative expression through re-editing and re-interpreting material “harvested” from YouTube. Students will come away well-versed in the techniques and tricks used in remix works, including ripping videos, sampling and audio/video cut-ups.
This work will be published to a video-sharing website such as YouTube or Vimeo and then embed into student web-based portfolios for critique.
Project 6, Independent Project
Due - 12/11 - Critique 12/13
For this final project students will showcase their ability to create a truly original work and to demonstrate their growing aesthetic sensibility with digital arts. Students will create a Digital Artwork in a format of their choice. They may choose to make their own extended video narrative piece, audio narrative or After Effects animation - or perhaps a combination of all 3? The objective is to push the production value as well as the creative envelope thus developing their own unique 4/d media experience!
The work will be developed, produced and submitted in 2 parts:
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Phase 1 - The written proposal. Student's will submit a brief written description of their proposed project and publish it on their website portfolio.
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Describe the method of recording/capture images and sounds. Will you use a DSLR or phone camera? Will you create an After Effects animation using hand draw the images or will you take photos and dissect them in photoshop? Will you combine camera footage with your animations as well as appropriated video and sounds? Maybe you're interested in doing an audio documentary?
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Describe the mood or setting for the piece as best you can.
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Finally – post a few visual and/or sonic references that will give the class a sense of your idea. Surprise us! The point is that student's should be able to articulate their ideas as well as demonstrate an understanding of how to use the tools of the trade to achieve their desired results.
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Phase 2 – Produce the work! Students and teacher will collaborate on bringing their imagined artwork to life. Students will then post the finished video, audio or animation on their individual web-based portfolios for critique.
Final Critiques - 12/13
Independent Project Critiques and Student Website Evaluation
This critique will be an assessment of the functionality and form of a student's online web portfolio as well as a review of their final Independent Projects.
Evidence of craftsmanship and indications that the student has pushed conceptual boundaries and taken risks with their work will be taken into account.
As noted in the Project 1 description above, students are strongly encouraged to create a personal website/web portfolio that has a use beyond the scope of our class projects.
Attendance and Class Participation
Regular and prompt attendance is essential to keep up with our busy project schedule and to acquire technical proficiency tools and techniques that will be presented. This course is fast paced and it is virtually impossible to make up any extended absence.
Students are expected to participate in each class session, be on time for all scheduled meetings and complete projects by the due dates assigned. If you know in advance that you will miss a class you should notify me as a courtesy in advance so I can advise you as to what you should have completed by the next class.
* Every unexcused absence reduces your grade by 1 full letter grade - so 4 unexcused absences will result in an automatic failure of the course. Two late arrivals without prior arrangements equals one unexcused absence. Students who have been absent are expected to have their work completed for the class session following their return. To obtain an excused absence, you must both write the instructor in advance and/or bring in medical documentation. See also: Bridgewater State University’s Undergraduate Academic Policies
http://catalog.bridgew.edu/content.php?catoid=7&navoid=486
At the conclusion of each project we will hold a “Class Critique”. Critiques will take the form of a conversation. They will provide a way to expand and refine our understanding of the key principles, technical considerations, and aesthetic choices of an assignment. Comments, questions, answers, and thinking out loud by both teacher and students create a two-way dialogue that enriches learning for everyone.
Active participation in critiques is an important part of your grade.
If a student’s work is not present for the critique it will be graded as “incomplete”. This means that by missing a group critique a student will receive a zero for the project as well as dropping a full letter grade from the student’s final average.
Evaluation And Grading Policy
There are no quizzes, tests, mandatory books to buy or exams for this class. Students are evaluated based on their level of Attendance, Class Participation, Project Preparation and Timely and Successful Project Completion.
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Projects 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10% each
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Project 6 - Final Independent Project 25%
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Participation and Attendance 25%
Grading Criteria
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F – Frequently late and/or absent. Insufficient participation. Little to no understanding of the materials covered in class.
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D – Occasional lateness and more than one unexcused absence. Basic understanding of materials covered in class.
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C – Occasional lateness. Demonstrated an understanding of materials covered in class. Failed to take risks. Work holds together. Makes only obligatory contributions to discussions.
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B – Almost always present. Work handed in on time. Demonstrated a solid understanding of materials covered in class. Work has good form and content, and there is evidence of taking risks. This student has made interesting contributions to the class
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A – Always present. Work handed in on time. Demonstrated a solid understanding of materials covered in class. Work has good form and content and there is evidence of taking risks. This student always makes interesting contributions to the class and frequently leads class discussions.
Communication
It is school policy that students are responsible for checking their BSU email account. If you need to contact me I strongly recommend contacting me by using the Contact page on this website. This method will forward your message directly to my personal email account which I have access to on my phone. I check my BSU email daily - but only when I'm home in my office.
Accessibility Statement
In compliance with Bridgewater State University policy and equal access legislation, I am available to discuss appropriate accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Students will need to register with the Disability Resources Office in the Academic Achievement Center in the Maxwell Library to provide documentation of the disability, to determine reasonable academic accommodations, and obtain a letter of notification to faculty of the accommodations.
Disability Services
BSU is committed to ensuring all individuals equal access to its programs and services. The university offers a number of services to students who have a documented medical condition, are physically challenged, or have psychological or learning disabilities. If you think you may have a learning disability or wish to request support services, please contact the Office of Disability Resources in the Academic Achievement Center, Maxwell Library, (508) 531-2194. You can still receive services even after the semester has begun.
Expectations and Other Class Policies
The majority of information we cover in this class is readily available online and a web search can provide answers to many of your immediate questions. Think for yourself, carefully review what you did and what trouble you’re having. Consult the Resources section of this web site. Ask 2 friends that are sitting next to you. And OF COURSE you can ask me.
Backup your work to the school’s server or a portable drive FREQUENTLY!
Other than using the web for researching material for your class work, there is no smartphone or Internet use allowed during class time. You will receive points off your final grade if you spend any class time on social media; this includes texting.
A Note on Perseverance
We will encounter frustrations as we deal with unexpected road-blocks and create workarounds that fit within our project schedule. These are important skills to practice as you will do the same when you leave school and enter the world of professional practice – whether it be art, business, academic pursuits, etc. You do not have to be a practicing or aspiring artist or designer to participate in this course. However you must be willing to explore how digital media tools can augment and enhance your unique means of expression. As an instructor I cannot teach you the effort that is required to succeed in this class; It must come from your own desire and willingness to participate, learn and grow.