Cecilia Tyrrell, "Sirens Dawn"
Undergraduate Overview
Film, Video, New Media, and Animation Undergraduate Overview
As a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio (BFA) student studying in the Department of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation (FVNMA), you will have access to state-of-the-art filming, editing, and production equipment plus a large, diverse list of course offerings to address your individual artistic needs.
The FVNMA department reaches beyond conventional approaches of moving image media and animation programs. Students concentrating their studies in FVNMA at SAIC investigate the possibilities of:
- Nonfiction/documentary and narrative film and video
- Moving-image installation
- Hand-drawn and digital 2D and 3D animation
- Interactive art, VR, AR, and web-based projects
- Media art histories
FVNMA students often invent interdisciplinary pathways to produce hybrid works that expand traditional forms to create new avenues of expression—acts of artistic exploration and risk-taking that the department enthusiastically supports.
The work of FVNMA faculty is represented in museums and galleries; presented at major international festivals of film and media; screened in art cinemas and at music and performance venues; embraced in community-based projects; and featured in prominent arts publications. Students take classes offered by these working practitioners, as well as with faculty across all departments, to develop and focus their own unique creative approaches. It is through this process that students learn to research, invent, and explore. The seminars, production classes and innovative art history offerings ensure that students receive in-depth knowledge of theories and histories relevant to moving-image art making.
Studio courses follow disciplinary paths of cinema, video art, new media art, and animation—experimental 3D and 2D. These classes provide rigorous technical training through sequences in each path that advance practical and critical skills, connecting your work to wider interdisciplinary concerns. Courses engage historical, critical, aesthetic, cultural, and technological issues by making experimental media art.
The program is consistently ranked among the top five graduate Film/Animation Schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
Undergraduate Admissions Requirements & Curriculum Overview
Use the accordions (+) below to learn more about the admissions requirements and curriculum.
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To apply to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), you will need to fill out an application and submit your transcripts, artist's statement, and letters of recommendation. And most importantly, we require a portfolio of your best and most recent work—work that will give us a sense of you, your interests, and your willingness to explore, experiment, and think beyond technical art, design, and writing skills.
To apply, please submit the following items:
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Portfolio
Submit 10–15 pieces of your best and most recent work. We will review your portfolio and application materials for merit scholarship once you have been admitted to SAIC.When compiling a portfolio, you may concentrate your work in a single discipline or show work in a breadth of media. The portfolio may include drawings, prints, photographs, paintings, film, video, audio recordings, sculpture, ceramics, fashion designs, graphic design, furniture, objects, architectural designs, websites, video games, sketchbooks, scripts, storyboards, screenplays, zines, or any combination of the above.
Learn more about applying to SAIC's Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio, or view our portfolio preparation guide for more information.
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Studio
69
- CP 1010 Core Studio Practice I (3)
- CP 1011 Core Studio Practice II (3)
- CP 1020 Research Studio I (3)
- CP 1022 Research Studio II (3)
- SOPHSEM 2900 (3)
- PROFPRAC 3900 (3)
- CAPSTONE 4900 (3)
- Studio Electives (48)
Art History
15
- ARTHI 1001 World Cultures/Civilizations: Pre-History—19th Century Art and Architecture (3)
- Art History Elective at 1000 level (3)
- Art History Electives (9)
Liberal Arts
30
- ENGLISH 1001 First Year Seminar I (3)
- ENGLISH 1005 First Year Seminar II (3)
- Natural Science (6)
- Social Science (6)
- Humanities (6)
- Liberal Arts Electives (6)
General Electives
6
- Studio, Art History, Liberal Arts, AAP, or EIS
Total Credit Hours
120
* BFA students must complete at least 6 credit hours in a class designated as "off campus study." These credits can also fulfill any of the requirements listed above and be from any of the divisions (Art History, Studio, Liberal Arts, or General Electives).
BFA With Distinction—SAIC Scholars Program:
The SAIC Scholars program is a learning community of BFA students pursuing rigorous study in both their academic coursework and their studio pathways. There are two opportunities for interested students to apply to the SAIC Scholars Program: at the time of admission to the school, and after they have completed 30 credits of study at SAIC. Students pursuing the latter option are required to formally submit an application to the Undergraduate Division. Once admitted to the SAIC Scholars Program, students are required to successfully complete a minimum of six designated scholars courses. Students who complete the program will graduate with distinction.
BFA in Studio with Thesis Option (Liberal Arts or Visual Critical Studies)
BFA students may complete a nine-credit, research-based academic thesis as part of their studies within the 126 credits for the BFA in Studio degree. BFA with Thesis course sequences are offered over 3 semesters through the departments of Liberal Arts or Visual and Critical Studies (VCS). Students who are interested in one of the thesis options should follow the steps outlined below in the beginning of the junior year.
Requirements for the BFA: Studio Art with Liberal Arts Thesis
Step One: Students are required to meet with the Chair of the Liberal Arts department in the beginning of their junior year.
Step Two: With the Department Chair's approval, the student enrolls in the following courses beginning in the spring term of their junior year:
- SOCSCI or HUMANITY 3900 Academic Research and Writing (3 credits)
- LIBARTS 4800 Undergraduate Thesis: Research/Writing I (3 credits)
- CAPSTONE 4900 Liberal Arts Undergraduate Thesis: Research/Writing II (3 credits)
Step Three: The completed thesis must be approved by both the Thesis II instructor and the Chair of Liberal Arts. Students must make a formal presentation and participate in the Undergraduate Thesis Symposium in their senior year.
Requirements for the BFA: Studio Art with Visual and Critical Studies (VCS) Thesis
Step One: Students are required to meet with the Visual and Critical Studies Undergraduate Coordinator in or by the beginning of their junior year.
Step Two: With the VCS Coordinator's approval, the student enrolls in the first of the three-course sequence beginning in the spring term of their junior year:
- VCS 3010 Tutorial in Visual & Critical Studies (3 credits)
- VCS 4800 Undergraduate Thesis Seminar: Research & Writing I (3 credits)
- CAPSTONE 4900 VCS Undergraduate Thesis Seminar: Research & Writing II (3 credits)
Step Three: Completion of thesis must be approved by both the Thesis II instructor and the VCS Undergraduate Coordinator. Students must make a formal presentation and participate in the Undergraduate VCS Thesis Symposium in the senior year.
Total credits required for minimum residency
66
Minimum Studio credit
42
Course Listing
| Title | Catalog | Instructor | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Media Practices: The Moving Image | 2000 (001) | James Connolly, Eric Fleischauer | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the language and histories of the moving image arts and the diverse ways in which artists have contributed to them. Throughout the semester we will examine a range of approaches to creating moving image work. We will compare and contrast established ?norms? with radical and experimental approaches to these various media, leading to an understanding of the rich, complex, and evolving landscape upon which individuals have been making, and continue to make, moving image art.
Students will engage with this expanded field through lectures, readings, screenings, meetings with visiting artists as well as becoming active in discussions and practitioners in the field via group projects. Working in small groups, students will complete a series of short projects to introduce them to the various pathways of the department. By the end of the semester, students should have gain basic production and postproduction skills as well a good understanding of the key concepts relevant to contemporary film, video, new media, installation and animation. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Media Practices: The Moving Image | 2000 (001) | James Connolly, Eric Fleischauer | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the language and histories of the moving image arts and the diverse ways in which artists have contributed to them. Throughout the semester we will examine a range of approaches to creating moving image work. We will compare and contrast established ?norms? with radical and experimental approaches to these various media, leading to an understanding of the rich, complex, and evolving landscape upon which individuals have been making, and continue to make, moving image art.
Students will engage with this expanded field through lectures, readings, screenings, meetings with visiting artists as well as becoming active in discussions and practitioners in the field via group projects. Working in small groups, students will complete a series of short projects to introduce them to the various pathways of the department. By the end of the semester, students should have gain basic production and postproduction skills as well a good understanding of the key concepts relevant to contemporary film, video, new media, installation and animation. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Media Practices: The Moving Image | 2000 (002) | Paige Taul, Fernando Saldivia Yáñez | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the language and histories of the moving image arts and the diverse ways in which artists have contributed to them. Throughout the semester we will examine a range of approaches to creating moving image work. We will compare and contrast established ?norms? with radical and experimental approaches to these various media, leading to an understanding of the rich, complex, and evolving landscape upon which individuals have been making, and continue to make, moving image art.
Students will engage with this expanded field through lectures, readings, screenings, meetings with visiting artists as well as becoming active in discussions and practitioners in the field via group projects. Working in small groups, students will complete a series of short projects to introduce them to the various pathways of the department. By the end of the semester, students should have gain basic production and postproduction skills as well a good understanding of the key concepts relevant to contemporary film, video, new media, installation and animation. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Media Practices: The Moving Image | 2000 (002) | Paige Taul, Fernando Saldivia Yáñez | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the language and histories of the moving image arts and the diverse ways in which artists have contributed to them. Throughout the semester we will examine a range of approaches to creating moving image work. We will compare and contrast established ?norms? with radical and experimental approaches to these various media, leading to an understanding of the rich, complex, and evolving landscape upon which individuals have been making, and continue to make, moving image art.
Students will engage with this expanded field through lectures, readings, screenings, meetings with visiting artists as well as becoming active in discussions and practitioners in the field via group projects. Working in small groups, students will complete a series of short projects to introduce them to the various pathways of the department. By the end of the semester, students should have gain basic production and postproduction skills as well a good understanding of the key concepts relevant to contemporary film, video, new media, installation and animation. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Media Practices: The Moving Image | 2000 (003) | Frédéric Moffet, Meredith Zielke | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the language and histories of the moving image arts and the diverse ways in which artists have contributed to them. Throughout the semester we will examine a range of approaches to creating moving image work. We will compare and contrast established ?norms? with radical and experimental approaches to these various media, leading to an understanding of the rich, complex, and evolving landscape upon which individuals have been making, and continue to make, moving image art.
Students will engage with this expanded field through lectures, readings, screenings, meetings with visiting artists as well as becoming active in discussions and practitioners in the field via group projects. Working in small groups, students will complete a series of short projects to introduce them to the various pathways of the department. By the end of the semester, students should have gain basic production and postproduction skills as well a good understanding of the key concepts relevant to contemporary film, video, new media, installation and animation. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Media Practices: The Moving Image | 2000 (003) | Frédéric Moffet, Meredith Zielke | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the language and histories of the moving image arts and the diverse ways in which artists have contributed to them. Throughout the semester we will examine a range of approaches to creating moving image work. We will compare and contrast established ?norms? with radical and experimental approaches to these various media, leading to an understanding of the rich, complex, and evolving landscape upon which individuals have been making, and continue to make, moving image art.
Students will engage with this expanded field through lectures, readings, screenings, meetings with visiting artists as well as becoming active in discussions and practitioners in the field via group projects. Working in small groups, students will complete a series of short projects to introduce them to the various pathways of the department. By the end of the semester, students should have gain basic production and postproduction skills as well a good understanding of the key concepts relevant to contemporary film, video, new media, installation and animation. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Media Practices: The Moving Image | 2000 (004) | Mai Parinda Wanitwat, Asya Dubrovina | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the language and histories of the moving image arts and the diverse ways in which artists have contributed to them. Throughout the semester we will examine a range of approaches to creating moving image work. We will compare and contrast established ?norms? with radical and experimental approaches to these various media, leading to an understanding of the rich, complex, and evolving landscape upon which individuals have been making, and continue to make, moving image art.
Students will engage with this expanded field through lectures, readings, screenings, meetings with visiting artists as well as becoming active in discussions and practitioners in the field via group projects. Working in small groups, students will complete a series of short projects to introduce them to the various pathways of the department. By the end of the semester, students should have gain basic production and postproduction skills as well a good understanding of the key concepts relevant to contemporary film, video, new media, installation and animation. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Media Practices: The Moving Image | 2000 (004) | Mai Parinda Wanitwat, Asya Dubrovina | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the language and histories of the moving image arts and the diverse ways in which artists have contributed to them. Throughout the semester we will examine a range of approaches to creating moving image work. We will compare and contrast established ?norms? with radical and experimental approaches to these various media, leading to an understanding of the rich, complex, and evolving landscape upon which individuals have been making, and continue to make, moving image art.
Students will engage with this expanded field through lectures, readings, screenings, meetings with visiting artists as well as becoming active in discussions and practitioners in the field via group projects. Working in small groups, students will complete a series of short projects to introduce them to the various pathways of the department. By the end of the semester, students should have gain basic production and postproduction skills as well a good understanding of the key concepts relevant to contemporary film, video, new media, installation and animation. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Form and Meaning | 2004 (001) | Paige Taul | Tues
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM In Person |
Description
Form and Meaning is a rigorous investigation of the art of moving image editing and provides a historical and theoretical understanding of both classical film editing and newer modes and models of editing and perception. The course provides a working foundation and framework.
A close reading of films will train the student in the core aesthetic decisions, structures, strategies and demands of editing cinematic works. In addition, we will look at examples and discuss how editing functions for the installation artist, and further, how the Internet, New Media, television and video art have made an impact on concepts surrounding editing. Weekly readings will expand on the work presented in class. Students should expect to research and write both a midterm and final papers as well as a few short responses to works presented in class. Form and Meaning is a theory-based seminar and is not designed to offer critique for works in progress. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2000 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Form and Meaning | 2004 (002) | Wed
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM In Person |
|
Description
Form and Meaning is a rigorous investigation of the art of moving image editing and provides a historical and theoretical understanding of both classical film editing and newer modes and models of editing and perception. The course provides a working foundation and framework.
A close reading of films will train the student in the core aesthetic decisions, structures, strategies and demands of editing cinematic works. In addition, we will look at examples and discuss how editing functions for the installation artist, and further, how the Internet, New Media, television and video art have made an impact on concepts surrounding editing. Weekly readings will expand on the work presented in class. Students should expect to research and write both a midterm and final papers as well as a few short responses to works presented in class. Form and Meaning is a theory-based seminar and is not designed to offer critique for works in progress. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2000 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Sonics and Optics | 2005 (001) | Kioto Aoki | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Sonics and Optics is an intensive study of lenses, optics, sensors, stocks, materials, laboratory processes, microphones, and recorders as essential tools in film/video making. Throughout the semester students will learn the fundamentals of a lens (focal length, aperture), its relationship to the camera (shutter, ISO), and aesthetic options available. The course will offer the same immersive perspective of sound technologies; including choosing microphones (stereo, cardioid, shotgun, contact, etc), recording options (sound device, field recorder, mixing board), and methods of field recording. This course is an essential technical base for all advanced moving image work.
In-class screenings of films and videos and weekly readings will expand on the technical workshops at the core of the course. Students should expect to complete a series of quick technical exercises as well as a more in depth final project. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2000 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Sonics and Optics | 2005 (002) | Daniele Wilmouth | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Sonics and Optics is an intensive study of lenses, optics, sensors, stocks, materials, laboratory processes, microphones, and recorders as essential tools in film/video making. Throughout the semester students will learn the fundamentals of a lens (focal length, aperture), its relationship to the camera (shutter, ISO), and aesthetic options available. The course will offer the same immersive perspective of sound technologies; including choosing microphones (stereo, cardioid, shotgun, contact, etc), recording options (sound device, field recorder, mixing board), and methods of field recording. This course is an essential technical base for all advanced moving image work.
In-class screenings of films and videos and weekly readings will expand on the technical workshops at the core of the course. Students should expect to complete a series of quick technical exercises as well as a more in depth final project. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2000 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Introduction to Experimental 3D | 2015 (001) | Anneli Goeller | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This class is inspired by Johannes Itten?s radical early twentieth-century basic art course developed for the Weimar Bauhaus School of Art, but here using the Maya 3D software, typically used for commercial productions by the entertainment industry. Students will solve a series of formal problems, introduced in increasing levels of complexity. Moving from the 2-dimensional to the 3-dimensional and ultimately to the four-dimensional or time-based, students will evolve their abilities to utilize aspects of light and dark, form, rhythm, color, proportion and volume but in terms of a post photographic discourse, with the intention of advancing a new virtual cinema.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2000 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Introduction to Experimental 3D | 2015 (002) | Marlena Novak | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This class is inspired by Johannes Itten?s radical early twentieth-century basic art course developed for the Weimar Bauhaus School of Art, but here using the Maya 3D software, typically used for commercial productions by the entertainment industry. Students will solve a series of formal problems, introduced in increasing levels of complexity. Moving from the 2-dimensional to the 3-dimensional and ultimately to the four-dimensional or time-based, students will evolve their abilities to utilize aspects of light and dark, form, rhythm, color, proportion and volume but in terms of a post photographic discourse, with the intention of advancing a new virtual cinema.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2000 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| New Media: Crash Course | 2100 (001) | Christopher Lee Collins | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This introductory studio course focuses on screen-based new media works, their historical contexts, their specific aesthetics and theoretical concerns. Students gain an understanding of the emerging culture and historical antecedents of new media. Interactive, network and web based technologies are introduced from the perspective of media art making.
Students will be exposed to relevant theoretical texts. Historical and contemporary new media works are screened, demonstrated and discussed. Through a series of workshops, assignments and a final project, students will gain a general understanding of how to read and write new media using various techniques such as HTML ++ CSS, JavaScript, Realtime systems, Generative systems, and Art Games. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2000 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Animation I: Drawing for Animation | 2420 (001) | James Trainor | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This class introduces the traditional animation techniques of creating movement through successive drawings. Techniques include metamorphosis, walking cycles, holds, squash and stretch, blur and resistance. Students use the pencil test Lunch-Box to view their work . Students complete a series of exercises encouraging a full range of animation skills and a final project. Films illustrating drawn-animation techniques are screened regularly.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Animation I: Drawing for Animation | 2420 (002) | Sara Payne | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This class introduces the traditional animation techniques of creating movement through successive drawings. Techniques include metamorphosis, walking cycles, holds, squash and stretch, blur and resistance. Students use the pencil test Lunch-Box to view their work . Students complete a series of exercises encouraging a full range of animation skills and a final project. Films illustrating drawn-animation techniques are screened regularly.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Animation I: Drawing for Animation | 2420 (003) | James Trainor | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This class introduces the traditional animation techniques of creating movement through successive drawings. Techniques include metamorphosis, walking cycles, holds, squash and stretch, blur and resistance. Students use the pencil test Lunch-Box to view their work . Students complete a series of exercises encouraging a full range of animation skills and a final project. Films illustrating drawn-animation techniques are screened regularly.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| The Digital Dark Age | 2900 (041) | Eric Fleischauer | Thurs
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
as we continue to digitize our world, the chorus of techno-optimists singing technology¿s praises is louder than ever. but...are our expansive networks and digital tools truly enlightening us? or are they in fact working to obscure, impede, and deny us the very things they are said to provide? this seminar will confront the dark cloud looming over our digital domains. we will examine how advances in information technology have generated a growing set of unintended consequences that hinder our view of the world, and diminish our agency within it. we will reflect on various topics including technology and power, complex uncertainty, perpetual surveillance, archival viability, and eroding empathy. selected readings, screenings, assignments, and critiques will map out lines of inquiry for students to consider and apply to their research + studio practices. a significant amount of class time will be spent in critique + conversation offering students feedback and mentorship throughout the semester.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Environmental Extractions: Art, Place, and Voice | 2900 (042) | Mikey Peterson | Wed
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM In Person |
Description
How do environments influence art, and how can we extract imagery, sound and ideas from these places to create work and develop our artistic voices? Through location exploration, image/sound/object collection, experimentation, research and writing we can discover connections between ourselves, our environment, and the artmaking that will shape our creative practices. What are the concerns that drive one?s creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development?
Sophomore Seminar offers interdisciplinary strategies for the evaluation and communication of students? individual practice as artists, designers, and/or scholars. Through essential readings, studio projects, and writing, students will generate narratives about how and why they make art. Works by video artists, visual artists, and filmmakers are also viewed and discussed. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Video Everywhere | 3003 (001) | Mikey Peterson | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course introduces video as a medium for artistic expression and social inquiry. Students gain an understanding of the video image-making process and develop proficiency with video equipment, including portable and studio production and editing systems. Strategies for the use of video as an art-making tool are explored. Works by video artists are viewed and discussed.
PrerequisitesFVNM 2000 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Sound and Image | 3011 (001) | James Paul Wetzel | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course focuses on the relationship of sound to moving image, and introduces post-production techniques and strategies that address this relationship as a compositional imperative. Thorough instruction is given on digital audio post-production techniques for moving image, including recording, sound file imports, soundtrack composition and assembly, sound design, and mixing in stereo and surround-sound. This is supplemented by presentations on acoustics and auditory perception. Assigned readings in theories and strategies of sound-image relationships inform studio instruction. Assigned projects focus on gaining post-production skills, and students produce independent projects of their own that integrate sound and moving image.
Artists include Chantal Dumas, Walter Verdin, Deborah Stratman, Lucrecia Martel, Martin Scorcese, Abigail Child, Frederic Moffet, Gyorgi Palvi, Francis Ford Coppola, Gary Hill, and others. Writings in theory include texts by Michel Chion, Rick Altman, and others. The student?s independent image-and-sound work is foregrounded and supported; supplemental assigned projects include sound sequence composition and ADR recording and mixing. PrerequisitesSOUND 2001 or FVNM 2004 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Beginning Screenwriting | 3024 (001) | Raghav Rao | Tues
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM In Person |
Description
This course introduces students to the basic elements of a screenplay, including format, terminology, exposition, characterization, dialogue, voice-over, adaptation, and variations on the three-act structure. Weekly meetings feature a brief lecture, screenings of scenes from films, extended discussion, and assorted readings of class assignments. This is primarily a writing class, with students required to write a four-to-five page weekly assignment related to the script topic of the week.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Beginning Screenwriting | 3024 (002) | Gitanjali Kapila | Fri
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM In Person |
Description
This course introduces students to the basic elements of a screenplay, including format, terminology, exposition, characterization, dialogue, voice-over, adaptation, and variations on the three-act structure. Weekly meetings feature a brief lecture, screenings of scenes from films, extended discussion, and assorted readings of class assignments. This is primarily a writing class, with students required to write a four-to-five page weekly assignment related to the script topic of the week.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Experimental Film and Video Narrative | 3026 (001) | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
|
Description
This course is a production class designed for students interested in alternative modes of narrative production in film and Video. Through workshops on writing, acting, and directing, students learn to work with actors, dialogue, and alternative narrative structures. Students apply the concepts covered in class to their selected projects, from production through editing. Throughout the course, a wide range of narrative films utilizing experimental modes of production are screened. Technical issues are covered in cinematography workshops, but it is assumed that students have a solid technical grounding in their medium of choice. Though the body of this class focuses on film and video production, the class is also appropriate for students working in performance and sound.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2005, 3003 or 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Handmade Cinema | 3027 (001) | Tatsu Aoki | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Filmmakers often run into a problem of depending too much on equipment. This makes one believe that it is impossible to be creative without elaborate 'tools.' Artists of film can produce images in any circumstance-with or without complicated tools. If a filmmaker understands the process and mechanism of how images can be generated, equipment can be as minimal as one paper clip.
This class is designed to introduce a variety of skills and ideas to make images with simple tools. Students are encouraged to make their own equipment to produce their own image effects. The course mainly focuses on reproduction of images without using large equipment. Some of the ideas introduced in this course are making images without camera and/or lenses; animation; pixilation; time exposure; time lapse; images using slides, stills, and newspapers; all phases of in-camera effects; rephotographing frames; printing in camera; optical printing; and contact printing. PrerequisitesFVNM 2000 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Visualization and Storyboarding | 3033 (001) | Shelley Lynn Dodson | Mon/Wed
6:45 PM - 9:15 PM In Person |
Description
This class focuses on the study of film language, shot composition and idea development for time based media. Through the creation of storyboards, animatics, mood boards, character designs, and concept development students gain a thorough understanding of how to develop their ideas in the pre-preproduction process. Students who work in film, video, performance, and animation will learn narrative and experimental methods. Practical, conceptual and artistic topics will be addressed.
A variety of short films and excerpts from live action films or animations will be shown in class, like work by Brad Bird or independent filmmakers like Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels. Reading excerpts on composition, editing and storyboarding will be assigned. Coursework may vary but typically includes drawing character designs and storyboards, making animatics and some reading through weekly or bi-weeklt assignments. The final project involves concept development and a presentation, followed by a final animatic with sound. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2000 or FVNM 2420 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Visualization and Storyboarding | 3033 (002) | Nick Flaherty | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This class focuses on the study of film language, shot composition and idea development for time based media. Through the creation of storyboards, animatics, mood boards, character designs, and concept development students gain a thorough understanding of how to develop their ideas in the pre-preproduction process. Students who work in film, video, performance, and animation will learn narrative and experimental methods. Practical, conceptual and artistic topics will be addressed.
A variety of short films and excerpts from live action films or animations will be shown in class, like work by Brad Bird or independent filmmakers like Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels. Reading excerpts on composition, editing and storyboarding will be assigned. Coursework may vary but typically includes drawing character designs and storyboards, making animatics and some reading through weekly or bi-weeklt assignments. The final project involves concept development and a presentation, followed by a final animatic with sound. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2000 or FVNM 2420 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| 3D Character Animation | 3036 (001) | Nick Flaherty | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
In this course, students will use 3D software to animate characters for narrative and non narrative films. Lectures and discussions will focus on both traditional and less-than-traditional 3D character pipeline with a strong emphasis on Character and Acting.
Screenings will include a variety of films utilizing 3D character and puppet animation, especially those with exceptional use of personality and performance. Filmmakers screened include: Aaron and Amanda Kopp; Géraldine Gaston; Nikita Diakur. After a brief introduction to the fundamentals of the software (Maya), students will work on multiple short projects designed to develop skills as 3D character animators including those pushing strong animation mechanics and dialogue. These early animations will be critiqued rigorously. Projects will engage students as animators and actors, and will include a final project that focuses on creating engaging animation for a longer piece. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2015 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Lighting & Cinematography | 3070 (001) | Meredith Zielke | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This is an intensive studio course for advanced students of film/video to explore the creative uses of light in their projects. Through the examination of cinematographic approaches across the various genres including narrative, experimental, and documentary, students apply advanced techniques of lighting and composition to their work. Emphasis is placed on the changing role of the cinematographer in the world of digital media.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2004 & FVNM 2005 or FVNM 3003 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Structuring Narrative & Building the Imagined World | 3104 (001) | Gitanjali Kapila | Thurs
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM In Person |
Description
This course focuses on using the principles of narrative and narrative structure to explore worldbuilding as a method for creating platform-specific time-based media. Students will engage a variety of writings in order to apprehend the theoretical tools necessary for 1) understanding narrative as a controlled and mediated communication between writer and viewer; 2) apprehending the critical role of designed spaces and narrative mapping in creating imagined worlds; 3) interrogating the ways in which media technologies and delivery systems inform the centering of different narrative perspectives; 4) exploring the process of activating narrative content in the imagined world for platform-specific media. The works of Sophocles, Aristotle, and Joseph Campbell will provide a coordinated theoretical framework for course content. Over the course of the semester students should expect to produce an ¿imagined world¿ which has undergone at least 5-6 iterations based on course content. Students will also be expected to produce a screenplay, television pilot and bible, game bible or other platform-specific writing based on the world that the student builds.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 3024. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Introduction to 2D Computer Animation | 3105 (001) | Pablo Keith Lorenzana | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is an introduction to the concepts and processes utilized in the production of digital and analogue to digital 2-D animation. Students work especially with Photoshop and After Effects to develop projects. Complex compositing and layering are also explored in this class.
Screenings vary but include primarily contemporary filmmakers / animators using tools covered in class, ranging from student films from other countries and institutions to professional and more commercial examples - all of which will be critiqued and discussed heavily each week. The first 7-8 weeks of class are spent creating ultra short animated films, along with a longer final project at the end of the semester. PrerequisitesFVNM 2420 or 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Post-Production | 3122 (001) | Kera MacKenzie | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course gives students the opportunity to comprehensively explore industry-standard devices in digital editing and visual effects, bringing to bear the power and versatility of nonlinear editing on their creative projects. The class offers advanced editing techniques including data management, sound mixing, visual effects, color correction, compression and output options. The course is structured around a series of technical lectures and hands-on workshops as well as discussions of theoretical texts and screenings of films specifically selected to address important issues in the post-production process. Students will be working on the post-production of a single self-directed project. Students should come prepared with some of their footage ready for editing at the beginning of the semester. Students must participate in a mid-term critique and end-of-semester critique. Students will also generate a press kit for their project.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2004 & FVNM 2005 or FVNM 3003 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Intermediate Screenwriting | 3124 (001) | John Petrakis | Tues
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM In Person |
Description
Intermediate Screenwriting expands upon the skills learned in Beginning Screenwriting while preparing certain students for the longer-form writing required in Advanced Screenwriting. The purpose of the course is to allow students to develop mid-length stand-alone screenplays, adaptations from short stories or pilots for television series, while paying special attention to the vital role that drafting plays in the development of a successful script.
Since Intermediate Screenwriting is first and foremost a writing class, there will be no formal reading or viewing assignments. However, throughout the semester, the professor will suggest books and articles to read and films to watch, that should help further and develop the various ideas that students are wrestling with in their scripts. For example, a work such as Kieslowski's ''The Decalogue'' will be suggested for students looking to embrace a thematic approach to a series of short films. Students have the option of completing two drafts of a 60-page script or three drafts of a 30-45 page script. Completion of these drafts are required to pass the class PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 3024. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Real-Time 3D | 3203 (001) | Alan Kwan | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course will explore new artistic possibilities of real-time 3D technologies that depart from traditional video game paradigm and typical tech fantasies of VR/AR. It will investigate real-time 3D as an art form itself, and encourage students to explore new forms of poetry and artistic expression enabled by 3D game engines. It will also expose students to experimental areas within the technical pipelines and encourage students to embrace a DIY spirit to develop their own artistry and language for the medium.
We will watch, play, and discuss about different forms of artworks produced using real-time 3D technologies, including autonomous 3D simulation, interactive virtual world, real-time cinema, generative animation, mixed reality performance, and experimental video game. Some of the artists we will study in this course include Jeffrey Shaw, Harun Farocki, Tamás Waliczky, Tamiko Thiel and Tale of Tales. This course will use the 3D game engine Unity and 3D modeling software such as Maya or Blender. Students should expect to produce a mid-term project and a final project, to be presented in critique sessions of the course. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2015 or FVNM 5020 or FVNM 5025 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Bordering on Fiction | 3208 (001) | Paige Taul | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course explores the aesthetic, social and political implications of blurring the border between documentary and fiction filmmaking. The class offers a context for producing and critiquing student work, and provides a historical/critical grounding in examining work of cinema vérité, experimental narrative, autofiction, parafiction as well as the documentary turn in contemporary art. In a series of assignments and workshops, students will investigate strategies of reenactments, the confessional mode of address, the use of archival material, the staging of interviews and other constructed representations of reality.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2004 & FVNM 2005 or FVNM 3003 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Motion Graphics and Visual Effects | 3215 (001) | Bun Stout | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Students learn a wide range of post-production digital techniques for 2D animation, compositing (layering, collaging), and creating visual effects for video productions. Students produce projects that incorporate manipulated still images, animation, desktop video, and audio. Those who are intrigued by this kind of image manipulation will find the capabilities of the software dynamic and inspiring. Screenings and analysis focus on the use of such techniques in the world of video art, television, and film.
PrerequisitesFVNM 2000 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Advanced 2-D Computer Animation | 3216 (001) | Pablo Keith Lorenzana | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course continues a rigorous exploration of After Effects as a motion graphics, animation, and compositing tool for both 2D and 3D applications. A variety of techniques including Flash digital hand drawn animation, rotoscoping from live-action, and integration of 3D models from Maya are implemented. This course draws upon a wide range of animated sources from commercial to experimental, and requires a completed short animated film demonstrating technical proficiency as well as conceptual depth.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 3105 or permission of instructor. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Experimental Technology Lab for 3D Animation | 3218 (001) | Alan Kwan | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course explores new ways of capturing, rendering, and directing for 3D animation production enabled by emerging technologies. Students will primarily work with the game engine ¿Unreal¿ and learn to use a range of techniques to capture, process, and render environments, objects, and people. These techniques include camera tracking, gaussian splatting, motion capture, and photogrammetry. We will cover the technical foundation and experimental workflows of these technologies and explore how they can inspire new forms of aesthetics for computer-generated moving images, hybrid forms of cinematography, and novel ways of working with actors and performers for 3D animation production.
We will watch different forms of moving image works that explore the poetic potentials of emerging technologies. These works include experimental animations, music videos, installations, and video games. We will look at the creative use of technologies in these productions, learn about the practical production scenarios, and discuss the relationships between the technologies, directing, and cinematic languages. Some of the artists and directors we will discuss include Harun Farocki, Antoine Chapon, Hayoun Kwon, Deniz Tortum, and Claire Hentschker. Students should expect to produce a mid-term project and a final project. They are encouraged to embrace a DIY spirit to develop artistic and technical concepts that challenge conventional ideas in 3D animation and moving image productions. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: FVNM 2015 or FVNM 5020 or FVNM 5025 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Large Scale Cinematic Production | 3223 (001) | Meredith Zielke | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This advanced-level production course introduces students to two methodologies of large-scale moving-image making--hierarchical and collaborative. Following a project-selection process based on a submitted student proposals/scripts, students will perform roles as part of a production team, shifting responsibilities between 2 selected projects. Projects created will explore pre-production and production in traditional or hybrid narrative, documentary, experimental and/or installation-based forms. The course will include site-visits and in-class visits from production and curatorial specialists.
PrerequisitesMust take 2 3000 FVNM or SOUND classes |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
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