Advanced Transmedia: Video Art

Course Description: 
This course will explore the creation and analysis of video artwork, focusing on cinematography, post-production, and sound within the context of contemporary art. Each student will learn to produce and edit projects as a foundation for integrating moving images into their artistic practice. We will cover a broad range of approaches to video, including experimental narrative and documentary, video as installation, and pushback against the conventions of time-based storytelling. Screenings of various artist’s video works will occur throughout the semester. The class will also include group discussions around readings from the assigned texts and class critiques of student video work, which may consist of work in progress and final videos.

Project Title: Moving Images in Space

Work with your team to develop a series of 3 looping video vignettes that will be projected in space. The video projections can be site-responsive, on unorthodox surfaces, or interventionist in nature. This process should be inventive and experimental. Consider the presence of moving images in space rather than video as a storytelling device. What are the possibilities?

Project Title: Sounds and Sights

Project Description:

Create three 10-second animations responding to a piece of sound. The audio clips should be recorded initially with a microphone or camera. This project is more focused on abstraction than narrative, meaning that your goal is not to illustrate sounds but to think of creative ways to animate visuals in response to the sounds. For example, hearing the sound of a motorcycle doesn’t mean you must animate a bike; instead, imagine the possibilities of this sound. What other visuals come to mind when you hear it?

Project Title: Stop Motion Vignettes

Project Description:

For this project, you will collaborate with one of your classmates. Starting below, select three prompts and animate them employing stop-motion animation and Dragonframe. The duration of each piece should range between 5-10 seconds. Interpret the elements literally or move into symbolism, abstraction, or experimentation. Choose from various materials such as clay, cut paper, fabric/textile, action figures, nature, etc. As collaborators, share ideas, divide up the workload, and push each other creatively. Introduce some sound design in post-production.

Project Title: Character Happening

Project Description:

Create a 20-30-second character animation employing a simple narrative structure. Each character should be introduced, put into a humorous, dramatic, or peculiar circumstance, and then have a clear conclusion. Be specific with your character’s features and develop their personality in pre-production drawings or storyboards. Consider your animation style (hand-drawn, stop-motion, graphic), color choices, and the sense of time/place you evoke. Use photographs, videos,  or other reference material to assist you.

Advanced Transmedia: Short Form

Course Description: 

Advanced Transmedia: Short-form class allows students to focus thematically and create a single, in-depth project during a semester. It provides students the time and flexibility to develop their work while engaging in the discourse around contemporary video and animation practices. The first couple of weeks will include film screenings, discussing artists, and going through workshops. Students will then be asked to create a project proposal outlining their theme, methodology, and direction. The duration of the class will be spent on the production and completion of the piece. The final couple weeks of the semester will be dedicated to critique and refinement. The goal is to walk away from this course with a thorough, well-developed project that can anchor a portfolio.

Advanced Transmedia: Story Development in Animation

Course Description:

This course will give students the time and space to produce a singular, in-depth animation project over the semester. Projects will be divided into three phases: research, concept development/visualization, and preproduction. We will focus on thematic development, narrative construction, storyboards, and sound design. This course will help students develop project management and organizational strategies. The genre and narrative structure of the animation are up to the individual artist. Students will have access to multiple pieces of software, including ProCreate, Adobe Creative Suite, and Dragaonframe.