Digital Foundations Syllabus
This course is designed to provide students with a practical and conceptual foundation in time-based digital work. We will discuss the varying approaches of artists working with time-based work and how their decisions inform their work. We will share professional practices and techniques for digital productions. These skills will be approached through lecture, class discussion, assigned readings, individual assignments as well as collaborative projects.
Instructors:
Leon Belt
lbelt@risd.edu
Elliott Brennan
ebrennan@risd.edu
773-316-5318
Grading
Class Participation: 20%
Group Projects: 40%
Individual Projects: 40%
Attendance
Attendance will be taken every class period. This course presents a great deal of information as well as useful activities to make that information more enjoyable and memorable. In addition to course lectures and demos, additional class time will be used as work hours for assignments and viewing other artwork or films. In accordance with RISD policies, students may be dropped from the class in the case of unexcused absence for the following two reasons: (1) if they miss the first meeting of class; (2) if they are absent from two or more class meetings at any time during the term. Other students and classes use the computer lab, so it is in your best interest to use the time reserved for you to get as much work done as possible.
Ongoing Assignments
Students are expected to be working on two ongoing assignments throughout the semester: one collaborative, and one solitary. These will lead to a final project at the end of the semester.
Reading/Assignment
Students will be expected to complete all assignments on time, and be familiar with all readings.
WEEK ONE: Life in the Digital Age
Overview, Pop Quiz, Partner Up
Screenings:
Excerpts from War Games (1983), Hackers (1991)
Homework:
Use Google and other search engines to write a 250-word biography about your partner. This should be an original work, with references in the form of URLs and without plagiarism.
Begin the semester-long process of collecting representative, autobiographical images. You should have 500-700 by WEEK SEVEN.
Reading:
Stuart Brand, "Written on the Wind"
http://www.longnow.org/views/essays/articles/writtenonwind.php
WEEK TWO: They're in the Computer?
Discussion of Stuart Brand essay.
We'll crack open a computer for a hardware overview: anatomy, storage media, peripheral devices, cables, and connectivity. Discussion of input/output. Networking and filesharing. Wireless vs. wired networks. Moving very large files. What's a gigabyte? Understanding the difference between memory and hard disks. The importance of file names and backup.
Discuss biographies. Scanner workshop. Digital Camera workshop. Photoshop tutorial, Part 1: Resolution, file sizes, basic digital darkroom techniques.
Screening:
Excerpts from 2001 (1967), The Net (1994)
Homework:
Continue collecting autobiographical images.
Bring in 10-20 images to be corrected.
Attend An-My Le Artist Lecture at RISD Auditorium, Sept 26, 7:00PM.
Reading:
Hany Farid, Digital Tampering in the Media, Politics and Law
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering/
WEEK THREE: What You See Is What You See
Discussion of tampered images. Discussion of the social and political effects of digital tampering. How does it differ from the "truthiness" of photographs before computers?
Photoshop Tutorial Part 2: Intermediate digital darkroom. Alpha channels, color spaces, color correction, radical retouching. We'll also examine typical metadata from a digital camera, and the RAW image format.
Introduction to Final Cut Pro.
Screening:
Art21 segment on Paul Pfeiffer. Excerpts from Director's Series: Michel Gondry.
Homework:
Begin collaborative Stop Motion Project.
Continue collecting autobiographical images.
Interact with Eliza, and bring the transcript to class.
http://www.masswerk.at/elizabot/
Reading:
Edward Abbott, Flatland
WEEK FOUR: Speaking in Code
Overview of computer logic and rules-based art: Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, Christian Wolff. Discussion about Eliza, Jenny18, and online identity.
Photoshop Tutorial Part 3: Advanced digital darkroom: Layers, channel layers, masks, and batches.
Final Cut Pro Tutorial Part 2: Layers, masks, and keying. Discussion of rear-projection, matte-painting, and analogous classical compositing forms.
Screening:
Peter Campus, Three Transitions, 1973.
Homework:
Continue collaborative Stop Motion Project.
Continue collecting and manipulating autobiographical images.
Bring in 10 examples of good titles, logos, etc.
Reading:
Excerpt from Jan Tschichold, Die Neue Typographie, 1928
WEEK FIVE: Insert Title Here
Illustrator Tutorial Part 1: Typography, fonts, kerning.
After Effects Tutorial Part 1: Overview, Layers, Lights, Camera, Action.
Final Cut Pro Tutorial Part 3: Renders, file management, outputs.
Screening:
Titles by Saul Bass, Pablo Ferro, Maurice Binder, Kyle Cooper.
Graffiti Analysis/Graffiti Research Labs.
Homework:
Continue collaborative Stop Motion Project.
Continue collecting autobiographical images.
WEEK SIX: Movement
We'll focus on timing and rhythm, with an anticipation towards sound.
After Effects Tutorial Part 2: Transitions, Masks, Parenting objects for fluid movement.
Screening:
Excerpts from SSSR demos. MTV International interstitials. More excerpts from Director's Series: Michel Gondry.
Homework:
Begin moving self-portrait in After Effects.
Continue collaborative Stop Motion Project.
Bring in music.
WEEK SEVEN: Perfect Sound Forever
Intro to Protools.
Intro to Ableton Live.
After Effects Tutorial Part 3: Generating keyframes from audio.
Rights, Clearance, Sampling, and Remixes. Foley sound.
Metadata in MP3 tags.
Screening:
Excerpts from The Mighty Boosh.
Homework:
Continue moving self-portrait in After Effects.
Continue collaborative Stop Motion Project.
WEEK EIGHT: Shiny Discs
Creating menus, interstitials, and more in DVD Studio Pro.
Integrating Photoshop for unique graphics, icons, etc.
Demo reel suggestions.
Screening:
Screening self-portrait rushes.
Homework:
Begin moving self-portrait in After Effects.
Continue collaborative Stop Motion Project.
WEEK NINE: Information Superhighway
Getting your material on the web. Compression algorithms, streaming video, progressive frames.
Intro to web design. Blogs. Posting video to Youtube, photos to Flikr, music on Myspace. Issues in user-driven sites.
Intro to Flash for portfolios.
Homework:
Continue moving self-portrait in After Effects.
Continue collaborative Stop Motion Project.
WEEK TEN-TWELVE: Life in the Digital Age Redux
Your final project will be to create a memory piece about an interaction with a stranger. It can be as truthful, fictional or fantastical as you'd like, but it should be as richly detailed as possible, include sights, sounds, smells, tactile and temperature sensations, etc. etc. Bear in mind, you'll be sharing this online. We'll discuss the project in greater depth over the course of the semester.