If you like to tell stories through Fine Art or Design Art, and with the latest visual effects, Memphis College of Art’s Digital Media concentration will give you the artistic foundation with the technological tools to accomplish the most creative applications. Fine Arts majors and Design Arts majors alike will have the tools to be prepared for ever-expanding and diverse areas of creative practice and artistic production.
DM105 Introduction to Computer Graphics. (3 credits)
Fundamentals of computer operations, graphical user interface,
scanning, and printing are introduced. Concentration on 2-D
imaging creation is the focus of this course. Students use
raster, vector, and layout programs to create original works.
Prerequisite: None
DM200 Introduction to Animation Techniques. (3 credits)
An introduction to the principles and history of animation. Working with digital programs, as well as pre-cinematic toys, rotoscoping, and live pixilation, students will explore “persistence of vision” - the process by which we perceive movement through still images. Students will also gain a solid foundation in the history and techniques of animation through screenings and readings.
Prerequisite: All Foundation coursework
DM225 2-D Animation 1. (3 credits)
In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of animation production, including pre-production planning, storyboarding, 2-dimensional character design and jointing. Classroom assignments will utilize both traditional animation stand techniques and Adobe After Effects; students will have the option of creating a finished work in either environment.
Prerequisite: DM200
DM220 Multimedia 1. (3 credits)
Students integrate still, video, sound, and interactive elements.
The focus is on developing the conceptual skills to create
art and design works that interact with the viewer/user.
Strategies for usability, asset management, and expression
are covered.
Prerequisite: DM105
DM225 3-D Animation 1. (3 credits)
The study and application of 3-D modeling, rendering and
animation are
explored. Concepts, storyboarding and design are stressed.
Students learn how to manipulate basic geometric forms to
create complex three-dimensional objects. Animation principles
and the study of motion are explored. textures, lighting
and rendering options are covered.
Prerequisite: DM105, DM230
DM230 Dynamic Imaging 1. (3 credits)
This course will provide design strategies and techniques for creating time-based compositions using typography, video, sound and image sequencing. Through lectures, practical assignments and critiques students will gain a technical command of After Effects Software as well as the conceptual skills necessary for pre-production planning, storyboarding, and design of digital motion sequences.
Prerequisite: All Foundation coursework, DM270
DM240 Digital Imaging 1. (3 credits)
Students develop knowledge of image development, construction, retouching, and collage techniques using traditional film, digital images, and drawing as source material. A critical examination of intent will be stressed along with output options and color management. The implications of the digital image and new technologies are discussed and researched from both a personal and societal view.
Prerequisite: All Foundation coursework, DM105, PH100
DM260 Web Design 1. (3 credits)
The conceptual and technical skills
for creating art and design for the Internet are stressed.
The social implications and development of new media and
new social system are discussed and researched. Hand coded
HTML and layout programs are used.
Prerequisite: DM105, GD 200, or permission of instructor
DM270 Digital Cinema 1. (3 credits)
This course is an introduction to the elements of digital cinema production. Focuses on directing, crew responsibilities, camera operation, lenses, lighting and sound recording. Beyond the basic skills necessary for field production students will also become proficient using the non-linear editing software Final Cut Pro. The basics of DVD creation using DVD Studio Pro including media capturing, video and audio encoding, interface design and testing are also introduced.
Prerequisite: All Foundation coursework, DM105 or GD200
DM300 3-D Animation 1. (3 credits)
This is an introductory course in stop-motion animation, a medium that requires a wide array of technical skills. We will consider such techniques as sculpting, two-part molds, foam rubber casting, armature configuration, set design, and lighting for small spaces. Through motion and movement tests, students will explore the ways in which three-dimensional objects move through space.
Prerequisite: DM225
DM310 3-D Computer Animation. (3 credits)
Gain experience with creating 3D animation, including geometric modeling, lighting, camera angles, texture formation, skeleton rigging and motion in a three-dimensional animation package. Students will learn underlying principles of 3D animation, including perspective, transformations, lighting and shadows, and modeling natural phenomena and motion.
Pre requisite: DM225, permission of instructor
DM325 Advanced Animation Workshop. (3 credits)
Open to students who have completed DM225, DM250, or DM300, this course is an intensive workshop in which students will create a finished animation in their preferred medium. Special attention will be paid to realistic production goals, thorough pre-production and storyboarding, and sound design for animation. There will be weekly critiques, and students are expected to spend significant time working outside of class to make the progress necessary to bring an animation project to full fruition.
Prerequisite: DM225, permission of instructor
DM330 Dynamic Imaging 2. (3 credits)
The goal of this course is to expand the student's conceptual and technical understanding of digital motion sequencing as presented in Dynamic Imaging 1. Special emphasis will be placed on the post-production processes of stylization, enhancement, and creation of digital effects.
Pre requisite: DM230
DM340 Digital Imaging 2. (3 credits)
Students further their knowledge of the digital image and its development. The emphasis is placed on the students personal expression and understanding of the full potential of the image in digital and analog terms. A variety of advanced techniques and research are covered including issues of scale and custom color management.
Prerequisite: DM240
DM355 Digital Printmaking 1. (3 credits)
This is a truly interdisciplinary course combining digital imaging with printmaking processes and extends imaging options beyond the computer. The course will focus on the use of digital technologies to create hand pulled prints and hybrid prints using traditional and photo-printmaking processes mixed with giclée printing. The goal is to find a balance between the technical and the conceptual, the digital and the hand crafted, and to develop skills that allow the student to unite intent with production.
Prerequisite: DM240, PM100 or PM105, Advanced Standing
DM360 Web Design 2.
HTML and design skills are developed
as they apply to the Internet. New technologies are explored
and implemented. Case studies of design problems and artistic
intent form the basis for projects.
Prerequisite: DM210
DM370 Digital Cinema 2. (3 credits)
This is an advanced level production course. Students are pushed to further develop the technical processes introduced in CA270. Special instructional emphasis is given to cinematography and lighting.
Pre requisite: DM270
DM375 Sound Acquisition and Editing. (3 credits)
This course will focus on audio as an art form in and of itself, as well as in the service of other mediums - video, animation, etc. We will start by exploring the fundamentals of acoustics: sound waves and how they travel; how microphones convert kinetic energy into an electrical signal; and how recording devices work. We will then move on to sound acquisition strategies, including proper micing, field audio work, and foley recording. Students will use the digital audio workstation to create original compositions, explore soundtrack design, and perform mix-downs.
Prerequisite: DM105
DM400 Senior Studio. (3 credits)
This course encompasses the conceptual and technical skills of the senior level student. Personal process, vision, and presentation skills are stressed. The development of works for the professional portfolio, and thesis is expected.
Prerequisite: Senior standing
DM405 Senior Studio 2. (3 credits)
This course provides Animation and Digital Cinema majors the opportunity to complete a more in-depth final project.
Prerequisite: DM400
DM410 Advanced 3-D Computer Animation. (3 credits)
Prerequisite: DM310
DM420 Interactive Media. (3 credits)
The focus of this course is the communication of content within and interactive format. Students will learn to synthesize media elements drawing from their existing skills in digital cinema production, computer animation, and digital imaging to create interactive screen-based experiences. Technical instruction emphasizes Flash animation and Action Script programming. Offered every semester.
Prerequisite: All Foundation coursework, permission of instructor
DM440 Digital Imaging 3. (3 credits)
A continuation of Digital Imaging 2 with emphasis placed on the development of a coherent body of work and the writings that accompany it. Alternative methods of output and presentation will be explored.
Prerequisite: DM340
DM450 Internship.
Internships provide the advanced student with an opportunity
to gain valuable studio or agency experience while receiving
academic credit.
Prerequisite: Advanced standing
DM455 Digital Printmaking 2. (3 credits)
This is a continuation of Digital Printmaking 1. A full range of mark making possibilities will be covered. The emphasis will be placed on integrating multiple processes within the same image and methods of translating the image from digital to analog and back to digital again. Individual writings and research will accompany the projects to reinforce conceptual development.
Prerequisite: DM355
DM470 Digital Cinema 3. (3 credits)
Special emphasis is placed on preparing and production media for delivery to the “small screen” such as cell phones, iPods, and the web. Students will be challenged to examine the aesthetic, cultural, and technological implication of this emerging art field and market.
Prerequisite: DM320
DM475 Experimental Cinema Production. (3 credits)
“..the film experience..is not necessarily a projection of light and shadow on a screen at the end of a room.”
- Gene Youngblood, Expanded Cinema
This class is designed to assist students in the development of alternative means of presentation for media. Topics include camera experimentation, the position of the viewer, and the material and form of the screen. Additionally, students will analyze selected works to enlighten their understanding of the history of non-traditional forms in video and film.
Pre requisite: DM270 or permission of instructor