Non-Credit TSOA Courses (NCRD-UT)

Language of Film is an introduction to the craft, history and theory of filmmaking and film-watching. The main challenge facing all filmmakers is to show the story: in other words, to visualize the drama. Over the past century, narrative, experimental and documentary filmmakers have developed a variety of creative strategies and techniques designed to give their audiences compelling, multi-sensorial experiences. The goal of this class is to explore how filmmakers in different historical and cultural settings have contributed to the evolution of film as a powerful, complex and captivating art form.. This course allocates as History & Criticism for Film & TV majors.

This course examines the essential elements of dramatic structure through analysis of classic texts for stage and film using the primary elements of plot and character as defined by Aristotle in The Poetics (as well as the secondary elements of dialogue, thought, spectacle and song). The same principles are used to discuss students’ original work in weekly workshop sessions. Students are required to write and revise a ten-minute play or screenplay, and complete a 20-30 page play or screenplay. In workshop sessions, students read and criticize their work in order to help each writer realize the full potential inherent in the work.

A vigorous review of the basic principles taught in Craft I and II with strong emphasis on characterization, dialogue, and structure, including identification of the major dramatic incident and turning points. Classes will focus on both analysis of dramatic texts from contemporary playwrights and student scripts. Professor will give notes on all final projects. Meets twice weekly. Coursework includes reading and writing assignments. Students will not be admitted into Playwriting II without full completion of Playwriting I. A completed full-length play is the required final project.

A continuation of the training presented in Fundamentals of Developing the Screenplay. Required work in the class includes extensive scene work. Guided by their screenwriting instructor, students will complete the screenplay begun in Fundamentals of Developing the Screenplay and then do a rewrite or they may begin, complete, and rewrite a new full-length screenplay. The focus in this class will be on story structure and development and the completion of a full-length screenplay. If you plan to do a new work, you must come to the first class with three ideas for full-length screenplays. Each idea can be described in one or two paragraphs.

Every student will conceive, produce, direct and edit five short projects (3 silent and 2 with sound) with digital filmmaking technology. Working in crews of four, students will be exposed to a variety of specific assignments in visual storytelling that feature a broad spectrum of technical, aesthetic, craft and logistical problems to be solved. Collaborating with other students through rotating crew positions will be a central focus of all production work. Lectures, labs, critiques, technical seminars, screenings and written production books will be an important component of this class. All student work is screened and discussed in class. Students should not schedule any other course on the same days as Sight & Sound: Filmmaking.

The course provides an in-depth exploration of the creative capabilities (technical, logistical, aesthetic) of producing narrative-based studio production work in a multiple camera television studio environment. Students will be trained in working with actors and learning how to connect script and performance to the production of four short studio based projects (each of increasing complexity). Students will have the opportunity to develop a single idea into a full-scale production that will be produced "live" in the studio at the end of the semester. The fundamental skills learned in this class (script, performance, lighting, camera, art direction, coverage) will serve as a foundation for all narrative-, experimental-, and documentary-based production work and will be applicable in classes. Note: some casting and rehearsals will need to be undertaken outside of class.

The course teaches students to look at their world and to develop the ability to create compelling and dramatic stories in which real people are the characters and real life is the plot. Through close study and analysis of feature length and short documentaries, as well as hands on directing, shooting, sound-recording and editing, students rigorously explore the possibilities and the power of non-fiction storytelling for video. The course is a dynamic combination of individual and group production work in which each student will be expected to complete five projects.

“Neo Noir” explores the multiple ways that films made beyond the classic period reference, appropriate, extend, pay homage to, and even define that amorphous category called “film noir”: from nostalgia to escalation, from remakes to meta discourse retroactively constructing a “genre,” from (further) genre hybridization to the dispersion of disconnected noir elements (crime, paranoia, the femme fatale, subjective flashback, existentialism), from realist-expressionist black and white to blatant and stylized color, from censorship’s dark sexuality to hyperreal violence, from national to international. A tentative list of films includes Body Heat, Taxi Driver, Blood Simple, Exotica, Coup de Torchon, High and Low, One False Move, The Grifters, Memento, Usual Suspects, The Last Seduction, Kill Bill, Chungking Express, Mulholland Drive, The Thin Blue Line, and Funny Games. Rather than attempting to rein in film noir, the course celebrates Neo Noir’s exponential extrapolations. Students are encouraged to pursue their cinephilic aptitude in outside screenings. Key literary texts will also be examined. Hence, although critical readings are crucial, a large component of the course assignments will include creative works.

Hitchcock is the most recognized and imitated film director in the history of movies. The course will seek to examine and explain Hitchcock's influence and seek to understand, through the case of Hitchcock, the very idea of cinematic influence. The class will begin by closely examining key works of Hitchcock (Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds) in order to understand the elements that make up Hitchcock's universe, in particular, the complex role and function of suspense. We shall then examine the nature and scope of Hitchcock's influence upon American and European Cinema in the work of directors such as Chabrol, Truffaut, Almodóvar, Argento, Verhoeven, Spielberg, Scorcese, Lynch, Antonioni, Fincher, and de Palma.

This course will focus on the New York City films of Martin Scorsese. We shall approach several of the films (e.g. Gangs of New York, The Age of Innocence) as filmic examples of historical fiction and most of the other films in terms of their socio-cultural representation of New York City phenomena (e.g. immigration, crime, Wall Street, the art and entertainment industries). As well, we will be concerned with exploring Scorsese’s “narrative method” – his usages of film form and style – in relation to the above issues.

This practical workshop is designed to introduce students to the techniques and theory of developing and producing short film ideas that are shot on digital video and edited digitally on computer using Adobe Premiere Pro software. The course centers on learning elements of visual storytelling through a spectrum of aesthetic approaches. Working in crews of four, students learn directing, shooting, and editing skills as they each direct three short videos (three to five minutes in length).

In this course, students will build upon the visual storytelling skills learned in the prerequisite course, Fundamentals of Filmmaking. Students will be introduced to color cinematography, aesthetics, sound recording, casting and directing actors, production logistics, and editing. This course is aimed at the film enthusiast who would like to further explore digital filmmaking. Students will shoot on Sony FS7 HD digital video cameras, and edit with Adobe Premiere Pro software on Apple computers. Students will have access to a compact lighting and mini mic kit for use on their productions. Students are required to purchase their own portable hard drive to use during the editing process.

This course attempts to track the American entertainment industry from its plebian origins through its rise to becoming the predominant mass entertainment culture in the world. Students discover the origins of the production practices that are employed in the entertainment industry today by following the legendary characters, movie moguls, and media titans of the early 20th century and the companies they built. The emphasis is on the way the visionaries of the time impacted seemingly risk-averse systems to invigorate and sometimes completely revolutionize them. These innovative men and women include, but are not limited, to Louis B. Mayer, George Lucas, Maya Deren, Shirley Clark, Nam Jun Paik, Lucille Ball, Russell Simmons, Clive Davis, Julie Taymor, and Steve Jobs.

Understanding Story is a class composed of lectures, discussions, screenings, readings, critical and creative writing, group critiques and presentations. The course is designed to expose the student to the fundamental principles of storytelling across a spectrum of mediums, including the written story, playwriting, film, poetry, dance, games, photography, fine art and music. How do all these different art forms tell stories? How can the student apply what is learned to their own creative work? History and theory of story will be studied and used to inspire personal and creative work in order to better understand how story can most successfully be expressed in different mediums and reach its audience.

Making Webisodes is an intensive 14 week course which combines lectures and workshops in which students create unique and compelling content for the web and then learn how to post that content on the web. Students will explore the basics of film production and online webisode distribution, working with - concept creation - writing - directing - acting - production design - camerawork - sound - editing - online tracking tools and social media - web monetization and advertising. The webisode is an exploding new art form. Web series, embedded ads, 5 second hooks, snapchats, vines and viral videos all present a variety of new media approaches within the entertainment industry, business, lifestyle, and politics. Webisodes are short visual presentations that either entertain us, directly sell us product, indirectly sell us product, or shock and engage our perspective, as in political propaganda videos. Lectures provide students with an overview of the emerging web series industry, concentrating on how the webisode is used to hook the audience, generate hits, and drive customers to websites and/or online advertising. Workshops then employ practical exercises to help the students conceive and create their own unique webisode, which can be narrative or non-narrative, fiction or non-fiction, experimental or satire, personal or political. The goal is to use the resources at hand and create instant media – webisodes. As the students produce their webisodes, they will learn by doing and they will be provided with practical knowledge of the art, craft, and commerce of webisodes.

Course description (optional): Students will learn how to shoot professional looking shots on prosumer cameras with minimal lighting — by applying the lessons of professional cinematography to prosumer video cameras, DSLR’s, and cellphone videoography. A wide variety of Camera Exercises are assigned to train the students to shoot movies with natural light and limited prosumer camera gear. 3-4 person crews are selected to work together on all the Camera Exercises, and the Final Project as well. Students can shoot with their own prosumer cameras or choose from a selection of prosumer videocameras and DSLR’s provided by the course (SONY EX-1’s, SONY RX4K DSLR’s, and iPhones — pending availability). All camera exercises are then screened and reviewed in class. Students analyze and discuss their own work and are assigned reshoots and pick-up shooting assignments to reinforce their in-class learning.

This one week filmmaking intensive is a class composed of lectures, discussions, screenings, and exercises designed to engage students in the fundamentals of digital filmmaking and visual storytelling. In this workshop students will work in small groups to write, produce, direct and edit an original short film. The workshop will begin by focusing on viewing and discussing examples of visual storytelling, focusing on technique, intention and narrative structure. Participants will then workshop the practical and aesthetic elements of visual storytelling and relevant filmmaking techniques by using digital video cameras and computer editing. The focus will be on idea development, applying narrative structure to organize ideas and choosing and supporting a meaningful theme by writing and directing with purpose. Starting with creative story idea development and thematic intent and then working through the practical steps of filmmaking, all course elements will be presented in a workshop format in order to develop or enhance the personal experience of the participants.

Traversing Europe, the Americas, and Asia, this course investigates the various social, political, and historical contexts that have contributed to the evolution of dance, and conversely, explores the ways that performers and choreographers have utilized the medium of dance to reflect their personal concerns back to society in powerful ways. Artistic movements, choreographers, and dancers examined will include Vaudevillian tropes; the impact of the Industrial Revolution on ballet; sexual manipulation in the roles of Nijinsky; the political work of early modern dancers; WW I and II and its aftermath in the German Ausdruckstanz of Mary Wigman, Kurt Jooss, and in Japanese Butoh; the propagandist ballets of the Chinese Cultural Revolution; exploration of the commonplace in the psychological dance-theater of Antony Tudor and Pina Bausch; the anthropological research of black choreographers Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus; exploration of Postmodern rebellion of the Judson Dance Theater; and the response of choreographers and performance artists to the Culture Wars and the AIDS crisis. Students will pursue extended research, view performance videos and documentaries, and be expected to write and talk about dance.

This course is an introduction to Modern Dance technique that exposes students to basic concepts of movement in space and time. During the semester students will engage in a weekly physical practice that will prepare their bodies to move safely through space and expand their physical abilities. Students will explore a multitude of exercises aimed at organizing their bodies and deepening their physical awareness to prepare them to perform pedestrian, stylized and codified movement material demonstrated and generated by them upon instructor’s prompts. Through this weekly movement practice, dancers will gain confidence and muscular strength to learn and to execute choreography; understand and translate rhythmic patterns; and improve their spatial awareness. Weekly participation is paramount to success in this course. Grading will be based on student’s work developed in and out of class with homework assignments due every week. There is no pre-requisite for this course, all levels of dance experience are welcomed.

This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of classical ballet technique. Its goal is to help students develop a clean and precise technical base for ballet dancing. Through the instruction of proper alignment and dynamic imagery, students will learn how to dance safely and effectively, and improve their comprehension of the ballet form in relation to music, space, time and energy. Eventually students will experience how the mind, body and breath come together to produce greater freedom in movement. The technical content will vary according to the skill level of the class and the individual dancer. All levels are welcome. No previous dance experience is required. For the dance-history part of the course, students will examine the evolution of ballet from the time of Louis XIV through the present, and explore different styles of training and performance presentation through the use of images, video, practice and discussions. Reading assignments will explain how social changes have affected the development of ballet technique and choreography.

This class will embark on an historical dance journey exploring the dances that make up the hybrid form of Flamenco i.e., Banjara Gypsy Dance of Rajesthan (India), Zambra Dances of the Sephardic Jews and Moorish influences. The course will be divided into 3 sections focusing on the contributing characteristics of the dance culminating with Flamenco Dance. Each class will begin with a historical introduction and demonstration of the indigenous forms and how the elements are integrated into Flamenco cultivating a sense of freedom and uniqueness. Periodic viewing of course related videos will be shown, i.e., “Latcho Drom, and “Gypsy Caravan - “When the Road Bends.” Students will be assigned weekly reading, research and practice projects relevant to up and coming course work. All levels are welcome. Dance experience not required.

This is an introduction to the dances and rhythms from different styles that comprise Hip-Hop dance today. The first stage of the course will explore the wide array of styles that comprise and influence Hip-Hop movement. This course will not only introduce steps, but investigate root moves and historical context that shaped contemporary Hip-Hop today. During the course, students will also discuss the current and emerging trends of the genre. As an ever-evolving dance, this class will focus on budding dance styles, such as Flexing, Lite feet and Finger Tuts, comparing and contrasting those to case studies of past styles that emerged, (or re-emerged) to become heavily popularized such as Gliding, Krumping and Waacking. Additionally students will explore the globalized nature of Hip-Hop. To see the full evolution, students will see how other cultures have embraced and left their mark street styles, and how international dance battles and competitions have emerged, ultimately changing the landscape of Hip-Hop dance. Over the course of study students will begin to realize the complexity, the history and the varying opinions focused around Hip-Hop.

How does one design a dance of illusion? Interactive storytelling and experiential worlds? What is the process of building virtual dances for new technologies and online audiences? Site-Specific to Immersive Dance Theater: Choreographing for Unconventional Formats and Spaces is a research-to-practice course reconsidering the function, philosophy, and reality of an evolving stage. Not only is New York City a conduit for local to international dance and theater, but it is also a safe space for artists to resist the norm and re-imagine models for making. Students will delve into world-making for both fantasy and non-fiction narratives. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to study the history and strategies for site-specific dance as a model for social change – given hands-on opportunities to experience the roles and responsibilities of choreographer as activist and historian. Through course exercises, students will build their own body of work ranging from dances for intimate home spaces to renowned public and digital sites. Past experience in movement and/or performance training is not required.

This course will explore the basic tools of digital imaging. We will cover the three main Adobe products for creative imaging - Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. Through a series of short assignments we will look at various graphic design and layout ideas using Illustrator and InDesign and will touch on the wealth of image enhancement techniques afforded by Photoshop. The short assignments introduce the basics of design, typography and compositing images. Students have the opportunity to complete a small project of their own for the end of the term. Class time will be divided between lectures, critiques, and work in class sessions. This course is not intended to completely cover the software listed, but will give students a fundamental understanding of the possibilities of digital imaging. While the majority of the class focuses on print media (images, books and magazines), we discuss the growing importance of screen output. We do not have time to cover specific web or media projects, but will address transferable skills and understanding. We will incorporate some Adobe apps to augment the desktop applications. Additional reading materials will be distributed during the semester. Students should have access to the Adobe Creative Suite through the NYU license.

This course explores the pictorial articulation of individual human likeness and its fiction in the public forum. The art of portraiture has survived its own origins in myth making and archetype building. The human image, or icon, forever landmarks the voices, textures, physicality, spirituality, symbols, politics, aesthetic concerns and military contexts, religious rituals, government, calendar ceremonies, daily functions, heroic acts and social disorders of diverse cultures throughout recorded history. It is the history of creation, the story of romance, the mark of progress, the record of royalty and the profile of democracy. It is the revolution of fine art and a catalyst of discipline. Imaging the individual in the public eye is the story of humankind. This course bridges the worlds of the oral and written mythologies which inhabit and empower us and the creative manifestation (conscious and unconscious) of these ancient archetypes into contemporary art, media and design. Students will critically rethink the implied and material presence of portraiture in everyday life. Students will gain practical knowledge and insight into the origins and potential power of the archetypes which permeate our collective unconscious.

This course provides the foundation for basic technical proficiency in black and white photography and a method of working to discern and discuss imagery in class critiques. In this class it is equally important to see, listen and to talk. We will discuss way we see and how the camera sees. We will explore the process by which photography transforms the three-dimensional world in color into a two- dimensional black and white image. We will discuss how we relate to photographs, both in terms of the image’s form and it’s message.

This class is an exploration of the Bronx as historical heritage. What are the different cultural and political locations in the Bronx and who are the community agents and members who make the Bronx what it is? As the Bronx is transforming due to gentrification and as the media and developers are making poverty sexy to attract the gentry, what stories and memories does the space hold? We will excavate the people’s continuous fight to stay in the Bronx. How have communities, artists, and activists maintained cultural institutions and art in the face of systematic oppression? Students will have the opportunity to visit different locations in the Bronx and to interact with cultural-political institutions and community agents/members. Through site visits, guest lectures, class discussions, screenings, and workshops, students will gain a refined perspective on the Bronx and its social/cultural/historic contexts. Topics to be covered include: gender representation in Hip Hop, sexuality, culture and identity as organizing tools, and art as activism, with a special focus on land organizing and womyn.

Participants will examine the principles and processes of writing for the screen.  Topics include finding and developing story ideas, film language and script structure.  By the end of the course, students will have participated in in-depth film analysis and intensive screenwriting exercises and discussions.  At the end of the course, students are expected to complete a film treatment (prose description of your film) with a step outline for a feature film or T.V. episode you plan to write.  In addition, you must hand in the first scene (3-5 pages) of your script with dialogue.

The role of the creative producer in the entertainment industry is integral to bringing a project to fruition. This introductory course covers both the creative and physical production time-line and provides students with an understanding of the producer's role through a semester-long team-based pitch project, which culminates in written and verbal pitch presentations. Students are encouraged to work on a project that best suits their area of interest: feature film, episodic/streaming, theatre, performance, podcasts, VR/AR or individualized multi-media. The course focuses on the dynamics of producing, including producer skill sets, tasks and responsibilities necessary to effectively and efficiently develop a project.

Whether you are a filmmaker looking to better understand how to build a cohesive and productive film crew; a theatre maker excited about building a performance project or theatre company; a multi-media artist looking for ways to innovate your ideas for artistic work in collaboration with others; an artist looking for tools for building an artistic ensemble, or a multi-disciplinary artist looking to take your creative work out into communities as social practice, this class provides you with tools for better understanding how to enter into and engage others in collective creative work with purpose. Multi-Disciplinary Arts Practice with Community Groups: Theories and Practice, is a place to explore what it means to make artistic work of meaning with others and the tools needed to create meaningful collaborative projects. In this class we interrogate our definitions of “community” and “group” and explore what has meaning to us when creating artistic work as a collective of artists, in order to strengthen our own artistic voices and help raise the creative voices of others. With a focus on social practice, this course provides a foundation for working with small group structures in a variety of community settings. This course also provides students interested in exploring social practice or those interested in providing community service through the arts, with a foundation for working with small group structures in a variety of community settings. Students will gain a basic understanding of the theories of social work with groups, as they apply to arts-based groups. Social and cultural contexts for community-focused arts practice, stages of group development, conflict and difference among group members and between members and facilitator, and an overview of group member’s needs will be discussed in relation to entering into and engaging a group or ensemble in the creative process.

This course challenges us to foster a tactile understanding of the relationship between art and social change. How do artists address social issues? Can art transform lives? How can art serve as a force for encouraging ethical dialogue and action within the public sphere? How do we make our ideas and revelations actually matter within our collective place and space? To better facilitate our understanding of this relationship, and in an effort to get inside these key questions and others, this course will unfold in two parts. Part I (Conversations on Art and Social Change) will be run as an interactive seminar in which we will explore how the desire to change the world has led some artists to align themselves with wider social movements. Through lectures, discussions and presentations, we will set about to engage ourselves with the work of contemporary artists who have addressed issues related to the environment, racial and cultural identity, human rights, healthcare, and social justice. We will assume that understanding the work of others is necessary if we are to appreciate the potentiality of our own impact on the world. Part II of this course (A Collective Gesture Toward) will entail challenging ourselves to participate more fully in our immediate surroundings vis-à-vis the development and implementation of a work (or works) of art.

Taking off from the practices of medium-based art categories, this course is structured across key topics in contemporary art - “art of today, produced by artists who are living in the twenty-first century”. During the semester, via the framework of readings, projects and assignments, we will consider the importance of the visual arts in the larger context of society. Each week we will look at a different topic, which will be organized around key concepts, artists and artwork examples. The main goal is to allow us to contemplate the process of interaction between visual art, history, cultural, socio-economical, and technological forces. The stress of our gatherings will be on the artist as a thinker and a maker.

This course provides fundamental and practical instruction in the step-by-step realization of a television program. While productions will not be implemented through the class, students will individually serve as executive producers on projects of their own choosing, based on assignments by the instructor (based on student submissions which include news and cultural documentaries, performance and variety shows, and dramatic works). Student producers will engage in a detailed pre-production phase, which covers research, concept, format development, securing of rights and permissions, pitching to networks and studios, contracts and agreements, formation of the production plan, budget development, assembling staff and crew, identifying on-air talent, determining locations, photo and film archive research, refining the shooting schedule and budget plan. Analysis of why some projects succeed and others fail, an overview.

Intermediate Narrative Production Workshop is a practical course in which students (collaborating in crews of four) are exposed to a broad range of production techniques through production experience and class discussion. Each group produces four color sync-sound exercises during the semester that explore craft, aesthetic, production and storytelling issues. Students must shoot their projects in film using existing package of school equipment. As a group member, each student will serve in rotation as director, producer, camera, sound, and AC/gaffer. Important note: students should enter Intermediate Narrative Production Workshop with a short (i.e., 3-5 pages, but no more than 8) script. The production work in this course is strenuous. Students should be conscious of this when designing their semester schedules.

Open to graduate and undergraduate students. This intensive, team- taught workshop encourages composers, lyricists, and bookwriters to find their own voices and learn to merge their unique artistic visions with those of other collaborative artists to create exciting new songs in a theatrical context. Class participants work in rotating teams to write and present songs and scenes, exploring song form, dramatic structure, and the process of conceiving longer works. Theatre songwriting craft, issues of communication between artists of different disciplines, and storytelling through music and text are emphasized. Great musical theatre works of the 20th century are considered to support the students’ examination of their own creative process. Writers and composers from around the world who wish to explore musical theatre collaboration are encouraged to apply and immerse themselves in an exciting workshop experience in New York City . Poets, playwrights, and writers from other genres, and composers based in any musical tradition (pop, classical, country, hip-hop, rap, rock, jazz, etc.) are welcome to apply. Composers should either be able to write their work down so that it can be performed by others or be prepared to perform their own work. All class participants are expected to collaborate on assigned projects outside of class time

This course explores the Art of Character Creation using the powerful digital sculpting program ZBRUSH. Students will learn the ins and outs of the program to create their own 3d characters from scratch. Sculpting, detailing, Polypainting, rendering and compositing in Photoshop will all be covered. The class will encourage learning while doing as I find it's the best way to learn a new art. Zbrush is a unique program that allows users to manipulate 3D shapes in a quick fashion without having to model polygons like other 3D programs such as Maya. In effect you are using "digital clay" in Zbrush to push and pull primitive forms into fantastic creatures and characters. Zbrush is the perfect tool for traditional artists to transition to artmaking in the digital realm. Zbrush is an extremely feature-rich piece of software, with a unique interface unlike any other computer graphics program. While the interface may seem quite intimidating at first, rest assured we will explore the interface together and learn all the most important tools to get started and having fun with organic character creation! Some benefits of using Zbrush for Character and Creature Design over other computer design software: -The ability to quickly create concepts as if you were manipulating real clay -Great for rough character concepts or more finished painted renders -Transition is much smoother from practical to digital art using Zbrush because it feels like you are using an artistic tool rather than a technical tool - Zbrush offers such a deep diverse toolset, you can create stylized cartoon-like characters, realistic animals and humans! The possibilities are endless. You can use it for everything from organic characters to hard surface robots and props! -Once you learn the interface and tools, you can simply sculpt without worrying as much about technical aspects like polygons, faces, points and edges like other traditional polygon modeling programs.

This is an introductory level hands-on workshop designed for students wishing to develop their artistry, experienced make-up artists seeking advanced techniques, non-make-up artists just starting out, and anyone who has always wondered “how’d they do that?” This course explores the art of special effects make-up. Topics include skin safe molding procedures; casting and painting silicone replica props; applying “out-of-kit” make-up effects including cuts, bruises, black eyes, scabs, scars, wounds, burns, and decayed flesh; designing an executing a zombie make up, designing and executing a frozen death make-up; sculpting a 1;1 scale Replica Character Maquette; using anatomical reference to enhance a character sculpt and safely using all tools and materials. Students receive a make-up kit specially designed with all materials necessary to complete in-class projects. No artistic background required. COURSE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENTAL FEES.

This class is designed to help the students analyze a film script. Plot and character development, character dialogue, foreground, background, and story will all be examined. Using feature films, we will highlight these script elements rather than the integrated experience of the script, performance, directing, and editing elements of the film. Assignments include two script analyses.

This intensive, team taught class prepares musical theatre actors for the unique experience of working on new musicals. From sight singing, character creation and script analysis to collaborating with writers, directors and music directors, students will have the full experience of working on a new musical using the 29 hour equity reading model. The four week class will first focus on skill building and exploration of sections of new shows from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. The course culminates in a complete 29 hour reading presented by student performers in collaboration with a creative team to bring a new musical to life.

An examination of the creative, organizational, and managerial roles of the producer in narrative motion pictures. Topics include how a production company is formed, creating and obtaining properties, financing, budgeting, cost control, distribution. The course gives specific attention to the problems in these areas that will be faced by students as future professional directors, production managers, or writers. Each student is expected to breakdown, schedule, and budget a feature film (90 minutes or longer) of their choosing.

An introductory course to Professional Production Management that provides the student with the information and practice of managing the making of a feature film or long form television show. Film and television production has many more requirements than simply securing a camera, stock and actors, and the course will explore those management elements that a filmmaker needs to fulfill in order to shoot and complete. We will examine the structure of the crew and the collaborative responsibilities of crew members, the legal issues of permits, insurance, rights, clearances and permissions; Screen Actors Guild requirements, the management of the production including scheduling, budgeting, transportation, and the production?s responsibilities to cast and crew. We will pay particular attention to professional practice concerning the structure of the workday hours and turn around time and safety issues that are the responsibility of the producer, director, DP and shop steward. The course will explore techniques for on-set casting, location scouting, tech scouts, and read-thrus. Each student will be required to prepare a production book for his or her shoot by the end of class that will include a final marked script, script breakdown pages, shooting schedule, budget, cast, crew and location lists. The script to work from will be provided by the instructor.

This is an intensive, hands-on workshop addressing the complex challenges of game design. The premise of the class is that all games, digital and non-digital, share common fundamental principles, and that understanding these principles is an essential part of designing successful games. Learning how to create successful non-digital games provides a solid foundation for the development of digital games. Students will analyze existing digital and non-digital games, taking them apart to understand how they work as interactive systems. A number of non-digital games will be created in order to master the basic design principles that apply to all games regardless of format. This course is subject to a non-refundable department fee, please see the Notes section for more detail.

This class is an overview of the field of video games that approaches them from several theoretical and critical perspectives. No special theoretical background or prior training is needed to take the course, but to have had a broad practical experience with and basic knowledge of games is a distinct advantage. Also, an interest in theoretical and analytical issues will help. You are expected to actively participate in the lectures, which are dialogic in form, with ample room for discussion. The course will prepare the student to: - Understand and discuss games from a theoretical perspective - what are the components of a game? - Apply new theories and evaluate them critically. - Assess and discuss game concepts and the use of games in various contexts. - Analyze games, and understand and apply a range of analytical methods.

This course reflects the various skills and disciplines that are brought together in modern game development: game design, programming, visual art, animation, sound design, and writing. The workshop will situate these disciplines within a larger context of game literacy and a historical and critical understanding of games as cultural objects. Classroom lectures and lab time will all be used to bring these different educational vectors together into a coherent whole; the workshop will be organized around a single, long-term, hands-on, game creation project. Working in small groups under the close supervision of instructors, students will collaborate on the creation of a playable game. As a creative constraint to help inspire them and guide their designs, the students will be given a theme to express in their game projects.

Processing is a great tool for learning the fundamentals of programming. Based on Java, one of the most popular programming languages, Processing simplifies Java to help creatives to develop programming literacy. With the mission of allowing visual artists develop interactive systems, Processing provides a language, libraries, and a development environment. You can use it to export applications for the Web, Windows, Mac OSX, Android, and Linux. Processing is completely free and open source. Many game developers learned to program with it and the concepts it teaches are useful for many programming languages and game engines. We will explore Processing beyond the Processing IDE, working with Processing in Eclipse, peeling back a layer to see how professional developers work with Processing and Java. Beyond simply learning to program, students in this class will explore models and algorithms useful for developing games. We will discuss how platforms, libraries, frameworks, and engines affect game design, in both empowering and limiting ways. Finally, we will discuss the history of digital games, how new tools have democratized the process of game development, and the costs and benefits of those trends.

This beginner’s course explores the use of games, monologues, and scene work in order to develop knowledge of basic acting skills. Students are encouraged toward self-exploration and creative expression.

This course is an active workshop for actors who want to explore and cultivate their filmic talents, directors and writers who want to create performances that exploit the potential of the camera. Unique to acting for film is the intimate relationship between actor and camera. The actor/camera relationship is highlighted within the remotely taught environment. Prior acting experience and training is not required. Breaking down and filming scenes from television and film scripts, actors learn to make nuanced, authentic choices based on commitment to action, responsibility to text, investing in subtext and understanding what their physicality and behavior reveal. Being directed and watching others directed will give clarity to the role the actor plays in this visual storytelling process. The audition will be demystified through improvisation of a casting session.  Rehearsed and cold audition material will be filmed and experienced in a live setting and as a self-taped submission. Captured with Zoom’s ever-presence, the workshop participation will be a “live” experience of instruction, discussion and filming of work: on-screen exercises, rehearsals, improv, and directed performances of audition material and scenes. Each actor works on camera every session. Actors will be guided  to learn  “On-Location” production by filming their own work on a separate device, program or app. Self-shot filming is an opportunity to experiment with framing, use props on hand, and available spaces and lighting. Bringing production elements, building the frame with the director, the actor participates in the balancing of production detail with focus on their own performance. Placing one's self within the “bigger picture” will expand understanding of the actor’s role in visual storytelling. Self-shot recorded footage, not exclusively being shot on Zoom, has the advantage of capturing a higher quality, closer to studio level footage, that is also not dependent on internet signal strength and connectivity at the time of recording.

This class explores the acting of comedy through theater games that focus on comedic techniques such as quick change, neurosis, obsession, shift of status, body part out of control, etc. as well as through analysis and performance of comedic text. If drama holds a mirror up to life, comedy holds up a magnifying glass. The boldness of choice and degree of commitment demanded by comedy are what make it so difficult to perform, especially because bold choices must be supported by psychological truth. Characters' objectives, obsessions, needs and phobias are what compel them to act in comical ways; if actors don't find the pain and truth of these catalysts, their behavior becomes silly, and the comedy, shtick. The exercises employed in this course (many of which have their roots in commedia dell'arte) help participants to free their bodies and voices, allowing them to commit both boldly and truthfully, and will be used to analyze and bring to life comedic text from television, to movies and theater.

An introduction to the central tools and skills that make up the actor’s art and craft. Through theatre games, structured improvisation, and beginning scene work, students will exercise their imaginations, learn how to work as an ensemble, and develop a sense of their bodies as expressive instruments. All techniques covered have been developed by the most celebrated 20th century theorists, such as Stanislavski, Grotowski, and Bogart, and are the same theories that underlie the training of the Tisch undergraduate acting conservatory. No prior experience necessary. Not open to Tisch Drama Majors.

Casting is the most recently recognized profession in film and theater. In this course, students learn how to cast a film and learn the skills casting directors employ to become indispensable members of any production, including script and character analysis, scheduling, and negotiation. Students develop protocols for evaluating resumes and auditions, and learn strategies for communicating with directors and producers to ensure the talent pool has been effectively identified. Techniques for delivering convincing and fruitful casting sessions before learning to close deals between producers, actors and agents also are presented. This class will also make students ‘audition ready’ -- equipping them with tools and techniques to better understand and get through the audition process. The course will cover the various disciplines of theater, films, commercials and voiceovers. Through lectures, character exercises and workshops students will learn strategies for preparing for an audition, developing characters, and working with professionals in the industry.

Pedro Almodóvar is the most notorious Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buñuel, and, like Buñuel, he rapidly gained international acclaim. This course will attend to Almodóvar’s appealing body of work (What Have I Done to Deserve This, Matador, Law of Desire, Tie Me Up Tie Me Down, All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Bad Education, Volver, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, The Skin I Live In, among others) in relation to: national political history; international film exhibition; intertextual popular culture; comedy-thriller-melodrama genre mixing; convoluted narrative structures; theatrical uses of color, music, acting, and scale; interrelated themes of family, desire, and identity; and an aesthetics of excess. Finally we will consider the “outstanding” Almodóvar within a context of “influence.”

The films of Stanley Kubrick constitute one of the most innovative bodies of work in the commercial cinema. This course investigates Kubrick’s films in detail with emphasis on their narrative conceptions and structures. The course will explore the uses of irony and voiceover, the representation of the relationship between humans and technology, the centrality of the topic of war, and the relationship of his films to issues of genre.

This class examines a small number of films in great detail with the intention of enhancing student comprehension of the multiple levels at which films are made and received. Among the films we will analyze are Touch of Evil (1958), Do the Right Thing (1989), In the Mood For Love (2000), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Run, Lola, Run (1998), and Gilda (1946). The course encourages the intensive, and comparative study of film, and concentrates on the formal analysis of the sound and image track, the segmentation of the scenario/narrative, techniques of stylistic analysis, and a consideration of a film’s surrounding documents, such as studio papers, posters, and critical reviews. Students will acquire vocabulary and tools through which to describe the textual patterns and forces by which a film produces its meanings and effects. As a key part of the course, each student will closely analyze an individual film they have chosen, for a final presentation.

This course will consider popular film and literary representations of psychopaths and sociopaths. We will be interested not only in what horrifies audiences but what attracts them to these figures. When, how, and why are we asked/required to identify/empathize with psychopaths? How do such characters negotiate attractions to and fears of hyper/hypo masculinity? What type of female falls for psychopaths (i.e., into love and/or into death)? How do popular renditions of psychopathy compare and contrast with journalistic and medical discourses on the subject? Several key films/novels from mid 20th century provide a core for our investigation of a classic contradiction in this characterization: Night of the Hunter (dir. Charles Laughton, based on novel by Davis Grubb); In a Lonely Place (dir. Nicholas Ray, based on novel by Dorothy Hughes); Brighton Rock (dir. Rowan Joffee, based on novel by Graham Greene); The Talented Mr. Ripley (dir. Anthony Minghella, based on novel by Patricia Highsmith); In Cold Blood (Richard Brookes, based on the novel by Truman Capote). More recent films that extend narrative conventions and aesthetic strategies and/or raise new issues include: Silence of the Lambs (Johnathan Demme); The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer); Funny Games (Michael Haneke); I Stand Alone (Gaspar Noé). Students will be assigned to read one novel, participate in discussion of several critical texts, and present/write on their own favorite psychopaths.

This course will focus on the New York City films of Martin Scorsese. We shall approach several of the films (e.g. Gangs of New York, The Age of Innocence) as filmic examples of historical fiction and most of the other films in terms of their socio-cultural representation of New York City phenomena (e.g. immigration, crime, the art and entertainment industries). As well, we will be concerned with exploring Scorsese’s “narrative method” – his usages of film form and style – in relation to the above issues.

Coen Brothers (Summer 2018) Seamlessly combining their talents and training, the Coen Brothers (Joel--NYU Film, Ethan--Princeton Philosophy) have written, directed, and produced a body of work that is aesthetically superb and comically dark. In their tall tales, repeat actors (Frances McDormand, John Turturro, John Goodman, George Clooney, Steve Buscemi) deliver remarkable dialogue within provocative mise en scene through twisting plots. In settings that span the US (NY, CA, MN, MS), they satirically investigate mid-20th century American mythologies. We will study the Coen Brothers’ collaborative work in relation to cinephilia, genre reflexivity, pop culture collage, literary sources, and thematic ruminations. Films to be viewed likely include Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou, No Country for Old Men, and A Serious Man.

Since the mid 1990s the Internet has evolved from a space viewed as ripe with potential but fraught with unknown dangers to a true mass medium full of new opportunities and risks we must now negotiate. Throughout, artists have used this medium to make art that employs, documents, and examines emerging online platforms and social media. Charting a loose timeline of art works, formative debates, and happenings, this course will look at the ongoing relationship of art and technology. From the early online copy wars and the url gold rush, to surf clubs, image chat, and now emoji domains, we’ll look at how online art has evolved and the key players involved in making it all happen. We’ll also examine commercial platforms for art practice, art in the age of surveillance, and the scholarship that has emerged simultaneously, including concepts such as Net Aesthetics 2.0, The New Aesthetic, and Post-Internet art.

Course description (optional): Students will learn the basics of digital camera operations and proper digital post-processing workflow through a series of short technical assignments. Students will work on exercises with on-camera flash, digital cameras, and tungsten lighting to further their technical skills. At the heart of the class is the development of two long-term projects in which students can hone their creative vision. Weekly critiques of students' projects will include discussions on content, aesthetics, editing, and technique. Class time will also be spent on slide presentations of historical and contemporary photography, technical lectures, and lab demonstrations. Students are required to have a digital camera with a light meter and manual functions, in addition, to access some basic photo editing programs (Lightroom preferred).

Learn how to conceptualize, pitch and write an original television pilot. In this class we will examine both 1/2 hour comedy and 1 hour pilots of both successful and unsuccessful tv shows. There will be discussion of Show Bibles, Pitch Decks , Writing the Teaser and an emphasis on working toward completion of a first draft of a pilot episode.

Same as DWPG-UT 30/DWPG-GT 2030 A vigorous review of the basic principles taught in Craft I and II with strong emphasis on characterization, dialogue, and structure, including identification of the major dramatic incident and turning points. Classes will focus on both analysis of dramatic texts from contemporary playwrights and student scripts. Professor will give notes on all final projects. Meets twice weekly. Coursework includes reading and writing assignments. Students will not be admitted into Playwriting II without full completion of Playwriting I. A completed full-length play is the required final project. Fee: $2,870.00

Designed to expand on and enhance the concepts and techniques learned in Playwriting I and to encourage writers to engage the work and the world more critically. While traditional playwriting models will be embraced, alternative narrative modes and avant-garde structures will also be introduced. In addition to completing a full-length play of at least 85 pages, each student is required to read class-wide assignments of dramatic texts, as well as individual assignments suggested by the instructor, tailored to the student’s interests and writing style. Prerequisite: Playwriting I

Do you want to learn how to write a movie? This introductory screenwriting course will teach you the basics. Students in this class will learn the fundamental components of screenwriting by studying produced movies and by writing their own. Students are required to write a short silent film, a ten minute short film and a 20-30 minute short film, as well as a synopsis for a feature length film. All work will be developed and analyzed in an interactive workshop environment. The class is taught by a professional screenwriter.

This intermediate level screenwriting course picks up where Screenwriting I left off: the writing of feature length screenplays. The goal of the class is the completion of a first draft of an original feature length screenplay, after developing a pitch, a synopsis and an outline. The reading and analysis of six to eight screenplays is also required. Like Screenwriting I, this is an interactive workshop class taught by a professional screenwriter.

Students will write a “spec” episode of an existing series. In the lecture component of the class, emphasis will be placed on the long-term structure of one of the series the students are writing. The purpose of this class is to understand how a series functions and how writing the episodic form differs from other dramatic forms.

Students will write an original pilot. In the lecture component of the class, emphasis will be placed on both pilots and the series that emerge from those pilots. The purpose of this class is for students to take their first venture into writing generative work in the episodic form.

Same as DWPG-UT 1150/DWPG-GT 2150 This Advanced class is for the revision or completion of previous work in either the half-hour comedy or one-hour dramatic field. Around the midway point students may begin a new work or a pilot, if their initial spec is properly polished. The teacher will provide a list of acceptable shows during the summer before class begins. This is a high-level Thesis-like class.

Same as DWPG-UT 1047/DWPG-GT 2047 This is a sketch writing workshop class. A survey of sketch genres and approaches will be integrated with writing assignments and rewriting of one’s own sketches: both privately and collaboratively. The goal is for each student to emerge from the class with several polished sketches. For this class, it helps to have a good sense of humor that you want to get even better at putting down on the page. There will be a lot of group critiquing and occasionally group rewriting. So it helps to stop thinking that your first draft is perfect. Because it isn’t. This can be a pretty wild class, so it also helps to never think that comedy can go “too far.” The course may have a guest lecturer. NOTE: Everyone must bring 1 (ONE) original sketch idea to Class 1 that you will pitch in 3-4 sentences tops. (And perhaps write for Class 2.)

Pre-requisite for majors: REMU-UT 1215 The Business of Music: Industry Essentials or REMU-UT 1202 Introduction to Music Business, with a grade of C or better. This course is geared to all students interested in live music event production and the technical and business aspects involved in planning, developing, and producing a live music event. Topics include talent and venue contracts and negotiations, primary and secondary revenue streams, budgeting, marketing, best practices for promotion, and more. Coursework includes lectures, interactive class discussion, peer and self-assessments, short answer analytical responses and hands-on collaboration on the production of one live music event. By the end, you will have the skills and a framework to book and oversee all aspects of a live music event — whether for yourself or for any artists with whom you work.

An introductory course on the basic techniques employed in writing a play. Class includes discussion of samples of the students’ work in addition to discussion of theory and various theatrical exercises. Students read selected plays to enhance discussions of structuring a dramatic piece of writing. The course addresses actors writing material for themselves and focuses on character and dialogue as well as examining scene work, outlining, and the completion of a first draft of a one-act play. This course counts towards Theatre Studies requirements for Drama students and as elective credits for other TSOA students.

Nearly forty years after its arrival, hip-hop has changed global culture forever — not only the way music is composed and produced, but also dance, visual art, business and politics. At its roots, hip-hop is a product of New York City: It started in the Bronx in the mid 1970s and many of its founding artists and entrepreneurs, like Grandmaster Flash, Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, came from the city. This course will explore the many ways in which hip-hop has been shaped by the history, culture, politics and social geography of New York. Through writing exercises and close readings of texts, students will become well-versed not only in hip-hop history and lore but also in the history and politics of New York City itself. Designed partly as a practical course, we'll directly engage with the people and spaces that have influenced hip-hop's development, as we go on field trips to sites of historical significance, take walking tours, go to live performances and hear from guest speakers.

Many photographers who have been utilizing digital cameras are turning (and returning) to traditional, silver-based film and papers. This intensive course is designed to introduce and explore the practical and creative applications of analog photography. All fundamental analog camera applications will be covered, including 35mm and 120mm medium roll-film formats as well as the larger 4x5 view camera systems, utilizing sheet film. Attention will be given to the special character and unique possibilities of each of these format categories, from the responsive immediacy of 35mm to the high-resolution and perspective control of view camera options. Students will learn essential composition and optical principles and metering techniques. Supported by a comprehensive lab facility, students will learn film processing and archival projection print enlarging methods as well as the basics of print finishing and presentation. Classes will incorporate slide lectures of important historical and contemporary imagery, hands-on studio and laboratory demonstrations, critiques of student work and field trips. For those who may wish to combine analog image capture with digital printing alternatives, negative scanning fundamentals will be introduced at the conclusion of the course. There is a lab fee charged for this course.

This course is designed for those who have completed basic courses in either analog B&W or digital photography. Recommended for transfer students. Utilizing medium format (120mm roll film) and large format (4”x5” and 8”x10” sheet film) cameras, students will explore the special creative advantages of working with larger format films and cameras. Even as digital cameras have replaced 35mm analog cameras, the higher resolution and creative flexibility of medium and large format cameras afford artists the opportunity to render their subjects with greater fidelity and at a larger scale. For some, the more deliberate process of working at a slower pace can significantly enhance their interpretation of portraits, still-lifes and architectural subjects. Lectures will consist of studio and lab demonstrations, slides presentations of historical and contemporary work, and critiques of assignments. All students will be expected to complete a modest portfolio based on a subject of their own choosing. Representative medium and large format cameras, as well as tripods and light meters will be provided. Students will have the opportunity to work in a professional lab with excellent technical support. Those who successfully complete this course can expect to have practical experience with camera operation, advanced metering, film processing for contrast control, analog printing, as well as negative scanning for digital output of their negatives. Demonstration materials will be furnished. Participants will be required to provide film and paper for the execution of their assignments. This course is charged a lab fee of $372.00.

Prerequisite: Photography II or permission from the Department. This class is designed to train aspiring photographers/journalists in the unique production techniques and tools of hybrid still/video Dslr cameras such as the Canon 5D Mark II. The course also addresses and familiarizes the student with the emergent landscape for new technologies in digital presentation, journalism and story telling using photography, video, sound, and the written word. Students will be thoroughly trained in production tools and techniques with hybrid Dslr cameras and other recording devices, as well as the integration of content using Adobe Lightroom 3, Final Cut, and written text. A lab fee of $365.00 is charged for this course.

This class is designed to train aspiring photographers/journalists in the unique production techniques and tools of hybrid still/video Dslr cameras such as the Canon 5D Mark II.  The course also addresses and familiarizes the student with the emergent landscape for new technologies in digital presentation, journalism and story telling using photography, video, sound, and the written word. Students will be thoroughly trained in production tools and techniques with hybrid Dslr cameras and other recording devices, as well as the integration of content using Adobe Lightroom 3, Final Cut, and written text. This course is charged a lab fee of $350.00.

This class teaches lighting as a series of the most common lighting problems encountered in professional photography and cinematography. The course philosophy is that the most complex and difficult lighting problems are really just combinations of small, easily resolved, problems. Starting with basic three-point lighting for portraiture using simple continuous source lighting, the course will progress quickly to extremely complex set ups using electronic flash as well as lighting for the new generation of hybrid dslr’s (video/still camera) as it moves through multiple environments. Subjects covered include: Lighting for portraits, still life, fashion, interiors, documentary, and exterior location lighting using battery powered flash. Location scouting and planning according to location limitations. Color temperature and color control. Light shaping and control. Students will learn how to use: Digital SLR’s, medium format cameras, Leaf Aptus electronic capture, direct tethered capture using Adobe Lightroom, continuous lighting, electronic flash, color temperature meters and custom white balance profiles as well as the basics of video/sound capture. Lighting equipment is provided. There is a lab fee charged for this course.

Prerequisite: Photography & Imaging: Analog and Digital. Many artists turn to 4x5 and 8x10 large-format cameras for the creative control that view cameras afford, as well as for the high resolution and potentially large scale of the resulting prints. This course introduces the special characteristics of large format photography, including perspective control, creative approaches to selective focus and metering strategies facilitated by single negative processing. The exposure and development methods known as the Zone System will also be considered. Because large format work is physically demanding and relatively slow, this is also an opportunity to work more deliberately and, in some respects, more consciously. It may also inform one’s understanding of the methods and approaches of 19th and early 20th Century artists. The high resolution of large format description can often produce a compelling image of relatively static subject matter that might not otherwise succeed if recorded in smaller formats. Surfaces and details evoke a more “complete”, or even tactile appreciation of some subjects. Following a series of practical exercises during the first half of the course, students are expected to develop an appropriate project on which to concentrate and apply their evolving skills in the production of an original and integrated body of work. Technical material covered includes different large format camera types and applications, lenses and optics, metering, filters, special B&W developers, large format printing and scanning for digital output. Early historical processes are introduced, current exhibitions of artists and photographers in New York are discussed and field trips are arranged. A variety of cameras, lenses and tripods are available for student use. A lab fee of $372.00 is charged for this course.

This course is designed for students that are taking all of the Human Rights courses. However there is space available to other students interested in this topic. Please contact the Department for permission to register. The course will focus on the long-term photographic essay. It will look at both linear and non-linear forms of the essay, with and without the use of text, sound, video and other media. Intent, ethics, grammar and presentation issues will be considered. There will be many references to a variety of historical models from magazines, newspapers, books, exhibitions and digital environments, including the Web. The impact of media strategies, both contemporary and historical, on human rights issues will be a central component of the class.

First priority is given to students who are taking all of the Photography and Human Rights courses. This is a multi-topic course. Please see the notes for more information.

This course is devoted to a different level of understanding the design and production of making a book. On the first day of class, students bring in digital versions of their art and decide to translate it into a printed piece. The class we’ll focus on book design. Students will begin to explore InDesign and learn how to use the program to create a publication, deciding on the size nand order of image and where text will go. On the second day of class students learn how to work with type. The class explores how to make type work for you and what typefaces work best depending on your design and art. The class will talk about image pacing and the flow of text throughout a publication. On the third day of class, homework is reviewed and InDesign files are revised if needed. The class then turns to production. We will go over each file and make it as final as possible and ready for print. The class will also discuss the different ways to get your document published and how to do each one. In the beginning of this course the students will walk into the classroom with a loose body of work and leave, after the third day, with their work organized into a book format. This course is charged a lab fee of $175.00. Graduate course numbers are available on Albert.

This is a multi-topic course. Please see the notes below for more information.

Prerequisite: Photography II or permission from the Department. Contact the Department for permission: 721 Broadway, 8th Floor, 212-998-1930. This course introduces students to the basics of web design. Students will learn elementary coding using xHTML and CSS using Adobe Dreamweaver. Concepts such as effective design, usability, organization of content, and web publishing will be discussed. Our main focus will be on conceptual and aesthetic aspects of designing for the web. Skills will be developed and demonstrated through the execution of studio and homework web design projects. Works will be critiqued in class to enhance the development of creative and analytical skills. Course Objectives: upon completion of this course, students will: 1. Know how to create basic web pages using xHTML and CSS, 2. Become comfortable using Dreamweaver to aid in web design and construction, 3. Gain an understanding of the unique design problems involved in web design, 4. Develop ability to design and problem-solve through the creation of their own projects, and 5. Evaluate and explore effective web-based design and the web as a medium. There is a lab fee for this course.

This course introduces students to the basics of web design. Students will learn elementary coding using xHTML and CSS using Adobe Dreamweaver. Concepts such as effective design, usability, organization of content, and web publishing will be discussed. Our main focus will be on conceptual and aesthetic aspects of designing for the web. Skills will be developed and demonstrated through the execution of studio and homework web design projects. Works will be critiqued in class to enhance the development of creative and analytical skills. Course Objectives: upon completion of this course, students will: 1. Know how to create basic web pages using xHTML and CSS, 2. Become comfortable using Dreamweaver to aid in web design and construction, 3. Gain an understanding of the unique design problems involved in web design, 4. Develop an ability to design and problem-solve through the creation of their own projects, and 5. Evaluate and explore effective web-based design and the web as a medium. For Summer 2011, this course is charged a lab fee of $175.00.

Prerequisite: Basic computer experience. This three-week course focusing on Photoshop explores the possibilities for image manipulation and the steps involved in learning to translate traditional darkroom skills into digital artwork and montage. Starting from the empty canvas, we look at all the basic elements of Photoshop, including selection tools, text, scale, retouching, and collage. Introducing the principles of layers and masks we will look at creating composite images from photographic images and web sources. We also cover scanning negatives and flat artwork as well as color adjustment using levels and curves. We look at all aspects of image creation and enhancement with equal importance given to the aesthetic effect and technical ease. By working on a creative project, students use the software to convey their ideas in this digital environment. Class time is divided between work-in-progress sessions, critiques, and lectures. Because of the holiday, that session will be rescheduled sometime during the three weeks of class. There is a lab fee charged for this course. Graduate course numbers are available on Albert.

Prerequisite: Photography I, Digital Tools for Non-Majors, or permission from the Department. This 3-week workshop will explore a range of digital imaging and printing resources. The aesthetic and technical aspects of color will be discussed along with the implication of scanning, file preparation, resolution requirements and color management for printout. The subtleties of various output devices from laser and ink jet printers to large format ink jet plotters and digital C printing will be covered. The objective will be to discover and execute a printing method best suited for individual projects. Students will have the opportunity to complete a small project of their own. Class time will be devoted to lectures and demonstrations on scanning, color and color printing, group critiques and possible field trips. Although the department will have a few digital cameras for student use, it is highly recommended that students own their own digital camera. A lab fee of $182.50 is charged for this course.

Prerequisite: Photography & Imaging Digital, Photoshop or permission of the Department. In this intermediate workshop students will build on their existing knowledge of Photoshop. Whether you want to work in print, on the web, or in video, Photoshop offers extraordinary creative freedom to manipulate existing images, create new artwork, and integrate basic graphic design elements. Emphasis in this class will be on using Photoshop for image manipulation as well as on graphic design principles and non-destructive image editing techniques. You will learn to construct images from photographic source material, as well as starting from scratch using Photoshop’s design and media tools. While grounding in the basics of Photoshop and digital photography is assumed, early sessions will review basic tools to expand and better control these fundamental building blocks of digital imaging. Specifically we will explore creating and using layer masks and image effects, creating paths and shapes, custom fills and patterns. We will review working with layers, adjustment layers and text layers, as well as reviewing the details of resizing, sharpening, and image resolution for various output destinations. The course will be project-based with several short assignments and a final project of the students’ choosing. A lab fee is charged for this course.

This course will explore a variety of digital media tools that are useful for a documentary photographer. The class will explore issues relating to the digital camera, as well as to image capture, preservation, presentation and transmission. Lighting, audio interviewing, and the production of short videos will also be covered at a basic level. Students work on several small assignments to experiment with software and hardware, and will have the opportunity to complete a small project of their own. This course is intended to give students a fundamental understanding of the efficiencies and possibilities of the digital realm. This class is specifically intended for students enrolled in Photography and Human Rights courses, but is open to others as well. This course is charged a lab fee of $175.00.

This essential course offers participants access to a rare and exclusive DIY (do it yourself) artist development and A&R process—the kind that fewer and fewer record labels are able to offer to their signed acts these days. It’s important to remember that A&R divisions at record labels were historically responsible for finding, signing, developing and cultivating performing talent (especially singers that did not write or produce for themselves) to become competitive in the music marketplace. These days, artist development is increasingly left up to artists themselves (or their managers or handlers). In the “Make Your Mark” class, distinguished Clive Davis Institute instructors will work with participants —whether they are performers, producers or songwriters—to help them hone their craft, image, sound, and the direction of their public identity. Participants will get real-time feedback on their work in development, and pointers on how to best present themselves to audiences, and they’ll get to network with a range of carefully selected industry guest speakers.

In recent years, access to affordable audio recording equipment and software has given rise to a new breed of recording engineer and producer. While embracing new technology, this course challenges students to understand and apply the fundamental principles that form the basis of tried and true recording techniques, and to make informed decisions in each stage of the recording process. Through a series of lessons, hands-on exercises, and recording sessions, students will learn about the propagation of sound, microphone design and implementation, signal flow, basic signal processing, and contemporary recording techniques. Emphasis is placed on critical listening, preparation, class participation, and teamwork.

REMU-UT 1502 Studio Recording for the Modern Producer/Engineer II This course builds upon the fundamentals of sound recording established in Studio Recording for the Modern Producer/Engineer I. Through a series of discussions, hands-on exercises, and recording sessions, students will refine their skills in the recording studio from the organizational, technical, and creative/artistic points of view. Students will put their skills to use while collaborating on the summer song project – to be completed in Studio 505 outside of class time. Emphasis will be placed on critical listening, preparation, class participation, and teamwork.

Andy Gould once said "An artist manager's true job is to stand between the artist's gun and the artist's foot." In actuality, a manager’s job is to oversee all aspects of creative careers in music and is charged with the responsibility of furthering that career—from independent, DIY artists to multi-platinum superstars. Students in this course will learn about different career trajectories and gain hands-on experience developing management strategies that can be applied to different creative careers in the music industry.

This course is designed for students who are interested in future careers as innovative music executives and industry leaders. Topics include: different revenue sources; company operations and management; identification of new opportunities; effective market research techniques and strategies for successful implementation; and new venture formation. Strategies for successful leadership will be discussed as students focus on the career paths and the circumstances behind the success of key music industry leaders and innovators (through reading assignments, in-class presentations and guest lecturers). Effective communication techniques will b learned in a series of collaborative class exercises involving public speaking, business letter writing and deal negotiations. This course is not for ReMu majors.

We are currently in the midst of a generational shift in the fundamental instrumentation of the live performance of many styles of music. As in the 1950’s when live groups shifted from woodwind and brass lead instruments to the electric guitar, today live groups are increasingly moving away from electric guitars and other traditional rock/pop instruments toward digital instruments. Today’s performer in many styles of music will often find themselves either performing with or alongside a laptop/computer, usually running Ableton Live. The “laptop” person in a band has become an integral part of live groups and having the skills to fill this increasingly important role will make our graduates more in demand in live performance roles, particularly if they are also accomplished instrumentalists and/or vocalists. People who know and understand techniques for synching computers with live performers and visuals are also in demand as designers and engineers for large scale concert tours and spectacles like Cirque du Soleil. Having visited the set of Broadway musicals, it is clear that programming and running laptops to coordinate music, visuals and lights is becoming integral to musical theater performances as well. This course will teach some of the techniques required to utilize laptops in live performance, integrate the technology into bands with live instruments and vocalists, as well as multi media applications (i.e sync to visuals, lighting, etc.). It will focus on using the Ableton Live software which has become the industry standard for live performance tasks. This course will culminate in a live performance at the end of the semester in which students will be required to do a performance incorporating live instruments and vocalists, laptops, MIDI controllers and visuals.

Master the essential contracts and learn how to negotiate the terms of deals to support and execute your music projects. Contracts explored include: recording agreements, 360 deals, digital download agreements, songwriter deals, DJ performance and residency agreements, artist management deals, music synchronization deals, composer agreements for multimedia projects, video games and more. Different contract terms and their business implications will be analyzed from a broad framework and students will learn how to structure, negotiate, and close deals on their behalf - and how to help others do the same.

Brands generate loyalty, trust and familiarity with consumers. Nearly anyone can release an artist, or an album, or start their own MP3 download site, but those versed in branding have the ability to successfully capture the attention of their audience and speak to them in clear and persuasive terms. Students will learn the ins and outs of branding theory and consider why some brands succeed where others fail.

During this course, students will acquire an in-depth, theoretical and practical knowledge of Digital Audio Workstations using the industry standard Pro Tools software through a weekly, lab-based workshop. Each class will be a combination of lecture and immediate application. An emphasis will be placed on getting to know Pro Tools, getting inside Pro Tools, creating sessions, working with media in sessions, audio recording, audio editing, file management techniques, MIDI recording, editing techniques, mixing techniques, backups and stereo mix-down.

During this course, students will acquire an in-depth, theoretical and practical knowledge of Digital Audio Workstations using the industry standard Logic Pro software through a weekly, lab-based workshop. Each class will be a combination of lecture and immediate application. An emphasis will be placed on getting to know Logic Pro, getting inside Logic Pro, creating sessions, working with media in sessions, audio recording, audio editing, file management techniques, MIDI recording, editing techniques, mixing techniques, backups and stereo mix-down.

We live in an age of digital production where so much of today's music is produced with comparatively few tools, and at the heart of the modern production set up, whether in the bedroom of the studio, is software that uses MIDI. One of the most versatile of today’s platforms which can be used in production, live performance, and even as a visual tool is Ableton Live. Ableton is unique amongst the contemporary software programs making music in that it is the only one that was created by working musicians who were looking for a tool that allowed for both the seamless creation of ideas and could also serve as a performance instrument. In the past 15 years, Ableton has played an important role in creating countless tracks and records in numerous genres and the go-to software for live performance, whether for vocalists and bands or for massive spectacles like Cirque du Soleil. In this course, we will cover Ableton's unique abilities to manipulate audio which make it the preferred platform for remixing and mash-ups. We will cover the fundamentals of the software, explore techniques to program beats, chordal and melodic ideas, as well as cover creative workflow - how to use Ableton to quickly generate ideas for producers and songwriters. Finally, we will discuss its use as a live performance tool for use with live instrumentalists and vocalists, as a DJ tool and even as a VJing tool.

If you are a Pop Music producer, EDM producer/artist, DJ, Remixer, or self-produced artist looking for detail-oriented, pragmatic advanced in-the-box production instruction - this class is for you. Topics include, but are not limited to: Sampling, (using software such as Kontakt and Geist), Synthesis (Additive, Subtractive, Granular, FM, etc.), Loops and Looping, Percussive Sampling, Virtual Instruments, (including software such as Massive, Sylenth, FM8, etc.), Control Surfaces (OSC and MIDI), Effects (such as Convolution Reverb vs Algorithmic Reverb and MIDI controlled effects), and Filtering (including FabFIlter and Korg MS20,etc.)

This course addresses essential elements of performance including preparation, presence, song choice, movement and more. It is designed to give you the tools necessary to prepare and effectively deliver your voice in a small- to medium-sized venue. Beyond the practical considerations, this course will also address more abstract skills such as connecting to an audience, fearlessness, and stage presence. Focusing on improving the performer’s connection to music, the course is designed to deepen the performer’s skill set through practical, improvisational, rhythmic, and harmonic in-class exercises and independent assignments. The goal is to attain a deeper understanding of performance and your performative self, and to take away a set of positive routines that can be incorporated into a daily artistic practice. The course is open to original songwriting singers as well as performers of traditional, standard and contemporary repertoire looking to deepen their stagecraft. Participants should prepare two songs for the first class. Classes will culminate in an evening performance at a NYC location TBA.

Music sits at the forefront of creative and cultural revolutions, and songwriting remains the fundamental form of its expression. In this course, students will focus on the creative process of songwriting, and will contextualize the art form within a fundamentally shifting industry. Students will write, co-write, and analyze songs in order to establish and engage their own unique songwriting voice.

Music supervision and music licensing are two of the hottest topics in the music business. This class will introduce you to the creative, financial, legal, and technical sides of music supervision as well as teach you the nuts and bolts of music clearance and licensing. We will look at the many different facets of a music supervisor's job, and the services they provide for all types of media projects, including film, television, advertising, video games, online/apps, and more. If you aspire to have a career as a music supervisor, licensor, publisher, artist, songwriter, composer, producer, and/or creative entrepreneur, this course is for you. Some of the topics include: breaking into the field, opportunities for music placement, how to pitch and get your music placed, different parties involved in all sides of the licensing transaction. You will be exposed to complex business challenges that music supervisors face and learn the mindset and strategies needed to successfully overcome. Through readings, discussions, lab assignments, and case studies like Straight Outta Compton and Broad City, as well interactions with special guests, you will gain a real-world understanding of the music supervision field as well as the many opportunities that music creators, and rights owners can leverage to take their career to the next level by understanding music licensing.

Streaming Economy represents a great paradigm shift in the music industry and its monetization. In 2013, digital streaming of music replaced the CD as the main source of music sales and has provided economic hope to a – commercially speaking - weakening industry. However, with artists such as Thom Yorke, The Black Keys, David Byrne and many others speaking out against the royalty of streaming services like Spotify, streaming, in its current structure, as a permanent replacement for CD and digital download sales remains a controversial subject. Through this course the student will be guided through the history of streaming, the controversies surrounding its business model, and the technology that made it possible. Students will be introduced to the new storefront of online music and be shown how the digital marketplace is changing music marketing and artist development. Streaming offers exciting new opportunities along with serious and complex challenges. This course will examine the pros and cons of the current streaming status quo. The student will practice techniques of releasing music online through a hands-on workshop, which will lead them through the beginning steps of registering, and releasing their own project via Phonofile and WiMP on all major platforms and services.

Engineering the Record I familiarizes students with the practical aspects of the recording process in the studio by examining the theory, techniques, and science of sound recording. Students will be introduced to the basics of recording studios and sessions through lectures, demonstrations, supplemental reading and assignments carried out in the studio. In tandem with learning the mechanics of the process, students begin to develop their critical listening skills and audio vocabulary. Topics include: the propagation of sound and instrument radiation patterns, hearing and perception, microphones and microphone technique, analog signal flow, and signal processing. Note: There is a lab fee for this class.

Engineering The Record II builds upon the fundamentals of sound recording established in ETR I. Through a series of discussions, hands-on exercises, and recording sessions, students will refine their skills in the recording studio from the organizational, technical, and creative/artistic points of view. Integrating skills from Critical Listening for The Recording Studio and Writing the Hit Song, student teams will reverse-engineer a well-known recording and reproduce it as a “sound-alike.” Emphasis will be placed on critical listening, preparation, class participation, and teamwork.

Brands generate loyalty, trust and familiarity with consumers. Those well versed in branding have the ability to successfully capture the attention of their customers or audiences and speak to them in clear and persuasive terms. Creative branding is the key to understanding what makes audiences/consumers tick and to increasing sales performance. Before a brand becomes a household name it is a tried a true product that has been through several critical steps of research and development, consumer segmentation, positioning and distribution. This hands-on course will introduce you to the world of brand development, cross-promotions, endorsements, sponsorships, and more as it relates to today’s ever-evolving music industry. You’ll do exercises in analyzing and developing brands, and you’ll study why some brands succeed where others fail by reading key books and articles, studying branding theory and talking to guest speakers. You'll work to demonstrate your understanding of the course concepts through dialogue with brand professionals, class discussion assignments and a final project and presentation.

Brands generate loyalty, trust and familiarity with consumers. Nearly anyone can release an artist, or an album, or start their own MP3 download site, but those versed in branding have the ability to successfully capture the attention of their audience and speak to them in clear and persuasive terms. Creative branding is becoming the key to understanding what makes audiences tick and to increasing sales performance. Reading key books and articles and talking to guest speakers, students will learn the ins and outs of branding theory and consider why some brands succeed where others fail. We will then narrow the focus to consider branding as it relates to today?s music industry, and for the final assignment, students will write a paper analyzing a brand of choice.

As with literally every facet of music production, mixing audio had been hugely impacted by the paradigm shift created by digital technologies. That said, the architecture and function of virtually all digital software and hardware is based on the models developed through analog hardware and processing. The objective of this seven-week intensive course is - using the best and most appropriate of both the digital and analog tools - to refine our mixing skills and expand our repertory of techniques. This will include both digital in-the-box processing and analog processing ? console (via SSL and API) and outboard equipment, and combinations of the two.

This course will engage with the contemporary and changing jazz scene — including the work of dynamic artists like Esperanza Spalding, Ambrose Akinmusire, Nicole Mitchell and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah — as a means of telling “new” stories about jazz (with a special focus on identity, activism and the representation of traditionally marginalized voices).   Conventionally, the story of jazz has often been upheld in terms of cultural triumph, as a transcendent response to African-American struggle. Jazz has also usually been presented as a story of succession, a chain of creative genius passing from one ‘Great Man’ to the next. These have been persuasive frameworks that define the art form by a canon and a fixed set of values, inscribing a kind of perimeter. What happens outside that borderline — the legacies of multiple avant-gardes, the work of cultural or commercial hybridists, and all too frequently the voices and vantages of women — is by this definition marginal, almost literally an outside concern.    This class seeks to correct that marginalization by focusing on issues of intersectional identity and activism (including the #metoo and #blacklivesmatter movements and much more) as they relate to the evolving nature of 21st century jazz. Over the years, jazz has evolved with its circumstances through every station of its history—whether that meant tailoring performances to the length of a 78-rpm record or holding up a mirror to the moral and political turbulence of the 1960s. So the complicated cultural and technological landscape of the early 21st Century provides us with an exciting model for reconfiguring jazz history.   In this course, students can expect to learn more about jazz music, as well as issues of identity, intersectionality, and activism, and to read pertinent cultural theory. We’ll also discuss how changes in the music refract and absorb our current political climate. By way of lectures, readings, guests and more, we’ll explore how the music we (mostly) call jazz can still engender a pointed expression of identity and culture.   This class is held in conjunction with Winter JazzFest NYC.

As recording budgets shrink, so to has the size and grandeur of the traditional recording studio. Even with this decrease, digital audio has enabled us to improve creative functionality with a much smaller real estate footprint and upfront investment. This course will introduce students to the concepts, gear, and techniques necessary to facilitate a pragmatic and economical hybrid integration of analog processing and "in-the-box" DAW-based recording technology. Students will develop a personal approach to building and customizing their own affordable and scalable project studios that meet their sonic and aesthetic needs. Topics will include analog summing mixers, A/D and D/A conversion, customizing signal flow and signal processing, and MIDI and DAW controllers. Hector Castillo has been working int he NYC music science as a producer, mixer and engineer for more than ten years. He has worked with artists such as Björk, Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright and Philip Glass. He is a winner of four Latin Grammy awards.

Drum sounds have the potential to exhibit as much personality on a recording as a vocalist or soloist but we seem to have lost the 'art' part of realizing great drum sounds. Drum sounds can be difficult to obtain if the engineer has not done some 'great master' engineer archaeology. Through this course with Drummer/Producer Rich Pagano, the creative student will learn the techniques necessary to expand their acoustic drum-sound "library." This hands-on studio course covers techniques of drum and head selection, micing, tuning, 'room' sound beauty and phase while recording and recreating the "classic" drum sounds typified by Led Zeppelin, Abbey Road, Motown, Blue Note Jazz, punchy '70s and more. In the end, we will apply it all to a 'modern' drum sound realm.The workshop will be complemented with extensive historical documentation culled from personal interviews with engineering legends, session set-up sheets and studio photos.

This course will cover various professional Music Production Techniques & Strategies such as: Sampling (& Sample Chopping), Drum Programming / Drum Design, Synthesis & Sound Design, Music Theory (in the context of Music Production), MIDI Editing, as well as numerous Mixing Techniques. Over the course of the class, through the utilization and knowledge of these various skills, students will learn how to create Original Music Compositions & Productions. The primary DAW platform for the course is ProTools. While a Beatmaker / Composer / Producer must be well versed in the application of various software and hardware tools, as well as the many Production skills & techniques, he or she must also have artistic vision and creative efficacy. So while the course is about Music / Beat Construction and the tools involved, there will also be a strong emphasis on innovative envision, inventive mobility, and how to think / strategize like a Music Producer.

The course begins with a brief overview of early electronics and first traces the movement of these musical ideas into the popular music avant-garde of bands such as Neu! and Cabaret Voltaire. Using Giorgio Moroder's production of the Donna Summer classic "I Feel Love" as the tipping point, the class will focus on the emergence the musical style SynthPop and examine artists including Kraftwerk, New Order, and Depeche Mode. Through various texts, media and demonstrations we will survey the genre from its post-punk beginnings through its decade's dominance on the charts before finally being 'unplugged' by grunge. Beyond historical considerations, we'll finish with an exploration of the music's legacy and study its development into a number of new genres as well as the latest software and technology making it.

Producer/Mixer/Recordist Bob Power (Erkyah Badu, Common, D’Angelo, A Tribe Called Quest) will present a balance of practical and conceptual information designed to expose students to the various recording and production techniques he uses to create his consistent brand of effective production. This studio class is centered around an in-class production executed by Mr. Power with a prominent New York based artist with accompanying session players.

Commonly referred to as a mystifying ‘Dark Art,’ mixing records involves composing a final assemblage and balancing of a song’s recorded elements, with the final goal of enabling a recording to deliver a clear and emotional intended message. In this week-long, intensive master class, world-class record mixer and producer Bob Power will provide a complete exposition of his mix methodology and technique in the state of the art facilities of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.

The course combines lectures on the basics of feature length screenwriting with the development of the student’s own writing work. Students are required to complete 25-50 pages of a full length screenplay. The students study story structure, conflict, and character, in conjunction with the screening and study of several films and screenplays. The emphasis will be on visual storytelling and developing a strong and distinctive screenwriting voice. All students must come to the first class with two ideas for full-length screenplays.

Adapted from the Dramatic Writing Program’s popular “Introduction to the Sitcom” course, this intensive scriptwriting class answers the question, “What do I need to break into TV writing?” – the student will be guided through the step-by-step development of an episode for an ongoing TV sitcom, from premise line to one-page outline, to pages and revisions. The course will require the completion of a polished draft while introducing students to the rigors of professional standards through weekly story goals.

This is an interdisciplinary course for film and non-film students to better understand the industry and the historical and creative significance of digital cinema as well as anyone interested in exploring the brave new digital world. The course includes live and video-conference discussions with directors, writers, cinematographers, producers, cast, and crew directly involved with productions. Some of the films to be discussed include Miguel Arteta's Chuck and Buck, Lars Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark, Brian De Palma's Redacted, and Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity among others. Students will view examples of how the digital revolution has been adopted and transformed filmmaking throughout the world, from Nigeria's regional Nollywood movement to South Africa's Neill Blomkamp, whose no-budget digital special effects short Alive in Joberg catapulted him straight to helming this summer's blockbuster hit District 9.

This course is for actors who want to explore and cultivate their filmic talents and for directors who want to create performances that exploit the potential of the camera. Part one of the course reviews the fundamentals of the acting process. Through exercises, improvisations and scene work, techniques and criteria for performances are established. In part two, students work before the camera. The minimalism of film acting is the primary thrust, illustrating the camera’s ability to capture nuances of behavior, and requiring from the actor less physicalization, greater concentration and maximal inner-life. In the third part of the course, scenes are rehearsed, lit, framed, and taped in a series of camera set-ups. Each student in the course receives a tape of his or her major project suitable, after basic editing, as a work sample or audition piece.

This course de-mystifies the film development process and teaches students the key tools necessary for a successful career as a film executive or producer.  This course will chart the key stages of finding and preparing a good script for production. These steps include how to find, evaluate and shape material from the producer's perspective. Students will learn the practical art of writing script coverage and notes, as well as how to establish a tracking group and develop tracking reports for new material. Other topics include the role of key players in the process, such as agents and studio executives, and how to avoid "development hell." 

Urban Arts Workshop–New York is composed of lectures, presentations, screenings, readings, discussions, and visits from painters, photographers, filmmakers, writers, designers, architects, planners, restaurateurs, curators and critics designed to expose students to the key concepts and fundamental theories of urban studies, public art and the urban-inspired works of many great artists and writers based in New York City and around the world. Outside of class time, students will do readings, conduct research, watch movies, post reactions and do various assignments that engage the core course subject matter and themes. Each class will explore another form of urban art, including discussions about and encounters with graffiti, street photography, sculpture, installation art, architecture, music, dance, performance, theater, fashion, urban sound projects, large-scale projections, poetry, essays and short stories with an aim to understand how such art forms came into being and how they express a distinctly urban message to the inhabitants and visitors of New York City and cities across the planet. The instructor seeks to combine the critical and theoretical with the experiential and personal in order to lead students to a deeper and more fruitful relationship with cities, the arts and themselves. Further exploration will be conducted into the phenomenon of connectivity in the 21st century city providing a deeper perspective on globalism, the networked environment, and emerging technology’s role in the future of art, culture and urban living. Field trips may include: The Whitney, The High Line and Hudson Yards, Tiny Island, MoMA, Guggenheim, PS1, Museum of the City of New York, The New Museum, Transit Museum, Noguchi Museum, Governors Island and others based upon availability. Students will need a MetroCard for traveling around the city as well as approximately $50.00 to cover meals and museum tickets (this price varies depending on course itinerary).

This course reflects the various skills and disciplines that are brought together in modern game development: game design, programming, visual art, animation, sound design, and writing. The workshop will situate these disciplines within a larger context of game literacy and a historical and critical understanding of games as cultural objects. Classroom lectures and lab time will all be used to bring these different educational vectors together into a coherent whole; the workshop will be organized around a single, long-term, hands-on, game creation project. Working in small groups under the close supervision of instructors, students will collaborate on the creation of a playable game. As a creative constraint to help inspire them and guide their designs, the students will be given a theme to express in their game projects.