Integrated Digital Media (DM-GY)

This course is a general orientation to a broad range of media-producing organization types, from pirate radio stations and ad-hoc collectives to major corporations. Each organization has specific advantages and disadvantages, and each has a specific range of work types it can support effectively. The ultimate purpose of the course is to provide a “big-picture” orientation to the different environments in which media get made and distributed and to help students clarify goals and needs so they can make wiser choices about directing their studies and work toward the right career.

In this course, students will examine and analyze the history and theoretical discourse of media and technology, while connecting these studies to contemporary trends and issues. Students will also explore the cultural impact of media and technology. Lectures, discussions, readings, research, and writing constitute the body of this course.

In this class, the creative process will be investigated in order to generate ideas for art, design, technology, and business endeavors. The course will show how ideation, design research & thinking, and prototyping can inspire, inform, and bring depth to what one ultimately creates. Students will expand their arsenal of design research skills, learn how to think critically about their audience, content, form, and processes, as well as, understand the importance of utilizing more than one research and design strategy.

This course is an introductory programming class, appropriate for students with no prior programming experience. Traditionally, introductory programming teaches algorithmic problem-solving, where a sequence of instructions describe the steps necessary to achieve a desired result. In this course, students are trained to go beyond this sequential thinking – to think concurrently and modularly. By its end, students are empowered to write and read code for event-driven, object-oriented, graphical user interfaces.

This course introduces students to contemporary digital-performance techniques and issues, i.e., integrating computing technology into traditional performing arts. Drawing on contemporary research in performance studies, as well as technical advances in performing-arts production design, students perform research on how digital technology and media are integrated into dance, theater, performance art and concert-music performance. Students develop performance technologies as part of their research and present them to the group at the end of the semester.

This course introduces DM students to contemporary techniques and issues in audio, sound and musical research. The class covers digital signal processing, synthesis, musical informatics and interaction design as it applies to contemporary music production, postproduction and live performance. Students are expected to achieve competence in a number of technologies and to create brief studies based on them.

Students use developed skills to explore and exploit digital-video technology. Course material centers on cinema and its many forms. Class time is divided between hands-on technical demonstrations, group work, and case studies of relevant historical work in film and video. A range of cinema approaches is demonstrated and encouraged.

This course examines the potential of mobile augmented reality [AR] and its future impact on society. Augmented reality technology is poised to revolutionize the way we understand the world by overlaying physical reality with real time, interactive digital content. AR will change our interaction with digital media by dissolving the user interface and turning it into a physical experience of sight and sound. This course will explore these emerging possibilities through hands on learning with the latest software and hardware. The class explores techniques and methodologies through guest lectures and regular studio practice to give students an overview of the possibilities and the current state of the art, and to prepare them for thesis work or subsequent course work. Students will gain a strong understanding of the AR industry’s past, present, and especially its future trends. It is recommended that students have experience with Photoshop and Maya or 3D Max software.

This seminar introduces students from diverse backgrounds to interaction design as a creative and a design practice. The course surveys application areas, supporting technologies and their impact on individual and group relationships. Group projects introduce the collaborative and interdisciplinary development process common in the professional technology and design. Students are expected to develop technology competencies, including software programming, configuration of hardware devices and the operation of standard digital-media hardware and software tools. Students are also expected to demonstrate interpretive positions regarding analysis of the impact of technology on individuals and social interactions.

This course guides graduate students through contemporary thought in game design, development, user testing and deployment. The course will benefit students interested in research or employment opportunities in game design or in related fields that require an understanding of human-computer interaction. This studio provides a foundation understanding of how games are developed, tested and experienced.

This project studio is offered for students who have web-design and/or development experience and who are ready to take on new technologies and approaches. Students may participate in large-scale projects directed by the instructor, or work on a personal or small-group project. Participants are expected to complete a major semester project at a level beyond basic professional standards.

This advanced seminar explores in depth the theoretical and practical aspects of media-communications principles and regulations. Knowledge of media law is crucial for professionals. A full range of models will be explored, from Open Source public license to Digital Rights Management, as well as working definitions of Fair Use and the practical limits of sampling/mixing in different idioms and economic sectors.

This multidisciplinary course allows students from a variety of backgrounds to work together to learn about and develop assistive technology, as well as cultivate a better understanding of the people being served. Students will work in teams to identify clinical needs relevant to their chosen client and learn the process of developing an idea and following that through to the development of a prototype product.

This is an introductory course on user experience design methodologies following a user-centered design process. The course is oriented toward practical methods for approaching a design problem holistically, beyond usability and usefulness. In this class, you will develop an appreciation for the notion of user experience including how to design for it and how to evaluate it. The course will focus on storytelling, sketching, and communication of design ideas within a design team and to potential users. Assignments will focus on hands-on learning through individual assignments, application of design skills in group mini-projects, and peer critique.

How do images operate in the world? Do they contain memories or tell myths? Can they reproduce and generate new images? This course is not a dystopian science fiction about object sentience—it’s a hands-on exploration of contemporary themes within moving image practice. Through short readings, film screenings, group discussions, and self-directed design propositions, we will explore these questions, revealing their power and potential socio-ethico-political implications.

This class will discuss the key issues, challenges, and best practices in visual storytelling in Cinema and emerging media like real-time spatial computing. The class will teach how to architect and lead a virtual production by creating a dialogue between the Producer, Director, and Cinematographer in filmmaking with the Technical Producer and Director in creative technology. The class will cover an overview of all of the technical skills required to produce a remote virtual production through the lens of a project manager making administrative and creative decisions. This class will culminate in a real-time 3D project exploring motion capture and virtual production that will create a narrative cinematic work with the class themes in mind.

The objectives of this seminar are to familiarize you with the key viewpoints in the literature on Technology, Culture, and Society. The readings are selected to highlight the important contributions to the literature by past and current academics. A critical analysis and review of this body of literature will set the stage for future research.

Offered by special arrangement with faculty, visiting scholars and professionals in the field, this course may be repeated for credit with different topics. | Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

Offered by special arrangement with faculty, visiting scholars and professionals in the field, this course may be repeated for credit with different topics.

Offered by special arrangement with faculty, visiting scholars and professionals in the field, this course may be repeated for credit with different topics.

Offered by special arrangement with faculty, visiting scholars, and professionals in the field, this course may be repeated for credit with different topics.

Offered by special arrangement with faculty, visiting scholars, and professionals in the field, this course may be repeated for credit with different topics.

This course is the research portion of the MS Thesis in Integrated Digital Media. Each student, guided by a thesis adviser and other faculty support, completes the research and process documentation for their MS thesis.

This course is the capstone of the MS program in Integrated Design & Media. Each student, guided by a thesis adviser and with the other faculty support as required by the specific project, completes a major media-production project. The thesis form and format are determined by agreement between the student and adviser with department approval. The goal is to advance the student’s career and to contribute to the profession. Students are encouraged to seek professional outlets for their thesis. | Prerequisites: DM-GY 9963

In a weekly one-hour colloquium, graduate students meet together for open critiques and lecture series / discussions, organized by students and faculty. | Prerequisite: Limited to Graduate IDM Students only.