Curriculum Plan for BA Undergraduates

Once accepted, the student must then complete the following courses totaling 33 credits (for a total of 45 credits). GPA requirements continue through each assessment period with annual reviews occurring at the end of spring semester each year.

 

Year One as a BA Major

Fall
MAR 210 Creation of Media Story - 3 cr.
MAR 221 Fundamentals of Digital Image Design - 3 cr.
MAR 251 Digital Video Prod. Techniques - 3 cr.

 

Spring
MAR 300 Visions of Film - 3 cr.

MAR 302 Intro to Motion Design - 3 cr.
MAR 325 Fundamentals of Digital Animation - 3 cr.

 

Year Two as a BA Major

Fall

MAR 301 Digital Film Practices - 3 cr.
MAR 330 Principles of Sound Design - 3 cr.

*MAR 456 Directing - 3 cr. (can be taken in either year two or three)

 

Spring
MAR 340 Principles of Interactive Media - 3 cr.

*MAR 450 Topics in Film and Media Studies - 3 cr. (can be taken in either year two or three)

 

Year Three as a BA Major

Fall

 *MAR 456 Directing - 3 cr. (can be taken in either year two or three)

 

Spring

*MAR 450 Topics in Film and Media Studies - 3 cr. (can be taken in either year two or three)

 

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Course Descriptions

Please see the Course Catalog for a complete listing of Media Arts courses.

 

101L Introduction to Media Arts

3 cr. Offered every term. Overview of the media arts and their interaction, integration and development in the creation of story beginning with early years of photography and movie-making through the introduction of radio and television up to the digital revolution.

 

102 Digital Technology in the Arts

3 cr. Offered every term. An introduction to the relationship between aesthetics and the emerging capacities of digital technology. The course will cover the basic evolution of hardware, system software, and the internet and will present a brief history of the pioneers of both traditional and digital art. It will also explore contemporary and emerging trends in the artistic application of digital technology.

 

111A Fundamentals of Integrated Digital Art

3 cr. Offered every term. A project oriented still image and motion design course that focuses on artistic expression and its relationship to digital technology. Using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects, students will create audio/visual work in both the still image and time based mediums.

 

112A Intro to Non-Linear Editing

3 cr. Offered every term. Study of the history, process and philosophy of narrative film/video editing and an introduction to Final Cut Pro nonlinear editing software.

 

210 Creation of Media Story

3 cr. Offered autumn. Media Arts Majors only. An introduction to screenwriting and visualization for media story. Focus is on developing visual writing skills and effective utilization of critical story elements.

 

221 Fundamentals of Digital Image Design

3 cr. Offered autumn. Media Arts Majors only. Introduction to the fundamental concepts, principles and practices of digital still imaging in order to establish a common aesthetic and technical language necessary to develop quality designs on the computer.

 

251 Digital Video Production Techniques

3 cr. Offered autumn. Media Arts Majors only. Intermediate study of digital video cameras, lighting, sound, and their use in specific production situations.

 

300 Visions of Film

3 cr. Offered spring. Media Arts Majors only. Study of major film theories that led to the constitution of visual film language and their application in contemporary film narrative and direction.

 

301 Digital Film Practices

3 cr. Offered spring. Media Arts Majors only.  Credit offered for projects and work that is created outside of the B.A. curriculum.

 

302 Intro to Motion Design

3 cr. Offered spring. Media Arts Majors only. This project-oriented course will introduce students to the basic technical and aesthetic components of digital motion design using the industry standard software programs Photoshop and After Effects.

 

325 Fundamentals of Digital Animation

3 cr. Offered every term. Media Arts Majors only. Introduction to two-dimensional digital animation, focusing on character and motion design animation fundamentals including: cell animation (frame by frame), motion-tweening, working with key frames and motion paths, moving elements on a 2D stage, object choreography and text animation.

 

330 Principles of Sound Design

3 cr. Offered autumn. Media Arts Majors only. Introduction to fundamental concepts, principles and practices of digital sound recording and editing in order to establish a common aesthetic and technical language necessary to develop quality audio design.

 

340 Principles of Interactive Media

3 cr. Offered spring. Media Arts Majors only. Overview of the fundamental techniques and principles of interactive media and exploration into it's artistic application. Topics include internet structure, cloud computing, basic HTML and CSS, mobile devices, browsers, social media platforms, and the Processing programming language.

 

450 Topics in Film and Media Studies

3 cr. Offered spring. Media Arts Majors only. Research and exploration of contemporary film, video, digital art and design. Focus on areas of student research both in commercial and non-commercial venues and styles.

 

456 Directing

3 cr. Offered autumn. Media Arts Majors only. Developing, directing and editing a five to seven minute fiction movie. In depth work on creation of shooting script, casting, work with actors and location work. Emphasis on collaborative process and diligence and preparation in all levels of production.