DMS 101B BASIC FILM MAKING
staff :: MW 9:00-10:50pm :: CFA 278
REG#35065
This course is intended to provide a basic introduction to 16mm film production. Classes will include screenings, lectures, and demonstrations. Students will learn basic camera operation, lighting, editing, and sound acquisition. In addition, the course will explore the critical relationship between theory and practice in the context of film production. Students will be required to complete collaborative class projects, individual assignments, and a critical paper. Each student will also be required to complete a short, non-sync, 16mm film project. Class materials will cost approx. $150. Lab fee: $100. Class size is strictly limited. Fulfills Basic Production Requirement.
DMS 109 FILM INTERPRETATION
staff :: MW 11:00am-12:50pm :: CFA 232
REG#31705
Film Aesthetics have had an enormous impact on the development of media, from television to the internet to video games, as well as on our personal experiences of our everyday lives: “I feel like I’m in a movie!” This course provides an introduction to the main concepts and themes that constitute the rapidly expanding field of Film Studies. In this course, we will learn to recognize the techniques and conventions that structure our experience of cinema – narrative, mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, sound, genre – in order to understand how these various components combine to yield an overall sense of film form. We will survey global film history, critically viewing examples of silent film, classical Hollywood, world cinema, experimental, documentary, and independent narrative film. We will also examine isolated clips from a variety of films as they relate to the weekly discussion topics. Fulfills Intro To Interpretation Requirement.
DMS 107 FILM HISTORY
Fink :: MW 9:00-10:50pm :: CFA 112
REG#38207
Film History (DMS 107) will expose students to screenings and scholarship chronicling the political and technological conditions of film production from the 1890’s to the present. We will broadly examine early motion pictures, pre-code Hollywood, German Expressionism, French Impressionism and Surrealism, Soviet Montage, Neorealist, the French New Wave, Post-Colonial African filmmaking, 1970’s Hollywood, digital filmmaking, and large format documentary. Attendance, readings, weekly response journal, and research paper are required.
DMS 103A BASIC VIDEO
staff :: MW 3:00-4:50pm :: CFA 235
REG#25811
This course is a basic introduction to the tools and techniques of video production. Students will become familiar with using video and develop strategies for its application as an alternative medium of communication. Crucial to this project is the concurrent development of a critical perspective on mainstream media culture. Video art screenings and readings in media theory will critically address the relations between viewers, producers, and the media. Students must expect to acquire materials and texts costing approx. $50.00 to be used in exercises in classroom presentations. Access to equipment and editing facilities will be available. Lab fee: $100. Class size is strictly limited. Fulfills Basic Production Requirement.
DMS 103B BASIC VIDEO
staff :: TR 9:00am-10:50pm :: CFA 278
REG#26441
This course is a basic introduction to the tools and techniques of video production. Students will become familiar with using video and develop strategies for its application as an alternative medium of communication. Crucial to this project is the concurrent development of a critical perspective on mainstream media culture. Video art screenings and readings in media theory will critically address the relations between viewers, producers, and the media. Students must expect to acquire materials and texts costing approx. $50.00 to be used in exercises in classroom presentations. Access to equipment and editing facilities will be available. Lab fee: $100. Class size is strictly limited. Fulfills Basic Production Requirement.
DMS 105A BASIC DOCUMENTARY
staff :: MW 11:00am-12:50pm :: CFA 232
REG#27385
This course will present students with the fundamental, theoretical, creative, and technical concerns of documentary and video production. Students will be introduced to methods of research, production design, approach to subject, interviewing and the structuring of information, as well as the technical video skills of camera work, sound recording, and lighting and editing, as they apply specifically to the documentary process. The demands of documentary expression require preparation with a different emphasis from that which applies to the personal and experimental approaches to filmmaking and video making. Materials and texts will cost approx. $50. Lab fee: $100. Class size is strictly limited. Fulfills Basic Production Requirement.
DMS 105B BASIC DOCUMENTARY
staff :: TR 11:00am-12:50pm :: CFA 278
REG#30759
This course will present students with the fundamental, theoretical, creative, and technical concerns of documentary and video production. Students will be introduced to methods of research, production design, approach to subject, interviewing and the structuring of information, as well as the technical video skills of camera work, sound recording, and lighting and editing, as they apply specifically to the documentary process. The demands of documentary expression require preparation with a different emphasis from that which applies to the personal and experimental approaches to filmmaking and video making. Materials and texts will cost approx. $50. Lab fee: $100. Class size is strictly limited. Fulfills Basic Production Requirement.
DMS 110 PROGRAMMING FOR DIGITAL ART
Pfister:: MW 9:00am – ??:50am :: CFA 242
REG#24214?
Beginner programming course geared towards Media Study majors with little to no experience who want to pursue Programming Graphics, Game Design and Virtual Reality. This course introduces basic concepts of Computer Science with the Python programming language, while incorporating a Media Study perspective. Non Majors welcome if space available. Fulfills Basic Production Requirement.
DMS 121A BASIC DIGITAL ARTS
staff :: MW 9:00am-10:50am :: CFA 244
REG#35066
This course will present fundamental concepts and methods that underlie the use of computers in generating and processing digital works and examine them in the context of contemporary artistic practice in painting, photography, film, and video. The impact of computers, both present and potential, on the more traditional arts will be discussed. Through the use of imaging audio and presentation software, students will explore the various ways in which computers deal with images, sound and structures, adapting these methods to produce work of their own. Work by contemporary artists working in the digital medium will be shown and examined on a regular basis. The class size is strictly limited. Lab fee: $100. Fulfills Basic Production Requirement.
DMS 121B BASIC DIGITAL ARTS
staff :: TR 1:00pm-2:50pm :: CFA 244
REG#25842
This course will present fundamental concepts and methods that underlie the use of computers in generating and processing digital works and examine them in the context of contemporary artistic practice in painting, photography, film, and video. The impact of computers, both present and potential, on the more traditional arts will be discussed. Through the use of imaging audio and presentation software, students will explore the various ways in which computers deal with images, sound and structures, adapting these methods to produce work of their own. Work by contemporary artists working in the digital medium will be shown and examined on a regular basis. The class size is strictly limited. Lab fee: $100. Fulfills Basic Production Requirement.
DMS 155 INTRODUCTION TO NEW MEDIA
staff :: TR 9:00am-10:50am :: CFA 244
REG# 30848
This course provides an introduction to design and the production of interactive multimedia. The content of the class will focus on the theoretical and practical aspects of creating and integrating digital media with authoring/presentation tools. This class will lay the foundation for creating interactive projects for the web and will integrate art, journalism, and music through hands-on developmental projects in our new state-of-the-art Mac lab. Students will learn the process and skills necessary to create a web site and an interactive CD-ROM which integrates animation, graphic design, sound, and text, working in Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash animation, and Illustrator. The course will accommodate 48 students. Enroll now! Get the technological edge! Lab fee $100 Fulfills Basic Production Requirement.
DMS 212 INDIAN IMAGE IN FILM
Adare-Tasiwoopa :: Mon 4:30pm – 7:20pm :: Clemens 06
REG#34179
Course is crosslisted with American Studies. For more information, refer to the course descriptions on the Department of American Studies website. Fulfills the Media & Culture requirement.
DMS 213 IMMIGRATION & FILM
staff :: TR 11:00am-12:50pm :: CFA 112
REG#31673
By looking at representative examples of American and foreign films, this course will critically examine the role of cinema in the construction and exploration of the figure of the racial, ethnic, cultural and social theory. Our topics will include (1) racial, ethnic and cultural identity and its reciprocal relationship with cinema, (2) the notion of realism in relation to the representation of race and ethnicity in film, (3) the cinematic representation of inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic conflict, (4) the position of cinema in the debate between assimilation and multiculturalism. Films will be screened in class and discussed against the background of focused critical readings. The aim of the course is to provide you with an opportunity to develop your critical thinking and writing abilities through class discussions, close readings of films and critical literature, and writing assignments. The course fulfills the American Pluralism requirement. Fulfills the American Pluralism requirement or Media and Culture or Media Study Elective.
DMS 213 IMMIGRATION & FILM
staff :: MW :: TBA
TBA
By looking at representative examples of American and foreign films, this course will critically examine the role of cinema in the construction and exploration of the figure of the racial, ethnic, cultural and social theory. Our topics will include (1) racial, ethnic and cultural identity and its reciprocal relationship with cinema, (2) the notion of realism in relation to the representation of race and ethnicity in film, (3) the cinematic representation of inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic conflict, (4) the position of cinema in the debate between assimilation and multiculturalism. Films will be screened in class and discussed against the background of focused critical readings. The aim of the course is to provide you with an opportunity to develop your critical thinking and writing abilities through class discussions, close readings of films and critical literature, and writing assignments. The course fulfills the American Pluralism requirement. Fulfills the American Pluralism requirement or Media and Culture or Media Study Elective.
DMS 218 CREATIVE VIDEO WORKSHOP
staff :: MW 9:00am-10:50am :: CFA 232
REG# 479165
Prerequisites: DMS 103 or DMS 105. This course is a workshop inthe tools of video. It offers exercises in video production for students who have had some previous experience to video as a creative medium. The course will emphasize the development of technical skills and knowledge which are necessary for the eefective use o video as an artistic tool and for documentation or personal expression. The student will produce a series of project concerning cameras, lighting, editing, and other aspects of production and post-production. Using cross-culture material to create video work, each studetn will need to spend a substantial amount of time working with studio, portable, and editing facilities outside the regular class hours. In addition, some outside videotape viewing as well as short papers will be required. Reading will include classroom handouts in addition to the assigned book. $100 lab fee. This course can count towards the “non- *” Intermediate Production course or as an elective.
DMS 259 INTRO TO MEDIA ANALYSIS
staff :: T R , 9:00 AM – 10:50 AM :: CFA 235
REG#31638
Provides students with a theoretical and historical grounding in analyzing the media and visual revolution of the 20th century. Encourages students to experiment with various media codes in their final exam projects in which they combine technical skills with analytical and critical thinking.
DMS 341 INTERMEDIATE VIDEO WORKSHOP
Staff :: MW 11:00am – 12:50pm :: CFA 278
REG#33340 Prereqs: DMS 103 or 105 and Portfolio. Corequisite : DMS 422
In this course, students will explore and experiment with the video medium through a series of short exercises. Improvement of technical knowledge and skills will be emphasized, and creativity encouraged. Topics to be explored will include: video camera, advanced shooting techniques, sound gathering techniques, microphone placement and selection, non-linear sound editing, lighting techniques for studio and location, non-linear editing. Students learn properties of audio, video and still assets, and practice importing, logging, and insert assembly editing. They also develop a sensitivity to the unique aesthetic and usability criteria of digital video in application environments. Must take DMS 422 concurrently. Fulfills * Intermediate Production requirement.
DMS 401 ADVANCED CINEMATOGRAPHY
Caplan :: TR 9:00am-10:50am :: CFA 232
REG#38021
This is an advanced film production course designed for students who have successfully completed the intermediate film production or intermediate video production class. This course will explore the key components of independent production. Students will develop a major project from pre-production through the initial stages of post-production. Students are required to come to the class with an initial concept for a substantive project to be completed during the spring semester. Students will maintain a journal, produce a pre-production package, produce a production book and a fine cut of their final film project. In Addition, students will make a short autobiographical film and explore Narrative, Documentary, and Experimental elements in filmmaking. Students can expect to spend $450 for materials and processing for the course. Students will receive some assistance with supplies and film stock. $100 Lab Fee. Fulfills Advanced Production Requirement
DMS 404 ADVANCED DOCUMENTARY
Elder :: TR 3pm – 4:50 :: CFA 235
REG #26383
This course is an advanced workshop in which students create an original documentary project in video (or film, still photography, audio or web-based formats with the permission of instructor). Creativity and originality will be stressed with exercises to encourage “seeing”, “listening” and artistic risk taking. Individual projects may go in many creative directions including the political, personal, humorous, experimental, conventional, transgressive, ethnographic, client-based or activist. Students will gain a solid understanding of contemporary non-fiction forms and the particular problems which non-fiction makers face. Films by contemporary artists will be shown on a regular basis with special attention to experimental documentary work. We will look at dramatic structure, story telling, and narrative/non-narrative forms of editing. Emphasis will be given to production techniques which bring access and intimacy to the video subject and integrity to the documentary. The course will explore ethical issues and problems of privacy and intrusion. Students will develop production skills in research, fieldwork, collaboration, interviewing, location sound recording, camera skills, and production management. Each student will produce one short documentary piece, with supporting assignments in shooting, sound, and digital editing on the Media 100. A written production book will be required. A class film festival ends the semester. Prerequisite: DMS Basic Documentary, or DMS Basic Video and DMS Intermediate Video. Lab fee: $100. Attendance is mandatory.
Remember, in order to take this course you must have passed portfolio and taken the “*” intermediate production prerequisite. It can count as your Advanced Production Requirement.
DMS 409 NON-FICTION FILM
Elder :: TR 11:00am-12:50pm :: CFA 235
REG# 26880
This course is an exploration of the principal theories of film through a critical reading of texts and a close examination of films. The texts to be perused comprise several groups. Classical film theory includes Munsterburg, Kuleshov, Pudovkin, Eisenstein, Balasz, Arnheim, Bazin, and Godard. The critique of classical film theory includes Burch, Perkins, and Henderson. The course will also explore semiotics, psychoanalysis, and poststructuralism, in Barthes, Eco, Metz , Pasolini, Baudry, Heath, and in feminist film theory, including Gledhill, Mulvey, Silverman, Modleski, Doane, and Studlar. A section on avant-garde theory will include Vertov, Epstein, Deren, Brakhage, Sitney, and Michelson. These topic areas will be set in interaction throughout: e.g., Soviet editing and antirealism are continued in the avant-garde; rhetorical figures such as metaphor, metonymy, ellipsis, condensation, and displacement, can be traced in very different theoretical contexts and in close readings of individual films. Fulfills Advanced Analysis or Media Study Elective.
DMS 411 FILM THEORY
Shilina-Conte :: MW 9:00am-10:50am :: CFA 235
REG#38410, 38411
This course will guide you through the maze of “pre-” and “post-,” “-isms” and “-ships” in film studies, including the theories of authorship and spectatorship, realism, formalism, cognitive criticism, semiotics, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism, feminism and post-feminist studies, as well as the theory of the senses. The assigned readings will include excerpts and articles by Bazin, Eisenstein, Vertov, Baudry, Metz, Balasz, Gunning, Arnheim, Mulvey, Bordwell, Deleuze, Marks, Sobchack, and Naficy, among others. Following Thomas Elsaesser’s enticing approach and focusing on the role of the spectator in cinema, we will study classical and contemporary film theories through the interaction between Moving Image, Senses, Body and Mind as well as such metaphors of filmic experience as Window and Frame, Door and Screen, Mirror and Face. Watching such films as The Piano by Campion, Soy Cuba by Kalatozov, April by Iosseliani, Persona by Bergman, Onibaba by Shindo, Stalker by Tarkovsky, The Scent of Green Papaya by Anh Hung Tran, Pather Panchali by Satyajit Ray, The Hand by Wong Kar Wai and animations by Jan Svankmajer, we will interpret not only the ways we “see” and “hear” films, but also explore them through our senses of touch, smell and even taste. In addition, we will talk about puzzle films, mind-game films (Elsaesser), and forking path films (Bordwell), embracing Gilles Deleuze’s statement of “the brain as the screen”. As Elsaesser points out, “film and spectator are like parasite and host, each occupying the other and being in turn occupied”. This unique approach of confrontation and conflation with the screen through our mind, body and senses will open for us new modes of knowing and representing the world through film and media.
DMS 419 ADV DIGITAL ARTS PRODUCTION
E. Conrad :: TR 3:00pm-4:50pm :: CFA 244
REG# 479165
Responsive Media : Real-time Audio and Video Synthesis
This course will introduce the tools and techniques for authoring real-time media systems with Max/MSP/Jitter. Max is a graphical programming environment designed to handle the basic elements of media: time, interactivity, and control. MSP adds the ability capture, synthesize and manipulate audio, while Jitter does the same for video and more. Although the course will emphasize work that utilizes real-time computation–live video or sound art, interactive work, installation or performance–students may choose to apply the tools towards the creation of more traditional, or non-real-time, works such as generative, genetic or evolutionary compositions of sound and/or image. No previous experience with Max or computer programming is required, but some background in media production (video, animation, sound or music) will be very helpful. Students should come with considerable skills in this area, be motivated to try new things, and be prepared for critiques. $100 Lab Fee. Fulfills Advanced * Intermediate Requirement.
DMS 422 VIDEO ANALYSIS
Conrad, T. :: T 6:00pm – 7:50pm SEM CFA 112 / W 5:00pm – 6:50pm LAB CFA 232
Reg #30003 SEM (3 cr.), #32962 LAB (1 cr.) Pre-Requisite: DMS 341 Or DMS 400
Note: Students must enroll in DMS 422SEM and DMS 422LAB in the same term.
A survey of contemporary video and media art. The aim of this course is to provide access to contemporary media arts information, and in particular to media work which is generally unavailable otherwise in Buffalo — and then to provide a forum for discussion, and for developing our own ideas. Most of the Tuesday meetings will comprise screenings of work. Then on Wednesdays the Undergrad and Graduate sections will meet separately to discuss the artists whose works have been seen and related topics of media arts interest. Some of the classes will be conducted via Skype, including interactive meetings with visiting artists whenever possible. Students should plan to take notes on the screenings and other activities, since a lot of ground will be covered rapidly. Assignments will include online viewing of other video works and short weekly written exercises in the form of terse commentaries with accompanying citations from online sources. Some assigned articles will be made available online, along with lots of recommended reading resources. Since access to the work screened in class is very limited, attendance is mandatory. There is no lab fee and no final exam – so regular weekly participation is especially important.
Fulfills Advanced Analysis, Media & Culture or elective requirement.
DMS 423 (LECTURE) PROGRAMMING GRAPHICS 1
Pape, D E :: TR 11:00am – 12:50pm :: CFA 242
REG# 36592
This production course will introduce students to the concepts and practice of programming 3D computer graphics and audio using OpenGL and other libraries. The major focus will be on creating interactive art or games experiences by programming both graphics and sound. The course has three goals: to demystify computer code – we get behind the Graphic User Interface to the machine below; to explore the potential of programming – writing our own code means we can create customized computer tools as well as customized visuals; and to teach the fundamentals of graphics programming. Prerequisites are experience in a programming language such as Python, C, C++, or Java (DMS 121, CSE 113/4/5 or equivalent). Permission of Instructor required. Lab fee $100. Contact: dave.pape@acm.org Fulfills Intermediate Production
DMS 426 SOUND MEDIA POETICS
Glazier :: MW 3:00pm – 4:50pm :: CFA 232
REG #38158
Experimental media, sound poetry, sound installation, and digital poetics interrogate perception, performance, improvisation, and reception. This class will concentrate on a close examination of innovative literary and media forms from the perspective of sound. It will involve careful reading of experimental poetry, close listening to sound poetry, sound art, and digital media poetry. Screenings will include films exemplifying and discussing various sound practices, including jazz documentaries, works by and about John Cage, and feature films that uniquely integrate sound, image, and narrative, with possibly works such as Los Muertos, Wittgenstein, Aguirre, The Dictator, Blood Wedding, One” and 103, and A Story of Floating Weeds, along with selections from a wide variety of other provocative contemporary masterpieces as examples. Films for the course will explore sound in relation to other elements of narrative artistic expression seen from a number of aesthetic, cultural, and conceptual perspectives. Based on these films, digital poems discussed, and course reading, we will talk about what really happens on a screen, how sound makes it happen, how what is happening in the world is communicated on aesthetic and narrative levels, and what it means to us as students, artists, and our inevitable role in world media poetics. The goal will be to establish a framework for what might be innovative in relation to digital media, sound, and video design and to offer students a fresh perspective on their own artistic and critical thinking. Through these analyses, students will be able to examine a thought-provoking range of experimental poetry and sound works, with an emphasis on hearing the potential for innovative sound through a focus on the marginal, the “other”, performance, dissonance, jazz, non-narrative musical forms, and works where meaning is problematized. These works require thought — but the rewards can be immense! Course requirements: Weekly readings, class participation, a film journal, a 15 minute oral presentation on a digital sound artist or director, a 5 minute oral “mini-review”, exams, and a final project, critical or creative. Attendance is crucial. Course text (tentatively): Evens, Sound Ideas, and Lorca, In Search of Duende, plus online texts by John Cage and others. For Media Study majors, this course fulfills advanced analysis or Media Study elective.
Fulfills Advanced Analysis, New Media Theory or elective requirement.
DMS 462 GAME DESIGN
Pape, D E :: MW 11:00am – 12:50pm :: CFA 242
REG# 38237
Production course on the design of computer based games. Games are considered as a new art form and in order to create compelling games, students must be aware of the particularities of the form in both structural and aesthetic terms. Clearly the most important difference between games and other art forms are the interactive and interpersonal dynamics of gaming. Core isues of game design; what is a game? what is the nature of play? what makes good game play? what is the most effective use of sound and visuals in a game? how can narrative be used in games? and what are the roles of presence, engagement, and iteractivity in games? Encourages experiemental thinking about the boundaries and possibilities of computer games. Students work in teams to produce game projects. Focuses on creativity and experimentatino. Thourough, hands-on grounding in the process of game design. from conception to play-testing, and fosters the skills required to produce, examine, and critique games.
Lab fee $100.
Fulfills Intermediate Production requirement
DMS 463 INTERACTIVE FICTION
staff :: TR 1:00pm – 2:50pm :: CFA 232
REG #38040
In 1993, Kelso, Weyhrauch and Bates wrote:
“You find yourself immersed in a fantasy world with exciting characters and the possibility of many adventures. Although you control your own direction by choosing each action you make, you are confident that your experience will be good, because a master interactive story-teller subtly controls your destiny.” “Dramatic presence.” Presence 2:1-15
Story been both a driver and colonizer of both literary forms (poetry, drama, the novel) and mass media (print, radio, film, TV). Of late a photorealistic cinematic narrative envelope has descended stiflingly on mainstream video games, grafted onto repetitive, shooting-based, game mechanics. This course is interested in looking at both mainstream and fringe attempts to create fictional and literary experiences for computer-based interactive media. The experiments have been many – the results mixed.
DMS 496 (1- 4 CR VARIABLE) MEDIA ARTS INTERNSHIP
Staff
REG# Permission of Instructor
Media Study majors have the opportunity to gain variable academic credit for internships in local and national media production companies, television stations, cable companies, and media access centers. This is an unpaid internship available to majors. Guidelines are set by an internship supervisor in collaboration with a faculty sponsor to provide hands-on practical experience in an on-the-job training program. For registration information, see Luann Zak in 231 CFA. Media Study Elective.
DMS 499 (1-4 CR VARIABLE) INDEPENDENT STUDY
Staff
REG# Permission of Instructor
Students may arrange for special courses of study with faculty through “Independent Study.” The instructor will set the guidelines for the course on an individual basis. It permits the student to study, independently, in an area where no course is given. Syllabus for Independent Study should be prepared prior to semester, signed by the instructor, with one copy on file with the department. For registration information, see Luann Zak in 231 CFA. Lab fee for production work: $100 Media Study Elective.