About Video, Animation, and Digital Arts

The Video, Animation, and Digital Arts curriculum offers a unique opportunity for artists to pursue a cutting edge approach to Video, 2D and 3D Animation, 3D Modeling, Sound, and Digital Media. This comprehensive digital arts program offers students the ability to both develop an expertise in specific digital tools and allows students the flexibility to combine classes to hone a student’s individual artistic voice.

 

Video courses expose students to the technical and conceptual skills needed to produce high quality video and audio works. Curriculum focuses on pre-production, production and post-production skills including Story-Boarding, Editing, Camera Operating, Lighting, and Composing Moving Images, within the context of contemporary art.  In all courses, students also work on concept development as they are exposed to the history and theory of media, moving image, and sound.  Intermediate courses are theme based, and include but are not limited to “Live Action Filmmaking,” “Video Art Goes to the Movies,”  “Video and Sound Installation,” “Video for Sound,”  “Distance Collaborations,” “Narrative Video,” and “Abstract Video.”  All courses look towards current trends in video art including experimental pre-production and post-production of video works, digital imaging, animation, as well as integration of other digital and traditional artist tools and areas, including installation, performance, web art, public art and more. Students who wish to combine digital arts with other disciplines will find the program very accommodating. Although we have a defined curriculum it is quite flexible and we encourage all students to find their own individual artistic voice incorporating digital tools.

 

The Animation and Digital Arts curriculum engages students in the development of animated sequences and digitally constructed 2D and 3D images. Courses offered within the program explore a range of topics in motion, temporal structure (aesthetics), visual storytelling, and digital image making. Students gain a technical foundation in the tools and practices involved in animation and digital image making as they actively develop their aesthetic and conceptual direction. Intermediate courses facilitate experimental approaches and student awareness of designers, fine artists, and filmmakers working within the discipline. The core animation curriculum includes: Storyboarding and Pre-visualization, 2D Animation, 3D Animation, Digital Modeling, and Digital Compositing. Central to the program is an understanding of the links between traditional and digital approaches, the use of temporal and spatial composition (considerations) to create meaning, and visual storytelling through a range narrative strategies.