An interdisciplinary course, bringing together the various bodies of knowledge that inform the field of interactive multimedia, including project management, media design, software design, communications and storytelling. The class provides an overview of concepts necessary both to create and evaluate interactive multimedia projects. Students apply these ideas to a series of small assignments from week to week, and ultimately to a collaborative project spanning most of the semester. Previous projects includes interactive movies on DVD and on the Web, interactive comics and video games.
Despite their pervasiveness, video games are rarely subject to the same scholarly consideration as film, music and other popular media. In this seminar we examine the increasing impact of video games on society, in the United States and around the world. Through lectures, readings, writing, and discussion, we explore a range of issues raised by video games, including their influence on social life, thinking skills, health, art, and economics. We investigate how games intersect with such diverse fields of study as literature, sociology, psychology, and education. We also consider the question of violence in games, as well as differing attitudes toward games among genders, generations, and cultures.
This course introduces students to the various tools and techniques for constructing digital media, including still images, sound and video. The course also examines the cultural and historical context of such work, considering the similarities and differences between the digital media revolution and previous revolutions enabled by emerging technologies.
Visual artists and writers work alongside programmers and composers to dream up and produce an original video game. Supported by a gift from Microsoft Research, the course was conceived as a model of interdisciplinary collaboration within the setting of a liberal arts college, including students and faculty from computer science, music and interactive multimedia. You can learn more about the process on the project’s web site.
A two-pronged course, combining an overview of the past century of animation with hands-on lessons in current digital production techniques. Students use a variety of tools — such as After Effects, Flash, and Motion — to explore the fundamental concepts and principals of animated storytelling. The class examines a range of traditional styles, including stop motion, cut paper, abstract and cartoon animation. Students are encouraged to experiment with various techniques and tools in order to find the style (or collage of styles) that best serves the stories or ideas they are trying to express.
A survey course introducing students to the latest tools for web publishing, digital audio, digital video, digital imaging and animation. Students work alone or in small groups to produce work in each subject area. Accompanying readings and discussions frame their production work in a larger context of art history, communications, media theory and usability/accessibility issues.