A course introducing students to media art.

2016-present

Transmedia is an emerging discipline that encompasses time-based and digital art forms, including art video, computer art, cinema, and art photography. In this program students will work with cameras, audio recorders, physical computing boards, and computer software to learn how to create and manipulate digital art.

Course Description
Working with cameras, audio recorders, physical computing boards and computer software, this course introduces students to digital art creation, manipulation and theory.

Each day throughout the three week summer session, students will be presented with a new concept and/or technique to explore. The student will then be mentored around each new process to create images, sound and motion based media. As a class we will convene at the end of each day to discuss work, techniques, problems and solutions.

Students will have hands on experience with digital image acquisition, recording and editing video and sound, and computer programing for interactive media based applications. Learning will be fun, challenging, exciting and will open the student to new possibilities for creating dynamic media art.

Topics addressed during the course will include digital photography, digital video, audio and video editing, stop-animation, slow-motion video, macro photography, programing for audio/visual interaction, and physical computing.

For the final project students will combine their choice of concepts, techniques and media created throughout the course to construct an interactive project utilizing the visual programing language Puredata (Pd) and the Makey Makey kits.

Course Goals and Objectives
– Students will come prepared with a willingness for unhindered experimentation and an open-mind to new ideas, concepts and techniques
– Students will nurture their abilities to explore the role of digital media in the creation and experience of art and design
– Students will learn to demonstrate awareness of concepts of media based art and design.
– Students will use of multiple methods for creative processes, collaboration, research and critique.
– Students will develop critical skills and use a rich vocabulary of formal and critical terms.
– Students will achieve technical competence in video/audio recording/editing and media interaction.
– Students will complete at least one self-directed, interactive project based upon the student’s experience with, or immersion in a subject of choice.

Classroom Content
Each morning we will convene to discuss the assigned reading and your journal entries. Students will then be given a daily assignment coupled with the associated instruction. In addition, specific media artists will be presented in relation to the topic at hand to give students an informed understanding of creative possibilities. Technical, historical and theoretical material will also be covered contributing to a broad base from which students may choose to work.

We will then apply theory into practice by breaking out into our groups (or individually) to gather material via recoding devices. Back in the lab/classroom students will work towards the creation/editing of media work on computers. At the end of each day will we reconvene for discussion and critique of work created. Students will be given an assignment and a reading for the next morning class period.

Required Textbook and Materials
Makey Makey: Invention Kit – http://makeymakey.com
Marshall McLuhan – The Medium is the Message
(2) Flash Drives – 64 or 32 gig
Digital Camera w/ Video – Smart Phone, DSLR, etc
Moleskin Notebook – Pocket Sized

Optional Materials (not required but super fun!)
Smartphone video mount – Selfie Stick, Stabilizer, etc
External Microphone to interface with Camera – Stereo Microphone, Condenser, etc
Reverse Mounting Adapter – For Canon, Nikon, Etc.

Software used in this class
Audacity, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Media Encoder, Puredata (Pd), Vimeo

Schedule Breakdown

w1d1 – Introductions :: Syllabus :: Reading :: Discussion

w1d2 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.1-11
Instruction :: Macro Photography :: We will build macro lenses for our cameras and create photographs with them. We will then edit the photographs with Adobe Photoshop.

w1d3 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.12-24
Stop-Animation :: We will learn stop-animation techniques using our macro lenses, recording single images and stringing these images together to create an image sequence using Adobe Photoshop and Premiere

w1d4 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.25-41
Stop-Animation (continued)

w1d5 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.42-45
Macro Video / Slow-Motion :: We will create macro video at normal and slow speeds and edit these videos into short pieces using Adobe Premiere.

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w2d1 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.46-57
Video/Field Recording :: We will choose a particular subject matter and record a short series of videos based upon this subject.

w2d2 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.58-61
Video Sample Library :: We will edit our video recordings into a video sample library.

w2d3 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.62-69
Audio/Field Recording :: We will choose a particular subject matter and record a short series of audio samples based on this subject.

w2d4 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.70-81
Audio Sample Library :: We will edit our audio recordings into an audio sample library using Audacity.

w2d5 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.82-89
Sample Libraries (continued)

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w3d1 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.90-107
Puredata Audio :: We will learn how to program the computer to interact with our audio sample library.

w3d2 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.108-121
Puredata Video :: We will learn how to program the computer to interact with our video sample library

w3d3 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.122-131
Makey Makey Interaction :: We will learn Human Interaction with the computer by building buttons and controllers.

w3d4 – Reading / Journal Entry Due :: TMITM p.132-155
Makey Makey Interaction (continued) :: We will assemble our images, video and audio to create an interactive audio/visual media artwork.

w3d5 – Final Critique / Exhibition Installation

Resources

Facebook Groups

puredata – https://www.facebook.com/groups/4729684494/
processing – https://www.facebook.com/groups/5748903715/
creative coding with processing – https://www.facebook.com/groups/creativecodingp5/
g*l*i*t*c*h (L*, u*, v*) – https://www.facebook.com/groups/165486630463459/
Generative, Algorithmic, and A.I. music. – https://www.facebook.com/groups/891767077528360/
Creative Coding – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1516860301929405/
Radio Art – https://www.facebook.com/groups/radioart/
Macro Photography – https://www.facebook.com/groups/2213210664/

Artists – Video

Bill Viola – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Viola
Pipilotti Rist – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipilotti_Rist
Nam Pak – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_June_Paik
Michal Rovner – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michal_Rovner
Bruce Nauman – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Nauman
Mariko Mori – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariko_Mori

Artists – New Media Art

Maurizio Bolognini – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurizio_Bolognini
Lynn Hershman Leeson – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Hershman_Leeson
Perry Hoberman – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Hoberman
Camille Utterback – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Utterback
Scott Snibbe – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Snibbe
Norman White – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_White

Artists – Sound Art

Ryoji Ikeda – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryoji_Ikeda
Petri Kuljuntausta – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petri_Kuljuntausta
Haroon Mirza – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haroon_Mirza
Tristan Perich – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_Perich
Susan Philipsz – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Philipsz
Camille Norment – http://www.norment.net/

Artists- Macro Photography

David Gilliver – http://www.davidgilliver.com/
Lennart Nilsson – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennart_Nilsson
Vyacheslav Mishchenko – http://vmishchenko.com/
Pyanek – http://pyanek.wix.com/official

Festivals, Conferences, Gatherings

Megapolis Festival – http://megapolisfestival.org/
PDCON – http://www.uni-weimar.de/medien/wiki/PDCON:Start
Ars Electronica – http://www.aec.at/news/
Piksel – http://piksel.no/
ISEA International – http://www.isea-web.org/
DUTCH ELECTRONIC ART FESTIVAL – http://v2.nl/events/deaf
FILE | Electronic Language International Festival – http://file.org.br/
Generator.x – http://www.generatorx.no/

Software

puredata – http://puredata.info/
max/msp – https://cycling74.com/products/max/
processing – https://processing.org/
vvvv – https://vvvv.org/
openframeworks – http://openframeworks.cc/