Objectives: This hands-on studio course is designed to introduce students to foundation-level skills, theories, and concepts used in digital video production.  Digital technologies continue to expand our perceptions of time and space, our notions of value and meaning. New means of digital image and sound acquisition, as well as the streamlined efficiency of nonlinear and nondestructive editing are re-defining the architectures of time and the geographies of space.  Cinematic creation and experience have been (and continue to be) changed, and offer new and innovative possibilities for articulating new forms of the moving image. This course will expose students to a broad range of industry-standard equipment, film and video history, theory, terminology, as well as field, and post-production skills, by providing direct experimentation and through reading-based conceptual discussions. Students will be required to master the digital media tools introduced in the course, to develop a conceptual understanding of their implications, and to give personal voice to the new possibilities that digital video brings to time-based art forms.

Methodology:  There will be a mix of Colloquia, Lab Sessions, and Tech Demonstrations which will culminate in the production of a final short narrative by each of the students.  Students will be expected to team up and help each other with individual projects and must assume that, throughout the semester, a great deal of extra time will be required in the field and in the lab to complete all assignments.  They should also be prepared to approach the process of learning digital editing with a great deal of individual initiative, since the leaning curve of advanced editing software is found to be steep by some.

Assignments:  Readings, Discussions, Lab Exercises & Field Assignments, Final Project, and a little writing.  Production-work will involve a progression of short films (Found-Story / Sound-Story / Story-Places / Montage-Longtake / In-Camera Editing, etc.) culminating in a complete short film.  For their portfolios, posted on the class web-page, students will also write brief gallery notes that articulate what they think the viewer should know.

Attendance & Grading: Attendance at classes, labs, as well as additional lab time is not optional.  Grading will be based upon attendance and performance (conceptual as well as technical) during classes and labs and upon timely completion and evaluation of all the short bi-weekly assignments as well as the final project.  Final project is not considered completed until screened during final Showcase.

Lab and Other Expenses: There is a $100 lab fee [amount subject to revision] charged to students in the course. The lab fee covers the maintenance and replacement of the production and editing equipment you use. You will also need to purchase several mini DV tapes, which we will have available at the Art Office; cost will be about $8 each. You will finally be expected to purchase your own external firewire hard drive (7200rpm minimum) for use in storing and editing your footage.  Depending on how much storage space you need (at DV compression 300GB will provide storage for 24hours+ of material) these will cost about $200-300.  For some current examples (no recommendations implied) see:

or

Technical: This course is taught in Kroeber 285, and in the FS Lab in Dwinelle Hall.  The Lab Apple Workstations are equipped with Final Cut Studio, which will be our primary editing software suite for this course.  Initially at least, stress will be placed on content and ideas, rather than fancy footwork, and editing software that offers fewer advanced features (such as Final Cut Express) will suffice.  In fact the whole course will be focus on content and any advanced techniques at the expense of substance will be discouraged, even for the final project.  Students will have to acquire their own firewire drives on which raw footage (DV captures, rough-cuts, inserts, etc.) will be kept. If you plan to get one before classes start make sure the drive has both types of connection.  Several new cameras have been added to the previously available 2 Sony PD170, 2 Canon  GL2, 3 Sony TRV900, 2 Panasonic GS70 and 3 Panasonic GS180.  Equipment is shared with other concurrent classes and reservations, check-out procedures and return date&time must be adhered to at all times.