Course Schedules & Descriptions - Visual Media

The following list of offered courses and descriptions is provided for the convenience of current and future Visual Media students. To verify the availability of a class and its official description, refer to the Office of the Registrar.

To review the Visual Media curriculum in the current college catalog, click here.

Visual Media Courses (07- 08 Catalog year)

VIS 110
STORYBOARDING (3+0) 3 credits
A study of the visual techniques involved in the visual-information of storyboarding and editing, including scene description, movement, transitions, set-up and special instructions. This is an intensive study of visualization and complements pre-production work for game development, interactive media, and digital cinema.

VIS 111
WRITNG THE NARRATIVE SCREENPLAY (1+4) 3 credits
Development of scripts for short films and videos through story boarding and constructing a paper edit.

VIS 120
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER ANIMATION (0+6) 3 credits
Exploration of and practice in 2-D computer animation in relation to Internet media. Software covered in this course includes Macromedia Flash.

VIS 160
VISUAL MEDIA INDUSTRIES (3+0) 3 credits
Examination of specific media industries as international business organizations: film, video, broadcasting, and multimedia.

VIS 240
LIGHTING AND COMPOSITION FOR MEDIA PRODUCTION (1+4) 3 credits
Practical and theoretical exploration of the function of light and image composition for film and video production. Equipment: Digital Video Camera, Three Point Lighting Kit, Filters, Gels, and Masks. Prerequisite(s): ART 100.

VIS 250
INTRODUCTION TO GAME DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT (3+0) 3 credits
This is an introductory course to "Video" game design and development for entertainment. Topics covered will be game theory, design and development of computer-based games, current game delivery systems and software, the commercial development cycle, case studies of current games, ethical issues including the current game rating system, and emerging technical developments in game development, and current game trends. Production will be in reference to developing new levels of existing games.

VIS 261
CONCEPTS AND HISTORY OF DIGITAL MEDIA (3+0) 3 credits
Introduction to the concepts and processes utilized in electronic media, with examination of social and historical issues relating to emerging technologies.

VIS 290
INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL CINEMA (1+4) 3 credits
Basic principles of video production, including equipment, professional procedures, and production techniques. Laboratory practices with a video camera and editing equipment for exercises and short projects. Equipment and software: Digital Video Camera and Adobe Premiere.

VIS 292
INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL EDITING (3+0) 3 credits
Introductory principles of post-production including equipment, software, and fundamentals of editing concepts. This is an entry-level course designed to teach beginning skills in post-production.

VIS 312
PERSONAL NARRATIVE (2+4) 4 credits
Students will produce individual projects as a creative self-expressive tool based on one's own personal experiences and histories. The class will take an exploratory approach to experimental, fictional, and documentary genres. Prerequisite(s): VIS 111.

VIS 320
ADVANCED DIGITAL ANIMATION (1+6) 4 credits
Production of computer animation with focus on 3D animation for cinema and broadcasting. The course will explore contemporary animation techniques and genres such as Japanese animation, the 3D field, and art directing for the animated short and feature. Prerequisite(s): VIS 120.

VIS 341
SOUND DESIGN FOR MEDIA PRODUCTION (1+6) 4 credits
This class will explore the relationship between sound and image. Our approach will be both theoretical and practical. Most importantly, perhaps, we will listen to already existing sound design and listen to the environments around us. Our goal is to discover new ways to think and talk about sound, and new ways to incorporate sound into the creation of digital cinema and multimedia work.

VIS 351
ADVANCED INTERACTIVE MEDIA DESIGN (1+6) 4 credits
Principles and processes of multimedia assembly with an emphasis on DVD production. Prerequisite(s): ART 243 and VIS 290 or 292..

VIS 362
INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL THEORY IN ART AND TECHNOLOGY (3+0) 3 credits
A basic beginning survey of contemporary art, film and media theory, focusing on: realism, formalism, semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism, Marxism, gender studies, post-structuralism, and broader issues of authorship, narratology, postmodernism and multiculturalism.

VIS 363
TOPICS IN IDENTITY AND POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION (3+0) 3 credits
Examines the representation of different social groups in Hollywood film and television from early cinema to contemporary products. The emphasis centers on the relationship between these representations and the shifting patterns of identity. Different groups will be the topics of individual courses. Can be taken up to three times for 9 credits Prerequisite(s): FIS 110.

VIS 371
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY (1+6) 4 credits
Practical applications of color photography, and examination of the impact from the immediacy of digital photography in both time and visual aesthetics. Prerequisite(s): ART 230.

VIS 380
TYPOGRAPHY AND PUBLICATION DESIGN (2+2) 3 credits
The profession of graphic design will be explored through case studies of integrated typography and visual imagery. This course explores the principles of design and their application to newspapers, magazines, advertising, pamphlets, newsletters, and dynamic publications such as the World Wide Web. The course will provide training in various application programs of desktop publication on the Macintosh environment as well as design techniques such as layout, typography and graphic production used in various commercial arts. Prerequisite(s): ART 243.

VIS 381
CORPORATE/PUBLIC ORGANIZATION IDENTITY AND COMMUNICATIONS (3+0) 3 credits
This course examines and applies corporate communications and shows how companies use visual design to implement marketing and public relations. The emphasis is on case studies of graphic identity, theories and principles of designing for corporate communications. Application of such theories as they relate to the creation of corporate identity graphics and specifically applied design works in advanced trademark, signature, logotype design, publication, corporate web design, and general corporate promotions. Prerequisite(s): VIS 380.

VIS 411
ADVANCED NARRATIVE SCREENPLAY (1+6) 4 credits
This is a workshop designed to help students complete an adequate first draft of a feature screenplay, in conjunction with in-depth discussion of advanced principles of narrative fiction as applied to screenwriting. Prerequisite(s): VIS 111, VIS 290.

VIS 430
ADVANCED DIGITAL IMAGING (1+6) 4 credits
The development of independent, innovative projects that utilize digital or digital-traditional hybrid means to make images on surfaces. Projects may employ any imaging strategies in concept, production and distribution; including installation, projection, printing and publishing. Prereqisite(s): ART 243.

VIS 450
GAME DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, AND PRODUCTION (3+0) 3 credits
Advanced game development by producing interactive computer-based games. The process learned in the Introduction to Game Design and Development course will be put into practice by developing a story, characters, programming, and an interactive game based on current trends in game development. Use of actual game development systems for current console gaming systems. Prerequisite(s): VIS 250.

VIS 460
MEDIA FINANCE AND DISTRIBUTION (1+6) 4 credits
Strategies for production financing for professional film, video, and interactive projects and ways to position and distribute a project in the marketplace. Students will develop a prospectus for their own projects. Prerequisite(s): VIS 160, Senior standing.

VIS 462
INTERNATIONAL FILM AND TV BUSINESS (3+0) 3 credits
This course examines the practices of the international film and television business; the global organization of the entertainment industry; producing film and television for national and global audiences; social, aesthetic and economic implications of global media. Prerequisite(s): VIS 460.

VIS 490
ADVANCED DIGITAL CINEMA (1+6) 4 credits
Advanced work in video production, with emphasis on digital editing. Production of exercises and short projects. Prerequisite(s): VIS 290, VIS 411.

VIS 492
ADVANCED DIGITAL EDITING (3+0) 3 credits
Advanced principles of post-production including equipment, software, professional procedures, sound manipulation, and digital composing techniques. Intensive practice in editing protocols and short projects.

VIS 495
INDEPENDENT STUDY 4 credits (up to 8 credits)
Qualified students working on an individual basis with a professor who has agreed to supervise such work. Prerequisite(s): Senior standing and consent of instructor.

VIS 496
SENIOR PORTFOLIO IN PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL PRACTICES (2+4) 4 credits
Prepares students to meet the professional expectations of media work. Practice in the creative aspects of career in digital media, including idea origination, media selection, and construction and evaluation of projects, career building strategies and ethics are studied.