Fall 2001

100 LEVEL COURSES

DMS 101 A / B
Basic Filmmaking
MW 11-12:50 / TR 9:00 - 10:50 am
Reg. #073143 / Reg #013129
CFA 286
This course is intended to provide a basic introduction to 16mm film production. Classes will include screenings, lectures, and demonstrations. Students will learn basic camera operation, lighting, editing, and sound acquisition. In addition, the course will explore the critical relationship between theory and practice in the context of film production. Students will be required to complete collaborative class projects, individual assignments, and a critical paper. Each student will also be required to complete a short, non-sync, 16mm film project. Class materials will cost approx. $150. Lab fee: $75. Class size is strictly limited.

DMS 103 A / B
Basic Video
MW 9-10:50 / TR 11-12:50
Reg.#415001 / Reg.#043670
CFA 286
This course is a basic introduction to the tools and techniques of video production. Students will become familiar with using video and develop strategies for its application as an alternative medium of communication. Crucial to this project is the concurrent development of a critical perspective on mainstream media culture. Video art screenings and readings in media theory will critically address the relations between viewers, producers, and the media. Students must expect to acquire materials and texts costing approx. $50.00 to be used in exercises in classroom presentations. Access to equipment and editing facilities will be available. Lab fee: $75. Class size is strictly limited.

 

DMS 105 A
Basic Documentary
TR 9-10:50
Reg.#292842
CFA 286
This course will present students with the fundamental, theoretical, creative, and technical concerns of documentary and video production. Students will be introduced to methods of research, production design, approach to subject, interviewing and the structuring of information, as well as the technical video skills of camera work, sound recording, and lighting and editing, as they apply specifically to the documentary process. The demands of documentary expression require preparation with a different emphasis from that which applies to the personal and experimental approaches to filmmaking and video making. Materials and texts will cost approx. $50. Lab fee: $75. Class size is strictly limited.

 

DMS 107
History of Film 1
MW 9:00-10:50
Reg.#428186
CFA 112
This course is a survey of American and European films before 1927, including works by Porter, Sennett, Melies, les Freres Lumieres, Chaplin, Keaton, Griffith, and Eisenstein. Note that previous training in the study of film literature is highly recommended (like DMS 109).

 

DMS 109 A
Introduction to Film Interpretation
MW 1-2:50
Reg. #067509
CFA 112
CANCELLED FOR FALL 2001
This course is a rigorous study of the elements of film as art. Students will learn to identify various aspects of cinematography, acting, directing, screenwriting, etc. Screenings will include a range of materials, from classics ("The Great Train Robbery," "Citizen Kane") to contemporary works.

DMS 121 A / B
Basic Digital Arts
MW 8-9:50 / WF 8-9:50
Reg. #166189 / Reg.#077125
CFA 136 / CFA 232/136
This course will present fundamental concepts and methods that underlie the use of computers in generating and processing digital works and examine them in the context of contemporary artistic practice in painting, photography, film, and video. The impact of computers, both present and potential, on the more traditional arts will be discussed. Through the use of imaging audio and presentation software, students will explore the various ways in which computers deal with images, sound and structures, adapting these methods to produce work of their own. Work by contemporary artists working in the digital medium will be shown and examined on a regular basis. The class size is strictly limited. Lab fee: $75.

 

DMS 155 A1
Introduction to New Media
T 9-10:50am (LECTURE)
Reg.#<<<<>>>>
R. Cherry

 

CFA 112 (lec) / CFA 244 (lab)

 

DMS 155 A2 (lab)
R 9-10:50
Reg.#192205

 

DMS 155 A3 (lab)
R 3-4:50pm
Reg.#332603
This course provides an introduction to design and the production of interactive multimedia. The content of the class will focus on the theoretical and practical aspects of creating and integrating digital media with authoring/presentation tools. This class will lay the foundation for creating interactive projects for the web and CD-ROMS, and will integrate art, journalism, and music through hands-on developmental projects in our new state-of-the-art Mac lab (coming this summer). Students will learn the process and skills necessary to create a web site and an interactive CD-ROM which integrates animation, graphic design, sound, and text, working in Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Flash animation, Sound Edit 16, and Illustrator. The course will accommodate 48 students. Enroll now! Get the technological edge! Lab fee $75. Register for one lab section; you will automatically be registered for the lecture section. NON-MAJORS WELCOME. NO PRE-REQUISITE KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY.

200 LEVEL COURSES

DMS 213
Immigration and Film
TR 10-11:50
Reg.#036784
Rheingold
CFA 235
http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~bsnyder
This course is interested in issues of ethnicity, race, gender, and class in selected American films. We will examine cinematic representations of immigrants, paying close attention to social and political constructions of ethnic “difference” and notions of “the other.” We will discuss films from 3 different periods: The Silent Cinema (1900-1925); The Early Sound Period (1927-1935); and Later Sound Cinema (1935-present). The class will consist of assigned readings, regular class discussion, 2 exams, film screenings, and short response papers. Films will include: Chaplin’s The Immigrant; Silver’s Hester Street; D.W. Griffith’s Broken Blossom; Wayne Wang’s Eat a Bowl of Tea, Rea Tajiri’s History and Memory, among others. Attendance is mandatory. Non-majors welcome. Fulfills the American Pluralism requirement.

DMS 215 NEV
Programming 4 Multimedia
Reg.#237550
Neveau
MW 1-2:50
CFA TBA
This course is specifically designed to introduce students to computer programming for those students who plan on concentrating in the digital arts. All intended and declared digital arts students without a background in C++ or Java (or some other computer scripting language) should enroll in this course. This course is for majors and intended majors in digital arts only.

DMS 217
The Role of the Producer
Reg.#453847
DiPasquale
TR 2-3:50
CFA 112
This course will introduce the student to the world of creating media for broadcast, cable networks, and feature films within the studio system. The current Hollywood scene will be a major component of the course.

DMS 221
Web Design
TR 3-4:50
Reg.#151546
Fertig
CFA 242
This course will involve the analysis and creation of Web sites and Web-based media for a variety of communication purposes (artform, gallery, information resource, education, business). Topics such as audience analysis, interface design, graphic design, and usability testing will be discussed. Students will build professional-quality Web sites with guidance through all parts of the design and development process. New advancements in Web-based multimedia will be explored. Class time will be divided between practical labs and discussion/lecture formats. Because this is a production-oriented course, students will be expected to spend substantial out-of-class time working on the computer. Prior web design and html experience are not required, although students should be fully comfortable with working on a computer. Basic digital is not a prerequisite, but is strongly suggested. Lab fee: $75.

300 LEVEL COURSES

DMS 301
Film Workshop I
Reg.#006595
Mistretta
TR 2-3:50
CFA 246
(Permission of Instructor)
An intermediate film production course, reviewing and expanding upon concepts of film production learned in Basic Film. This course, however, is exclusively devoted to the technical concerns and aesthetic possibilities of 16mm film production. A variety of approaches to these issues will be explored through 5 structured projects focusing on camera-less films, exposure techniques, film editing, sound recording and editing, and the development of individual artistic “style.” Materials for the first four projects will be pre-packaged by the department for required purchased by class participants. Students will be responsible for all materials for the final project as well as film processing throughout the semester. Students can expect to spend a total of approx. $350 for materials and processing for the course, including the cost of pre-packaged materials. Lab fee: $75. This class is strictly limited in size.

DMS 303
Video Analysis
Tony Conrad
MW 1-2:50
Reg.#159339
CFA 112
This course is an introduction to the conceptual and technological systems which support contemporary work in video. It focuses on current artistic practices using electronic media and on recent work in this and related fields which has supported the emergence and critical development of media arts. It is for the student with an intense interest in the electronic arts as well as the person whose only contact with video is through television. Classroom activities will be varied and may include a variety of readings, out-of-class viewings, presentations, a series of brief papers, and presentations of videotaped material. Students should plan to buy a reader and/or textbook. Regular attendance is mandatory.

DMS 305
Film Analysis, Cinema I
Bernadette Wegenstein
Reg.#330930
MW 10-11:50
CFA 235
http://pluto.fss.buffalo.edu/classes/dms/berna/dms305/
The course offers introductory theoretical tools to film analysis. The guiding questions will regard the representation of reality in film, and the various possibilities of "reality bleeds." How can reality be described in film language? To what extent do the codes of reality and film compete with each other? And why is it that in recent film (and TV) history the concept of reality is "pushing more and more through the fourth wall?" These and other questions will be discussed in respect to three cultural/historical moments. First, Italian New or Neo-Realism, a period around the Second World War, when Roberto Rossellini and other Italian film directors "recorded history" through a blur of documentary and fiction. We will also consider the early work of Pier Paolo Pasolini, who brought the era of Italian Neo-Realism to an end. Second, the Scandinavian "Dogma Oath," sworn by Lars von Trier and other Danish and Swedish directors in 1995, with the purpose of capturing reality with original locations, no artificial requisites, and most importantly the steady cam-emphasizing the idea of presence. Third and last, we will look at current "reality bleeds," from Oliver Stone's documentary on JFK to the philosophical discussions of reality versus virtuality in recent cyperpunk film to current Reality TV shows. Students will write papers on specific films, "mocumentaries," or TV shows, or on theoretical aspects of the representation of reality in film. On Wednesday we will show the films (or excerpts) listed below. New Realism (Italy): Rome Open City (1945), Paisà (1946), Germany Year Zero (1947) - Roberto Rossellini, Bicycle Thieves (1948) - Vittorio de Sica, The Earth Trembles (1948) - Luchino Visconti, Accattone (1961), Mamma Roma (1962) - Pier Paolo Pasolini. Dogma 95 Films (Denmark, Sweden, USA): The Celebration (1998) - Mogens Rukov, Thomas Vinterberg, The Idiots (1998) - Lars von Trier, Mifune's Last Song (1999) - Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, The King Is Alive (2000) - Kristian Levring. Reality Bleeds (USA, Canada): JFK (1991) - Oliver Stone; Dirty Pictures (2000) - Frank Pierson, eXistenZ (1999) - David Cronenberg; The Matrix (1999) - Andy and Larry Wachowsky, The Blair Witch Project (1999), Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Blair Witch 3 - Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, Survivor Reality TV Show (2001) - CBS; Big Brother (1999) Reality TV Show (The Netherlands).

DMS 341
Intermediate Video Workshop
Meg Knowles
Reg.#309273
TR 1-2:50
CFA 244
PR: DMS 103, 104, 105, or 106
This course is a workshop in the tools of video. It offers exercises in intermediate video production for students who have had some previous exposure to video as a creative medium. The course will emphasize the development of technical skills and knowledge which are necessary for the effective use of video as an artistic tool and for documentation or personal expression. The student will buy at least three videocassettes for use in hands-on assigned exercise concerning cameras, lighting, editing, and other aspects of production and post-production. Other topics to be covered are video electronics and staging. Each student will need to spend a substantial amount of time working with studio, portable, and editing facilities outside the regular class hours. In addition, some outside video tape viewing, as well as short papers, will be required. Readings will include classroom handouts in addition to the assigned textbook. Total minimum expenses for each student is $50. Lab fee: $75. Attendance is mandatory.

DMS 343
Digital Video
Debra More
W 6-9:40pm
Reg.#246982
CFA 244/242
Digital Video provides students with an understanding of digital video production, theory, and practice. The course also provides an overview of the evolution of digital video, from the '70's to the present use on the Internet plus the impact of High Definition Television on the video industry. Lab work, lectures, and guest presentations will give students practical exposure to new media tools, software/hardware, system configuration, and television broadcast requirements for digital video. Students are encouraged to work with a variety of software programs and available in DMS labs, including but not limited to Adobe PhotoShop, Premier, and AfterEffects, among numerous others. A tour of UB's supercomputing facility will be provided. Field trips may also include tours of local television broadcast facilities for an overview of the Avid Media Composer and Symphony digital editing systems. Students will output their work to digital video in the process of completing weekly lab exercises. Occasional written assignments plus a significant digital video project will be required. Lab fee $75.

DMS 375
Science, Culture,
Paul Vanouse
MW 9-11:30
Reg.#196845
CFA
Call the Art Department for a course description.
645-6878.

400 LEVEL COURSES

DMS 409
Non-fiction Film: Contemporary Documentary
Sarah Elder
TR 12:00-1:50pm
Reg.#190667
CFA 235
This course will examine the development of independent documentary film and video and will explore the experimental “edges” documentary makers are exploring today. We will look closely at the representation of American culture with themes of class, gender, murder, rock stars, popular music, ethnicity, disability, and history. The class will analyze fundamental constructions of non-fiction filmmaking including camera work, editing, directing, and the structure of narrative storytelling. Attention will be given to major issues of non-fiction media: the documentary myth of truth, objectivity and reflexivity. Particular focus will be on the curious relationship between reality and the artist’s images of reality, the moral and ethical considerations of filming real people and the American love affair with “reality” media. Readings will explore contemporary and classic non-fiction theory and will accompany each film. The class will examine different documentary styles including cinema verite, fake docs, television documentary, and experimental documentary. Finally, we will look at the thin shifting line between fiction and non-fiction, between films of “make believe” and films which ask you to believe. Be prepared to see some great films! Attendance is required with readings, two papers, three response papers, and one final take-home exam.

DMS 417 DEN
Special Topics: Virtual Communities
M 3-4:50pm
Reg.#370472
Vanessa Dennen
CFA 242
**This is an ON-LINE course**
As of August 23, 2001, this course is still open!!
This course will explore the human, environmental and technical factors that are intertwined to create Web-based communities. Throughout the semester, students will read about and explore various computer-based virtual communities. Seminar discussions will focus on what components are necessary to have a "community" and the technical and social requirements for membership in a mediated community. As the semester progresses, the class will join and conduct small "experiments" with these communities. The semester will culminate in a design project in which students lay the foundations for their own virtual communities. Students should be comfortable using a computer and the Web. No further technological expertise is required for this course, although students with Web development skills may have the opportunity to use them.

DMS 416/516
Visual Modeling/Simulation
M 6:00-9:40pm
Reg.#110718
Jesse Fabian
CFA 242
(Permission of Instructor)
PR: DMS 231
This course will provide students with an advanced understanding of 3D animation principles and how to use digital tools effectively to create great media pieces. Using Maya, a state-of-the-art 3D modeling and animation software developed by Alias/Wavefront, students will explore how to best communicate personality, gesture, expression and movement in course projects. This is a rare opportunity to gain valuable experience working with a media professional and 3D animator. Related topics include project management, digital video production, and other skill areas necessary for fluency in 3D media production. Lab fee: $75. Class size is strictly limited.

DMS 417 A
Intelligent Agents
TR 1-2:50
Reg.#370472
CFA 242
CANCELLED FOR FALL 2001
Intelligent agents and engines are becoming ubiquitous in software products: they run games; they help their owners pick stocks or life-partners; they are integral to some computer-based artwork. This course will briefly sketch the history of this field: its early promise; the subsequent disillusionment; the current state. We will touch on the some basic concepts of AI such as the use of search and genetic algorithms. We will investigate software designers, game designers and artists; including Patti Maes and the Software Agent's Group; Christa Sommerer; Laurent Mignonneau & Will Wright. THIS COURSE HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FALL SEMESTER.

DMS 415 BOH/515
Information Theories
MW 1-2:50
Reg.#158758
Marc Bohlen
CFA 232
PR: Junior/Senior standing
For Artists and Media Workers
This seminar is an inquiry into the concepts behind information theory. It is comprised of a technical part in which the fundamentals of Shannon's conception of information will be analyzed from the vantage point of the mathematician (Pierce) and the semiotician (Eco). With this knowledge in place we will concentrate on critical issues within the information processing sciences Hayles/CAE/Winston/Virilio). The course will end with investigations into the use and potential of information theory for emerging media arts (Weibel/Druckerey/Wilson/Tufte) and justify the use of the plural in the title above.Primary Source Material: John Pierce: Introduction to Information Theory; Umberto Eco: A theory of Semiotics Katherine Hayles: How we became PostHuman. Paul Virilio: Information Bomb; CAE: Electronic Civil Disobediance. Additional Source Material: Philip Agre: Computation and Human Experience; Brian Winston: Media Technology and Society. Martin Heidegger: The Question Concerning Technology. Peter Weibel/Timothy Druckerey: Net Condition. Art and Global Media. Edward Tufte: Envisioning Information. Steve Wilson: Information Arts.
More courses below
 
DMS 418
Advanced Editing Production
Sarah Elder
Reg.#330190
TR3-4:50
CFA 235
(Permission of Instructor)
Why do cuts work or not work? This production seminar looks at essential principals of editing and explores the theoretical, practical, and creative editing concerns of film and video artists. The class is designed for anyone working in narrative or alternative fiction, documentary, or experimental media either in video or film. Students will study advanced editing techniques learning how to fine cut their own work with some practice in creative editing design assignments. We will explore the nature of an edit, and examples of good cutting. Students will read essential editing theory including classics by Murch, Eisenstein, Cancyger, and Hollyn. The class will study and practice pacing, time cuts, rhythm, dramatic arch, multiple audio tracts, continuity and discontinuity, match cuts, story building, layering sound FX, editing room management, dialogue editing, anti-narrative, and the influence of dreaming. Guest editors will also visit and lecture on their work. Students must have previous editing experience and preferably bring raw footage or an edited rough cut project on which they would like to work during the semester. Each student will have different challenges depending on his/her genre-fiction, experimental, or documentary. Students will work on the Media 100, and students who wish to can also work on the 8 plate film Steenbeck. Class size is limited.

DMS 419 A
Advanced Digital Arts Production
Josephine Anstey
TR 10-11:50
Reg.#348463
CFA 242
PR: DMS 121, 122, or Permission of Instructor
This production course will introduce students to the concepts and practice of programming 2D computer graphics using C++ , OpenGL and the GLUT libraries, and to a basic sound server. The major focus will be on creating interactive art experiences by programming both graphics and sound. The course has three goals: to demystify computer code-we get behind the Graphic User Interface to the machine below; to explore the potential of programming-writing our own code means we can create customized computer tools as well as customized visuals; and to teach the fundamentals of graphics programming.

DMS 419 B
Advanced Digital Arts Production:
“Beyond the Box-Programming with Peripheral Devices”
Marc Bohlen
MW 10-11:50
Reg.#303744
CFA 246
PR: DMS 121, 122, or Permission of Instructor
This course will focus on peripheral devices and their use for installation art work. We will investigate concepts in the programming language C/C++ in order to control remote devices such as sensors and motors. This course will be both a traditional programming course and a studio course in using computation in art practice. Students will be expected to bring in or acquire programming skills and apply them in the design of installation art work. The peripheral devices will be limited to a set of (serially connected) servo motors in this course. Students will work in groups of 3 (max) and design a kinetic installation piece with the supplied motor kit. Proper programming will be just as important as diligent craft and design. Book list: Practical C++ Programming; Ones and Zeros, Understanding Boolean Algebra , Digital Circuits and the Logic of Sets.

DMS 434A/535A
Virtual Tales: Developing a VR Art Project
Josephine Anstey
W 9-12:50
Reg.354869
CFA 266
Virtual Tales is a course designed to bring together students, artists from the region, and UB faculty to develop a geographically-distributed virtual reality art experience. The course will have three aspects; an introduction to existing VR art experiences, artists and issues; discussion of the creative content of Virtual Tales; and implementation. The course is designed for students with a background in graphics programming, or for those with a background in Maya modeling and an interest in modeling for real time applications. The course will introduce the students to a VR authoring toolkit based on C++ and IRIS Performer. This system, Ygdrasil, has been specifically designed for large scale art projects. The toolkit handles a number of activities common to VR environments, such as assembling objects into a world, collision detection, navigation, and detecting events and passing messages in response to them. Those without programming experience can use a textfile to build VR worlds using their own models and a variety of modules designed to provide interactivity and assign behaviors to objects. Programmers can extend the system, building their own customized modules as this production demands. Ygdrasil is a networked system, so at both the development and exhibition stages, participants can enter the virtual environment from remote locations. The class will use the equipment and VR systems at CCR and the Department of Media Study. $75 lab fee.

DMS 435 JD / DMS 535 JD
Narrative Scriptwriting
Joe DiPasquale
W 12-3:50pm
Reg.#139799
CFA 235
This course gives students first-hand experience with all the primary aspects and stages of preproduction planning (scriptwriting, storyboarding, and structural diagramming) of a feature film. Script analysis will be a major component of the course

DMS 450
Film and Development of Contemporary Art
Caroline Koebel
T 6-9:40
Reg.#356441
CFA 232
This interdisciplinary studio course takes "the body"-in its myriad senses, significations and interpretations-as the basis for aesthetic and critical inquiry. Course requirements will center on three major projects realized in the form/media of the student's choice, including performance, digital/cyberart, installation, video, audio, and text/writing. We will consider how artists and others position the turn-of-the-millennium body, and the influence of previous investigations on recent approaches to the corporeal self. A plethora of art works and writings by the likes of Samuel R. Delaney, Carolee Schneemann, Bob Flanagan, Lygia Clark, Orlan, and Gina Pane will act as a catalyst for a discourse and praxis of engagement and vitality. Lab fee: $75

DMS 455 FIN/DMS 518
Medical Visualization
David Fineberg, M.D.
MW 4-6:50pm
Reg.#241136
Alumni 97
Permission of Instructor daf4@acsu.buffalo.edu
CANCELLED FOR FALL 2001
The latest concepts of biotechnology and medical visualization will be discussed on an introductory level. Emphasis will be placed upon recent technological advances in the areas of virtual reality, simulation, human interface technology, computer assisted surgery, medical lasers, and nanotechnology. Independent Research will be assigned to develop human computer interfaces in surgical simulation and medical visualization. Focus groups will be formed consisting of students of media study, engineering, computer science, art, and premedical studies. Educational Goals and Objectives are to teach students the basics of biotechnology and medical visualization; to assist students in developing independent research skills by working in focus groups to design biomedical devices; to provide students with the opportunity to learn cross-disciplinary aspects of a major field of study that will enhance overall understanding of that field; to provide students with access to medical research; and to provide a mechanism for students from different departments to collaborate on biomedical projects. This is a great course for Media Study students with an interest in digital visualization and virtual reality-the career possibilities for such knowledge are endless. No pre-med knowledge necessary; no programming skills necessary. Power point knowledge a plus. E-mail daf4@acsu.buffalo.edu for permission.

DMS 461
Cyber Theory: Myths and Meaning(s)
Christine Zinni
TR 1-2:50
Reg.#046297
CFA 242
This is a "bridge" course based on the understanding theory cannot thrive without being rooted in practice and practice cannot liberate without theory. The first part of the course will be devoted to a broad socio, economic, and historical background to the prevailing system of gender representations. We will pay close attention to how cultures think themselves through the body, and note how "norms" came into being, have been naturalized, and viewed as truthful and correct. Focusing on "excess", the "gaze", and the role of genre convention, we will examine technologies of gender, exploring links between the Market and the Machine, advertising, corporate power, the national imaginary and utopian longings. During the second part of the course we will shift our gaze(s) to "disappearance" of the material body and consider the specifics of Cyborgism and New Frontiers. Students will do some close listening and watching of classic cult films and alternative media productions--starting with Frankenstein and Lang's Metropolis, proceeding to Longo's "Johnny Mnemonic" "The Matrix," "Existans", 'Lawnmower Man," Stelarc's performances and yes, Spielberg's "AI." There will be selected readings from the following cultural theorists and feminist writers: Berger, Ewen, McLuhan, and Ewen, Bakhtin, DeLauretis, Haraway, and one main coursebook: Technologies of the Gendered Body: Reading Cyborg Women by Anne Balsama. No prior knowledge of cultural theory is expected or required. Students will be asked to stay in tune by keeping a notebook of newspaper clippings related to issues such as control of the body, artificial intelligence, and cyborgs. A research paper is required as a final project.

DMS 490
Internship
Staff
Variable Credit 1-4
Permission of Instructor
Media Study majors have the opportunity to gain variable academic credit for internships in local and national media production companies, television stations, cable companies, and media access centers. This is an unpaid internship available to majors. Guidelines are set by an internship supervisor in collaboration with a faculty sponsor to provide hands-on practical experience in an on-the-job training program. For registration info, see Nancy King in 231 CFA.

DMS 499
Independent Study
Staff
Variable Credit 1-4
Permission of Instructor
Students may arrange for special courses of study with faculty through “Independent Study.” The instructor will set the guidelines for the course on an individual basis. It permits the student to study, independently, in an area where no course is given. Syllabus for Independent Study should be prepared prior to semester, signed by the instructor, with one copy on file with the department. For registration info, see Nancy King in 231 CFA. Lab fee for production work: $75