DANM-Digital Arts and New Media

Hands-on course introduces students to basic methods and practices in animation while exposing them to independent animation artists. Students explore techniques ranging from hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation to object animation and pixilation. (Formerly course 131, Introduction to Animation.)

Expands on student understanding of both experimental and conventional animation techniques. Workshops in 2D drawn, stop-motion, and stop-action animation methods are combined with tutorials of the post-production process, screenings of animation examples, and critique.

As a team, students design a working prototype of a game including the Design Document, Prototypes, and Game Implementation. Introduced to advanced media types including 3D animation, principles of object-oriented programming, digital music, and video. Strongly recommended that students have a working knowledge of programming language, preferably an object-oriented language (Macromedia Lingo preferred).

Viewing of the Pixar Animation Studios canon combined with lectures on the major art history movements within discipline of theater history and its attendant dramatic literature: The Marxist Epic: A Bug's Life and the Backstage Musical; Shakespeare's Comedic Weltanschauung: Finding Nemo; Postmodern Criticism: Toy Story; French Romanticism and the Hugo Hero: Monsters, Inc.; Alger, Albee, and The Incredibles' American Dream.

Exploration of the practice of making a living, as well as a life, in art. Examines strategies for connecting with the community using outreach projects and the joys and sorrows of working collaboratively. Compares corporate and nonprofit funding paths and the business of showing work while maintaining creative challenges.

Faculty lectures to familiarize first-year DANM graduate students with program faculty members and their creative work and research so the students can select their faculty advisers and thesis committee members.