DMD 1101/Design Lab I

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I. COURSE DESCRIPTION

Design Lab 1 explores the creation, manipulation and reception of digital images through project-based work, lectures and discussions. Through a multi-disciplinary perspective involving art, design, history, and media we will address how visual artists produce and synthesize images and imagery. Students will develop an understanding of the construction, reception, and consequences of images from diverse mediums including painting, photography, digital media, advertisements, and time-based media as a means to inform their own digital image-making.

Animators, filmmakers, web designers and other digital media professionals engage with images and imagery constantly. For all of these professions, understanding bitmap imager through a raster graphics editor such as Adobe Photoshop is fundamental. Digital Media and Design students need a foundation experience of both creating and talking about images through an exposure to a broad array of image-making techniques. This course will contextualize the process of bitmap image-making within creative frameworks that will enrich the work and discourse in future classes, whether designing a layout, making styleframes, or preparing assets for 3D animation.

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II. COURSE RATIONALE

Digital media professionals engage with visual culture in animation, video, gaming, interaction design, social media, and advertising. Digital image creation, processing and manipulation play an essential role in a digital media practice. As animators, designers, and marketers we need a comprehension of the rich and diverse history of visual images and their power to communicate, persuade and inspire. Digital creatives need practice in a diverse array of image-making methods to create compelling content. At the same time that we contextualize and unlock the expressive power of images and image-making, digital media professionals need to recognize the unprecedented cultural impacts of digital tools and images.

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III. COURSE OBJECTIVES & GOALS

Students who complete this course will learn, practice, experiment and investigate ways to create effective images as well as:

– Improve the student’s use of digital tools and processes

– Develop a foundational knowledge of digital image manipulation

– Practice a diverse array of image-making methods

– Gain familiarity with using digital cameras for capturing effective images and video

– Practice giving ideas visual form through still images, image sequences, and time-based media

– Develop an appreciation for the rich and diverse history of visual images

– Gain insight into the role of visual culture in animation, video, gaming, social media, etc.

– Gain insight into the power of images and imagery to communicate, persuade and inspire

– Recognize the unprecedented cultural impacts of digital tools and images

– Develop a vocabulary for describing, and criteria for assessing, images and imagery

– Form an ethical understanding related to the creation, dissemination and reception of digital images

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IV. POLICIES

Participation is important. This course is experiential and there is no practical way to recapture material covered in class. Students are responsible for all project deadlines and any missed course content. No calls, personal messages or social networks during class time. File management is an important part of any digital pipeline. Label properly, organize work in folders, and use cloud services to back up your work.

UConn policies: http://provost.uconn.edu/faculty-and-staff-resources/syllabi-references/

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V. GRADING

Creativity is the key to doing well in this class and in getting the most out of it. The work involves great patience and perseverance at times. By being creative in what you do, by finding answers in yourself, you will continue to find the energy to persevere without trouble, and you will easily work your way towards a good grade.

The purpose of grading is to clearly and accurately pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of your progress. You will receive a grade on each project and a progress report at midterm. This report will evaluate progress, note strengths and areas for improvement. Your overall grade will be based on your understanding of the information and ideas discussed, and your formal, technical, and conceptual progress as demonstrated in projects and exercises, and professionalism during the course.

Students will be evaluated through class participation, research, presentations, and technical proficiency with various project and media applications. Aesthetic applications, and problem solving are also points of evaluation. Students will be evaluated on their creativity and diligence in applying the course tools to produce cogent and polished work. Our goals are to go beyond simply achieving technical proficiency, as we will also focus on learning principles in preparation for both artistic and commercial endeavors.

Late Work Policy :

Projects turned in late will be assessed a penalty: a half-letter grade if it is one day late, or a full-letter grade for 2-7 days late and will not be accepted if overdue by more than seven days.

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20% Participation

60% Class Projects

20% Final Project

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Definitions of letter grades are as follows:

Standard Grades / Grading is based on a 100 point scale and is as follows:

A 94-100

A- 90-93

B+ 87-89

B 84-86

B- 80-83

C+ 77-79

C 74-76

C- 70-73

D+ 67-69

D 64-66

D- 60-63

F less than 60 points

I Incomplete

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Letter grading explanation:

[A] Excellent. Student exhibits mastery of the material; demonstrates the ability to express and apply the material in a creative way, i.e., not simply what has been covered in the class or texts. Student demonstrates a strong articulation of personal voice, both in the work completed and in the presentation of material to the class.

[B] Good. Student exhibits an advanced understanding of material covered in class; has some consistency in performance on tests and assignments; presents the material in a clear, organized fashion, but needs further work on clear expression of ideas.

[C] Fair. Basic understanding of material covered in class. Concepts and facts are correct and covered in adequate depth; exhibits inconsistency (some areas covered well, others poorly, indicating some confusion over the material) or inability to clearly express understanding of the material.

[D] Poor. Student demonstrates perfunctory comprehension of the material; inconsistency of performance on tests and assignments; misunderstanding of the material; incomprehensive mastery of skills; excessive absences or lateness.

[F] Failure. Failure to complete the assignments as stated; failure to hand in an assignment; complete or near complete misunderstanding of the material; plagiarism; illiteracy; excessive absences or lateness.

[I] Incomplete. Incompletes are given at the discretion of the course instructor.

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VI. Texts & Materials

There is no required text for this course. Students will be required to use Adobe Creative Cloud applications either in campus labs or on their own computers. Student computers must meet the minimum DMD department standard. Additional equipment will be provided by the department through reservations and check out. See the departmental policies regarding check out, care, use and return of equipment. An external hard drive and SD card are recommended.

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VII. Projects

Students will be expected to demonstrate that they understand the techniques and concepts presented in class.

Project 1: Enhanced Reality (10 pts)

Digital tools can help overcome the inadequacies of the camera and photographer by offering tools that ‘correct’, fill in gaps, or expand a field of view. Ostensibly, these tools help create a ‘truer’, albeit subjective, image. The same tools can reshape reality for all variety of (sometimes insidious) purposes. Use the tools we have covered thus far to ‘enhance’ or ‘correct’ a digital photo in a believable and impactful way. Submit before and after images.

Project 2: (Re)constructing History (10 pts)

History tells a story from an author with a point of view. The simple act of designating a person, place or thing as worthy of ‘preservation’ expresses a value. A reader’s engagement in that history is also an affirmation of the subject’s importance. Create an image that (re)constructs a significant historical or cultural moment (past, present or future) that could not be captured in any practical way. Your image should communicate the significance of the moment through composition, color, light and detail.

Project 3: Collage Portrait (10 pts)

Using the green screen images we shot in class and your own images of the people, places, objects and ideas (etc) that are important to you, create a collage self portrait. Use any of the methods we discussed in class so far. Your image should combine very disparate elements, spatial relationships and/or ideas into a single unified composition. Consider the parts in relation to the whole: How can non-congruous spatial relationships, overlays and other combinations lead to a unified visual impression?

Project 4: Text as Material (10 pts)

Pick a word, phrase, or short sentence that communicates an idea. Using images, transformations and other effects, complicate, change, and/or direct the meanings and associations of your chosen text beyond its normal or expected understanding. Include a relevant background for your composition.

Project 5: Moving Images (10 pts)

Using layers and the timeline, create a cinemagraph that breathes life into a still frame. Use any of the methods we have explored in the class so far. Consider how the addition of time and change affects the interpretation and experience of your image.

Final Project: Image Sequence (20 pts)

Use any of the methods we have practiced in the course to create a sequence of images that explores, evolves, or communicates a ‘story’. Consider the visual elements, conceptual themes and relationships between each image and the overall group. An outline and template will be provided on HuskyCT detailing the presentation format. All projects must include a final layered PSD as well as a flattened png or jpg.

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VIII. Schedule

See Husky CT Syllabus for breakdown 

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Week One

Discussion: Photography and authenticity.

Objective: 1) to gain insight into departmental digital camera resources; 2) to understand digital image file creation and management; 3) to introduce Photoshop color correction, adjustments, and photo-merge tools; and 4) to discuss the important assumptions inherent in photographic media and explore the implications of digital processes in the creation and transformation of photographic images.

Introduce Project 1: Enhanced Reality

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Week Two and Three

Project 1: Presentation and Critique

Discussion: Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa and other impossible narratives. Artistic license, fair use, derivatives and homage in art, film and advertising.

Objectives: 1) to understand spatial relationships, perspective, light, photographic elements and other factors in creating a composite image; 2) to explore Non-destructive tools and methods for selection, transformation, and compositing; and 3) to explore communicating ideas through images.

Introduce Project 2: (Re)Constructing History

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Week Four and Five

Project 2: Presentation and Critique

Discussion: The limits of vision and knowledge; the unseen, unknown and inconceivable.

Objectives: 1) to gain insight into non-literal, symbolic, metaphorical and other suggestive image-making practices; 2) to practice a green screen setup including lighting and keying; 3) to practice curation and editorial decision making; and 4) to develop interpretative skills related to images and image-making.

Introduce Project 3: Collage Portrait

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Week Six and Seven

Project 3: Presentation and Critique

Discussion: Entropy and excavation in natural and man-made environments. Incorporating chance and error into the image-making process. Images as a record of process.

Objective: 1) to gain insight into the role of experimentation and synthesis in the creative process beyond preconceived or predetermined outcomes; 2) to develop personal criteria in a creative process; and 3) to explore non-representational methods in image creation.

Introduce Project 4: Processed

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Week Eight and Nine

Project 4: Presentation and Critique

Discussion: Text, image and meaning in art, design and media.

Objective: 1) to develop a familiarity with fonts, characters and text tools; 2) to use digital tools to transform found text; 3) to explore 3D tools and space with Photoshop text; and 4) to explore methods that create meaningful associations between text, image, composition and visual style.

Introduce Project 5: Text as Material

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Week Ten and Eleven

Project 5: Presentation and Critique

Discussion: Muybridge and the persistence of vision. Time and motion as elements of meaning and expression. Principles of animation: Staging, Exaggeration, and Anticipation.

Objective: 1) to understand time-based formats and elements such as frame rates, video codecs, gifs; 2) to integrate the experience of time into image-making tools and processes including animation, video and hand drawn animation techniques; 3) to gain experience with pacing, timing and rhythm; and 4) to introduce animation principles.

Introduce Project 6: Moving Images

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Week Twelve, Thirteen and Fourteen

Project 6: Presentation and Critique

Discussion: Diptychs, triptychs and other multi-image formats. The Kuleshov effect in film and media. Understanding Comics: Time, direction and the space between frames. The elements of a story. Mis en sc è ne. Motion design boards. Collections, series and other conceptual or non-narrative groupings. 

Objective: 1) to gain insight into interrelated images and their relationships; 2) to synthesize course content; 3) to make independent creative and editorial decisions.

Introduce Final Project: Image Sequence

Final Project Image Sequences: Presentation and Critique- Final Week (TBD)

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SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

I strongly recommend that you purchase an external hard drive. Students are responsible for having their work available for viewing in class during weekly class critiques. You do not need to submit your work to me on any kind of disk or storage device as long as I can view it in class. Note: hardware problems are no excuse for late or missing work. The hard drives of the computers are notoriously unreliable, and constantly get erased! Make backup copies and save your work on media besides the schools hard drives! Files can become corrupted.

NOTE: For a more detailed outline of Policies and Scheduling please see the syllabus on the course HuskyCT page. Schedule is subject to change.