Communications Lab - #H79.2004
Mondays 12:30-3:00 and 3:30-6:00, Instructor: Marianne R.Petit
Course Description: An introductory course designed to provide students with hands-on experience using various technologies (online communities, digital imaging, audio, video, animation, authoring environments, etc.) The forms and uses of new communications technologies are explored in a laboratory context of experimentation and discussion. The technologies are examined as tools that can be employed in a variety of situations and experiences. Principles of interpersonal communications, media theory, and human factors are introduced. Weekly assignments, team and independent projects, and project reports are required.

Grading is based on successful completion of all assignments, class webjournals, class participation and attendance.

This syllabus will be updated weekly with links and notes. My office hours are Wednesdays from 10-12 / 3:30 - 5:00 or by appointment. (marianne dot petit at nyu dot edu)

Required Texts: Understanding Media by Marshall Mcluhan, Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Recommended Texts: "Film Directing Shot by Shot" by Steven Katz

Class Urls - Both Sections

• Class introductions
• Overview of Course
• Discussion / Demonstration
  • Overview of ITP server and FTP
  • The Anatomy of a Blog
  • Welcome to WordPress
  • Demonstration of Wordpress Installation on ITP Server
  • Demonstration of Wordpress, Basic HTML, Themes, and Plugins
• Assignment:
• Install Wordpress and create a basic blog for yourself. This will be where all your assignments will be housed, so you'll want to consider the overall structure. Each week, assignments will be documented and posted here. In addition to posting each week's assignment, you will also post a paragraph summary of your process to the blog.
• Read E.M. Forster's "The Machine Stops". Post response to blog. Be prepared to discuss in class and
• Post response to Forster text on your site. Be prepared to discuss in class.
• Email me the url. (please send it one day before class so I have time to look at everyone's work before we meet)

Class 2: Monday, September 20th

• Discussion of Forster Reading
• Review blogging process
• Discuss video sharing/reposting
  • The Show with Ze Frank
  • BlipTV
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube
• Demonstration: Xacti Cameras
• Demonstration: Editing in Quicktime
• In-class Exercise: The 30-Minute Film Festival. In teams of three you have 45 minutes to create a short video that contains a simple narrative arc. Create a Vimeo or Blip account. Upload your video. Embed it into your blog. We'll have a short film festival.
• Assignment:
• Read Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Reproduction", Post a response to your blog. Be prepared to discuss in class.
• Using the Xacti cameras, document a project in another class. Upload it to your blog.

Class 3: Monday, September 27th

• Discuss Benjamin reading
Discussion/Demonstration Photoshop, Image Capture/Manipulation
• http://www.briandilg.com
• http://detouch.org/
• You Suck at Photoshop
• Demonstration Photoshop Techniques
• Disussion: Sequential Imaging and modern day examples, Alien Loves Predator , Demain5
• Assignment:
• Before begin working, read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. It is important that you read this prior to beginning. It will iinform your work.
• In teams of two, tell a story in 4-10 sequential images. Upload to your blog.

Class 4: Monday, October 4th

• Critique Sequential Images
Discussion: Pixilation & Stop Motion
• View: Norman McLaren's "Neighbors" Michel Gondry/White Stripes The Hardest Button to Button, and Other Works of Interest and Early Animation at the Library of Congress
• Demonstration: Working with digital stills and iStopMotion (available at http://boinx.com/)
• Demonstration: an Introduction to Final Cut
• Assignment:
• In teams of 2 create a 30-second time-lapse, stop-motion or pixilation animation.
• Upload version to your Vimeo/Blip account and embed into your blog.
• Bring uncompressed Quicktime file to class.

NO CLASS MONDAY OCTOBER 11th

Class 5: Monday, October 18th

• Critique pixilation and stop motion animation
• Discussion of digital audio - sampling and distribution
• The story of DJ Danger Mouse's "The Grey Album" (http://www.illegal-art.org/audio/grey.html) and Negativland v. U2 (www.negativland.com) et al.
• Demonstration: Collection of sounds and the Zoom recorder
• Assignment:
• In teams of two, begin the collection of sounds for a 1-minute sound piece (due in 2 weeks) This piece can be environmental, create space or mood, tell a story through sound.
• Read Marshall McLuhan's "Understanding Media"Chapter 1: The Medium is the Message and Chapter 2: Media Hot and Cold
• Read handouts:
  • Jonathan Lethem's The Ecstacy of Influence: A Plagiarism
  • On the Rights of the Molotov Man: Appropriation and the Art of Context
• On your blog, post response to the readings.

Class 6: Monday, October 25th

• Discussion: Review readings and responses
• Demonstration: Basic digital audio: Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
• Demonstration: Soundtrack Pro
• Demonstration: Garageband
• Putting it all together.
• Assignment:
• In teams of two create a 1-2 minute sound piece in any of the environments we looked at. Again, this piece can be environmental, create space or mood, or tell a story through sound. Upload it to your site in mp3. Bring either the audacity or soundtrack files with all tracks to class.

Class 7: Monday, November 1st

• Critique audio pieces
• Discuss storyboards, their function and use
• View: Robert Castillo's "SPIC, The Storyboard of My Life"
• Assignment:
• Read Steven Katz "Film Directing Shot by Shot" chapter on storyboards.
• Break into teams of four to plan for video project. Create storyboard in preparation of videoshoot. Be prepared to discuss in class. Upload to blog.

Class 8: Monday, November 8th

• Review storyboards
• Demonstration: The video camera and the basics of shooting video: audio, composition, lighting.
  
• Assignment:
• Go out and shoot your video.

Class 9: Monday, November 15th

• How did your shoot go?
• Discussion: logging your footage and the paper edit - Edit Worksheet
• Demonstration: Log and Transfer / Editing in FinalCut Pro
• Assignment:
• Edit two-minute video.
• Upload version to Vimeo or BlipTV account and embed file into your blog.
• Bring uncompressed QuicktimeDV file in class.

Class 10: Monday, November 22nd

• Critique video pieces
• Discuss storyboards, collage animation and cutouts
• View: Run Wrake's Rabbit, Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues, Miho Hatori's Barracuda
• Assignment:
• In teams of two, create storyboard for one-minute animation. Upload to class site.

Class 11: Monday, November 29th

• Review storyboards
• Demonstration: Basic AfterFx
• Assignment:
• In teams of two, create storyboard for one-minute animation.
• Upload version to Vimeo or BlipTV account and embed file into your blog.
• Bring uncompressed QuicktimeDV file in class

Class 12: Monday, December 6th

• Critique animations
• Discussion/Demonstration:
  • Basic html and resources (W3schools, HTML Validators)
  • Basic css and resources (W3schools, Firefox plugins, CSS Validators)
  • Discussion of basic php (php.net, W3schools) and Working with PHPMyAdmin
• Assignment:
• Resdesign your site (due two weeks)

Class 13: Monday, December 13th (or Saturday December 11th)

• Continue Discussion/Demonstration:
  • Basic html and resources (W3schools, HTML Validators)
  • Basic css and resources (W3schools, Firefox plugins, CSS Validators)
  • Discussion of basic php (php.net, W3schools) and Working with PHPMyAdmin
  • For students who wish to work with RSS feeds discussed in class: commlab-phpnotes
• Assignment:
• Resdesign your site (due one weeks)

• Critique final works.