Blender is a dynamic tool that can be used to design real world sets, physical objects and virtual assets for various media and live performance. It can render robust animations and impose visual effects on recorded video. It has the capacity to interface easily with interactive softwares like Unity and Unreal, while having the potential to output hi-fidelity renders for print. But beyond that it’s just a software. The ability to create any believable world comes from you. In this class we will explore a variety of techniques to create living, breathing fictional worlds while honing the skills in Blender to bring them to life. Students will be asked to create food, buildings, clothing, people and traffic signs from their fictional universe – building consistency of aesthetic, narrative allusion, and the fine details that make any world “believable”. The class will involve dissecting and discussing media on this world building, technical tutorials and instruction in Blender, and hands on workshops that tackle the conceptual questions of world building while exploring how to interface Blender with an outside medium: (3D printing, Pattern Making, Asset Development, Unity, Unreal, After Effects, recorded video). Students will be expected to watch technical tutorials and read short pieces on these topics for homework. Students will also complete weekly deliverable assignments.
Category Archives: Fall 2026
Experiments in Art and Technology (OART-UT 1059)
All art uses technology, yet technology alone isn’t art—it is the burning spark of imagination and personal vision that rips time, space, and the ordinary apart, harnessing tools and bending materials to create a manifestation born from the mind’s eye, and in this course, you will explore the relationships between art, imagination, and technology, paying homage to pioneering engineer-artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries by reconstructing historic work and learning to embrace the spark, bang, buzz, and smoke that often arise at the periphery of the known. Through research, field trips, discussions, and hands-on projects, you will celebrate past achievements, challenge boundaries, and embark on a personal journey between invention and art.
Artists & Audiences in Historical Context (REMU-UT 1203)
A follow-up complement to the first-year required Creative Entrepreneurs in Historical Context course that focused on entrepreneurs and producers, Artists and Audiences in Historical Context considers the history of popular (& semi-popular) music through the lens of iconic performers/recording artists and their audiences and communities, with special attention to issues of space and geography. Here are the central questions this class asks: Why do we have performing musicians and recording artists? What work do they do in the world, and how have our conceptions of the artist changed over time? And why do artists continue to need audiences? What role do fans and listeners play in our culture and politics? As we tackle these questions, we’ll look at how artists and audiences have been impacted over the decades by emerging media and technologies; we’ll look at auteur theory, crowd theory and cultural conceptions of musical genius; we’ll address taste and the rockism/poptimism debates; the pervasive role of stardom/celebrity as it determines what we might call today’s “pop industrial complex;” we’ll talk about issues of freedom of expression and political activism; we’ll think about the artist’s role in and against forces like war, terrorism and various forms of state and religious repression; and the artist’s struggle to reach audiences in, and against, categories of classification like genre and format. Artists and Audiences in Historical Context is an intensive reading and writing course, perhaps the most intensive one you will take at REMU: students read critical and historical writing about a diverse range of performers/recording artists, and then practice critical/creative writing themselves. Working with assistant editors/mentors as well as the instructor, students will be expected to learn how music writing improves through drafting, editing and stylistic refinement. Weekly audio/video playlists will supplement the reading and writing.
Internship (ITPG-GT 2100)
Internship can fulfill a Tier 2 (elective) requirement. An internship is done with an outside agency that provides a student with opportunities to work on projects that enable the student to develop and demonstrate his or her practical abilities, and which involve both new interactive technologies and their users.
Applications (ITPG-GT 2000)
“This introductory class is designed to allow students to engage in a critical dialogue with leaders drawn from the artistic, non-profit and commercial sectors of the new media field, and to learn the value of collaborative projects by undertaking group presentations in response to issues raised by the guest speakers. Interactive media projects and approaches to the design of new media applications are presented weekly; students are thus exposed to both commercial as well as mission-driven applications by the actual designers and creators of these innovative and experimental projects. By way of this process, all first year students, for the first and only time in their ITP experience, are together in one room at one time, and as a community, encounter, and respond to, the challenges posed by the invited guests. The course at once provides an overview of current developments in this emerging field, and asks students to consider many questions about the state of the art. For example, with the new technologies and applications making their way into almost every phase of the economy and rooting themselves in our day to day lives, what can we learn from both the failures and successes? What are the impacts on our society? What is ubiquitous computing, embedded computing, physical computing? How is cyberspace merging with physical space? WHY ARE WE HERE? -To see how the many things you might learn at ITP might be applied in the world (across many different fields), and to develop your own nuanced point of view on those applications -Think through the lens of designing engaging experiences -To build a shared language with your cohorts – about ITP, about your interests, about emerging technologies and ideas -To practice to collaboration in a way that emphasizes generosity, curiosity and communication -To practice a process of observation and articulation as a starting point for a design process. -To be inspired by different possible visions for your future. -To get a glimpse of the foundational character of the program: experimentation, play, thoughtfulness, emergence, interdisciplinarity, collaboration, criticality -To co-create a culture in which you have a sense of belonging / agency through your own ability to participate in its making WHAT HAPPENS IN CLASS? -Groups facilitate an experiences for the class, in response to the prior week’s guest -Small group discussions -Distribute invitations, made by you, to experiences in NYC –Hear from Guest Speaker -Short Q&A/ Final discussion with Guest”
Computational Text from A to Z (ITPG-GT 2536)
This course focuses on programming strategies and techniques behind procedural analysis and generation of text-based data. We’ll explore topics ranging from evaluating text according to its statistical properties to the automated production of text with probabilistic methods to text visualization. Students will learn server-side and client-side JavaScript programming and develop projects that can be shared and interacted with online. This fall the course will also explore topics in machine learning as related to text. There will be weekly homework assignments as well as a final project.
Documentary Traditions (FMTV-UT 1032)
14 sessions will be devoted to a history of the genre, screening essential films both inside and outside the canon, with a focus on the changes in style, technique, and subject matter which influenced the form from its earliest beginnings to the present. Undergraduates who take the course for three points are required to keep journals in which they respond to each session and compare observations with those made when viewing at least one documentary of their choice seen outside class, as well as in response to critical essays provided at each session and references in the text.
The Basics of Social Entrepreneurship (REMU-UT 1269)
This introductory course is targeted to all students who have a strong sense of their individual purpose and are motivated to change the world through music. In this course, students learn about social entrepreneurs, how they think, the problems they address, the business tools they leverage and the strategies they employ to create social change. Through readings, participatory class discussion, class activities, self-reflection and occasional guest speakers, students examine current issues, opportunities and challenges that social entrepreneurs and their ventures face. In addition, they acquire skills, actionable tools, and practical approaches to help advance their social change agenda now and in the future. Ultimately, the aim is to inspire and empower students to put their ideas for social change in to action and to start manifesting the change they wish to see in the world.
Intro to Television Writing (FMTV-UT 1017)
This course, aimed at second semester sophomores, is the launch pad of Television Writing in the department. Before taking any other TV writing courses, students must take Introduction To Television Writing. The course will introduce sophomores interested in TV writing to all aspects of what goes into the creation of a script for a TV program. It is also recommended for non-writers who wish to learn the fundamentals of TV writing as preparation for creating shows and working with writers. The course will also prepare students for other TV-writing courses in the departmental Television Progression. The course is also open to seniors with an interest in television writing who haven’t taken other TV writing courses. This course allocates as Film & TV, Scriptwriting for Film & TV majors.
Topics in ITP: The Body Everywhere and Here The Body Everywhere and Here (ITPG-GT 2380)
This course will cover a variety of academic topics within the field of Interactive Telecommunications. For further details, please refer to the individual class section notes and topic subtitle.
Topics in ITP: Creative Image Generation Creative Image Generation (ITPG-GT 2378)
This course will cover a variety of academic topics within the field of Interactive Telecommunications. For further details, please refer to the individual class section notes and topic subtitle.
Class titles vary by section.
Topics in ITP: Disturbing Code Disturbing Code (ITPG-GT 2379)
This course will cover a variety of academic topics within the field of Interactive Telecommunications. For further details, please refer to the individual class section notes and topic subtitle.
Class titles vary by section.
Class #
Section #
Meets
Class #: 16526
Section #: 001
Meets: M 12:20-2:50p
Class #: 16527
Section #: 002
Meets: T 3:20-5:50p
Class #: 16529
Section #: 003
Meets: M 6-8:30p
Class #: 16528
Section #: 004
Meets: T 12:20-2:50p
Class #: 16530
Section #: 005
Meets: M 12:20-2:50p
Class #: 21075
Section #: 006
Meets: W 9:30a-12p
Class #: 22706
Section #: 007
Meets: F 12:20-2:50p
Class #: 22708
Section #: 008
Meets: F 9:30a-12p
Universe in a Blender (COART-UT 508)
Blender is a dynamic tool that can be used to design real world sets, physical objects and virtual assets for various media and live performance. It can render robust animations and impose visual effects on recorded video. It has the capacity to interface easily with interactive softwares like Unity and Unreal, while having the potential to output hi-fidelity renders for print. But beyond that it’s just a software. The ability to create any believable world comes from you. In this class we will explore a variety of techniques to create living, breathing fictional worlds while honing the skills in Blender to bring them to life. Students will be asked to create food, buildings, clothing, people and traffic signs from their fictional universe – building consistency of aesthetic, narrative allusion, and the fine details that make any world “believable”. The class will involve dissecting and discussing media on this world building, technical tutorials and instruction in Blender, and hands on workshops that tackle the conceptual questions of world building while exploring how to interface Blender with an outside medium: (3D printing, Pattern Making, Asset Development, Unity, Unreal, After Effects, recorded video). Students will be expected to watch technical tutorials and read short pieces on these topics for homework. Students will also complete weekly deliverable assignments.
Playful Performance Props (COART-UT 505)
TouchDesigner is a powerful software hub for live audiovisual performance and installation art. With a cutting-edge buffet of inputs and outputs at our disposal, what new, evolved, or remixed types of art can we create? If you’re a musician, you’ll make and play an instrument that didn’t exist before. If you’re a dancer, your movements will become the music and visuals, instead of the other way around. If you’re a visual artist, you’ll collage with code, sculpt with magic, and create installations that respond to your audience instantly. If you’re all of the above, you’ll have fun in this class. The course starts with video art — live camera feeds, visual effects, and projection mapping — then weaves in audio reactivity and sound generation for DJ/VJing. We will use the MediaPipe plugin to detect our faces, bodies, and objects and use that data to make music, control systems, and modulate visual effects. We will scan objects, people, and environments with our phones to create virtual scenes and 3D animations rendered live. We will learn communication protocols — MIDI to send input and receive output from MIDI controllers or DAWs such as Ableton; OSC to wirelessly connect to other computers, software, and livecode environments; and NDI to send high-resolution and low-latency video feeds between devices. By the end of the course, students will be able to use TouchDesigner to connect and control any modern art/performance/game software. Assignments are time-intensive: creating original work to be shown in class and watching recorded lessons of the next week’s concepts. Classtime is a mix of homework performances, collaborative exercises, concept walkthroughs, and studio time. The final is a small group performance or interactive installation that is a part of a public show. No previous coding, fabrication, or performance experience necessary. Note: There is no longer mandatory use of Arduino in this course, though students with interest in Arduino microcontrollers can still create custom hardware interfaces that send sensor input or receive command signals and turn TouchDesigner into a hub for interactive installations or performance props.
Lighting: (PHTI-UT 1013)
Prerequisite: Photography II or permission from the Department. This class teaches lighting as a series of the most common lighting problems encountered in professional photography and cinematography. The course philosophy is that the most complex and difficult lighting problems are really just combinations of small, easily resolved, problems. Starting with basic three-point lighting for portraiture using simple continuous source lighting, the course will progress quickly to extremely complex set ups using electronic flash as well as lighting for the new generation of hybrid Dslr’s (video/still camera) as it moves through multiple environments. Subjects covered include: Lighting for portraits, still life, fashion, interiors, documentary, and exterior location lighting using battery powered flash. Location scouting and planning according to location limitations. Color temperature and color control. Light shaping and control. Students will learn how to use: Digital SLR’s, medium format cameras, Leaf Aptus electronic capture, direct tethered capture using Adobe Lightroom, continuous lighting, electronic flash, color temperature meters and custom white balance profiles as well as the basics of video/sound capture. Lighting equipment is provided. A lab fee is charged for this course.
Useless Machines (IMNY-UT 272)
“Useless Machines is about redefining “usefulness.” Through making, we will explore what it means, on an ideological, political and historical level, to create something ‘useful’ or ‘useless.’ We will play with these definitions and explore how these objects serve to be humorous, critical, disruptive and at times… useful. We will study ‘useless’ machines throughout history, which will provoke conversations and disagreements around the implications of existing and emerging technologies. The students will design ‘useless’ machines for their final project. Examples of ‘useless’ machines are drawn from Kenji Kawakami’s The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions, Dunne & Raby’s Speculative Everything, Stephanie Dinkins’ Conversations with Bina 48, https://esoteric.codes/, CW&T, Mimi Ọnụọha’s Missing Data, Jacques Carelman’s Catalogue of Impossible Objects, viral videos/objects and much more.”
Future of Media and Technology (ITPG-GT 2297)
This course covers the next several years of evolution in technology, culture, and other trends. It uses scenario planning, a technique for considering complex interrelationships that can’t be predicted, distinguishing predetermined elements from critical uncertainties, and exploring the underlying patterns that influence events. Students will conduct original research on significant trends, use those trends to develop compelling, sophisticated, plausible stories about possible futures, and present the futures – and the strategies they suggest – to a public audience. The course will take place at a pivotal moment of historical uncertainty: recovering from a global pandemic, with AI and other digital technologies crossing a threshold, and dramatic political and economic tensions. All of these, and more, affect media development – and are deeply affected by them. The goal of the course is to enable you to make more robust decisions now in the face of uncertainty — applicable to planning for technological change, starting a business, plotting a career or making major life decisions. This class has developed a longstanding following at ITP because it helps us make sense of complex issues without oversimplifying them. In a climate of candid, respectful discussion and debate, the class explores theories about system dynamics, long-wave organizational and societal change, and economic and technological development.
Editing I (FMTV-UT 1016)
This is a hands-on course designed to introduce the student to narrative and documentary editing techniques, and to the role of the editor in shaping the final form of film and video productions. Good editing is crucial to the success of every film and video. This class is recommended to students pursuing directing or producing who want a better understanding of how the post-production workflow functions, as well as to any student, from sophomore to senior, who would like to gain a clearer understanding of the role of the editor as an artist, a technician and a collaborator. To achieve this, the class will delve into the methods, objectives, and technical aspects of post-production. It will thoroughly explore two major editing programs (Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro) used in today’s professional post-production environment, and acquaint the student with every stage of the editing workflow from capture to final output. Students will learn to approach these and other non-linear programs as variations on common themes rather than as completely new and foreign tools. In addition, the class will present examples of edited sequences from both narrative and documentary films for discussion, and have invited guests who will share their experiences in bringing films to completion. There will also be a course pack of assigned readings. This course allocates as a Craft for Film & TV majors.
History of Documentary Film (OART-UT 1701)
The course traces the documentary film from its origins to the present day. Pioneer documentarians like Dziga Vertov and Robert Flaherty saw in documentary film the ability to portray life with a kind of truthfulness never before possible. Early Polish filmmaker Boleslaw Matuszewski wrote that while “the cinematograph does not give the whole truth at least what it gives is unquestionable and of an absolute truth.” Since those heady days, it has become all too clear that documentaries have no special access to the truth. Nevertheless, as this still-young art evolved, documentarians of different schools constantly sought new means to tell the human story. Documentary filmmaking has always been a blend of artistry and technical means and we will also explore this critical relationship. The course explores the development of the documentary and the shifting intentions of documentary filmmakers through the evolution of narrative approach and structure paying special attention to the documentary tradition’s relationship to journalism. Students examine how different filmmakers have gone about trying to convey “reality” on screen both through the use and avoidance of narration, through interviews, editing and dramatizations. Throughout the semester, students investigate how image-driven medium attempts to report stories and the ways an emotion-driven art can be problematic for journalistic objectivity. Finally, the ethical and journalistic responsibilities the documentary filmmaker are discussed. Special attention is given to dramatic re-creations, the filmmaker’s relationship to his/her subjects and the construction of narrative through editing.
Poetics of Witnessing (OART-UT 829)
Today, many documentarians consider themselves working within a well-defined human rights framework where images and film are used to raise awareness about social injustice. On the far edge of this movement, however, there are writers, photographers and filmmakers whose work calls attention to the traditional documentary ethics of bearing witness but whose modes of representation blur the lines between fact and fiction. This body of work is more open-ended to interpretation and multiple readings, which also include more personal themes such as loss and melancholy, the ephemeral nature of time and memory, nostalgia and change. While not a production course per se, most students create short poetic films for their midterms and finals. The course is a great opportunity for students to open this door on short-form media production for the first time even if they wish to shoot on their smartphones. We will study several different kinds of visual poetics such as combining documentary photos with literature, artists working with archives and found images, the essay film, the personal diary and journal film, the performance film, ethnographic poetics, and new trans-media platforms and webdocs. Some of the writers and artists we will study include Roland Barthes, W.G. Sebald, Chris Marker, Christian Boltanski, Forough Farrokhzad, RaMell Ross, Roland Barthes, Miguel Rio Branco Charles Burnett, William Greaves, Agnes Varda, Margaret Tait, Robert Gardner, Jean Rouch, and Jonas Mekas.