Media and Culture
4:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Media and Culture is a broad overview of the tools, aesthetics,
and cultural paradigms brought about through the application and integration
of electronic media with art and design. Students will be introduced
to an array of multimedia tools and techniques used in the production
and authoring of graphics, text, animation, video and sound. The goal
of the course is to develop practical and critical skills vital to the
creation and interpretation of digital and electronic art forms.
Week 1 - 9/8
of course objectives, assignments, and projects.
of the history of art and technology: Multimedia:
From Wagner to Virtual Reality
to media types: image, text, sound, video and animation. The course
will cover basic techniques in working with the
essential components of digital production, understanding their unique
processes, methods of editing and manipulation, and strategies
Digital Imaging We will overview basic techniques in digital
imaging in Photoshop: digitalization through various input processes
including scanning and digital photography; resolution; sizing and
positioning; and file formats. Glossary of
basics - The Macintosh operating system as it is used in digital production:
file management; file and directory naming; directory paths; saving
and backing up. Desktop example.
#1 : Media Transformations - The history of technology can be
viewed as a continuous transformation of our culture and the way we
interact in society. Communications technologies, media technologies,
information technologies, machine technologies have all had impact
on the quality and nature of our daily existence.
assignment is to capture those transformations resulting from electronic
media as a composite of photographic images. Over the next two weeks,
we will collect images that reveal transformations resulting from
media that are taking place all around us. These images can be of
people, places, broadcast media, billboards, etc. The only requirement
is that each image reveal how the electronic media has altered some
aspect of the human or social condition as a result of its implementation
2 - 9/15
Digital Imaging We will continue
with more advanced techniques in digital imaging including: layers
and layer properties; moving images, adjusting color and light values;
cloning and touchup; flattening and saving.
to Virtual Reality collage
#1 : Media Transformations - The second part of the assignment
is to take your collection of images and create a collage, sequence
or juxtaposition. It is up to you to decide how you want to layout
your composite: the number of images, size, orientation, configuration,
etc. It is important though that the result articulate your perspective
on the transformative nature of technology. Utopian? Dystopian? Optimistic?
Future as Blade Runner? This is your observation.
whose work critiques media and the human/social condition.
Hershman - Phantom
June Paik - Electronic
Holzer - Truisms
William Gibson - Neuromancer
up with Rhizome.org
List, a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1996 to provide
an online platform for the global new media art community. The Rhizome.org
community is geographically dispersed, and includes artists, curators,
writers, designers, programmers, students, educators and new media
Gibson, Academy Leader, pgs 267-271. Write a brief summary.
Week 3 - 4 -
9/22 + 9/29
Digital Imaging We will continue
techniques in digital imaging including: adjusting color and light
values; cloning and touchup; flattening and saving.
of Mac Basics.
and William Gibson's Academy Leader.
DAT Visitor Center - Prepare a short summary statement for
next Monday. Here is the topic in two parts based on our discussion
of the US Department of Art & Technology: (1) What is the role
of the artist in society? (2) How can artists use new media to make
probing commentary in our increasingly technological and global society?
Your statements should be approximately 300 words.
Leader - Prepare for discussion of the reading of William
Gibson's Academy Leader. Summary is due.
Transformations - Work on projects: critique and presentation
of completed works.
5 - 10/6
Text Introduction to text manipulation
in Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator's vector graphics capability allows
the manipulation of text as a graphic object, while retaining the
ability to scale the object without loss or degradation (as is the
case in Photoshop's rasterized imaging). We will cover the creation
of text objects, paths and text aligning, transforming techniques,
file formats, etc.
#2 : Media Avant-garde - During the early 20th century, the avant-garde,
most notably such movements and schools as the Futurists,
Dadaists, Constructivists, Bauhaus,
de Stijl, and Surrealists, were interested in treating text as a graphic
object to be manipulated, not limited to its literary connotation.
In particular, El Lissitzky spoke of the potential for representing
text as a dynamic medium, with the speed, movement and intensity of
the modern age.
with such advanced tools as Illustrator, we have unprecedented control
over text elements as expressions of meaning and dynamic shape. The
assignment is to write a text as your own statement of revolutionary
thought pertaining to digital media and how it is advancing artistic
expression. Your design should reflect how you might imagine the representation
of the digital medium through text elements: it's speed, virtuality,
changeability, interactivity, and immersive qualities. The result
is to be a printed poster "advertising" digital media as
a revolutionary new medium for artists and designers.
texts and graphics.
EMAC projects: 1,
Amerika - Grammatron,
Plumb Design - Visual
Vuk Cosik - ASCII
of Gibson essay.
Week 6 - 10/13
Text We will discuss text generation
in Illustrator without paths, and various forms of manipulation and
#2 : Media Avant-garde - Project presentations
Sound Introduction to sound production.
We will overview basic techniques in recording, digitizing, editing,
processing, and mixing digital audio.
10/27 - Assignment #3 : Sound Space- Such artists and composers
as the Futurists,
and John Cage
introduced the idea in the early 20th century that any sound could
be used for compositional purposes, not just traditional ones played
by musical instruments. They introduced percussion sounds, noises
played by instruments, recorded sounds, and electronically generated
this assignment we will work with an assortment of recorded sounds.
Construct a sonic narrative in which the resulting composition evokes
an imaginary space. Sound when thought of as sculptural material,
can be used to create virtual spaces that articulate a world that
is fabricated from the processing and layering of sounds. This world
can be violent, dream-like, loud, soft, but it expresses a representation
or form in sound that is not possible through the image.
10/21 - Reading: John
Cage, "Diary: Audience 1966," pgs 91 - 94. Write a brief
Week 7 - 10/27
Sound Advanced techniques in sound
production including: special effects, filtering, changing tempo,
of Cage reading.
#3 : Sound Space - Complete sound compositions.
Week 8 - 11/3
Critique Presentation of sound projects
Sound & Image We will cover
the essential techniques for constructing media projects that integrate
image and sound using Sound Track.
Media & Propaganda
We are surrounded by images and sound. Television, advertising, electronic
billboards, all trying to convince us to buy a product, adopt a lifestyle,
foundation of a free society is its ability to receive information
that is honest and unbiased. However, in this age of instant and global
media, when corporations are vying for our attention, the information
we receive is becoming increasingly saturated with more and complex
forms of propaganda.
assignment is intended as a critique of media propaganda by employing
techniques of illusion for our own artistic purposes. Are artists
so very different than corporate media specialists in our use of image
and sound to convey our vision of the world. What is the difference?
assignment will involve the creation of a 30 second TV ad on George
W. Bush. The activist organization Moveon.org
has initiated this campaign and you are welcome to apply. Information
can be found on the Bush
in 30 Seconds website where this is excellent information on the
creation of political ads.
current assignment is to read the material at Moveon.org and prepare
your ideas for class next week.
can be constructed of found material on the web (graphics, animation,
video), original graphics produced in Photoshop and / or Illustrator,
and sound material. We will discuss this in class next week.
Week 9 -
Media & Propaganda Begin projects
Length: Ads should
be no longer than 30 seconds.
Fund is a so-called section 527 political organization, and is prohibited
from expressly advocating for the election or removal of specific
candidates for federal elections. In other words, your ads can say
lots of different things about George Bush and his administration,
but you are not allowed to say that people should vote for or against
Respect for Existing
Copyright: You must be the original author of everything in your ad
or have permission to use copyright protected material. So while we
want you to be creative, you need to be careful about what you put
into the ad. If you're thinking about using existing music, video
clips, photos or the like, odds are that someone else owns a copyright
to that material and you will need to get the copyright owner's permission
before using the material in your ad.
text for ad
is a set of content guidelines from Moveon:
1) Overall Impact:
educational, informational, persuasive (weighted 40%);
2) Originality: concepts/ideas/format (weighted 20%);
3) Memorable Content and Delivery (weighted 20%); and
4) Clear Message (weighted 20%)
2. Gather and
prepare images (photoshop/illustrator)
-- use google advanced image search or take photos
-- size to 320/240 (final ads need to be less than 4 megs)
-- save in .psd format
-- prepare texts on images
-- apply drop shadow / effects as needed
3. Edit movies
-- import graphics
-- place on timeline
-- set duration / zoom in clip window
-- add transitions
-- add special effects
will be accepted online ONLY in mpeg or Quicktime digital formats.
Your ad needs to be 4MB or smaller in its final, encoded version.
You'll be able to start posting submissions on this site beginning
on November 24th through December 5th; online voting to pick the finalists
will take place from December 15th through December 30th.
Week 10 - 11/17
Media & Propaganda Work on projects
movie / sound from iMovie (see link for Quicktime for settings)
4. Sound Recording
- record voiceover in Sound Studio (sync with video for timing)
- use 44.1k 16 bit mono
- setup in Sound control panel for USB input
- importing music from CD (44.1k 16bit stereo
- use sound files if needed
- Import movie (including sound) into Sound Track
- Import additional sound files
- mix voiceover and other audio
- add effects
is possible to go back and forth several times between Sound Track
editing in iMovie
- Export audio from Sound Track and bring back into iMovie
- Execute additional edits
- Export as quicktime.mov
7. Final Export
- Export final movie quicktime.mov
- See handout for compression and other settings
- Use mpeg-4 audio compression, 16bit 44.1 k mono or stereo
- Use Quicktime Movie Player in Presentation mode for full screen
Week 11 - 11/24
Media & Propaganda Work on projects
Week 12 - 12/1
Media & Propaganda Present projects
– We will cover the essential techniques for constructing hypermedia
environments in Dreamweaver: layout, integrating text and graphics,
video, hyperlinks, etc.
create a Web page that incorporates the Bush video ad. Give the video
a title and include relevant information, description, and links.
is a simple example.
Hershman, "Fantasy Beyond Control" pgs 327 - 332. For
discussion on 12/8
Week 13 - 12/8
on Web project.
of Lynn Hershman essay.
Week 14 - 12/15
Critique Presentation of Web project
and Rhizome Net Art News piece
Readings and Discussion
(on time) is mandatory and will be incorporated into the grade. Each
student is required to participate in class discussion focusing on
readings and lectures.
projects will be assigned focusing on the application of digital tools
project will consist of a hypermedia work that integrates all the
media through the Web.
: From Wagner to Virtual Reality, edited by Randall Packer
and Ken Jordan, W.W. Norton, 2001. The book can be purchased
Be sure and buy the paperback expanded edition.
student is required to store their work on zip cartridges or firewire
is required to have an e-mail account. All written assignments will
be handed in electronically by e-mail. Each student also has individual
Web space for on-line assignments.
MICA's efforts to provide the highest possible quality educational
experience for every student, MICA maintains compliance with the
requirements of the ADA and Section 504. Any student who has, or
suspects he or she may have, a disability and wants to request
academic accommodations should contact Dr. Kathryn Smith at the
Learning Resource Center (443) 695-1384, (410) 225-2422, or e-mail