Syllabus jonCates ++ Ruth Leitman


	SYLLABUS Media Practices-The Moving Image FVNM 2001-001 / Fall 2003 Ruth Leitman and jonCates TA: TBA Room 517-112 S. Michigan (Unless otherwise stated) Tues 9:00-4:00 Contact: Ruth Leitman (email: ruthlessfilms@comcast.net) Office hours by appointment. jonCates (email: jcates@artic.edu) Office hours by appointment. This class is designed to introduce students to the languages, histories, technologies, theories and practices of screen based media arts, and the ways in which a broad range of artists have used them. Media Practices also functions as an introduction the concerns and approaches of the Film Video and New Media department and will give you a basis from which to move towards more specialized classes. The course will examine ideas of and explore approaches to radical content and experimental forms by establishing the principles, normative models and procedures of cinema, video and new media, and showing the ways artists have challenged these conventions. The course will define and differentiate forms and modalities of screen based media arts and moving images from early cinema to the video art to new media. We will combine lectures, readings, screenings, and discussion; collaborative studio practice, and critique/discussion; visiting artists, lectures, filmmakers, and media makers in order to draw connections and realize the hybrid states of these practices. Structure and requirements: The class will meet every Tues from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., with a one-hour break at noon, with the exception of Graduate Critique Week (Nov 17). Attendance and punctuality are required. Attendance will be noted via a sign-in sheet for every class - it is YOUR responsibility to sign-in upon arrival to class. You will need to initial the sheet at the beginning of afternoon session. 3 absences = NO CREDIT. 2 lates = 1 absence. Credit for the course is earned by completing "C" level work or above for undergraduates and "B" level work or above for graduates. Course credit is based on group and individual assignments; participation in class discussions and group projects; and writing assignments. Credit (grading) is based on the following: 30% projects 30% class participation 15% midterm quiz 25% response and other class writings NOTE: The class will include one mid-semester quiz and several brief writing assignments. We will be working collaboratively and as individuals, in clusers, small groups and as the full class. Resources for this class are limited. PLEASE take advantage of the Media Center's resources -- cameras, video projectors, decks, audio and lighting gear, etc. Authorizations is required through the Media Center. Each student is ENCOURAGED to keep an ongoing journal, notebook or sketchbook for notes and sketches, plans for in-camera edits, storyboards, scripts, site maps, etc. SUPPLIES: School store/Utrecht in Sharp Building, 37 S. Wabash READINGS: There will be weekly readings from COURSE PACKET or ONLINE and/or "The Filmmaker's Handbook" Selected readings will be available from the Docutek system. <http://docutek.artic.edu> ELECTRONIC RESERVES + COURSE MATERIALS When accessing these readings you will need the following nfo: DEPT: F/V/NM COURSE: Media Practices PASS: Media ACCEPT FEES: "The Filmmaker's Handbook", Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus ($18.95) will be the main Skills: nical resource for the class. It may be purchased at Utrecht, Columbia College Bookstore, Borders Books or on-line at Amazon.com. You may share the book with a classmate and the Flaxman Library has a copy on reserve. There will be quizzes over assigned readings in this book. There will be a reading packet to be purchased for the class at Utrecht or ONLINE. These readings are required. You are responsible for supplying your own video tapes, film footage, and film developing as needed for projects (groups may collectively share these costs). LECTURES, SCREENINGS, and EXHIBITIONS: There are many lectures, exhibitions, presentations, and screenings this semester. VAP lectures often begin at 6:00 p.m. during the week in the School auditorium, 280 S. Columbus Drive; admission for SAIC students is free (with ID). The Gene Siskel Film Center is located at 164 N. State Street (at Randolph). There is a small admission charge. Bring thoughts about what you see, hear, or are touched by to the beginning of class for discussion. IN-CLASS SCREENINGS: Listed in-class screenings are subject to change based on visiting artists availability and selected screening availability. SYLLABUS WEEK 1 Sept. 2 INTRO intros, Media Practices explained, names and backgrounds, - AM facility tour, assignment - PM Assignment: "TRAJECTORY" no less than 100 words, creative autobiographical writing, DUE: Sept. 9. Be prepared to share your writing. WEEK 2 Sept. 9 HISTORIES OF MOVING IMAGES/SCREEN BASED MEDIA ARTS Screenings: Muybridge; Lumire; Melies; Vuk Cosic, ASCII History of Moving Images <http://www.ljudmila.org/~vuk/ascii/film/>; Lev Manovich, Little Movies <http://manovich.net/little-movies/>; Faculty Intro: works in progress/collaborative efforts TRAJECTORIES shared Group Selection Skills:AGEZ1's (jonCates) Assignment: Readings: Ascher and Pincus, The Filmakers Handbook (The Video Camcorder [p.168-187]); WEEK 3 Sept. 16 PARAMETERS: FRAMES + FIELDS, PIXELS + DIGITS Discuss Readings In class shoot : project #1 Precious (see attached assignment sheet) WEEK 4 Sept. 23 PRECIOUS + PARAMETERS CONT. Screening: Precious Assignment: Readings: "The Filmmaker's Handbook", pages 45-110 Atom Agoyan's article on Shirin Neshat. Bring in a portable sound producing device for use in class next week (ex: scratches, clicks, inflates, downloads, rings, tones, etc.) Choose work by one of the 3 optionalArtists/cultural-workers and write a two-page paper about how the work affected you. DUE before the end of the term. optionalArtists: {1. Matthew Barney} {2. Lynn Hershman Neeson} {3. Gene Youngblood} {1. Matthew Barney} Cremaster Cycle <http://www.cremaster.net> {2. Lynn Hershman Neeson} Collected Works <http://www.lynnhershman.com> {3. Gene Youngblood} Expanded Cinema <http://artscilab.org/expandedcinema.html> Reminder: Ruth Leitman, "Alma" & Work in Progress (Siskel Film Center Oct . 2nd- 8:00 pm. Conversations At the Edge) WEEK 5 Sept 30 SOUND-FOR-MEDIA Bring your portable sound producing device for use in class Skills: sound recording devices, sound producing/mixing/manipulating systems/applications Discuss: Atom Agoyan's article on Shirin Neshat. Assignment: Project #2 Write 2-page proposal on theme of "With or Without" (define as you feel appropriate) - consider how to convey this idea through image alone (via literal or abstract means). See attached assignment sheet. WEEK 6 Oct. 7 FILM Quiz: Covering pages 45-110 in The Filmmaker's Handbook Screenings: excerpt Brian Eno, Mistaken Memories of Medeavil Manhatten; Skills: In-class demo with Bolex. Film Exposure, light meters and basic lighting. (Ruth) Continue Project #2: "With or Without" Assignment: Readings: Laura Mulvey "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" Reminder: See Dreaming in Pictures: Photography of Lewis Carroll at the Art Institute. WEEK 7 Oct. 14 FILM Screenings: Matthew Barney Discuss: Laura Mulvey "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" GROUP planning time for Project #2 "With or Without" (shoot with 16 mm, in-camera edits, 100 feet of film) Assignment: Reminder: optionalArtists paper WEEK 8 Oct. 21 NFILM Discuss Readings In-Class Shoot class Project #2 (16 mm) Assignment: Get authorized on Media Center dub rooms through workshops at the Media Center/IRMS WEEK 9 Oct. 28 FILM In-Class Shoot class Project #2 (16 mm) Assignment Readings: Walter Murch, In the Blink of an Eye Bring MiniDV footage, Audio CD and headphones to next class WEEK 10 Nov. 4 EDITING Skills: Final Cut Pro Lab MI807 Bring MiniDV footage, Music CD and headphones to class Interface: canvas, viewer, browser, timeline, capture, storage, clips, import, bins, sequences Editing: Continued: trim, transitions, effects, rendering, multiple tracks, titling, MI807 output Readings: Felicia Feaster, "Chasing Reality: The New Documentary Aesthetic" Reminder: jonCates, "old skool revolutionaries" (Siskel Film Center Nov. 4 8:00 pm. Conversations At the Edge) Reminder: optionalArtists paper WEEK 11 Nov. 11 DOCUMENTARY and AUTOBIOGRAPHY Screenings: "With or Without" MI517 Assignment: "Connect" Skills: MongrelSoft's Linker http://www.linker.org.uk/Linker/ Linker: Find media Assignments: Collect/aquire media for Final Project #3-"Connect" WEEK 12 Nov 18 NO CLASS - GRAD CRIT WEEK WEEK 13 Nov. 25 MEETINGS Individuals meet with instructors Linker Lab (in class) Reading: Mathew Fuller, Linker Background <http://www.linker.org.uk/Linker/back.html>; WEEK 14 Dec. 2 HYPER(MEDIA) Screening: Peter Horvath, Life Is Like Water <http://www.6168.org/subway/>; Linker Lab (in class) WEEK 15 Dec. 9 FINAL Screening: "Connect" Read Artist Statement