Steven Ruggieri

Students in this course examine the core aspects of advertising from its emergence as a force in American culture to current developments in electronic media. While reviewing such basic components of advertising as marketing goals, concept development, good design, copywriting and strategic problem solving, students come to understand the day-to-day realities of working for an advertising agency. The course further illustrates how the art of selling products and services has changed over time, with today's consumers more diverse, sophisticated and attuned to various media. In the process, students gain insight into how campaigns are conceptualized, created and produced, and how brands get established in such advertising venues as print, broadcast and the Internet. Note: This is not a computer-based course.

Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AD-R, AN-E, PD-E, VE-E, WE-E

Julie Ruditzky

Whether a thirty-second TV commercial or a thirty-minute infomercial, it all begins with a creative strategy. And before strategizing, advertising professionals need to answer certain questions: Why purchase our product? Which groups comprise our demographic? Who are our competitors? How can we stand out visually? What is the call to action? This course takes you from concept to script and storyboard, and onward to casting, shooting and editing as we try to understand how pictures and words work together. Indeed, in each class session we strive to reveal the challenges and excitement that broadcast designers encounter every day. Ultimately, students leave the class with well-conceived storyboards for thirty-second TV commercials, which they can use in their portfolios or as the basis for projects in a subsequent video production course.

Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AD-R, AN-E, VE-E, WE-E

David Paolino

Autodesk's AutoCAD, a powerful computer-aided drafting (CAD) program, is the industry standard for architecture and design professionals. Through lectures, demonstrations and hands-on experience, students learn to use this visualization and productivity software to take a project from the initial design stages to a finished two-dimensional plot. Students create templates with layer, color, linetype, line weight and layouts that aid productivity as they familiarize themselves with drawing, editing, text, dimensioning, modifying, solid modeling, 3D design, and perspective and rendering tools. Additionally, students use blocks with AutoCAD's design centers, built-in and online, and generate scale plots in model and paper space using native templates for borders and title blocks.

Applies to the following certificate programs (36 contact hours): AN-E, HP-E, ID-R

Julia Wolin

Why storyboard? Storyboards can be used to discuss ideas, describe a sequence, visualize a "look" and create a blueprint for implementing an animation, saving time by facilitating experimentation and exploration before the real animation begins. Professionals also use storyboards to communicate ideas to creative teams, clients or potential employers. In class, students translate their story ideas into visual images and accompanying text, describing the action, mood, setting and timing of the story. Storyboard conventions are covered, along with narrative development, production and presentation techniques. Students also learn how to choose the appropriate type of storyboard for their audience, as well as how to set and manage client expectations. A variety of film and animation projects are presented for discussion so that students emerge with brand new tools for successful animation project planning.

Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AD-E, AN-R, VE-R

TBA TBA

While virtually all typography attempts to be dynamic, students in this class invest their type with actual motion. Emphasizing pace, sequence and placement, students use the features found in Adobe AfterEffects to expand their computer graphics toolkit so that what formerly was limited to the printed page now soars. The results are clearly recognizable as the swirling, sparkling and smoldering letterforms characteristic of broadcast graphics and feature film title design. Just close your eyes and think of the opening credits of just about any film to picture what we mean. By utilizing such choices, graphic design students add value to their portfolios even as video directors and animators add virtuoso titles to their show reels. In all cases, the outcome is not so much attention getting, as attention demanding.

Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AD-E, AN-E, PD-E, VE-E, WE-E

Jenn Dlugos

This advanced screenwriting course is a deeper exploration of the topics introduced in the basic course (also known as the prequel), as well as a vehicle for students to accelerate the development of their own creative voices. Through analysis of existing scripts, examination of their translation to the screen, and rigorous writing exercises, each student produces a production-ready short script by the end of the course. In the process, students learn both to define and refine a working approach to screenwriting, but always with an eye on the next step of the production process. Please note that while the focus of this class is on the art and craft of screenwriting, we also briefly address the business side of writing for the moving image.
Prerequisite: Screenwriting or equivalent experience
Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AD-E, AN-E, VE-E

Stephen Souza Jr.

Movie-making is often seen as a mysterious, smoke-and-mirrors operation, but behind the scenes lies a collaborative form of communication that links art, science and commerce. This course unravels the details of that intertwined structure, peeling back the layers of a finished product to provide students with a deconstructed view of the movie-making process. Such important movie-making concepts as storytelling, mis-en-scene and non-linear editing are discussed, as students learn to connect vocabulary and theory with applied techniques. By the end of the course, students will have examined the complete pre- through post-production process -- and even touched upon distribution -- of this technologically rich art form.

Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AD-E, AN-E, DI-E, SA-E, VE-R, WE-E

Bryson Dean

David Fleurant

Eric Emerson

Bryan Rodrigues

Fred Spencer

Fred Spencer

Bryan Rodrigues

Wayne Vieira

Dina Zaccagnini Vincent

A graphic designer is a creative problem solver who conceptualizes, plans and executes a design that communicates a message. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of working in the field of graphic design by examining the meaning of graphic design, the design process and the role the graphic designer plays in society. Informal discussions, various hands-on assignments, and presentations made to the class provide a forecast to the print design certificate program and the field at large.

Applies to the following certificate program: PD-R

Joe Marianek

This offering in the studio series aims to mimic the experience print designers face in the real world. Your instructor acts as the client (or art director) by introducing a design brief that you, the student/designer, must satisfy from concept through design to presentation and delivery. Each stage is critical in this honest rehearsal for the aspiring graphic designer. The topic for this season is the identity package, which is so much more than its constituent parts. Propelling the design direction of course is the need to either establish, reinforce or reinvent a brand identity for the client, whether an individual or corporate entity. By the end of the six-week assignment, you will have a carefully considered project to add to your print design portfolio.
Prerequisite: Graphic Structures + Systems and Thinking Visually
Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AD-E, PD-R

Jane Kernan

This intensive three-day course introduces Maya, the Academy Award-winning software. Think of Shrek, Monsters, Inc. and the Lord of the Rings trilogy to get an idea of what Maya can do. In this brief start-up course, learn the basic steps necessary to create 3D digital models using its robust polygonal modeling tools to set up a simple skeleton system, which can then be animated and simulated with keyframes. The final outcome is a sample 3D animated character and a 15-second QuickTime movie. No previous 3D experience needed!
Prerequisite: Basic computer experience
Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AN-E, VE-E, WE-E

Walter Zesk

The new Rhino plug-in Grasshopper is a graphical algorithm editor that allows the user to build parametric models, without the prefabricated data sets and design assumptions of previous software products. Grasshopper requires no programming or scripting knowledge, and has an intuitive interface, allowing designers the freedom to roam in a full-featured modeling environment. Students in this course begin with Grasshopper basics, including paneling and patterning tools, and progress to the construction of generative models based on classic recursion formulas. Exercises develop into projects, as students become proficient in the use of this groundbreaking 3D tool, joining a rapidly growing community of visualization professionals.
Prerequisite: Beginning 3D Modeling with Rhino or equivalent experience
Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AN-E, WE-E

Kathryn Rotondo

You may be surprised to learn that many award-winning Flash websites are created without the use of Flash Professional. Instead, top interactive agencies and savvy web designers are using Adobe Flex Builder, a powerful tool for creating rich Internet applications (RIAs). Flex Builder foregoes the animation timeline, empowering you instead to create full websites using ActionScript and MXML, a markup language helpful for rapidly prototyping a user interface. In this course, students learn to lay out visual controls, load external files and use data binding to populate content, handle events such as mouse clicks, and style your site with a custom look and feel. We explore sophisticated debugging tools and cover how to deploy your website online. By the end of the course, participants will have learned to become a more productive and efficient web design professional.
Prerequisite: Flash I: Web Animation + Interactivity
Applies to the following certificate programs (18 contact hours): AD-E, AN-E, VE-E, WE-E

Fred Spencer

Fred Spencer

Jessie Rauch-Dickson

Bruce Campbell

While many software application packages address front-end issues, if you want to deepen your experience in the back-end of web design, then MySQL is well worth investigating. With a reported incidence of ten million installations, it is simply the most popular open source database available because of its extreme adaptability to run dependably on more than twenty platforms. Additionally, it is a popular database management tool for such web applications as YouTube, Friendster and Wikipedia, not to mention that it has a particular affinity for PHP. Besides the primary objective of examining the system for its practical applications, MySQL is worth exploring, as it has many uses that are within the General Public License.

Applies to the following certificate program (18 contact hours): WE-E

Fred Spencer

Good web typography enhances legibility while enhancing the character of the content; ideally, it draws interest to the page without compromising usability. No longer forced to select clunky layouts and default styles, today's designer turns to cascading style sheets (CSS) and other technologies for a measure of typographic control that could only be dreamt about a few years ago. Such control provides designers with the keys to achieving a solid layout, clear user interface, elegant visuals and a stronger web design overall. This intensive, hands-on workshop introduces students to the art of typography as applied to the web, and provides the practical skills to start implementing these techniques immediately. The material offers an entry point into web development for graphic designers, as well as a crash course in graphic design fundamentals for web developers.

Applies to the following certificate programs (14 contact hours): AD-E, PD-E, WE-E

Fred Spencer

We have embraced the handheld; it's undeniable that there is an eager new audience waiting for multimedia experiences that open first on their handheld device. From Blackberrys to iPhones, mobile devices are the newest blank canvas for the development of rich content. But this burgeoning platform has unique design requirements and considerations. In this course, web designers discover the key components of modern, mobile device design that include targeted, standards-based web development, and Flash Lite, which uses Adobe's Device Central as a workflow hub and test bed. Students go on to practice published distribution methods following a model established by real-world mobile device businesses. The workshop concludes with a peek into the current marketplace and the future of 'next-gen' development.

Applies to the following certificate programs (14 contact hours): AD-E, AN-E, VE-E, WE-E