Media Study

Department of Media Study
College of Arts and Sciences
231 Center for the Arts
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-6020
(716) 645-6902
Fax: (716) 645-6979
Web: Media Study
Roy Roussel, Chair

The Program
The department offers degree programs in film, video, digital art, documentary, and interpretation. Courses are taught in the production of media, which cover 16 mm film camera work and editing, scriptwriting, video camera use, nonlinear (computer) editing, documentary making, computer animation, web design, interactive software development, and sound. Students also take courses in the history, theory, and social effects of media. Special majors, double majors, and joint majors pursued in conjunction with other departmental programs are possible.

The B.A. in media study prepares students for graduate work and research in this field. Students go on to pursue careers as independent artists; motion picture photographers; film/television writers, producers, directors; editors and technicians; special effects/graphic designers; CD ROM, game, and web designers; film reviewers/critics; curators in galleries and museums; broadcast team members; employees in federal and state funding agencies; advertisers and promoters; university/college professors; media specialists/consultants.

Advisement
Students are encouraged to meet with the departmental undergraduate advisor in selecting their media study coursework and concentration. Students must see the departmental advisor prior to application to the major (usually at the end of the sophomore year).

Acceptance Procedure
Accepted media study majors planning to concentrate in digital arts or filmmaking are required to submit a portfolio by March of their sophomore year and should make arrangements with their program director. There is currently no portfolio review requirement for concentrations in video or documentary. Portfolio reviews are required of students who minor in media study and plan to take advanced production courses in digital arts or filmmaking. Portfolio review arrangements for minors can be made for November or April.

Transfer Policy
Media coursework taken at another institution will be evaluated by faculty for credit in the media study program. Students should provide a transcript and syllabi for courses taken; tapes or film may be required for evaluation of production courses. A meeting with the departmental undergraduate advisor is recommended prior to registering. Transfer students who transfer in 50 credit hours or more and have college-level coursework in the fields of film or digital arts will be required to submit their work for acceptance into those concentrations. Transfers who fall short of 50 credit hours or who do not have experience in their chosen concentration will not be required to submit a portfolio until they have completed 50 credit hours or a course that will allow them to prepare appropriate material for the review. Transfers are required to submit a supplemental application to the Department of Media Study by March 1. For applications, please contact the Department of Media Study.

Honors Program
Entering freshmen with samples of work in media, a high school average of 90 percent, and a combined SAT score of 1230 or ACT score of 28, are eligible for consideration for creative honors scholarships. These scholarships carry a stipend of $2,500 for four years of undergraduate study as a media study major. Special applications are available through the department and are due by February 1.

Internships
There are opportunities in the community for internship experience in media, at local television stations and cable companies, in advertising agencies, in production companies, and at the media access centers: Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Squeaky Wheel, and CEPA Gallery. Students may also intern with film, video, documentary, or web production companies. Students gain academic credit and a wealth of experience in an on-the-job training program, which increases employment opportunities after graduation.

Study in Media Study with a Focus in Arts Management
Arts management is an academic option that, when combined with the B.A. in media study, prepares students for work on the administrative and organizational aspects of arts institutions promoting the production, preservation, and viewing of film and video artifacts. To concentrate in arts management in the Department of Media Study, students need to complete their B.A. major in media study and to complete either a range of management courses (MGM301 Principles of Marketing; MGM404 Consumer Behavior; and MGM406 Product and Promotion Management have proven particularly helpful in the past); or the general management minor (eight courses) offered by the School of Management. Enrollment in management courses outside the framework of a formal minor is contingent upon available space. Students, in the event that they elect a formal management minor, apply directly to the school. Details concerning admission and the minor itself are indicated under the School of Management listing. Students are encouraged to consult their advisor in media study for further information.

Equipment Access
Access to film and video cameras and accessories, computers, and editing components is available for student projects on a sign-out basis. The Media Study Equipment Room has more than 300 pieces of equipment, including twenty-two video camcorders, five digital camcorders, fifteen super 8 cameras, twenty 16 mm cameras, microphones and audio recorders, ten light kits, tripods, and film-to-video transfer equipment. Students have access to post-production facilities, including five videotape editing suites, four nonlinear editing suites (Media 100), eight film editing suites; two digital audio editing stations with Pro Tools; seven digital stations packaged for nonlinear editing, 3-D animation, web design with Dreamweaver, and interactive design with Director, Flash Animation, Premiere, Photoshop, and Maya 3-D animation; Linux Red Hat PCs for OpenGL graphics programming; and a PC lab with Visual Studio 6 for robotics programming. Students may present work at nine locations in media study, including our large screening room where each year we screen student work.

Media Study (DMS)

101 Basic Filmmaking (4) (F; Sp; Su)
Equipment, materials, and techniques involved in the construction of motion pictures; nature and process of the medium. SEM

103 Basic Video (4) (F; Sp; Su)
Image and sound formation; energy and time structures observed on the cathode ray tube; competency with basic video equipment in production of tapes. SEM

105 Basic Documentary (4) (F; Sp; Su)
The fundamental theoretical, creative, and technical concerns of documentary and video production. SEM

107-108 Film History I-II (4/1-4/1) (F; Sp)
Surveys developments in international cinema from the 1890s to the present. LEC/LAB

109 Introduction to Film Interpretation (4) (F; Sp; Su)
Identification of and intellectual appreciation for the elements of film as a major art form. LEC

121 Basic Digital Arts (4) (F; Sp; Su)
Fundamental concepts and methods that underlie the use of computers in generating and processing images and sound, in the context of typical contemporary artistic practice in painting, photography, film, video, and music. LEC

155 Introduction to New Media (3/1)
Introduces desk top tools and fundamental concepts used in the development of interactive and non-interactive digital media. Focuses on the theoretical and practical aspects of creating digital messages with authoring/presentation tools. Provides a foundation for creating a broad range of digital media. LEC/LAB

213 Immigration and Film (3)
Examines silent and early sound films, as well as contemporary films as a reflection of the immigrant experience; as a site of struggle between older and newer immigrants; and as an instrument of government politics. LEC

221 Web Design (4) (F; Sp)
Involves the analysis and creation of web sites and web-based media for a variety of communication purposes. Topics such as audience analysis, interface design, graphic design, and usability testing are addressed. SEM

231 3-D Character Animation (4) (F; Sp)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor
Provides students with an understanding of 3-D animation principles and how to use digital tools effectively to create animated compositions. SEM

259 Introduction to Media Analysis (3)
Provides students with a theoretical and historical grounding in the analysis of the media and visual revolution of the 20th century. Encourages students to experiment with various media codes in their final exam projects in which they combine technical skills with analytical and critical thinking. SEM

301 Film Workshop I (4) (F; Sp)
Prerequisite: DMS101
Creative explorations and experimental articulations of primary cinematic realities; development of personal styles encouraged. SEM

303-304 Video Analysis (4-4) (F; Sp)
Viewing and analyzing electronic image/sound structures and compositional models (video art) in a context of contemporary critical thought; viewing of tapes, readings, lectures, participatory discussions, and visitors conversant with the state of the art. LEC

305-306 Film Analysis (4-4) (F; Sp)
World cinema, American avant-garde, personal-independent cinema, including a view to its European counterpart. LEC/LAB

333 Third World Cinema (4)
Introduces students to a collection of film and television productions, from colonized, neo-colonized, and decolonized countries whose political, economic, and cultural structures have been shaped by the colonial process. LEC/LAB

341 Intermediate Video Workshop (4) (F)
Prerequisite: DMS103 or DMS105
Develops technical skills for effective use of video as an artistic tool, for documentation, and for personal expression. Covers lighting, editing, postproduction, video electronics, and staging. SEM/LAB

343 Digital Video (4) (F; Sp)
Prerequisites: DMS103, DMS121
Video postproduction as digital study; integrating digital arts production with video imagery. LEC

401 Advanced Film Production I (4) (Sp)
Prerequisites: DMS301, permission of instructor
Introduces the use of microphones, 1/4-inch magnetic tape recording and editing, A&B roll editing. SEM

403 Advanced Documentary Production (4) (Sp)
Prerequisites: DMS105, DMS341, or permission of instructor
Principles and theory of documentary form, ethical issues, methods. Production of one or two documentary works in 35 mm still photography, super-8 mm or 16 mm film, or video. SEM

406 Ethnographic Film (4) (F)
Concerns the nature of ethnographic film and video; combines theory and hands-on production practice. SEM

409 Nonfiction Film (4) (F; Sp)
Screenings and discussion related to an examination of the central nonfiction or documentary film from 1896-1991, including cinema verité, the ethnographic film, and the television report. LEC/LAB

411 Film Theory (4)
Principle theories of film through critical reading of texts and close examination of films discussed in them. SEM/LAB

413 Film Narrative (4)
Principle forms of film narrative with readings in narrative theory and film theory. LEC/LAB

415-416 Special Topics (4-4)
In-depth study of media topics. Recent topics have included gender and technology, cyber theory, virtual communities, and interface design. LEC/LAB

419-420 Advanced Digital Arts Production (4-4) (F; Sp)
Prerequisites: DMS121, permission of instructor
The conceptual and practical production of digital art, with a primary focus on the manipulation and generation of moving images and sounds from within a computer environment. SEM/LAB

423 Programming Graphics I (3/1) (F)
Prerequisites: DMS121 and acceptance into digital arts concentration
Production course. Introduces students to the concepts and practice of programming 2-D computer graphics using C++, Open GL, the GLUT libraries, and a basic sound server. The major focus is on creating interactive art experiences by programming both graphics and sound. Students write their own code to create customized computer tools and visuals and learn the fundamentals of graphics programming. SEM/LAB

424 Programming Graphics II (3/1) (Sp)
Prerequisites: DMS423, permission of instructor
Builds on DMS423 and extends students' knowledge of Open GL and C++ into programming virtual reality environments. Students use CAVElib software to build immersive 3-D virtual worlds. SEM/LAB

435 Narrative Scriptwriting (4)
Gives students first-hand experience with all the primary aspects and stages of preproduction planning (scriptwriting and storyboarding or structural diagramming) of a feature film. SEM

438 Building a VR Art Project I (3/1) (F)
Prerequisites: DMS121 and acceptance into digital arts concentration
For students with graphics programming experience and 3-D modeling packages (specifically Maya). Students collaborate as teams to build immersive virtual reality art experiences. Introduces the student to the Ygdrasil system, a high-level VR authoring toolkit for large- scale art projects. SEM/LAB

439 Building a VR Art Project II (3/1) (Sp)
Prerequisites: DMS438 and acceptance into digital arts concentration
In this sequel to DMS438 students extend their skills with VR authoring tools and programming/modeling for real-time applications. Focuses on networking with remote sites, as well as the use of agents, smart environments, gaming techniques, interface and interactivity, and effective sound design in VR. SEM/LAB

440 Women Directors (4)
Provides a critical understanding of women as feature film directors. Looks at English-language productions from the 1990s by a cross-generation of emerging and established filmmakers, including Jane Campion, Julie Dash, and Mary Harron. Also considers the "uncomfortable truths" regarding the underrepresentation of women directing both studio and independent productions. SEM

441-442 Advanced Video Production (4-4) (F; Sp)
Prerequisite: DMS341
Making independent video art: camera work, editing, acting, and directing. Group exercises and critiques. Requires video production and postproduction outside of class. SEM/LAB

447 Sound Design (4) (F)
Prerequisites: DMS101, DMS103, DMS105, DMS121, or permission of instructor
Explores issues and techniques in the area of sound design and audio production. Contextualizes the relation between image and sound by drawing from many media forms, existing and/or original, to create and visually represent sound. Lab fee. SEM

451 Avant-Garde Cinema (4) (F; Sp)
Examines the history of the so-called avant-garde, from the Russian and French avant-garde of the 1920s to the postwar European and American experimental milieu. While the principle focus is on Europe and North America, attention is given to related developments in Africa, Asia, and South America, depending on availability. Examines questions of methodology, canon, genre, marginality, oppositionality, plagiarism, primitivism, originality, and ideology come into theoretical play as the Institutional Mode and its discontents. LEC/LAB

461 Cyber Theory and Technoculture (4) (F; Sp)
Explores issues relating to culture and technology. Focuses on advanced readings and fiction pertaining to cyberculture. Critical analysis of technology includes the social meanings of technological tools, formalist and socialist art practices, the organic body vs. the mechanical engine, cyborgs, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and robotics. SEM

474 Seminar on Postmodernism (4)
Concerned with various theoretical discussions of postmodernism and with approaches to particular texts, which define them as postmodern and/or use theories of postmodernism in their analysis. SEM

499 Independent Study (1-8) (F; Sp)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor

Media Study - B.A.

Concentrations in Film, Video, Documentary, Digital Arts, and Interpretation

Acceptance Criteria
Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall
Minimum GPA of 2.5 in three media study courses
Completion of a minimum of 50 credit hours

Advising Notes
Students in all areas of concentration must take 18 credit hours of electives in one discipline or a set of disciplines outside media study that indicate a coherence, breadth, and depth of general advanced study, to be approved by the faculty of media study. Four of the six electives must be 300/400-level courses; two electives may be 200-level courses. This may be a minor in another department.

Required Courses For All Concentrations
Twelve MED courses as follows:
   DMS101 Basic FilmMaking
   DMS103 Basic Video or DMS105 Basic Documentary
   DMS107 Film History I or DMS108 Film History II
   DMS121 Basic Digital Arts
   One DMS theory course in concentration area
   One course in the sociocultural context of media
   Four media study electives
No course may count twice among the requirements for the major.

Concentration Required Courses

Film Concentration
DMS305 or DMS306 Film Analysis
DMS301 Film Workshop I
DMS401 Advanced Film Production I

Video Concentration
DMS303 or DMS304 Video Analysis
DMS341 Intermediate Video Workshop
DMS441 Advanced Video Production

Documentary Concentration
DMS105 Basic Documentary
DMS341 Intermediate Video Workshop
DMS403 Advanced Documentary Production
DMS409 Nonfiction Film

Digital Arts Concentration
One course in digital theory
DMS419 Advanced Digital Arts Production
DMS420 Advanced Digital Arts Production

Interpretation Concentration
DMS303 Video Analysis
DMS304 Video Analysis
DMS305 or DMS306 Film Analysis
DMS409 Nonfiction Film
DMS411 Film Theory
One course in avant-garde film

Recommended Sequence of Major Requirements

Film Concentration

First Year
Fall-DMS101, one media study elective
Spring-DMS103 or DMS105, DMS107 or DMS108

Second Year
Fall-DMS305 or DMS306, one course in sociocultural context of media (one of the following: DMS303, 304, 305, 406, 409, or 415)
Spring-DMS121, one media study elective

Third Year
Fall-DMS301
Spring-DMS401

Fourth Year
Fall-One media study elective
Spring-One media study elective

Video Concentration

First Year
Fall-DMS103 or DMS105, one media study elective
Spring-DMS121, DMS107 or DMS108

Second Year
Fall-DMS101, DMS303 or DMS304
Spring-One media study elective, one course in sociocultural context of media (one of the following: DMS303, 304, 305, 406, 409, 415)

Third Year
Fall-DMS341
Spring-DMS441

Fourth Year
Fall-One media study elective
Spring-One media study elective

Documentary Concentration

First Year
Fall-DMS105, DMS107 or DMS108
Spring-DMS101, one course in sociocultural context of media (one of the following: DMS303, 304, 305, 406, 415)

Second Year
Fall-DMS121, one media study elective
Spring-One media study elective, DMS409

Third Year
Fall-DMS341
Spring-DMS403

Fourth Year
Fall-One media study elective
Spring-One media study elective

Digital Arts Concentration

First Year
Fall-DMS121, one media study elective
Spring-DMS101, DMS107 or DMS108

Second Year
Fall-DMS103 or DMS105, one course in sociocultural context of media (one of the following: DMS303, 304, 305, 406, 409, 415)
Spring-One course in digital theory, one media study elective

Third Year
Fall-DMS419
Spring-DMS420

Fourth Year
Fall-One media study elective
Spring-One media study elective

Interpretation Concentration

First Year
Fall-DMS107, one media study elective
Spring-DMS108

Second Year
Fall-DMS303, one course in sociocultural context of media (one of the following: DMS303, 304, 305, 406, 409, or 415)
Spring-DMS304

Third Year
Fall-DMS305 or DMS306, DMS409
Spring-One media study elective

Fourth Year
Fall-DMS411, one media study elective
Spring-One course in avant-garde film

Sociocultural Context of Media Courses
These courses include DMS303-304 Video Analysis, DMS305 Film Analysis, DMS406 Ethnographic Film, DMS409 Nonfiction Film, and DMS415 Special Topics (Gender and Technology)

Summary
Total required credit hours in media study - 48
Total required credit hours outside media study - 18-36

See Baccalaureate Degree Requirements (page 254) for general education and remaining university requirements.

Media Study - Minor

Requires completion of six courses comprising concentrated work in two or three production areas or in media analysis or in both. Students who take upper-division production courses must submit a portfolio for introduction of image/sound technologies.

Introduction of Image/Sound Technologies
DMS101 Basic Filmmaking
DMS103 Basic Video
DMS121 Basic Digital Arts
DMS301 Film Workshop
DMS341 Intermediate Video Workshop
DMS419 Advanced Digital Arts Production I

Intensive Image/Sound Technologies (select six courses)
DMS101 Basic Filmmaking
DMS301 Film Workshop
DMS341 Intermediate Video Workshop
DMS401 Advanced Film Production or DMS103 Basic Video
DMS403 Advanced Documentary Production
DMS419-420 Advanced Digital Arts Production or DMS105 Basic Documentary
DMS441 Advanced Video Production or DMS121 Basic Digital Arts

Background in Critical Thinking (select six courses)
DMS107 Film History I or DMS108 Film History II
DMS109 Introduction to Film Interpretation
DMS303 or DMS304 Video Analysis
DMS305 or DMS306 Film Analysis
DMS409 Nonfiction Film
DMS411 Film Theory
DMS451 Avant-Garde Cinema

Production and Interpretation
Three production courses in one medium (film, video, or digital arts).
Three interpretation courses from above list to be selected upon consultation with the program advisor.

Total required credit hours - 24

Academic Affairs

Phone: (716) 645-6003

Fax: (716) 645-2549

Last updated: Thursday, 09-Dec-2004 15:21:17 EST