EDPX 2400 Time Syllabus
Course Description & Methodologies
The Time course is not simply a technical skills class. Critical thinking is important to the creative process at large and to this course specifically. The conceptual angle of the course involves a critical look at our world. This course introduces the fundamental concepts of time-based media, with an emphasis on audio and video production. Basic recording, filming, editing and manipulation of time will be covered. Students will understand how to utilize, analyze, and manipulate time in digital media. Students will also learn the basic language and critical analysis techniques needed to understand when and how to take advantage of each time-based media for their practice. The technical skills will be utilized in conjunction with critical concepts resulting in creative expression.
In addition, students will prepare for presentations and the ability to discuss and critique their work and the work of fellow students. The class as a whole will serve as its own technical support.
Course Objectives
Students will create a series of projects to learn and understand time-based media, specifically video and audio, through the use of software tools. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to apply their critical content to time-based media as the final product or a component of creative output to be used with other technology while in the EDP program and in their professional careers. With the quarter system timeline, the course will move at a fast pace and cover the basics of video and audio software, but also requires for students to learn and use the basic principles of media literacy.
By the end of this course students will:
- Have knowledge of video and audio terminology
- Have basic skill level for non-linear video editing (FCPX)
- Have working knowledge of consumer grade camcorder
- Have working knowledge of prosumer grade audio recorder
- Understand the process of creating, manipulating and editing videos
- Understand the process of creating, manipulating and editing audio
- Understand the process of compressing video for appropriate distribution
- Understand the process of compressing audio for appropriate distribution
- Understand conceptual, aesthetic and technical choices as a means for effective communication
- Have a critical perspective of rationale and affect of video and audio uses on individuals and masses
- Consider the base human responses to moving images and audio
- Understand the importance of critical thinking to the creative process
- Understand the importance of concepts based in global issues and our individual and collective connections to them
- Have the ability for self critique
Course Policies
Attendance and participation are required and mandatory in this course.
Attendance
You are expected to attend every class and stay for the entire duration. Two incidents of tardiness, leaving class early, or lack of preparedness will equal one absence and will accumulate and impact the final grade. A student may be absent from class two times during the quarter without impact to their final grade. There are no excused absences beyond the two. Any further absences will result in a 10% deduction for every missed class - upon the 5th absence (regardless of reason), the student will receive a failing grade for the quarter. Attendance will be rigorously monitored. It is your responsibility to get assignments and make up the work for missed days.
There are no make up credits available. Missing any portion of a critique/presentation will constitute the drop of one letter grade for that assignment. Every 24 hours an assignment is late, one letter grade will be dropped. An unexcused absence or missing any portion of the "Final Exam" (critique) will result in a full letter grade drop for the course. Resubmissions are accepted for up to 10% of the original given grade; the last day to resubmit work is the Tuesday two weeks before our Final Exam.
Participation
Students are expected to assume an ACTIVE and ENGAGED role in every aspect of class through verbal communication.
Turn OFF all personal electronic devices before you arrive to class.
Religious Accommodations
Students who will be absent for religious holidays will notify the professor in writing within fourteen days of the beginning of the quarter in which those days will occur. Pending assignments will be completed and submitted prior to those days.
Student Athletes
Students who will be absent due to participation on DU official sports teams will notify the professor in writing within seven days of the beginning of the quarter in which those days will occur. Pending assignments will be completed and submitted prior to those days.
Disability Services Program
Any students with disabilities should contact the Disability Services Program to determine whether and to what extent services or accommodations are required for this course. If you think this notice might apply to you, please contact the Department of Disability Services at 303-871-2278 or visit the program’s website at: http://www.du.edu/disability/dsp. For preexisting conditions, students should provide a letter from DS within the first week of school; if conditions are discovered during the quarter, a letter from DS should be provided ASAP – newly discovered conditions cannot be retroactively applied. Students who already have DSP standing at DU but have not turned in the required paperwork by the end of the first week of classes will not be eligible for DSP consideration based on when it suits the student to produce this information.
Equipment & Required
You will need an external hard drive for this course by the second week of class. The recommend hard drive is a Solid State Drive (SSD) with Thunderbolt. The minimum hard drive requirement is a USB3 with a spindle speed of 7200 RPM or faster. Recommended brands are Lacie, Seagate, and G-Tech (we doMaterials not recommend Western Digitals because they are the lower quality division of Seagate). It is also advised that the new drive be formatted for MAC (the faculty can assist with this task). Also, stay clear of "backup" drives as they are often too slow for our purposes. You may need to purchase flash/thumb drives and headphones. The EDP program is not responsible for erased files. It is your responsibility to back up all your work. Late, incomplete projects due to any technical reason is not an acceptable excuse and will reflect in your grade.
It is the student's responsibility to check-out EDP equipment for use in this class. Students are not required to purchase A/V equipment for this class, however any late assignments due to equipment problems will be considered late. The EDP program has camcorders and other equipment available for check out. Students may check out equipment for 3 days at a time, from the EDP TechCheck room. If the equipment is not returned on time, students will NOT be eligible to borrow again for the quarter or year. If all of the equipment parts (e.g. batteries, charger, cable, etc.) are not returned on the designated day/time, students may be charged for these items and/or may loose their eligibility to checkout further equipment. Be mindful that returning the equipment on time does impact your grade since other students require the equipment for their projects.
Computer Lab Policy
In order to use the EDP Labs, students must follow all the computer lab policies. It is your responsibility to adhere to all rules regarding the use of the labs and equipment. A PDF with the rules is available on the landing page of the EDP website.
Plagiarism
Solutions to assignments you submit must be your own work. A student who is discovered to have plagiarized another's work will immediately receive a grade of "F" for the course, and a recommendation for disciplinary action will be forwarded to the Dean of Students. The same project or other materials turned in for 2 different classes without the consent of both instructors, will earn the letter grade of "F" for the course.
Readings & Videos
Required material will be referenced from a variety of texts and online sources. Readings will be assigned and referenced 2 class sessions and videos/time-based work will be assigned and referenced 1 class previous to discussions and related presentations. You are expected to keep up with all the materials and be prepared to discuss them in class.
Critiques & Discussions
Active participation in all discussions and critiques is essential. Successful critiques include thoughtful input (verbal communication) during critiques and class discussions.
Successful Critique guidelines
Projects & Exercises
Projects and exercise are an opportunity to be creative and ambitious. Students will be responsible for all aspects of production. Collaborative projects will not be explored in this class.
Unless otherwise stated, all work in this class must be original, created entirely by the student. Sampling/appropriation will not be allowed.
Topics/subject matter that will not be accepted for classwork include: family, friends, children, animals, dorms/apartments, DU/college looking environments, cars, Light Rail stations, any sports and/or snow related activities, fictitious characters, fashion, pop-culture, music/melody/tunes in any shape or form, anything considered "cute" and the "lowest common denominator." Filming should take place at least a few miles away from the DU campus (you can utilize your free student Light Rail pass).
All imagery, audio, etc. must be newly created just for this class. Older work, even that which has not been used in former works is not acceptable.
Statement for Creative Works
A statement for creative works will be submitted with each assignment unless otherwise stated.
Statement for Creative Works guidelines
Final Project
The final project should reflect the culmination of the knowledge acquired throughout the quarter in this class and should be the most ambitious work for this course.
Final Portfolio
At the end of the quarter students will turn in a professional portfolio consisting of ALL their work from throughout the quarter.
Cultural Events
The attendance/participation to a minimum of 3 cultural events is required. For this course, cultural events should be in the field of New/Digital Media. It’s highly recommended that you seek pre-approval for cultural events.
For each event create a document with the title, date, 2-4 images from the event, 1-2 sentence description, as well as a brief and concise paragraph of your impressions.
Grading
Fulfilling the requirements of the course is considered average and will earn a "C." Every student starts the class with a "C" grade. It will be necessary to work outside of class to complete all projects and assignments. A minimum of eight hours per week of work outside of class is suggested to get an average grade of a "C." Additional effort will be necessary to earn higher grades.
An Incomplete can only be assigned to students who already have a satisfactory record but find it impossible to complete assignments due to non-academic reasons (major health or personal problems), a written request stating the reason for a quarter grade of "Incomplete" will be given to the professor prior to the deadline for the final assignment. A grade of incomplete must be cleared before the end of the next quarter. See the Undergraduate bulletin for procedural details.
Total is based on 100%
- A 100-90 (Exceptional)
- B 89-80 (Above Average)
- C 79-70 (Average)
- D 69-60 (Below Average)
- E 59-50 (Failing)
Exercises (equally valued): 40%
*Critique in Progress is 50% of EACH of the Exercise Grade - Concept
- Ambition
- Technical Proficiency
- Full and proper deliverables according to guidelines
Projects/Final (equally valued): 30%
*Critique in Progress is 50% of EACH Project Grade - Concept
- Ambition
- Technical Proficiency
- Full and proper deliverables according to guidelines
Readings & Videos: 10%
Participation / Critiques: 10%
Cultural Events: 5%
Final Portfolio: 5%