Concepts and Processes: Digital Video 070
Spring 2001

Instructor:
Rian Brown-Orso

Assistant Professor of Art
Office Hours: Tues 9:00-12:00( or by appt.)
Email: Rian.Brown@Oberlin.edu
Office phone: 775-8674

Classtime:
Mon/Wed 1:30-4:30pm
Media Lab- Allen Art Building New Edition>
Classroom 1

Course Description:
This is an introductory "hands-on" technical course in digital video production and editing with a history and theory component. This course is designed to provide an overview of the history and practice of the time-based media. The goal is to outline the various terrain of the art of the moving image, and to examine the vocabulary of constructing sequences, editing, otherwise known as "sculpting in time". Successful completion of this course will require dedication, passion, and a large commitment of time.

Technical information:
We will be using portable digital video cameras (3CCD Sony PD100A) and editing on a Macintosh based non-linear digital editing system (Final Cut Pro). You should already be proficient with basic Macintosh operations in order to take this class. There are multiple technological aspects to manipulating video and working on the computer as well as a limited amount of access, so this class is a collaborative venture. This requires cooperation and respect. Your peers will become a valuable source of sharing expertise and resources. BE KIND.

Course Structure:
Classtime will consist of technical lectures and demonstrations; viewing and discussing a wide range of films and videos, discussing reading assignments and group critiques.

Course Activity:
There will be 3 collaborative projects an artist diary and 1 final individual project. Projects 1 and 2 will be due before Spring break and Projects 3 and the Final will be due after spring break. (See the section about important dates for details). Students are also expected to keep a visual diary. This will be due at the midterm and in the final week.

Communication:
The class web site contains information for the course. It will have a copy of this syllabus, screenings, articles and most other material distributed in class; it is a good place to look for answers to questions. There will also be a listserv for the class. It will be mandatory for each student to utilize this electronic bulletin board. website:
http://cinfo.oberlin.edu/courses/10025-200102/
listserv: listvid@oberlin.edu

Grading:
There will be FOUR assigned projects. The grade range of A is reserved for exceptional quality of work.
Here is the grading breakdown:
20% participation/attendance
10% Arist Diary
40% projects 1,2,3
30% Final project

Attendance:
Classroom attendance is required. This course will be presenting technical, and theoretical concepts. Classes should begin promptly on time. While it is better to arrive late than not at all, tardy students are requested to cause as little distraction as possible when joining the class. It�s the student�s responsibility to as the professor about missed information.

Important Dates:
No MATERIAL WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 5PM THE LAST DAY OF READING PERIOD

Monday February 21 - Project 1 Due
Thursday February 22- Trinh Min Ha (filmmaker) at the Cinematheque @ 7:00pm
Black Maria Film Festival Friday February 23 at 7:30 PM at the Cinematheque @ 7:30pm
Monday February 26 - guest lecture by Stephen Jost (art historian)@ 7:30 PM
Monday March 12 � Project 2 Due Wednesday
March 21 Artist Diary
Monday April 23 - Projects 3 Due
Monday May 7- Final Projects Due and Artist Diary (documentation due May 14)
Friday May 11 � Final Screening for Public.
May 15 � last day of reading period, final deadline for all work

Required Materials:
Digital video tapes
VHS tapes

*these can be purchased from John Donalds, the media technician. X8402

Reserves: In the Art library there are books available in open reserves. There are also articles that will be held in closed reserves that are mandatory to read.

Screenings:
We will be looking at a wide range of films over the semester. The screenings will be held in Classroom 1. These films are all available in the Art Library and can be checked out by members of this class only to be viewed in the Media Lab. Some of the films that will be viewed during the semester:

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