The creative professions require innovative individuals with clear vision. Freshmen at The Art Institute of Philadelphia will work together to develop the vision of what makes a successful student and professional. The course begins by welcoming students into The Art Institute of Philadelphia community and helping them integrate into this student environment. Students will become acquainted with college and community resources, explore their goals for success, and work on establishing a visionary course for the development of their professional portfolio. The course concludes with attending the portfolio show of the graduating class. (0 quarter credits, 2 hours per week)
Prerequisites: None
This course introduces the students to video production. Instruction is given on basic techniques of production including video camera orientation, lighting, sound, set-up and operation. The course provides an overview of various video and television production processes. Introduction to the technology of video recording playback is also covered. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
In this course, students will study traditional and contemporary uses of light in art, commerce and technology. Aesthetic and utilitarian lighting techniques specific to various media are compared and contrasted, and the student learns the fundamental skills required to make appropriate lighting choices under a variety of lighting conditions. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course introduces the student to the operation of television studio production with emphasis on live-to-tape video recording. Production facets include rehearsal, multi-camera shooting, live switching, videotape roll-ins, chroma-keying, electronic graphics, and the use of teleprompting for television performance. The course stresses team building and working with a large crew. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF10110
The creative process is introduced using the visual elements of art and the basic principles of design. A variety of concepts, materials, and techniques used to investigate the aesthetic, scientific and psychological properties of color and design. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
In this course students explore the features and functions of video editing systems and learn to edit using these non-linear systems. Students will also explore various media available for output of animation and use the appropriate equipment to output animation to tape. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course covers the process of non-linear video editing. Using a computer and Avid software, students explore the essentials of editing video and audio in a digital environment, from digitizing to outputting onto videotape. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF10240
This course examines multi-camera television production for remote locations. Students analyze, prepare, and produce a live program taped at a remote location. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF10211
This is a specialized writing course for Digital Filmmaking & Video Production. The ultimate objective is to expand the student’s imaginative and conceptual approaches to storytelling in various digital media. Students will learn the unique characteristics and techniques of media writing and apply them to the creation of scripts for media production. Students will also learn to conduct research for media writing projects. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10210
Media design and production start with concept development. This course covers the fundamentals of media story structure, development of visual elements, and the previsualization process of designing media content for targeted audiences. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10210 AND DF10231 or GR10120
This course introduces the student to the video camera as a technical and creative tool for communication and art. The course will emphasize camera operation and set-up for Electronic News Gathering (ENG), Electronic Field Production (EFP) and studio applications. The student studies lighting and grip equipment and how to control light to maximize the video picture. Shot composition and camera movements are practiced using different camera mounts. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course studies the roles of producer and director in all three phases of production. Each student will interact with the professional community and develop a project. Directing exercises enable the student to achieve a greater appreciation and understanding of the director’s role. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
The importance of the artist in television broadcast communications is explored as students take a broadcast graphic project from concept to completed videotape. Students produce graphics specifically for video, utilizing a keyer, character generator, and computer paint system. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: IM10210 OR PH10111 AND DF10311
This course focuses on voice, music, and sound effects and the impact they have on the visual image. Time code, picture synchronization, and mixing are covered. Digital formats are examined in the context of audio-for-video post-production. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: IM10330
In this course, students create a video from the idea stage to the final edited master. Special emphasis is placed on defining the roles of the production team and the execution of the jobs through completion of the final project. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: IM10330, DF10411, DF10211
This course will explore the various visual effects used in digital filmmaking and video production. Categories include: optical effects, mechanical effects, electrical effects, and digital effects. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF20511
This course covers the multiple facets of media business. Topics of learning include business plan, production budget, business proposal, contracts, ethics, government regulations, copyrights, etc. Also covered in the course are specific models for making money providing production services in the digital media industry. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF10411
Interactive visual design encompasses broadcast design skills and information architectures as utilized in the creation of interactive, media-rich, streaming applications and presentations. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: VE20710 OR DF20620 OR AP20620
Students write two polished scripts in two different areas or genres for subsequent production courses. The business side of the different scripting fields is also explored. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF10331
In this course students will output broadcast quality video projects to digital media formats such as CD-ROM, DVD, DVD-ROM, and learn the art of digital video compression for digital distribution via the Internet. Students will demonstrate the ability to design and create basic menu interfaces for the digital video disc media using industry standard software packages. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF20620 OR AP20620
Students will learn to manage the production process from conception to delivery. They will discover the critical nature of preplanning and organization in terms of how it will affect managing clients and personnel. This course will explore the various technical issues that effect a project’s outcome on various digital formats. Students will understand the financial implications of project management. Skill will be developed in establishing timelines and deadline. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF10421
This course discusses short form as a genre of media production and its features in subject matter and style. Students learn to produce short form news, information, and dramatic content for broadband delivery. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF10331, DF20611
This is a marketing course for digital media. Students learn to conduct demographic analysis for customer needs and develop marketing strategies to effectively market value-added media products. Additionally, issues revolving around e-commerce and e-business strategies will be explored. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF20820
This course initiates a three quarter long comprehensive project which will be integral to students’ final portfolios. Students will employ their cumulative skills to pre-produce a significant, sophisticated, digital film in a chosen genre. Committee and/or faculty will approve the project content and genre of the digital film. Projects will be carried out individually or in groups based on the needs of the class as determined by the instructor. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course exposes students to the role and responsibilities of a director in helping actors bring their characters to life. Acting fundamentals will be studied through classroom exercises, assignments, observations and critiques. In addition, this course helps students understand the process of reading a script, conceiving a vision and communicating it to cast members to enhance performance. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF20720
In this course students learn the basics of compression and streaming technologies for delivery of audio and video via CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or Internet. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF20620 and DF20710 OR?IM30940
Working in production teams, students conceptualize, design, and execute a digital filmmaking and ?video production project on a chosen topic for a targeted audience over a selected delivery system or several systems. Students will use three or more different types of media for production and integrate the content elements in post-production. Students may choose to use one or more delivery systems for the final product. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF30940
In this first portfolio course, students will assess personal strengths to establish a career goal and decide how to organize their media design and production work in a graduation portfolio. Guided by a faculty member or a team of faculty, each student assembles a preliminary portfolio and identifies areas for content enhancement. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: 105 credits earned and Academic Director Approval
Working in production teams, students in this workshop class deal with real clients, typically representatives of non-profit organizations. Guided by faculty, students interview the client to determine expectations and work in a team to design and produce the media content for an intended delivery system. The objective of this course is for students to demonstrate the theoretical as well as the technical skills they have acquired throughout the program. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF31011
This course focuses on the management and production of a media project for an external client. The class will discuss the management process and development of projects in a team environment. Emphasis will be placed on developing client relationships. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF30920
This course concludes the three-quarter long comprehensive project begun in Senior Project Pre-Preproduction and created in Senior Project Production. Students will employ cumulative skills to post-produce a significant, sophisticated digital film in a chosen genre. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Built on the preliminary collection of work from Portfolio Preparation, this course allows each student to design the final organization and presentation of the graduation portfolio. Each student is expected to present the portfolio and address audience questions as a format of defense. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF41110
This is a composition course that stresses the writing process. Students will write multi-paragraph essays using the following expository modes: description, narration, example, comparison/contrast, classification/division, process analysis, and causal analysis. Nonfiction readings will be covered to help illustrate writing structures and the organization of ideas. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: ASSET placement OR successful completion (grade "C") of GE0011EN and/or GE0012RD
This course surveys Western art forms relative to political, social, religious, and economic movements from antiquity to the Mannerist period. Topics include painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and architecture. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This is a composition course that focuses primarily on analytical and persuasive writing, as well as the research paper. Emphasis is also placed on critical reading and thinking. Cultural issues such as diversity, multiculturalism, tolerance, and effective communication will be discussed in connection with some writing assignments. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10110
This course covers algebraic techniques and problem-solving, such as algebraic and complex fractions, operations with real numbers, linear functions and systems, quadratic equations, radicals and radical expressions, factoring, polynomials, conic equations and applications, exponents and radicals. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: ASSET placement OR successful completion (grade "C") of GE0013MA, GE0013MA
This course surveys Western art forms relative to political, social, religious, and economic movements from the Baroque to present day. Topics include painting, sculpture, decorative arts, architecture, photography, and conceptual art. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
In this course, students will learn professional methods of speaking and of communicating their ideas and experience to others. Students will prepare and deliver demonstration and persuasive speeches designed to be effective with a variety of audiences. Students will also participate in small group presentations. Topics include subject selection, audience analysis, research, organization, and the use of voice and body in speech delivery. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course presents a survey of major events and development in the history of motion media and mass communication. The survey focuses on the relationship between technology and media development and explores the impact motion media and mass communication have on society and economy. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This is course an introduction to the concepts, theory and practice of ethical decision-making in the personal and social realms. Concepts such as justice, mercy, responsibility, and morality are considered. Students will learn about a broad range of ethical theories and theorists, ancient to modern. These theories will be compared, contrasted, and applied to a variety of ethical problems, dilemmas, and controversies. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10110, GE10210
This course focuses on aesthetics, which is alternately defined as philosophy of art, philosophy of beauty, and philosophy of taste. All three definitions point to the ways in which we create, experience, think about, and write about the fine arts. Through texts, lectures, videos, and discussions, students will learn about the variety of ways in which individuals generate their own critical voice and aesthetic theories. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10110, GE10210 AND GE10120 OR GE10230
This course introduces students to the aesthetic, technical, and historical principles of film and the artists who were instrumental in its development and growth. Students will examine the creative process and analyze the different genres of film. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course is an introduction to theories about the process of communication, including key concepts and terms for human communication. Additionally, listening and feedback, nonverbal communication, intrapersonal and interpersonal communication, group and organizational communications will also be a focus. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course focuses on the development of critical reasoning skills, including the ability to evaluate a wide variety of information. Students will consider what an argument is, how arguments go wrong and what makes an argument valid. Students will study both informal and formal logical arguments and structures. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
In this course students will explore the different media theories and their impact upon society, ethics, and popular culture. Students will use this information to inform and enrich their own work and to critically evaluate media art. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
An introduction to lettering skills and the history and foundations of letter forms. Also studied are the placement of display and text type in a formatted space, and the relationships between the appearance and readability of letter forms. Students will work in digital typesetting technology. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: LS10110
An introductory study of the principles and practices of recording sound will be covered. Students examine the tools and techniques used in multi-track recording and mixing. This class includes the study of basics of critical listening, microphone technique, console and recording systems, signal flow, signal processing, routing, and general studio operations. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: LS10110 OR to be taken simultaneously with LS10110
Through a field internship experience, students will be able to apply acquired subject matter and career/professional skills in a real and practical situation. The main objectives of the internship are to allow students the opportunity to observe and participate in the operation of successful businesses relating to their fields of study. The students will gain experience needed to enter the field upon graduation. (3 quarter credits, 9 hours per week)
Prerequisites: 90 credits complete
A cooperative is offered to students in their last two quarters of study. This is designed for students who wish to gain additional experience within a business establishment in their field of study. (3 quarter credits, 9 hours per week)
Prerequisites: IN20710DF
This course introduces the theories and applications of both the IBM and Macintosh computers. Topics include word processing, spreadsheets, databases, PowerPoint, computer graphics, file preparation for high-end output, file management, basic data storage and retrieval and the Internet. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course gives an overview of basic legal principles related to starting and conducting a business. Topics include legal systems, litigation, dispute resolution and contracts. The protection of intellectual property, including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and service marks, is also emphasized. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course identifies the potential of the computer as a tool of the professional photographer. Students develop skills on various platforms and examine the techniques of print retouching and manipulations. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course introduces students to the fundamental terminology, concepts, and techniques of digital photography. It focuses on the principles of using color, composition, lighting, and other techniques for overall thematic and visual effects of photographic images. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: IM10210 OR GR10471 OR AD10231 OR PH10111
Post production audio class. The student will bring together all elements of sound for a final production. This will include rerecording of sound effects, automatic dialogue replacement, editing of music and sound sweetening. Once all the sound is collected and edited the student will mixdown to the final format. The format can be surround sound, or stereo. The final project will be presented in a professional industry standard format. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: IM10430 OR VP20521
This course provides a framework for considering critically significant photographers and their work. Students will be expected to describe, interpret, and evaluate the origins, stylistic changes, and artistic innovations in the history of photography from the nineteenth century through contemporary times. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course focuses on international literary selections. Topics include the critical evaluation of the literary genres: short story, poetry, and drama. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course is an introduction to the principles and practices of American Government. Concepts such as democracy, civil rights, civil liberties; public opinion; mass media, political parties, and the three branches of government will be discussed. Students will learn about the framework of government from colonialism to the present day. Government ideologies will be discussed and applied to various situations in an unbiased manner. Students will be able to see the importance of government and how decisions made by the government affect our everyday daily lives. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course focuses on a working knowledge of human sensory processes and their subsequent perceptual and behavioral manifestations. Topics include learning, memory, consciousness, and cognition. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course will introduce the student to the physical, ecological, social and political principles of environmental science. The student should gain an understanding of scientific method and how it is used to analyze the relationship between humans and the natural environment. The course will help the student to develop an analytical framework that he/she can use to judge environmental issues and intelligently discuss environmental responsibility. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Students will study the following principles: motion and the effects of unbalanced force systems acting upon rigid bodies; Newton’s laws of motion; motion along straight and curved paths; weight; work, energy and power; impulse, momentum and impact. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10220 OR GE10450
In this course students will examine group interaction within human society. Through texts, lectures, videos, and discussions, students will learn about the variety of ways sociologists view human culture and society, as well as the sociological phenomena that affect the lives of individuals within the world-wide human family. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course covers the period of U.S. history from early colonization to the Spanish/American War. Primary emphasis is on the English colonies and the period of nationhood. This course will examine U.S. history in terms of social, economic and political perspectives, and students will also trace the histories of various American populations, such as women, African-Americans, Native Americans, etc., throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course covers the period of U.S. history from the turn of the century to the present. This course will examine U.S. history in terms of social, economic and political perspectives. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course covers Western civilizations from the Ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome, to the Middle Ages, the rise of Christianity, and the Renaissance. These civilizations will be examined in terms of social, economic, political and cultural perspectives. Major historical events, ideas, and developments will be discussed, and issues of race, class, and gender will be considered. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course covers European history from the Reformation/Counter-Reformation, through the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, ending with World War II. This course will examine social, economic, political and cultural perspectives. Major historical events, ideas, and developments will be discussed, and issues of race, class, and gender will be considered. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course is designed for students who wish to study abroad. Students will travel between the spring and summer quarters and will return to campus to complete a final exhibition project during the summer quarter. The course will consist of lectures, activities, research, and discussions designed to examine the culture, history, and aesthetics of the city or cities chosen for the study abroad experience. Students will also be encouraged to explore issues of identity and place, ideology (values, norms, customs), society (conformity/autonomy, gender, class), and structure (religious, political, economic) as they share, analyze, and reflect upon their experiences throughout the course. (3 quarter credits, 44 hours over two week break)
Theatre Appreciation introduces students to the art, in theory and in practice, of live theatre and the many types of artists who collaborate to create a theatrical production. This course will enhance students’ appreciation of the nature and place of theatre in contemporary culture. Students will experience theatre in depth through reading scripts, analyzing productions, and completing a creative theatre project. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course focuses on past and current social issues and political and economic trends that influence America and its people. Additionally, the course will focus on how political and economic trends impact world affairs. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course offers students the opportunity to explore the diversity of cultures through the reading and analysis of modern literary works. Included in the study will be historical and political influences, social trends, customs and values. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course will introduce the student to the historical development of music and the composers of different eras. Students will focus on the role that music plays in our lives today as well as examining the cultural influences that have determined the varied musical languages throughout the world. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course will focus on the museum and its function in society. Topics will include the role of museums, their history and philosophy, and their structure and nature. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10110, GE10210, AND GE10120 OR GE10230
This course will cover the history of 20th Century art. It will explore the inter-relationship between historical, social, political, religious and technological developments in the 20th century and the art that was a reflection of these developments. The course will discuss the modern artist’s role in society as innovator, social activist, explorer, critic and prophet. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course will consider up to three genres of creative writing: fiction, poetry and the nonfiction essay. Throughout the quarter, assignments and activities will provide students with opportunities to hone their creative voices and have their work, as well as that of their peers, critiqued in a workshop setting. In addition to producing creative writing, critical and formalist approaches will be applied to contemporary and canonical works; these exercises will provide students with an objective vocabulary with which to evaluate two rather polished pieces that they will generate during the course. Students will also be introduced to the methods and procedures of the publishing market. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course is designed for students who wish to study abroad. Students will travel between the spring and summer quarters and will return to campus to complete a final exhibition project and an in-depth research paper during the summer quarter. The course will consist of lectures, activities, research, and discussions designed to examine the culture, history, and aesthetics of the city or cities chosen for the study abroad experience. Students will also be encouraged to explore issues of identity and place, ideology (values, norms, customs), society (conformity/ autonomy, gender, class), and structure (religious, political, economic) as they share, analyze, and reflect upon their experiences throughout the course. (3 quarter credits, 44 hours over two week break)
The Comparative Religions course is an introduction to the academic study of religion. The course objectively examines religious beliefs and practices across human history, with particular emphasis upon how the human past has shaped worldwide religious belief and experience in the present. Students learn about a broad range of religious traditions, and how particular beliefs might affect ritual behavior, interpersonal relationships and the practice of “community.” (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE20510 OR GE20530
This course examines field and studio systems for audio and video. Basic signal path and flow will be covered with emphasis on identifying and trouble shooting problems. The new communications technologies will be discussed. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF10311
This course explores the various camera and lighting techniques used in digital video production. Discussions will cover the general concepts and principles of camera moves and lighting techniques. Focus will be placed on applying lighting techniques to create the desired visual effects. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF20611, DF20620
Students become responsible for every phase of a magazine format production, culminating in a project that may be broadcast through cable access, closed circuit, or other distribution avenues. Each student will assume a role on the production team in the pre-production, production, and post-production phases of the show. Almost every aspect of the digital filmmaking & video production curriculum is incorporated into the course, as the students draw on previously learned skills to produce a successful show. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF20611
This course expands the student’s understanding of the roles of Producer and Director, focusing on preproduction methods, project management, demographic analysis and project delivery. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF10421, DF30950
In this special topic course, students work in teams to produce a digital documentary film. Using an original or adapted script, students must plan out the whole process of production but may choose to produce one or more episodes of the long-form work. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: DF30950
Utilizing various painting and compositing packages students will learn the principles of rotoscoping and digital painting, as applied to rig removal and special effects. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: VE20510 OR DF20620
In this course, two group projects will be produced. Students will build upon previously learned foundation skills in broadcast design and visual effects by simulating a real world production environment. Emphasis will be placed on both the competitive and collaborative aspects of broadcast design production, as well as various professional methods, procedures, techniques, skills, resources and equipment. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: VE20810 OR DF20810