The Media Communications department is offering several 1-credit courses in the 2011/2012 academic year. These are in most cases workshop courses that take place on one intensive weekend each.
None of these 1-credit classes requires any prerequisites.

MEDC 3150 Topics in Media: “Digital Face and Body Styling”

with Elisabeth Zoe Knass on Fr./Sa. Nov. 4th - Nov. 5th. 2011

Photoshop is the standard image editing software that is as commonly used as word for text editing. Basic skills in using this software are not just beneficial for media-majors, but all students. The use of images in presentations, online or any printed material is essential in a visually oriented society like ours. The course is designed to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of specific aspects of image manipulation with the editing software Adobe Photoshop and needs no prerequisites.

This class is specifically about the use of Photoshop on photos of people and demonstrates techniques for image manipulations to alter, correct or enhance the human face and body with image editing software. Being able to control and manipulate the appearance of people in printed or online publications is a part of controlling ones personal image. We are focusing on corrections which are today widely expected and required in media, advertising, art and design: The change of body and facial contours, eye shape and color, to optimize and adjust teeth and skin colors and textures, the cropping of hair, body restructuring to idealize hands and feet. If students have specific images to work on they can bring them to class, if they have none we will take images in class to provide material to work on.

MEDC 3150 Topics in Media: "Illustration, Character Design, Advertising Art"

with Stefan Stratil on Fr./Sa. Nov. 11th - Nov. 12th. 2011

The course focuses on the creative procedure during the making of an illustration. After studying and discussing a choice of high class publishing and advertising illustrations  the students will get an overview about the professional working steps from an illustration job conference that leads to a proper briefing, going on to the creative part with brainstorming, sketching and finally a practical work in a technique of the student's choice (both digital or analog works are welcome). Solutions for the realization of complex topics will be explained and discussed as well as the practical steps from the first idea-scribbles to the finished artwork.

This class is creating a bridge between creative approaches and the business side of illustration art in a commercial environment. Students will understand the meaning of illustration in publishing and advertising and will get experience in how to visualize complex topics. Participants will get to know the working steps in a professional illustration job and will then work out a concept and a draft for a publishing or advertising illustration, present it and finalize this illustration artwork in a technique of their choice.

EPMD 2000  Introductory Topics: "Story-development and Scriptwriting"

with Peter Jinks on Fr./ Sa. Nov. 25th - Nov. 26th 2011

This workshop will introduce participants to the basic building blocks of a narrative: that of characterization, setting and story premise. They will then be encouraged to refine their own story ideas through a discussion about plot and genre, followed by exercises where students will be expected to pitch, that is verbally ‘sell’ their story ideas to one another.

Day Two will be spent exploring the principles of the classic three act story structure, which students will then apply to their idea, building towards a short document or ‘outline’ that describes the narrative as they see it. The day will conclude with a discussion about literary adaptation and how the mediums of book and film differ from a writer’s perspective.

The development of a narrative is a necessary skill in any area of media production and acquiring these skills will be an advantage in many areas of work where the communication with other people is an essential part of the job.

EPMD 2000 Introductory Topics: "Storyboarding"

with Michael Long (St.Louis faculty) on Fr./Sa. Feb. 24th - Sa. Feb. 25th 2012

This workshop covers principles and techniques useful for drawing storyboards. Storyboards provide an ideal way to plan film or video narratives by freely exploring creative choices in pre, rather than in post, production. Participants  will learn to stage dramatic action in telling poses and close-ups by using frame composition to create moods and emphasize themes.They will use editing techniques to control focus, incorporate parallel action sequences and will develop clear, thematic transitions between images and scenes. During the workshop students will work individually and together to create short storyboards which demonstrate the techniques and principles covered.

The development of any scripted event, no matter if it might be audio-visual work, live events or a presentation can benefit very much from a clear visual plan that can be planned and tested best by using storyboards.

MEDC 3150 Topics in Media: "B-Movie double Features"

with Holger Lang on 4 evenings in Spring II 2012 (dates to be confirmed).

The "double feature" was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theater managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. A “B movie” is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature.
From their beginnings to the present day, B movies have provided opportunities both for those coming up in the profession and others whose careers are waning. Celebrated filmmakers such as Anthony Mann and Jonathan Demme learned their craft in B movies. They are where actors such as John Wayne and Jack Nicholson first became established, and they have provided work for former A movie actors, such as Vincent Price and Karen Black. Some actors, such as Béla Lugosi and Pam Grier, worked in B movies for most of their careers.

In this course we will watch, discuss, reflect and respond to selected packages of “B-movies”. On four evenings four “double features” from different genres will be watched and analyzed by the class. The unique experience of a back-to-back presentation is a necessary aspect of this class. Students will write a short personal response to each of the evenings, condensing the outcome of the discussions.