ART 103: Writing & Painting with Light in Digital Media

Overview

The art of communication involves the ability to use your skills to create mood and emotion, and sway your subject to your point of view. This course will provide you with the tools necessary to communicate easily with others in the digital world. The course will also promote good study habits, strong writing skills, and the ability to create a solid visual presentation. Your assignments will include script writing, digital photography and digital videography, editing, and finishing your project onto a DVD. You will also learn how to use JIU’s e-global library® to conduct research; and synthesize your findings into reports, essays, and projects.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Communicate effectively in visual content and the written word.
• Complete projects utilizing all the skills mentioned above plus editing and finishing onto DVD or podcast or other media.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the many lighting techniques to create moods and sway emotions.

Course Requirements

In this course, you will be producing digital video and photographic work. Therefore, the following are required:

• A digital video camera that allows for full manual control of iris, focus, and white balance
• Capability to digitally transfer video from camera onto a computer hard drive
• Video-capture and editing software such as Windows Movie Maker (standard with Windows XP) or iLife (Mac)
• A digital still camera
• A sturdy tripod
• A free YouTube account
• Video lighting kit, or sufficient budget to build a personal lighting kit using guidelines in ART103 (approx. $200) For more affordable light stands, consider checking eBay and Craigslist.

Required Texts
ART 103 texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore