Undergraduate Courses

This is a complete list of courses offered to undergraduates as of September 2009.

We also offer Special Topics courses regularly. For more information about upcoming special Topics courses, contact BxmC.

DM 1113 Audio Foundation Studio
This course is designed to be an orientation to the essential concepts and practices of acoustic media. This course is a creative and theoretical foundation studio. It combines an orientation to sound and listening with the fundamentals of digital audio production: project planning, recording, and mixing. The course will emphasize high-quality field recording and mobile (laptop) post-production.

DM 1123 Visual Foundation Studio
This is an introduction to the fundamentals of visual communication design: color, composition, motion, and interaction. The primary creation tool will be Processing, a Java-based graphics development tool for non-programmers. Once the general compositional principles have been worked through with Processing, video will be introduced as a means of capturing color, form, and motion.

DM 2113 Sound Studio 1
This course will follow up on the general principles treated in DM 1113 with a series of more advanced projects, organized to reflect the practical realities of professional work: the elements of pre-production, production, and post-production for different genres. Students will be expected to demonstrate not only an understanding of the principles and tools, but also true commitment to quality. Projects may be narrative/dramatic or music, according to the skills and goals of each student.

DM 2123 Cinema Studio 1
In this course, students will complete a co-ordinated sequence of short projects designed to add up to a finished live-motion video project. There will therefore be considerable emphasis on the relevance of particular tools and techniques to the specific work at hand. Concepts will be introduced through screening of historical examples, from 1895 to the present. The format of the course is modeled on professional standards and workflow for pre- production, production, and post-production.

DM 2133 3D Graphics Studio 1
A studio introduction to creative work with 3D graphics. Students will learn and apply fundamental principles and technical requirements for 3D model construction and surfacing for a broad range of applications, from animation and game development to rapid prototyping and simulation. There will be considerable scope for individual imaginative experiments.

DM 2143 Interaction Design Studio 1
In order to design interfaces, we must first understand how humans interpret visual, tactile, and auditory phenomena, and how these perceptions inform their actions in the physical world. This course will familiarize students with the relevant principles of cognition, and address basic interaction design issues through two solo projects and one group project.

DM 2153 Game Development Studio 1
This class will introduce the principles of 2D and 3D computer game design. Students will learn about the range of game types and understand their conceptual building blocks. Students will complete a structured sequence of assignments towards the completion of a design for a new game. Students will prepare, through a staged sequence of assignments, a fully worked-out design for an original game. Criteria will include storyline quality, graphics quality, appropriateness of design to the game concept, and originality. For games with an educational or instructional purpose, clarity and effectiveness for the target audience will also be taken into consideration.

DM 2183 Digital Photography Studio 1
A general introduction to digital photography in its two most fundamental aspects: as a technology, and as an art form. Students will explore the fundamentals of color, composition, and narrative through structured assignments, leading to the presentation of a final portfolio. Technique will be developed to professional standards, making the most of simple equipment and studio setup.

DM 2193 Web Studio 1
A web design project studio, whose assignments are arranged in sequence to enable the production of a website of professional quality in design and production, for those seriously interested in web design: interactivity, usability, and the quality and appropriateness of look-and-feel will be stressed, but participating students will also be expected to develop content, and complete a professional-quality site for the class.

DM 3113 Sound Studio 2
When we say contemporary in this class, we mean it two ways- 1 is post-classical: minimalism, serialism, musique concrète; 2 is post-popular: dub, trance, experimental. Music made largely with sampling, multi-tracking, and found sound, rather than traditional instruments, will be emphasized, and the studio component will include development of post-production technique as a genre in its own right. The format of the course will consist of two two-hour sessions per week, each split into one hour of lecture/seminar and one hour of studio/practice. Students will be expected to devote considerable time outside of class on both the written and studio components.

DM 3123 Cinema Studio 2
Students in DM 3123 will use the skills they have developed in the prerequisite DM 2123 to explore and make the most of digital video technology. Thematically, the course material will center on documentary and pseudo-documentary forms. Class time will be divided between hands-on technical demonstrations, group work, and case studies of particularly relevant historical work in film and video, to inform the high-quality and cutting-edge results we expect from DM students. The emphasis on experiment and group work is designed to reflect the realities of professional production.

DM 3133 3D Graphics Studio 2
The project will be a sequence of three phases to balance the need for structure with the fundamental reality of high-quality animation work~ it takes time. Students must be prepared to devote considerable time outside of class hours if they want good results. Through case studies and group discussion, students will be encouraged to develop their creative and critical skills, as well as their proficiency. In other words, this course should be thought of as a combination of “art” and “technique”.

DM 3143 Interaction Design Studio 2
On-screen interfaces are very well-established. Anyone who has used a computer in the past 20 years knows how to navigate WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer). This course lays out the foundations of WIMP. Building upon this well-developed model, the course will focus on usability, user- testing, and user-centered design. It will end up exploring interfaces that move beyond established metaphors to provide new ways of interacting with the computer screen. This course will start with small assignments to illustrate the concepts. The last half of the semester will be spent developing a group project.

DM 3153 Game Development Studio 2
This class continues from DM 2153, delving into advanced technological implementations of 2D games. Taking designs from DM 2153 and working together in teams, students will implement a complete game during the course of the semester. Based on students' current abilities and individual goals, production areas ranging from sprite creation, mapping and level design, to engine coding, and interaction scripting will be assigned to individual students. It will be their responsibility to complete their assignments, as if they were members of a professional game development team.

DM 3173 Visualization and Simulation Studio
This course is a design and production studio, geared to the completion of a professional-quality project. Students will be expected to have the necessary design/scripting/programming skills necessary, and to be prepared to make the most of them. Production of a project relevant to research and teaching initiatives underway in other programs at Poly is strongly encouraged, subject to the permission and counsel of faculty in the host departments.

DM 3183 Digital Photography Studio 2
This is the second of a general two-course studio sequence in digital photography, considered in both its technical and creative dimensions. Taken together, the courses offer a good introduction to digital photographic practice for non-DM majors, or an opportunity for DM majors to gain more experience in image capture and composition, to apply in their graphics and video work.

DM 3193 Web Studio 2
A web design project studio, whose assignments are arranged in sequence to enable the production of a website of professional quality in design and production, for those seriously interested in web design: interactivity, usability, and the quality and appropriateness of look-and-feel will be stressed, but participating students will also be expected to develop content, and complete a professional-quality site for the class.

DM 3213 Computer Music Studio
a composition studio course aimed at getting everyone generating music using algorithmic procedures. We’ll be looking at examples of algorithmic thinking in music dating from the distant past to the present, both in pre-compositional and performance situations, listening to as much repertoire as we can. Along the way we’ll look at and learn to implement a wide variety of algorithmic techniques.

DM 4003 Senior Project in Digital Media
This is a research/production project to be completed under the guidance of a faculty member in the final term. Topic, approach, and schedule is determined by prior agreement with the instructor and program director. This studio/seminar is designed to be the capstone for DM students, and is a thesis-quality design and production project conducted under the supervision of a faculty member active in the particular field and area in which the project is undertaken. Where appropriate, the student may receive supplementary guidance from faculty in another department, by special agreement.

DM 4023 Digital Media Internship
An internship may be undertaken for academic credit with an appropriate host company, with permission from your academic advisor, and under their supervision. The scope and topic of the internship are to be agreed in advance between the student, host firm, and a supervising faculty member. A final grade will be determined by the supervising faculty member on the basis of consultation with the internship supervisor at the host firm, and a 2000-word report submitted by the student by the last day of the semester (last day of regular exams).

DM 4113 Sound Studio 3
This course will be designed to permit flexibility for students who are ready to undertake a sustained creative project. In keeping with that expectation, the genres developed and discussed will be contemporary, with a view to informing a professional-level studio practice for students committed to the advancement of the field, critically and creatively. Seminars will be led by an active practitioner in the field, and culminate in the production of a presentation to the public.

DM 4123 Cinema Studio 3
Students will make the most of their experience in the introductory and intermediate studios to produce a short video piece of professional quality. As much as possible, the project is to be self- directed, as project management skills are an important part of proficiency at this level. Where appropriate, group work will be encouraged, bearing in mind that each student must take individual responsibility for specific aspects of the project. The emphasis in class will be on formal structure and post-production (editing and compositing).

DM 4133 3D Graphics Studio 3
In this course, students will be required to produce a complete animation sequence of professional quality, showcasing the skills they have developed in the prerequisites. The project may be geared to scientific, engineering, or entertainment applications, according to each student's skills and professional aspirations.

DM 4143 Interaction Design Studio 3
When talking about human computer interaction, we almost always think of sitting in front of a monitor, mouse, and keyboard, and manipulating visual elements on the screen. This is an unnatural asymmetric interaction, with the human communicating using physical input, and the computer communicating visually. This interaction model greatly restricts the possibilities. Over the semester, students will develop a project based on other modes and means of human-computer interaction, either individually or within a small group, and will regularly present to the class for discussion and criticism.

DM 4153 Game Development Studio 3
This class continues from DM 3153, delving into advanced technological implementations of 3D games, specifically focusing on the Torque Game Engine, but with concepts applicable to game production in general. Working together in teams, students will implement a complete game during the course of the semester. Based on students' current abilities and individual goals, production areas ranging from modeling, texturing, and level design, to engine coding, and interaction scripting will be assigned to individual students. It will be their responsibility to complete their assignments, as if they were members of a professional game development team.

DM 4193 Web Studio 3
A web design project studio for advanced designers and developers. This course provides a rich mix of critical concepts and creative challenge for students planning a career in the field, who are ready to do portfolio-quality work that will open doors where you want them opened, whether it's at the cutting edge, beyond the marketplace, or at the top of the heap. Students in this class will be expected to handle their technical issues independently, and make the most of each other's time in class.

DM 4903-6 Undergraduate Thesis, Digital Media
The undergraduate thesis allows students to apply knowledge gained in their major field of interest and use it to plan, conduct and report original research. The thesis may be a discourse upon a subject included in students' courses of study, an account of an original investigation or research, a report on a project or an original design accompanied by an explanatory statement. All undergraduate students who plan to undertake a thesis should report to the program director for choice of a thesis topic at least one year prior to graduation. Department heads approve requests and appoint a thesis adviser. Students must register for the thesis course every fall and spring semester until it is completed and accepted.

DM 4911-3 Special topics in Digital Media
The focus is on a special topic in Digital Media to be completed under the guidance of a DM faculty member. This may be repeated for credit on a different topic. By special permission of the program director, this course may be offered from time to time in subjects relevant to, but not regularly offered by, the Digital Media program. A course syllabus or proposal must be filed in the program office beforehand.