Digital Media Courses
Dean of Graduate Studies
間眅埶AV Calendar 2012 Spring
The following are all the courses offered in this area. To view the current course catalog and/or course schedule on the Student Information System, visit (select "Class Search/Course Schedule" on the left menu).
DMED 500-3 Foundations of Digital Media
Business, technological, social and ethical issues and realizations of digital entertainment are introduced and framed. The emergence and ongoing development of the digital entertainment industry is discussed through an historical exploration and critical analysis of the economics, technical innovations, social demands and ethical constraints which define it. Outcomes are exploration and a critical perspective of digital entertainment, which will act as a common basis for all subsequent discussion and collaboration between students with artistic, technical or interdisciplinary backgrounds.
DMED 501-3 The Visual Story
The many facets of storytelling are explored, with an emphasis on the meaningful visualization of creative content. Text and sound are used as the stimulus for development of visual narratives through shape, colour, line, texture and composition. Students cultivate essential art direction skills through photo essays, storyboards, animatics, character design, costume design, lighting design, mise-en-scene and cinematography. Classic texts are re-envisioned to develop a critical analysis of contemporary visual archetypes.
DMED 502-3 Improvising Story and Character
This course provides students with the practical skills to improve collaboration with others, for the end goal of creating successful projects together. From improving their performance in team based scenarios and developing strong presentation skills, to creating stories and characters on the fly, improvisation is an essential skill in a digital media industry that demands increasing flexibility and creativity, relies on innovative minds for its evolution and depends on rapid prototyping and iterative product creation for its survival.
DMED 503-3 Foundations of Game Design
Game design is a seminar and project-based course that teaches the mechanics and processes of game design. The principles learned in this class apply equally well to card games, board games, party games, athletic games and computer games. Students analyze many types of games and design many games of their own, alone and in groups, using these principles.
DMED 510-3 Financing & Distribution of Digital Entertainment
The financing and exploitation of digital entertainment is examined using actual forms, articles and projects. Different methods of financing and distributing video games, mobile content, theatrical feature films, television projects and series will be examined. The drafting and negotiating of basic entertainment contracts and intellectual property law related to digital entertainment will also be discussed.
DMED 520-6 Projects I: Building Virtual Worlds
Building Virtual Worlds is the first project course. Teams from different backgrounds and disciplines design and implement an artifact in a virtual environment. Student-lead projects have an explicit role in teaching project management and business aspects of team based creations. This hands-on immersion into a group problem solving environment is designed to break down student inhibitions and to foster rapid project planning and prototyping.
DMED 521-12 Projects II
Projects II, III and IV cohesively build on the Project I experience with projects of increasing technical, artistic and management sophistication. Projects II, III and IV are independent, semester length group studies based on working with an external client and/or collaborators. Teams of three to eight students work on a dedicated project(s) during that semester. In all four of the Projects courses, students learn, experience and execute the business aspects of team based projects from scoping to the creation of business plans, from on-going project management to final product delivery which is on time and on budget.
DMED 522-12 Projects III
Projects II, III and IV cohesively build on the Project I experience with projects of increasing technical, artistic and management sophistication. Projects II, III and IV are independent, semester length group studies based on working with an external client and/or collaborators. Teams of three to eight students work on a dedicated project(s) during that semester. In all four of the Projects courses, students learn, experience and execute the business aspects of team based projects from scoping to the creation of business plans, from on-going project management to final product delivery which is on time and on budget.
DMED 523-12 Projects IV
Projects II, III and IV cohesively build on the Project I experience with projects of increasing technical, artistic and management sophistication. Projects II, III and IV are independent, semester length group studies based on working with an external client and/or collaborators. Teams of three to eight students work on a dedicated project(s) during that semester. In all four of the Projects courses, students learn, experience and execute the business aspects of team based projects from scoping to the creation of business plans, from on-going project management to final product delivery which is on time and on budget.
DMED 530-0 Internship
During the summer internship period, students will work full-time in the digital media or entertainment technology industry. This term gives students real-world experience in working to concrete deadlines with a motivated, often multidisciplinary, team. Students learn firsthand the importance of effective communication and cooperation to achieve a specific goal.
DMED 540-3 Special Topics in Digital Media
DMED 550-3 Directed Studies in Digital Media
Normally a student would take at most one directed studies course during their degree. Directed studies offered within the program will be approved by the MDM Program Committee to essentially the same criteria required for approval of a new elective. If approved, this course can be taken in place of an elective.