Video 1
Video 1 Syllabus / Fall 2006 School of The Museum of Fine Art Tuesday, 9:00 - 12:00 AM and 2:00 - 5:00 PM (lab) Kurt Ralske, Instructor kurt.ralske @ gmail.com Course website: http://retnull.com/smfa/Video1.html Course Description Video 1 consists of a series of intensive workshops designed to give you the skills to become a technically proficient and thinking video maker. Students produce individual projects through hands-on instruction in camera composition, lighting, sound, and editing. We survey and analyze current trends in video and digital art practices through frequent screenings, readings and discussions, and we explore a wide range of possibilities for video art production, including single-channel, installation, performance, and internet projects. We provide access to equipment such as mini-DV cameras, mini-disc recorders, microphones, lighting kits, and Final Cut Pro nonlinear editing systems. There are three main “threads” running through this course: 1) Practical skills for video production: how to do what you need to do 2) Analyzing artistic practice: understanding various approaches to video 3) Technical principles of digital media: a generalized behind-the-scenes view of hardware and software The course outline below describes the schedule for topics from the first thread. Materials for the remaining two threads will be introduced as is appropriate for our progress through the video production material. Textbook: DV Filmmaking: From Start to Finish by Ian David Aronson, O’Reilly Press, 2006 Recommended Texts: Final Cut Pro 5 for Mac OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide by Linda Branneis, Peachpit Press, 2006 Video Shooter: Storytelling with DV, HD, and HDV Cameras by Barry Braverman, CMP Books, 2006 Illuminating Video: An Essential Guide to Video Art by Doug Hall and Sally Jo Fifer, Aperture Books, 1991 Course resources: Final Cut Pro documentation (to open documentation from inside FCP, go to FCP's "Help" menu) Basic FCP tutorial Digital Video Glossary MIT Video Production site Common Misconceptions About Video Compression Wikipedia video art links Many useful FCP articles Top 20 FCP key shortcuts Apple’s FCP resource page Apple’s FCP discussion forum When we screen work in class and analyze how it functions, it is useful to categorize qualities of the work. There is a set of terms that are especially helpful for discussing the aesthetics of video work. In various combinations, they seem to cover most of the range of possible artistic strategies. Definitions of these terms and specific examples will be provided in class, but for your reference, here is the set of adjectives we are likely to use repeatedly: performance / documentary / process / conceptual / narrative / poetic / formalist NOTE: If specific course material (video, film, readings) is found to be offensive or causes discomfort for any reason to an individual student, please take personal responsibility and promptly excuse yourself from the demonstration or discussion and/or notify Kurt Ralske. As we proceed through the semester, the course outline is subject to change. ______________________________________________________________________ Class 1 : September 5 Using the Camera / Intro to Production: Topics: Review course requirements and course outline Defining terms for discussing work, with examples Brief overview of history and genres of video art Defining the unique qualities of the medium (...or not) Camera technique Composing the image Project #1 - Camera exercise (due Sept 12): Sign out a camera from the lab. Make a series of shots of any person, subject, or location that interests you. Make 15 to 20 shots that are 10 to 15 seconds long. Make 3 shots that are 30 to 60 seconds long. Think about variety in the image composition, rhythm, and the amount of information in each shot. Bring the videotape to class on September 12. Also bring a CD of some music you would like to work with. Reading Assignment: Aronson - Chapters 1, 3, 9 Handout: FCP Basic Concepts Digital Video Glossary -- skim this; if any questions, bring to next class ______________________________________________________________________ Class 2 : September 12 Capture / Intro to Editing: Topics: Projects / sequences / clips Browser / Viewer / Timeline / Canvas Layout presets Log and capture / Batch capture / Capture now Editing in viewer and timeline Insert / overwrite / replace / fit to fill / superimpose Project #1 continued - Capture: Capture video material into FCP using either Batch Capture or Capture Now. Create clips and trim material that is obviously unusable. Import audio file from CD into FCP. Assignment #2 -- Two-minute video (due September 19): Produce a short video using the material you created for Project #1. Use both sync and non-sync sound. Duration of finished piece should be between one and three minutes. Reading Assignment: Aronson - Chapters 4, 7, 8 ______________________________________________________________________ Class 3 : September 19 Editing / Transitions / Audio: Topics: Toolbar Ripple / roll / slip / slide / swap / extend / resize Transitions Importing audio / recording audio / audio levels Output Reading Assignment: Aronson - Chapter 13, 14 ______________________________________________________________________ Class 4 : September 26 Effects / Text / Still images: Topics: Keyframes Markers Filters and generators Creating and importing stills Text Intro to LiveType ______________________________________________________________________ Class 5 : October 3 Group Critique Project #2: Presentation of Project #2 projects and group critique Assignment #3 -- Installation (due October 24 ): Create a short video loop and use it as an element of an installation. Your aim is not to just present the video, but to create a context for the presentation of the video. The context you create should amplify or inflect the qualities of the video. Think about what can create a context: projecting onto some surface that is not a screen placing the video image in proximity of some object(s) playing the video on a monitor (fullscreen) with some material covering part of the image Think about the size of the image in relation to the other element(s). Feel free to exploit large or small image sizes. Think about the sculptural relation between the elements of the installation. Reading Assignment: Aronson - Chapter 12, 16 Interlacing _ _____________________________________________________________________ Class 6 : October 10 Compositing / Color Correction: Topics: Blending modes Alpha channels Mattes Luma keying / chroma keying Broadcast-safe color RGB / YUV / saturation Lab: Topics related to Assignment #3 Reading Assignment: Walter Murch interview Video Compression ______________________________________________________________________ Class 7 : October 17 Video Compression: Topics: Why compression? You need to deal with multiple distribution mediums (like it or not) Types of compression: spatial / temporal / lossy / lossless Throughput and target data rate Overview of codecs Choosing the right codec Apple Compressor: presets / batch manager / droplets Lab: Topics related to Assignment #3 ______________________________________________________________________ Class 8 : October 24 Preparing Video for the internet: Presentations of Project #3 and group critique Topics: <embed> tag for QT QT installed check Codec choices / codec compatibility Reading assignment: Aronson - Appendix A ______________________________________________________________________ Class 9 : October 31 Creating a DVD: Topics: Intro to DVD Studio Pro MPEG-2 and AAC VIDEO_TS / .VOB / .IFO / .BUP Target data rate Assets Menus Output Due: a short written description of your proposal for Assignment #3 Reading assignment: Handout: Excerpts from “The Language of New Media” (Lev Manovich) ______________________________________________________________________ November 7 - NO CLASS (classes run on Friday schedule)______________________________________________________________________ Class 10 : November 14 Presentation on Video and New Media: Topics: Database vs narrative Telepresence Data visualization ______________________________________________________________________ Class 11 : November 21 Individual tutorial and critique ______________________________________________________________________ Class 12 : November 28 Group Critique Project #4 ______________________________________________________________________ Recommended Art and New Media blogs: Edward Winkleman Eyebeam We Make Money Not Art Information Aesthetics Avail Video Video Thing Neural Neatorama Reblog http://retnull.commailto:kurt.ralske@gmail.comhttp://retnull.com/smfa/Sound2.htmlhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596008481/sr=1-1/qid=1154767962/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6255782-5211150?ie=UTF8&s=bookshttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321350251/sr=1-2/qid=1154768420/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-6255782-5211150?ie=UTF8&s=bookshttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578202892/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/104-6255782-5211150?ie=UTF8http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0893813907/sr=8-1/qid=1156036968/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-3976629-7989437?ie=UTF8http://www.sjmclib.umn.edu/viscomm/finalcutpro/http://www.isd.uga.edu/digitalvideo/glossary.htmhttp://people.csail.mit.edu/tbuehler/video/index.htmlhttp://retnull.com/Video%20Compression.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_arthttp://kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/fcp_homepage_index.htmlhttp://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/basic_keys_to_speed.htmlhttp://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/finalcutpro/resources.htmlhttp://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=123%20http://www.isd.uga.edu/digitalvideo/glossary.htmhttp://www.100fps.com/http://www.apple.com/pro/film/murch/http://retnull.com/Video%20Compression.htmlhttp://www.deplacement.qc.ca/en/user.htmlhttp://edwardwinkleman.blogspot.com/http://www.eyebeam.org/reblog/http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/http://infosthetics.com/http://www.availvideo.com/blog/http://videothing.blogspot.com/http://www.neural.it/english/http://www.neatorama.com/http://mike.teczno.com/snippets.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11shapeimage_2_link_12shapeimage_2_link_13shapeimage_2_link_14shapeimage_2_link_15shapeimage_2_link_16shapeimage_2_link_17shapeimage_2_link_18shapeimage_2_link_19shapeimage_2_link_20shapeimage_2_link_21shapeimage_2_link_22shapeimage_2_link_23shapeimage_2_link_24shapeimage_2_link_25shapeimage_2_link_26shapeimage_2_link_27shapeimage_2_link_28shapeimage_2_link_29