Intro to Media Synthesis and Analysis

Fall 2016, Carnegie Mellon University

Course Prefix & Number 62-150 (9 units)
Meeting times T/Th 09:00AM-10:20AM
Locations Hunt Library - Studio A
Instructor Daragh Byrne
Teaching Assistant Kevin Ramser
Office Hours: By Appointment
Sound Lab: Friday, 09:30 and 10.30 am; Hunt Studio A
Almeda Beynon
Visual Lab: Friday, 09:30 and 10.30 am; Hunt Digital Fabrication (Basement)
Kevin Ramser

Course Content

About

What is this course about and who is it for?

The course is part of IDeATe. IDeATe brings together art, design and technology. It also brings together students from across the campus to explore creative intersections.

As computer scientist and engineers, you’re already versed on technology. This portal course will help prime these collaborations by skilling you up on art and design. You’ll learn the perspective and process of your future collaborators before you meet an IDeATe’s studios.

What you’ll learn

Simply put, we’re going to help will help demystify artful media by making it together.

What you’ll do

​You can think of this course as a hands-on survey course.

Together, we’ll move through four related modules connected through the theme of ‘remixing media’.

In each module, you’ll hear from guest speakers, read key texts, research artists and artworks, and prepare your own creative projects.

Our first two modules will look at traditional media. The first will be a rapid tour of modern art which will focus on the idea of appropriation. Moving from analog media to the screen, we’ll look at creative production in the age of the mashup and meme. Here we’ll recombine video and audio into new creative works. In the third module, we’ll get physical: we’ll investigate intersections of media, projection, sculpture and architecture. Finally, we’ll experience how media and performance can create rich interactions for performer and audience alike.

This will be unfamiliar territory for many of you. Please ask questions, embrace the process, read/explore beyond the materials provided, and experience art and artful media as much as you can during this course (galleries, performances, etc.)1 This will make the course a really rich and rewarding experience for you.

Logistics

  1. Our Slack community is the main hub for course updates, discussion and content. Read more about the slack and its role in the course. Use slack communications with the instructors and TA’s too (i.e. don’t email us!). Highly recommended: Download the Slack client for your smartphone or desktop and enable notifications!

  2. All students will take a lab as part of this course. Lab’s take place in two sessions on Friday morning. You get to choose if you’d like to take a Visual Lab or a Sound Lab. You’re also welcome to take both.

  3. Creative projects should be documented on the IDeATe Gallery. This site contains a guide to using the gallery. These are due before class.

  4. Readings should be completed before the relevant class. Summaries should be compiled in a single Google Doc shared by email with both the instructor and TAs for the course.

  5. It’s your responsibility to be familiar with the course policies and standards. If you cannot attend classes make sure you know what to do.

  6. No late work accepted. Please don’t ask.

  7. At times you’ll need special software, hardware or tools to complete your projects. This is almost always available in the IDeATe @ Hunt Facilities. Take some time to get familiar with the software on the laptops and what’s available for checkout through the lending desk (located in the basement of Hunt Library).

Footnotes