Faculty of Fine Arts
Introduction to New Media
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
An introduction to histories, theories, and creative techniques for producing and engaging with digital media. This project-based studio course explores new media through static image, moving image, and interactivity.
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Introduction to Animation
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
A survey of animation using traditional and contemporary techniques.
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Not counted in the core New Media courses in the B.F.A. - New Media.
Interactive Technology (Series)
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Offerings in subject areas dealing with interactive technology.
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Not counted in the core New Media courses in the B.F.A. - New Media.
Design Fundamentals for New Media
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Introduction to design fundamentals and principles as they relate to new media. Concepts and practice of graphic design, typography, and colour theory will be explored in relation to specific media such as print, web, and other new media applications.
Corequisite(s):New Media 1000
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Visual Communications for New Media
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Design and communication theory and practice with emphasis on increasing comprehension by an audience as relevant to various areas of static and time based digital media.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 1000 AND
New Media 2005
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Digital Drawing and Animation
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
A critical investigation of digital mark-making including histories, code-based drawing, interactive drawing, frame-based animation, and exploratory drawing techniques.
Prerequisite(s):Second-year standing (a minimum of 30.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Video Fundamentals
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
An introduction to digital video creation, including an overview of the field that exposes new possibilities available in the current era. This course includes the history of the moving image, the state of the art in contemporary culture and future possibilities. Students will also gain experience in creating their own video content.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 1000
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Function and Culture of Design
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Exploration of topics centered on creative problem solving through design. A selection of visual, industrial, and product related design approaches are examined and foundational skills in design thinking are developed that address the functional, cultural, and philosophical aspects of design.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 1000 or Second-year standing (a minimum of 30.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Memes, Influencers, and Digital Convergence
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An introduction to the field of new media and its major technologies, cultures, aesthetics, and contemporary practices through a variety of foundational, historical, and theoretical perspectives.
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Social Media and Digital Identity
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Students create and polish a cohesive online professional presence for their future careers or creative goals.
Prerequisite(s):Second-year standing (a minimum of 30.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
3-D Computer Modelling and Animation
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 5-0-0
Theory and professional practice of 3-D computer modelling, animation, lighting, texturing and rendering.
Prerequisite(s):Art 2033 and New Media 2030
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Colour Theory and Digital Photo Manipulation
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0 or
4-0-0
Advanced design, with emphasis on colour theory, with relation to principles of digital photography and image manipulation.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 2010
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
For sections where New Media 3040 is offered twice weekly, an extra hour is required per week for set up and clean up.
Seminar in New Media Studies
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Seminar presentation on contemporary issues related to New Media and interactive technology in a critical and theoretical context.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 1000 AND
Second-year standing (a minimum of 30.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Streaming and User Generated Video
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
This project-based course explores the theoretical and practical approaches to user-generated video production including streaming, multi-camera video, and YouTubing. Students will develop and create their own channels with appropriate content and branding.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 2030
OR
Music 2550
Equivalent:New Media 2230 (prior to 2024/2025);
New Media 2850 (Internet Television Production) (prior to 2021/2022)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Media, Advertising, and Consumer Culture
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An investigation of the various approaches and theoretical ideas concerning modern advertising, media, and consumer society in North America, primarily from a media studies perspective. Other topics include the history of advertising and media and their relation to industrial society, the rise of modern forms of consumption and communication, spectatorship and audience interpretation, advertising standards and regulations, political advertising, gender representation, the role of the consumer, and the creation of consumer desire in contemporary society.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Theory and Aesthetics of Digital Games
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
A structural and analytical study of the medium of video and computer-based games that explores digital games for their uniqueness as a medium, but also in relation with other aesthetic artifacts such as cinema. Topics explored include: history and origins, aesthetics and interpretation, genre, interactivity and narrative, character development, game play, mise-en-scene, and social issues such as gender and violence.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours)
Recommended Background:
An intermediate level of experience with video and computer games (console, PC, and/or online)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Game Design: Theory and Practice
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An introduction to game design fundamentals, principles, and practice. Traditional and contemporary approaches to game design will be explored through an iterative process of game analysis, design, production and critique.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3030
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Programming for Artists
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Programming fundamentals for artists and designers. This course will familiarize students with programming as an expressive medium for new media art and design practice.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 2010
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Narrative for New Media
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The use of script writing to facilitate content creation for new media with an emphasis on story, character, and visuals. How interplay of form and content affects narrative. Exercises in script writing for animation, film, gaming, and television.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 2030
OR
Drama 2100
OR
New Media 1000 and 15 university-level courses (a minimum of 45.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Web Design and Development
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Design, aesthetics, and development practices for web-based media.
Prerequisite(s):One of New Media 2005, Art 3060, or Computer Science 3770
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
History of Animation
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
This course traces the evolution of animation from silent cinema through the 'Golden Age of Animation' to the digital age. Study areas will include the impact of television and other media on animation and focus on some of the important people, studios, and institutions that have contributed to its rich and varied tradition across the globe.
Prerequisite(s):Cinema 1000 or 15 university-level courses (a minimum of 45.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Popular Narrative
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Through close examinations of various videos, novels, television programs, games, films and comics, the course observes the ways in which narrative form operates in different media. Students will investigate the cultural politics of taste, revealing the stakes involved in separating 'high' narrative art from 'low'.
Prerequisite(s):15 university-level courses (a minimum of 45.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Mobile Application Development
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An introduction to concepts and techniques for designing and developing hybrid mobile application using HTML, CSS, and Javascript that access device features, like geolocation, the accelerometer, and media capture.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3520
Recommended Background:
New Media 3380
Equivalent:New Media 3850 Mobile Application Development (prior to 2021/2022)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Character Animation I
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Introduces students to character animation based on understanding of the anatomical structure of characters, mechanics of real and animated movement, timing, and animation principles. An important emphasis is placed on understanding the process of character development for 3D animation. Concepts and techniques are explored through short 2D and 3D animation assignments.
Prerequisite(s):One of New Media 2005 or a minimum of 15 university-level courses (a minimum of 45.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Modern Media, War and Propaganda
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An investigation of the modern use of popular media and propaganda in times of war. Consideration is given to early forms of modern mass communication, propaganda techniques and how propaganda can be considered both as media hegemony and cultural expression. The course will focus primarily on the period between World War II to the present and on the North American context. It will consider the use of modern media forms (documentary film, animation, advertising/marketing, dramatic film, television, news reporting, interactive entertainment, and social media).
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Interaction Design
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Creation of interface using materials from original sources to produce user-driven projects.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3030 AND
New Media 3380 AND
New Media 3520
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Event and Exhibition Design
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Students will learn to design and mount new media group event and exhibition experiences that are relevant to various departmental and student activities.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Creative Foundations For Game Development
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Students explore game development software, production workflow, and collaborate in small development teams to design and produce creative interactive products that diverge from conventional game genres. The course focuses on establishing a foundation of creativity, artistry, ingenuity, teamwork, professionalism, and technical proficiency.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3310
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Expanded Cinema
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
A theoretical and practical investigation of experimental moving image practices from pre- and early cinema to contemporary digital media. Areas of investigation may include, but are not limited to: locative media/gps cinema, site-specific works, installations, projection mapping, augmented/virtual reality, multi-projection, database cinema, and interactive cinema.
Prerequisite(s):One of New Media 2030, Art 2060, or Art 2061
Equivalent:Cinema 3810 (prior to 2020/2021)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Information Design
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Theory and practice in the design of information from a visual communication perspective.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3380 AND
New Media 3520
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Design Thinking and Creativity
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
This course investigates the application of design thinking in pursuit of creative, innovative, efficient and responsible solutions to contemporary problems in various educational and career/industry related contexts. Topics include industrial and product design, architecture and urban planning, system and interface design, and design related topics in classical philosophy, contemporary politics, behavior economics, and social psychology.
Prerequisite(s):15 university-level courses (a minimum of 45.0 credit hours)
Equivalent:New Media 3850 (Design Thinking and Creativity) (prior to 2020/2021)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Portfolio and Professional Practice
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An exploration of portfolio concepts and types. Prepares students in the management of their careers by developing a professional approach to self-promotion and examining ways in which they can pursue opportunities as New Media practitioners. Students will create a comprehensive foundational portfolio through the review, selection, assembly, and refinement of their current body of work, highlighting their technical, creative, professional, and academic abilities.
Prerequisite(s):25 university-level courses (a minimum of 75.0 credit hours) AND
Admission to the B.F.A. - New Media program
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Screenwriting
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Exploring the fundamentals of screenwriting and story development through script writing and film analysis. The importance of character and conflict is explored with an emphasis on the scene as the basic unit of the screenplay.
Prerequisite(s):One of New Media 3420 or Drama 2750
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Advanced Web Design
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
A survey of current theory and practice in web design for creating and managing advanced web-based media. In this project-based course, students explore concepts and techniques using interaction design software and front-end web languages.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3520
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Character Animation II
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Concentration on characterization through animation acting. Emphasis is placed on the relationships between character structural design, expressive animated motion, and character acting. This includes lip sync and phrasing of motion in relation to dialogue, sound, and shot sequencing.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3640
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Internship
Credit hours: 12.00
Other hours per term: Variable
Supervised internship providing direct involvement in the New Media industry either locally or out of town. Arrangements to be made by the Faculty of Fine Arts internship coordinator.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3900 AND
Completion of all course requirements for the B.F.A. - New Media AND
A cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher AND
A cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher on all New Media courses
Corequisite(s):New Media 4661
Grading:Pass/Fail
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Students must take New Media 4651 and New Media 4661 in the same term.
Internship Project
Credit hours: 3.00
Other hours per term: Variable
The completion of a written/media project to outline, document and assess the student's experience during the internship.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3900 AND
Completion of all course requirements for the B.F.A. - New Media AND
A cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher AND
A cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher on all New Media courses
Corequisite(s):New Media 4651
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Students must take New Media 4651 and New Media 4661 in the same term.
Advanced Studio
Credit hours: 6.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Self-directed study pursuing studio practice culminating in a substantive and original new media project.
Prerequisite(s):Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90.0 credit hours) in the B.F.A. - New Media program
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Intended for New Media students not enrolled in the internship program. Students should be aware that this course consists of the regular weekly contact hours with the Instructor as well as considerable independent work beyond the designated contact hours.
Video Game Production
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Students explore game development software, production workflow, and collaborate in small development teams to design and produce creative interactive products that diverge from conventional game genres. The course focuses on establishing a foundation of creativity, artistry, ingenuity, teamwork, professionalism, and technical proficiency.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3710
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Students with majors in Art, Art Studio, Computer Science, or Digital Audio Arts who have relevant applicable experience may be eligible for a prerequisite waiver. Contact instructor for specifics.
The Dynamic Web
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
This project-based course explores the use of dynamic web technologies for producing creative web-based content as well as the use of content management software for site production and management. Students will gain an understanding of the current state of web development and related social and political implications.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3380 AND
New Media 3520
Equivalent:New Media 3720 (prior to 2024/2025)
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Writing for Comedy
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Writing for comedy is serious business. This course explores the important difference between simply being funny, and comic, which requires an understanding of what comedy is and how it works. It covers how to write comedy for movies, television situation comedies, web series, sketch comedy, and stand up.
Prerequisite(s):One of Cinema 3203, New Media 3420, or Drama 2750
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Theory and Practice of Motion Capture
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 4-0-0
Theory and practice of motion capture, motion editing, and motion mapping.
Prerequisite(s):New Media 3030
Lib Ed Req:Fine Arts and Humanities
Note:Studio course.
Undergraduate Thesis
Credit hours: 6.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Other hours per term: 0-0-12
This is a challenging, work-intensive, studio- or combined studio and research-based course culminating in a substantive and original new media project, and written support paper if applicable. In consultation with the Thesis Supervisor, students will define the parameters of the project and expected outcomes which, upon completion, will be presented in a public forum.
Prerequisite(s):Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90.0 credit hours) AND
A cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher AND
Completion of the 12 core New Media courses AND
A cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher in all New Media courses AND
Application to the Department of New Media
Note:Studio course.
Other hours are required for mounting and removal of the final exhibition for the course. Students should be aware that this course involves regular contact with the Thesis Supervisor as well as considerable independent work.
Internship Registration Placeholder
Credit hours: 0.00
This is a registration placeholder for B.F.A. - New Media students who have completed all other requirements in the New Media program and who are in the process of seeking an internship to complete the degree program. Students may be registered in the placeholder for no more than two terms to encompass a maximum period of 12 months.
Note:No fees are assessed for this registration.