DIGITAL MEDIA POST-PRODUCTION

Effective project management plays a key role in the execution and completion of digital media projects. In this introductory course, students will learn step-by-step how a project develops and evolves through the project management process. The entire digital media workflow from scripting, budgeting, shooting, post-production, finishing, distribution and marketing will also be covered. Students will get an overview of how the courses at the CMD interrelate and fit within this total workflow. Guest speakers will provide current industry trends on how projects are produced, finished and distributed.

This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of digital audio design and provide them with the basic tools to use the technology appropriately, creatively, and effectively. A large element of hands-on practical experience will be balanced by an emphasis on understanding the fundamental theoretical principles of the technology and its applications within the entertainment industry. Topics covered will include the basic characteristics and differences between analog and digital audio; principles of good audio design; the essential hardware and software tools of music production in a digital environment; characteristics and differences between the main digital audio formats; basic principles of sound waveform editing; and recording techniques for multimedia and video integration. This course uses Avid Pro Tools.

This introductory course familiarizes students with the fundamental aspects of digital video production. Covering acquisition formats, authoring formats and delivery formats. The class provides a strong foundation for working with visuals and sound in non-linear digital video post-production. Topics will include digital vs. analog, time code, frame rates, frame size, aspect ratios, broadcast and streaming codecs and distribution formats. This course uses Adobe Premiere Pro.

This course covers the skills and concepts needed to create and manipulate images specifically for use in digital media projects. Students will learn the core concepts of working with image formats, brushes,selection tools, channels and layers as well as digital painting and color correction techniques. This course uses the Adobe Creative Cloud.

In this course, students will combine skills acquired in the advanced digital media courses to design and implement sound for their portfolio projects. Areas covered include live audio recording, working with prerecorded audio elements, and inventing sounds using foley techniques. The principles of sound sweetening and multi-track layering will be addressed, as well as multi-track compositing. Students will also learn techniques to seamlessly move audio files between audio and video editing tools. This course uses Avid Pro Tools.

In this course, students will learn the skills necessary to digitally record and produce music at a professional level. Hands-on practical techniques will reinforce an understanding of recording, editing, programming and mixing for music production. Topics covered will include recording with microphones, programming electronic instruments, MIDI, proper use of audio effects and music mixing techniques. This course uses Avid Pro Tools.

This course introduces the fundamentals of designing sound for digital media including film and television using a combination of practical and technological toolsets. Through a parity of theoretical and hands-on application, concepts will be disseminated and applied using industry-standard practices and equipment. Primary topics covered will include practical MIDI setup and implementation, basics of audio synthesis, exploration and use of digital Virtual Instruments, advanced signal processor controls and application as well as best practices for field and Foley recording.

This course focuses on the advanced techniques, skills, and theories of editing as well as the technical requirements for assembling a digital video project. Through a series of hands-on projects, students will put traditional theories of picture and sound editing into practice using advanced techniques of layering, rotoscoping and motion graphics. This course will utilize a industry standard editing application with a shared storage server. This course uses Avid Media Composer.

Digital compositing is the process of digitally manipulating a combination of source images to produce a seamless whole. This course provides a complete overview of the compositing process as it is used in film/television, visual effects, and multimedia. Areas covered include image creation and manipulation techniques as well as design and color fundamentals. Through a series of exercises and projects, students will develop the aesthetic and technical skills necessary for integrating diverse visual elements into cohesive imagery. This course uses Adobe After Effects.

This course introduces the process of finishing a film. Students will learn the normal workflow in post-production of converting all the original footage to lower resolution proxies for editing. Students will use industry-standard software to conform these proxies back to the original footage and prepare the footage for final color correction. Students will learn to analyze with technical scopes to adjust each shot, balance the exposure and contrast, adjust the color tint and saturation, and to correct any inconsistencies from one shot to another. This course will cover the technical as well as the aesthetics of film finishing with the use of professional monitoring equipment and industry-based control panels

This advanced computer-based course covers the design and production of a faculty supervised project for portfolio development. Students will produce post-production projects utilizing original and provided footage. Emphasis will be placed on aesthetic quality and technical execution of the narrative format. Students will complete multiple projects for their online site as well as a demo reel of their work. Multiple editing software will be utilized in this course.