Technology has transformed storytelling.  From Star Wars to Shrek, from The Matrix to Cars, storytelling for the screen has gone beyond reality to create new worlds that are limited only by your imagination.

The B.F.A. in Digital Arts is designed for students wishing to master these storytelling tools as they also learn the traditional tools of storytelling for the screen: screenwriting, sound design, editing etc.  Students will be prepared to develop their own stories as well as to contribute visual effects to the work of others or create animated logos or graphics for Internet applications, advertising, public relations, or gaming.

Dodge College advantages

In addition to being part of a large and vibrant storytelling community, which embraces both narrative filmmaking and storytelling for business, you will have access to the following:

• A motion capture stage where human action can be captured and digitized to create animated characters

 • Two full-networked computer labs including the latest software: Autodesk Maya, Motion Builder and Toxik, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, Macromedia Flash, and Toon Boom Studio, Avid MCSoft, Pro Tools LE with MBOX, Movie Magic Budgeting and Scheduling, Final Draft, Sony Vegas, DVD Architect, Sony Acid, Kodak Look Manager, and Frame Forge Storyboarding software

• 34 individual editing rooms equipped with Avid MCSoft, MOJO and Pro Tools,
10 suites equipped with Digidesign 002 8-channel automated soundboards

• 2 Avid Nitris DS systems 2K, HD and SD Compositing, Conform, and Color Correction Stations

• 2 Avid Nitris Symphony systems for Realtime HD Conform and Color Correction

• 5 Avid Media Composer Adrenaline With DNxHD High Definition Hardware Option

• 3 Patchable Voice Over  and Automated Dialog Replacement Booths

• Foley stage designed by foley experts at Warner Bros. including deep and shallow water tanks and several dry pits

• 128-terabyte Avid ISIS server digital storage of all media assets and connectivity enabling student work to be viewed in edit suites, classrooms, and faculty offices

What you will learn

• How to work in 3-D space
• How to create 3-D models using polygons a, NURBS and UVW texture mapping
 • The visual effects secrets used at such leading-edge studios as Industrial Light + Magic
• How to create virtual worlds through matte painting
• Sophisticated modeling techniques to animate objects and characters
 • How to set keyframes and motion paths, use Trax Non-linear animation, apply forward and  inverse kinematics, set cameras and lights, and deform surfaces
• How to create effective compositions through movement, color, and lighting for digital storytelling
• How to composite, using color and light matching, keying, motion tracking, rotoscoping and work with film
 • The history of animated film and alternative media including 3D cinema, interactive media, immersive media, special effects cinema and other non-traditional forms that augment and transcend photographic motion pictures
 • The impact and possibilities of new distribution channels, from YouTube to mobile media

Senior Project

Each student will take the year-long senior project course in which he or she will complete a capstone project demonstrating their mastery of digital storytelling, showcasing their artistry as well as their technical competence.  Projects may include short films and/or a comparable reel of digital effects or animations used in the films or projects of other students.

core requirements

total: 48

elective courses: select 3 of the following (including two upper division courses) (9 credits)

ART 111 Foundation Course in Drawing
ART 113 Foundation Course in Sculpture
ART 132 Visualization - Perspective and Rendering
FTV 133 Audio Techniques
FTV 237 Cinematography I
FTV 238 Lighting for 3D
CPSC 240 Games Development
FTV 301 Acting for Non-Actors
FTV 333 Audio Design
FTV 336 Production Design I
ART 336 Illustration
FTV 387 Short Script Workshop
FTV 441 Visual Perception and Expression
FTV 456 Advanced 3D Animation

total: 57