Syllabus

*subject to change*

Tandon School of Engineering of New York University Technology, Culture and Society Integrated Digital Media DM-UY 4913 INET Special Topics in Digital Media New Lenses: Experimental Content Capture and Release
Spring 2022 with Prof. Claire Hentschker
Mon and Wed, 12:00pm -1:50pm
To contact professor: clairehentschker@gmail.com

Office hours: I will be available for office hours on Zoom by appointment.

Course Prerequisite
This course does not have prerequisites.

Course Description
In this course we will experiment with lens based capture techniques (and other forms of digital image making) as a way of engaging with and sharing creative “content” in digital spaces.

We will explore how emerging techniques for image manipulation, 3D scanning, face tracking, motion capture, video capture, and animation no longer require expensive or hard to access devices, and can be implemented in a DIY fashion using phones, computers, cheap hacks and existing apps.

Throughout this course we will learn about the history of experimental media capture tools and techniques, and look at influential creative works made with a variety of these methods. We will apply this knowledge to our own experiments in capturing a unique perspective on the world around us, leveraging the devices and platforms available to us today.

Lastly, we will survey the many platforms for sharing media experiments, and consider (with a critical eye) the relationship between media objects and online audiences as we share the videos, images, 3d models or animations we make.

Program Learning Objectives

In this course students will:

develop conceptual thinking skills to generate ideas and content in order to solve problems or create opportunities.
develop technical skills to realize their ideas.
develop critical thinking skills that will allow them to analyze and position their work within cultural, historic, aesthetic, economic, and technological contexts.

Course Objectives

This course is about considering where and how experimental media making and content creation can overlap. As new filters, hacks and apps emerge for ‘creators’, how can we turn to a history of experimental media to inform our own experiments in this space?

Students will :

Become familiar with the limitations, affordances, and applications of a survey of contemporary experimental capture tools.
Further develop their conceptual ideation skills for creative media projects.
Critically engage with the culture and trends present on current content sharing platforms.
Gain a technical and art historical context for the capture techniques surveyed in this class.

Syllabus as a Living document

This syllabus is a living document, meaning it can grow or change over time to better fit our needs. Please see class blog for updated assignments.

What will you need for this class?

Access to a smartphone or laptop, internet.
Something to take pictures with.
A positive attitude! And a desire to learn through creative experimentation.

Course Content

.. but first let’s talk about the word “content.” I will use “content” in the context of this class to mean work that can be shared with an audience in digital spaces. Funny enough, this is also how I would describe digital art… I look forward to unpacking that word further with you all…

This class will explore three units over the course of the semester: Landscapes, portraits, and events.

As we go through each unit, we will do a series of in-class experiments called “Speed Projects.” The idea of a speed project is to quickly, sloppily, and experimentally try out new tools for content making during class time so we can debug, experiment and react in real time.

“Speed projects” will be very low pressure. They will not be graded based on anything other than participation because when it comes to experiments, sometimes failures are even better than successes. You won’t be required to post these anywhere publicly, but you should document these experiments by sharing screenshots/documentation on our discord and posting them on the class blog.

For each unit, you will develop one of your speed projects into the Final Unit Project. That is a total of 3 complete projects for the semester (not including the final). You can decide which speed project you would like to improve on or complete for your unit final and you will be expected to finish it on your own time, not during class time. A complete project is a finished piece of media that you might feel comfortable posting to its intended platform. Public posting is not required but highly encouraged. Your complete project should use a tool/technique we discussed either in the lecture or in the workshop to tell a story, engage with an idea, explore an aesthetic or capture attention. You will need to document your finished project and share it on the class blog. At the end of the unit we will review these together and give each other feedback in real time via a shared google doc that I will provide at the start of the review. Unlike the speed projects, the finished project will receive a grade based on more than participation. More on grading below

The last two weeks of class will be dedicated to a final project.

You will also be responsible for presenting one “Content Report” to the class. This will be an under 10 minute presentation about an “experimental capture” trope/ issue/ theme/ trend/ aesthetic you* have identified in the content you see online. You will need to do research on this topic, put together a blog post on the wordpress site and give a presentation about it to the class.
*I will also provide a list of examples you can also choose from, and we can also add to this list together. (think 5 min craft, deep fakes, ‘duets’, animal crossing garden tours etc). This should be fun.

Course Structure *subject to change*

Mondays:

Lecture	We will meet in the Virtual Classroom the week’s lecture. Engaging and responding in real time via the chat is encouraged.
Workshop	At the end of class I will introduce and demo the capture technique/tool we will be working with on Wednesday and explain the upcoming “speed project”

At Home

Start thinking about an idea for a “speed project” using the tool that was introduced. Bring anything you might want to experiment with to the following class.

Wednesdays:

Workshop	We will work on the speed projects during class time, Zoom to get real time feedback, help and inspiration from classmates when needed, being sure to document our process. The speed project is done when class is over, and great failures and great successes will be embraced equally. You will share your work at the end of class.
1 on 1s*	I will occasionally check in with each of you as you work on your speed project

At Home

If you have chosen to develop the most recent speed project into a full project, work on that. If you run into issues and need help see my virtual office hours at the top of the syllabus.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE *subject to change* Notes from each lecture can be found in the “daily notes” menu of the website, and you will find write ups for all assignments and speed projects under “deliverables”

UNIT 1: Landscapes

M 1/24 Lecture: Course overview/wordpress tour / introductions

W 1/26 Lecture/Speed project: Landscape Photography from Bed

Nine Eyes. Natalia Taylor. Machinima. Insecure streaming cams

*weekend speed project* Speed Project #1: Landscape Photography from Bed

M 1/31 Lecture: Exploring Place through Experimental Photography

Experimental photography and placemaking.

W 2/2 Speed Project #2: Experimental Photo SphereS as Site specific works

W 2/7 Lecture: Pixel Manipulation as a Medium for Abstraction, Absurdity and Glitch

Pixel Play. Yung Jake data moshing. Editing an image in a text editor. Green Screen to zoom backgrounds.

Th 2/9 Speed Project #3: Still life

M 2/14 Content Reports group 1:

W 2/16 Project 1 Share

Dedicated to looking at and giving feedback on each others projects

UNIT 2: Portraits

W 2/23 Lecture: Capturing Avatars and Personas and Performances

Avatars, Personas. lil miquela, Laturbo Avedon, Steve and the Nerve, Yung Jake

M 2/28 Lecture: Painting a Portrait over Time

Data sets as portraits. Capturing intimacy with high speed, slow mo, and other time manipulations.

W 3/2 UNIT 2 Speed Project #3: Portraits in Series

M 3/7 Lecture: Face as InterFACE

Masks, digital, experimental, artful. Face driven projects, face filters.

W 3/9 UNIT 2 Speed Project #2: Annotating your Face

Snap lens demo

M 3/21 Faces that Don’t Exist

Deep fakes, latent space, image averages, expression and gaze manipulation

W 3/23 UNIT 2 Speed Project #4: Face does not exist

M 3/28 Content Reports group 2:

W 3/30 Project 2 Share:

Dedicated to looking at and giving feedback on each others projects

UNIT 3: Events

M 4/4 Lecture: Manipulating Time

W 4/6 Speed project: Manipulating Time via video editing

M 4/11 Lecture: Tutorials as an artform

W 4/13 Speed project: Motion from Capture or Tutorials as a Medium

M 4/18 Content Reports group 3:

W 4/20 Final Projects Kick off- Possible guest lecture. IN CLASS WORK DAY: PROPOSAL AND SKETCH IDEA FOR YOUR FINAL PROJECT ON MONDAY

M 4/25 In class work session for final project 1 on 1s

W 4/27 In class work session for final project Mini Group share outs

M 5/2 In class work session for final project Make up content report day

W 5/4 In class work session Mini Lecture on virality and documentation

W 5/9 Final Project Review with Guest Artists

Attendance Policy

Regardless of whether you are in the classroom irl, you are expected to be actively at your device in the Discord for the entirety of class. As much as you can, please try to remain present both physically and mentally, meaning free from distractions like social media or unrelated tabs during class.

Please come to class every day. If I get the sense you are not coming regularly because you are not online, not posting or not participating I will lower your grade. That said I am very understanding! If you want to get in touch and chat through any more specific circumstances to you I would be happy to work something out.

*These are very strange times so please do not hesitate to reach out to me if something comes up or you need someone to talk to for any reason.*

The following section is borrowed from Golan Levin’s class Syllabi that I wanted to include because I really value its sentiment.

A WORD ABOUT UNEXCUSED ABSENCES IN CRITIQUES

Sometimes, students who haven’t completed their projects skip class during critiques, because they are too anxious to come to class empty-handed. This type of absence is particularly self-destructive, and is one of the most objectionable things you can do in this class. Please have courage. Your participation on critique days is essential, even if your own project is incomplete or missing, because these sessions and conversations help you understand our class standards, expectations, and criteria for good work. Even if your own project is unfinished, you are still expected to contribute productively to the class discussion.

Grading [updated 5/13 to reflect the removal of project 3 as a deliverable]
15% Project 1 Due 2/16
15% Project 2 Due 3/30
20% Final Project Due 6/9
20% Content Report
20% Speed Project Participation
10% Attendance and Discord Participation

ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS

If you are a student with a disability who is requesting accommodations, please contact New York University’s Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212-998-4980 or mosescsd@nyu.edu. You must be registered with CSD to receive accommodations. Information about the Moses Center can be found at http://www.nyu.edu/csd. The Moses Center is located at 726 Broadway on the 2nd floor.

If you are experiencing an illness or any other situation that might affect your academic performance in a class, please email Deanna Rayment, Coordinator of Student Advocacy, Compliance and Student Affairs: deanna.rayment@nyu.edu. Deanna can reach out to your instructors on your behalf when warranted.

STATEMENT ON INCLUSION

The NYU Tandon School values an inclusive and equitable environment for all our students. I hope to foster a sense of community in this class and consider it a place where individuals of all backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, national origins, gender identities, sexual orientations, religious and political affiliations, and abilities will be treated with respect. It is my intent that all students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. If this standard is not being upheld, please feel free to speak with me.