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4.1.2 Description of courses
Year 2010 - 11
FDN110 Foundation Drawing I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL (For ADM Year One students only), Semester 1
This studio course aims to develop students’ ability to render figures and to refine drawing skills. Working primarily in dry mediums, students use line and tone to develop an understanding of proportion, structure and anatomy of the figure. Drawing exercises reinforce techniques for rendering light and shade, soft and hard edges, gesture, volume and composition. Assignments in observation and interpretation of the human figure are given to assist in the formulation of a personal approach to drawing the figure. Lectures and discussions of classical figure drawing and contemporary works are included.
FDN120 2D Design and Colour Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL (For ADM Year One students only), Semester 1
This course explores concept development and problem-solving techniques to render design solutions on a flat surface. Understanding design concepts is emphasised through assigned projects in abstraction, contrast, rhythm, form and pattern. The course also concentrates on attaining a practical understanding of subtractive and additive colour. Topics include colour systems, a fundamental vocabulary for analysing and identifying colour and colour phenomena. Colour properties are explored through direct observation, demonstrations and exercises. Students research the significance and meaning of various colours in different cultures, and consideration is given to both the creative possibilities and cultural ramifications of the digital palette.
FDN130 3D Design and Volume Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL (For ADM Year One students only), Semester 1
Dedicated to the study of design in the three dimensions— height, width and depth—this studio course addresses the manipulation of 3D forms and space. Working with a variety of media, students complete sculptural and architectural projects with considerations of structure, scale and function. Students also learn to construct and analyse 3D forms. Demonstrations in mould making, paper and cardboard construction, among other materials, will be given.
FDN140 4D Design and Time Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL (For ADM Year One students only), Semester 1
The course endeavors to introduce students to ways of understanding storytelling, narrative and visual communication of ideas, imagery and sound in time-based media in a variety of contexts that shape our lives. Students will learn various types of narrative: literary, non-linear and multiple stream styles as used in cinematic creations and new media. This course will expand upon experiences of time as perceived from various cultural perspectives including ethnographic approaches toward storytelling. Descriptions of concepts like poetry and prose, musical performance with non-objective, abstract and representational visual presentation are examined. The conceptual development of working in time-based media is achieved through exposure to groundbreaking time-based artworks as well as introductions to applicable technologies with a focus on storytelling.
FDN112 Foundation Drawing II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FDN110 (For ADM Year One students only), Semester 2
This studio course aims to continue to develop students’ ability to render figures and to refine drawing skills at an advanced level. Working primarily in dry mediums, students use line and tone to develop an understanding of proportion, structure and anatomy of the figure. Drawing exercises reinforce techniques for rendering light and shade, soft and hard edges, gesture, volume and composition. Assignments in observation and interpretation of the human figure are given to assist in the formulation of a personal approach to drawing the figure. Lectures and discussions of classical figure drawing and contemporary works are included.
FDN122 2D Design and Colour Workshop II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FDN120 (For ADM Year One students only), Semester 2
The course is a continuation of the study of the psychological associations of colour and its use in art, design and media with a cultural focus. Understanding design concepts and colour theory is emphasised through assigned projects in abstraction, contrast, rhythm, form and pattern. The course also concentrates on attaining a practical understanding of subtractive and additive colour. Topics include colour systems, a fundamental vocabulary for analysing and identifying colour and colour phenomena. Colour properties are explored through direct observation, demonstrations and exercises. Students research the significance and meaning of various colours in different cultures, and consideration is given to both the creative possibilities and cultural ramifications of the digital palette.
FDN132 3D Design and Volume Workshop II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FDN130 (For ADM Year One students only), Semester 2
Continuation of the study of design in the three dimensions— height, width and depth—this studio course addresses how to manipulate 3D forms and space. Working with a variety of media, students complete sculptural and architectural projects with considerations of structure, scale and function. Students also learn to construct and analyse 3D forms and to develop creative solutions to design problems in three dimensional forms.
FDN142 4D Design and Time Workshop II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FDN140 (For ADM Year One students only), Semester 2
A continuation of 4D Workshop I, the course directs student to develop a comprehensive understanding of narrative strategies and communication in time-based media. This course will continue to expand upon experiences of time as perceived from various cultural perspectives including ethnographic approaches toward storytelling. Descriptions of concepts like poetry and prose, musical performance with non-objective, abstract and representational visual presentation are examined. The conceptual development of working in time-based media is achieved through exposure to groundbreaking time-based artworks as well as introductions to applicable technologies with a focus on storytelling.
ADM131 Western Art History I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
The pivotal events and achievements that define the western canonical tradition in the visual arts and design are surveyed in this course. The unceasing quest to give form to ideas is traced from the pictographs on the walls of Lascaux to classic western civilisations through to the period around the French revolution in late 1790s. Through lectures, discussions, research, video screenings and studio projects, students are introduced to the creative thinkers, important innovations and revolutionary technologies that have shaped the evolution of visual arts and the impact on societies in the western world.
ADM132 Western Art History II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 2
Beginning in the period following the French revolution through to contemporary period in the late 20th century visual arts, avant-garde design and culture, the pivotal events and trends are presented, allowing for a comprehensive understanding how the arts evolved and changed in the western tradition. Through lectures, discussions, research, video screenings and studio projects, students are introduced to the creative thinkers, important innovations and revolutionary technologies that have shaped the evolution of visual communications art making.
ADM210 Introduction to Asian Art I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course surveys some of the historical artistic traditions of Asia, chiefly from China, India and Japan. We will look at painting, prints, sculpture and vessels, and analyse their formal and symbolic properties. Our study aims to relate them to their particular histories and their philosophical/religious traditions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism and Taoism. We also aim to see these as having interest and appeal for us today.
ADM215 Introduction to Asian Art II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ADM210, Semester 2
The arts of Southeast Asia are often appraised as derived from large artistic cultures such as those in China, India and, recently, from the West. This course examines this premise and seeks to study the arts of this region as emerging from internal aspirations and necessities. It surveys some of the dominant art historical traditions in Southeast Asia, ranging from architecture, sculpture, painting, pottery, textiles and metal objects. It spans from about 2000 BC to 1300AD. It will consider ways by which Buddhist and Hindu world views are represented in architecture and sculpture; monuments such as Borobudur, Prambanan, and the temples in Angkor are analysed in relation to projections of political and religious power. The course will also survey pottery, textiles and carving, studying their materials forms and varied functions.
ADM235 Survey of New Media
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
The course will consider current trends and genres in New Media Art that are surfacing today in the contemporary art community. During the last few decades, much new media artwork was self-referential—e.g., the interactivity itself was the theme. Now, however, the technology is no longer the focus but the tool, and new media is exploring a wide range of themes. Primary emphasis will be made on artworks using the moving image with less focus on interactive works.
ADM240 Survey of Modern Art, 1900 - 1945
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course examines the many developments in art, which took place under the banner of Modernism in Europe and the Americas in the first half of the twentieth century. Broadly chronological in approach, a number of historical movements (including, but not limited to, Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, Futurism, Dada and Surrealism) will be explored alongside the work of individual artists. The influence of modernist thought and aesthetics upon different areas of artistic production (ranging from painting to film to architecture) will also be highlighted. The aim of the course is to provide students with a solid understanding of the history of modern art until 1945, and to encourage an increasing sophistication in their approach to visual analysis and critical writing.
ADM260 Introduction to Theories in Popular Cinema
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course is designed so as to expand and diversify the current art history course offering that are use by all degree programmes in the ADM curriculum. Within the ADM curriculum the areas in History of Design, Media and Social and Cultural Theories as well as in research methodologies require additional course work to create a comprehensive offering to all students.
This course is open to both ADM students and is offered as a General Education subject. This expands the offerings of subject to all students.
The focus of the course is on the social, political, and historical contexts around certain representations of race, class, gender, and sexuality. The representations with of the areas of enquiry are appropriate in the study of film and media within the curriculum. The subject matter address questions of genre, narrative, technological change, audience/spectator engagement, and modes of production.
ADM270 Ways of Seeing - Exploring Visual Culture
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This module is an exploration of visual cultures and the different practices of looking.
ADM280 Art in the Age of Colonialism
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course explores how European visual culture interacted with non-Western cultures from the late centuries. Various European constructions of the exotic and the Primitive will be examined. The influence on the fine arts will be analysed in relation to 18th-century the Romantic Orientalism of Delacroix; the work of popularisation of the East in terms of chinoiserie and Japanese woodblocks upon the Impressionists and Whistler; of Gauguin and later Picasso; and the odalisques of to colonial photography, the rise of ethnography and the role of architecture and international exhibitions; the relationship between aesthetics and politics, appropriation, the construction of cultural myth and arts, as well as their post-colonial deconstruction.
ADM 303 Internship (3 AUs for 5 Weeks Full Time)
ADM 306 Internship (6 AUs for 10 Weeks Full Time)
Prerequisites: Year 3, Special Terms
This course offers students on-the-job experience in their field of study prior to the completion of their studies. Internship provides a hint of professional practice and is generally open to 3rd and 4th year students. Students are required to record their experience in a journal and, when applicable, present the results of their experience at ADM's Internship partner. Placement is based on ability and availability. Selection of students is by the Internship partner after one or several interviews facilitated by Careers and Advancement Office.
ADM 310 Professional Attachment (10 AUs for 22 Weeks Full Time)
Prerequisites: Year 3, Semester 2 (AY2009/2010)
The Professional Attachment places a student in a professional environment for a concentrated full time experience for a full 22 weeks of real world experience in a design studio, advertising agency, media company, film company, animation or game company, museum or in other enterprises in the creative industries sector. Ten AUs are granted for full 22 weeks of fulltime experience. This course offers students on-the-job experience in their field of study prior to the completion of their studies. Internship provides a hint of professional practice and is generally open to 3rd and 4th year students. Students are required to record their experience in a journal and, when applicable, present the results of their experience at ADM's Internship partner. Placement is based on ability and availability. Selection of students is by the Internship partner after one or several interviews facilitated by Careers and Advancement Office .
ADM320 Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course introduces students to the inspiration artists have often drawn from fantasy and horror, the grotesque and the irrational, as well as the many different socio-political and historical contexts in which such art was produced. Covering some five centuries, the course will begin with the work of such artists as Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Breughel, Albrecht DŸrer, William Blake, Francisco y Goya and the 19th century Symbolists, before moving on to Dada and Surrealism, the two most significant, 20th century movements concerned with the irrational and grotesque. The prolific nature of Dada and Surrealist production across diverse artistic media (literature, performance, objects, photography, photomontage, exhibitions, painting, film) will be considered, as will the way in which both movements used the grotesque and the fantastic as a form of political protest. Lastly, the work of the latest generation of artists to follow in the tradition of the marvelous and grotesque will also be explored.
ADM330
Contemporary South-East Asian Art
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course situates the work of a series of Singapore contemporary visual artists and art groups in larger contexts of Southeast Asian cultural production – from the 1950’s to today. This course starts with the ways Southeast Asia has been imagined by Singapore artists, (as seen, for example from the perspectives of the Nanyang School painters in Singapore in the 1950’s). It moves on to explore the more tangible connections, questions and contestations arising between artists and arts groups in Singapore and Southeast Asia, from the 1950’s to the present.
ADM340 Nature in Art and Visual Culture
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ADM131 and ADM120 (or at least two intermediary level Art History or cultural theory course. Seek advice if in doubt), Semester 1 or 2
The course aims to teach students about the role of nature in art through a combination of lectures and group practical assignments.
ADM350 Studies in World Cinema
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course is designed so as to expand and diversify the current art history course offering that are use by all degree programmes in the ADM curriculum. Within the ADM curriculum the areas in History of Design, Media and Social and Cultural Theories as well as in research methodologies require additional course work to create a comprehensive offering to all students.
This course is open to both ADM students and is offered as a General Education subject. This expands the offerings of subject to all students.
The focus of the course is on ensuring a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of some of the key ideas in Film Studies that is raised by the formal, aesthetic, ideological characteristics. Students are challenged to develop critical appreciation of the principal characteristics of significant films from different parts of the world made since 1945. Critical to the understanding of film as a cultural artifact and to understand the impact of media is the understanding and appreciation of issues surrounding the production and distribution of cinemas from around the world.
ADM420 Cities, Bodies, Memories, Art and Everyday Life in Contemporary Singapore
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course is an experiential exploration of the ways in which everyday lives in a city like Singapore are structured by power, possibility and psychogeography. On the one hand, students will interrogate the ways public and private spaces such as housing estates, school campuses, city streets and shopping malls impose structures upon the individual imagination. On the other hand, students will explore how these very spaces become infused with a myriad of stories, memories, fictions and possibilities. Students will also be exposed to critical cultural theory, contemporary art, performance, literature and film projects dealing with urban culture and memory in this course. There is no paper examination for this elective. Students will instead complete a final assignment and a site-specific project in a particular urban quarter of Singapore.
ADM430 Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course will focus on the developments in the visual arts in China from the end of the imperial period during the late nineteenth century to the present day and will relate them to broader changes in Chinese culture. It will look at the ways in which visual material forms and contexts art, as well as the social roles of its makers and audiences. The course will study how these change over this period and will also focus on a broad range of visual materials from painting in the ‘traditional’ and ‘western’ formats, through to performance and installation art; to graphics, photography and craft work. As an upper-level seminar class, this course aims to engage students in the process of research and interpretation both textual and visual, through lectures, discussions, presentations and the execution of a research paper.
ADM440 Shanghai Modern: Art & Visual Culture In Shanghai 1840-1949
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course traces the formation of modes of visual modernity in the city of Shanghai from the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911) through the Republican era (1911-1949). In particular, the course investigates the ways in which Chinese artists defined modernity and their own traditions against the complicated background of Chinese art history. Key issues for discussion will be the problematic terms of “modernity,” “modernization,” and “Westernization.” The course is broadly chronological with a general introduction of the traditional painting tradition of Shanghai, leading to an exploration of commercial art (lithography, photography, forgery making and the advertisements) and investigation of foreign stimuli, the modern art debate and early Chinese cinema in Shanghai during the early twentieth century.
ADM450 Professional Practice for Creatives
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 2
This course provides an overview of the best professional practices with which artists, designers and filmmakers need to be familiar. Topics cover a wide range of relevant and critical issues for young professionals, from budgeting, contracts and intellectual property law to marketing, self-promotion and creative management skills. The course includes a few area-specific sessions where specialized issues are addressed.
ADM460 Special Topics: Artists’ Books and Constructed Images
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
The Special Topics course cover a range of topics in contemporary Design, Media and the Studio Arts that bring new knowledge or studio practices that are appropriate as exploratory activities. The content of each section of a Special Topics course change depending on the focus of the offering. Each course has the specific aim to introduce current assessments, critiques and strategies for studio practice, scholarship and research germane to the practice in one or more of the degree programmes in the school
This class provides opportunities to investigate the history, role and making of images in the context of communication design and various forms of publishing. Through a combination of image making, conducting research and critical analysis, students relate their own practice to the historical and contemporary development of imagery and alternative forms of book and publication design. A range of image-making and repurposing techniques are investigated and practical projects give students the opportunity to develop their own paper-based image-making skills.
ADM465 Special Topics: Digital Visual Effects
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: Nil, Semester 1 or 2
This class provides opportunities to investigate the history, role and making of images in the context of communication design and various forms of publishing. Through a combination of image making, conducting research and critical analysis, students relate their own practice to the historical and contemporary development of imagery and alternative forms of book and publication design. A range of image-making and repurposing techniques are investigated and practical projects give students the opportunity to develop their own paper-based image-making skills.
This course provides an introduction to the artistic and technical field of dynamic animation simulation and various other visual animation techniques. The class covers active rigid body, soft rigid body, hair simulation, cloth simulation, instance animation, particles generation and dynamic study with its implication on visual effect.
ADM466 Special Topics
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ADM112, ADM122, ADM132, and ADM142, Semester 1 or 2
The course aims to deliver to the students a high level exposure to professional practice within the arts. This course will be partnered to an artist project and will be delivered by that artist. Typically (though not exclusively) this project will be one that requires a team of creatives, such as an animation or film.
ADM480 Special Project I: Graphic Storytelling Workshop
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
An investigation of the language of storytelling in comics, the course explores elements that make up the comic book page, ranging from style to narrative technique, dialogue to visual symbols, colour to content. Each week a new aspect of graphic storytelling will be discussed, with students working on their own project for the last third of the course.
ERO340 Anthropomorphism and Behaviours in Machines
3 AUs, Prerequisites: Nil, Semester 1 or 2
Robotic Art is more than two millennium old. This historical lineage follows diverse anthropomorphic representations of the human and its current understanding of the society. The course concurrently examines both theoretical and practical levels about robotic art. The course addresses perceptual aspects of movements and behaviours in relation to neurobiology, psychology and in depth analysis of anthropomorphism. These perceptual findings are then analyzed through the lens of various robotic art genres: Kinetic Art, performance, installation, Real Artificial Life and generative systems.
The studio works will introduce students to various techniques to realize embodied art: basic concepts and techniques of mechanical system, transfer of energy and motion, study of materials, Artificial Intelligence, mechatronics and animatronics.
ART230 Advanced Drawing Workshop
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course teaches advanced figure and animal drawing through drawing from life. It offers ongoing practice in drawing for students in Year Two and up, and enhances and improves students’ skills in drawing, thus developing a thorough understanding of human and animal locomotion, anatomy and individual artistic styles.
ART240 Figurative Painting I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts of oil painting. The students learn about preparing various surfaces, mixing color, methods of application and basic control of materials and tools. There will be an emphasis on observation of traditional subjects ranging from still life, self portrait and the figure. There will be a focus on the integration of drawing and design concepts, colour relationships, and the articulation of descriptive and expressive form.
ART260 Digital Painting I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
Intended as a hands-on overview of Photoshop software, this course covers in depth topics such as the interface, use of layers, selections and channels, how to adjust colours and tones and how to master painting techniques. Technical principles are introduced in the context of artistic digital practice. Students are expected to produce several projects as part of the course requirements.
ART270 Figurative Painting II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ART240, Semester 1 or 2
This is an advanced figure painting class. Students will work for extended periods of time on each painting from the figure, completing two paintings during the semester. The students will collaboratively set up the pose. When approaching the decisions of making a painting, the students will begin by doing a series of painted sketches, or thumbnails for colour and compositional decisions. After making pictorial decisions about the painting they are about to create the students will begin the larger painting. Each painting will be worked on for eleven three-hour sessions. The twelfth session will be for group discussion and critique of the paintings. Throughout the semester, paintings will be shown of contemporary artists’ work leading to discussions of the elements of art as related to the work. This is also to increase the visual vocabulary of the students’ knowledge of contemporary art.
ART280 Digital Painting II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ART260, Semester 1 or 2
This course is a natural lead-on for any student who has taken ART260 Digital Painting Techniques. It encourages the student to place Photoshop within a broad workflow context. Such issues as taking good reference photos and integrating 3d output from other applications would be covered.
ANI210 Basics of Drawn Animation
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course familiarises students with the basic concepts applicable to all animation techniques. Each principle is learned through a classical hand-drawn animation exercise. Students learn from examples of classic Disney animation complemented by other contemporary animation styles. The emphasis is on intensive hand-drawn animation line-tests.
ANI220 Introduction to 3D Production
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course covers basic 3D production pipeline from modelling to rendering in 3D package (MAYA). Students will be exposed to the 3D production pipeline as well as basic post production process. The course will introduce basic modelling, 3D animation, simple rigging, UV and texture mapping, simple character animation, lighting and rendering. Each student is required to produce a 20 to 30-second animation piece at the end of semester.
ANI230 3D Modelling Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
The creative techniques used to model virtual 3D forms with computer software are the primary emphasis of this course. The process of model creation is explored from design to final lighting with an emphasis on creating original models. Basic and intermediate geometric modelling techniques are covered, including basics of surface texturing and scene illumination. A sculptural approach and traditional illustration concepts are used for enhancing the models and their characterisations. Assignments emphasise the interaction of both technical and aesthetic components.
ANI240 Lighting and Rendering Pipeline I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course covers the fundamentals of lighting and rendering a CG scene modeled in 3D. The basic types of lights and lighting techniques are covered from the technical and creative point of views. A variety of shading and texturing techniques are reviewed to achieve different effects, and at least two different rendering approaches are used to achieve different looks. The course will cover basic CG lighting, the rendering terminology of 3D animation based on traditional photo and film lighting, various types of rendering materials, render format, image format, such as Phong, Blinn, Anisotropic and others.
ANI250 History of Animation
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
The class will follow the history of animation chronologically and thematically through the 20th century. Special emphasis will be given to the ongoing relevance of animated milestones for the further development of the art-form. There will be a good balance between a worldwide overview and the American studio system, between studios and independents. Special emphasis will be given to the history of Asian animation.
ANI255 3D Modelling II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ANI230, Semester 1 or 2
This class will introduce and fully explore methods to create world-class models for 3D imagery. Students will get hands-on experience learning techniques that will enable them to utilise and design anything in the real and virtual world. This class will ensure that their ability to model is, at the least,on par with their ability to imagine. Professional techniques and strategies for quickly creating imagery from modeled geometry will be demonstrated with the emphasis on problem solving for the best method or technique available. This class will teach across-the-board production techniques for creating a virtual art piece with 3D geometry.
ANI260 Introduction to Storyboarding
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 2
This course is concerned with research and practice in the creation of the visual and verbal content of animation, thus facilitating the creative-thinking process. It is focused on helping students create and develop boards that they can turn into an animated film. Building a storyboard is an integral part of the storytelling process that is used in most animated film-making contexts. The student will provide a visual interpretation of their own scripts and other story adaptations, and emphasise artistic themes and aesthetic issues while reinforcing the basic principles of design and form.
ANI270 2D Animation Workshop
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ANI210, Semester 1 or 2
This course introduces students to more sophisticated techniques in 2D animation. This will be done by creating a short project through all production stages to a finished piece. Students will be taught the use of ANIMO inproduction.
ANI275 Digital Compositing Workshop
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course explores CG image and its integration with other sources such as film or video with Shake. Students are exposed to concepts for successful compositing. Class will cover different screen resolution, blue-screen, traveling mattes, image and color correction and an introduction to the 3D compositing pipeline used in professional visual work.
ANI280 Stop Motion Workshop
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 2
Students will gain an understanding of 3D animation using armatures, puppets and objects.Unorthodox approaches to animation, including the use of sand, pastels, paint-on-glass and other techniques, will be covered. As traditional animation’s role is threatened by CG, it is necessary to resurrect and nurture the unique qualities of stop-motion animation. This course is designed to combine sculpture, character development, and story-telling which can be used to enhance 3D animation or it can stand alone as its own unique art form. Students will become familiar with various materials and tools while creating characters and simple sets. A variety of stop-motion films, spanning a wide range of genres, will be viewed and discussed. Students will build puppets, sets and create a short three to five-minute piece by the end of the semester.
ANI310 Character Animation I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ANI210 and ANI220, Semester 1
This course explores character animation and its related theory and principles. Students who take this course are required to have an intermediate knowledge of 3D modelling, shading, rendering, and character design skills with traditional 2D animation study. This advanced 3D character animation course is to adapt and to develop 2D character animation into 3D character animation pipeline.
ANI340 Rigging for Animation
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ANI210 and ANI220, Semester 1 or 2
This course introduces the basic techniques of character set-up and rigging as used in 3D animation. It familiarizes students with concepts such as setting up the skeleton for a full character, set up of controls and blendhapes for facial animation. Students will learn the importance and the practical technique of a well constructed rig for successful animation in 3D and become skilled in using these techniques for their own characters.
ANI360 Character Animation II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ANI310, Semester 2
Students will further their skills in 3D character animation in this course. They will be introduced to facial animation and dialogue interpretation and work with more complex animation scenarios, such as character interaction, and learn from examples in feature films and short films. The hands-on emphasis is on improving skills to create personality, emotion and attitude in their character animation. Critiques and reviews will be an essential part of the class.
ANI380 Animation Development and Preproduction
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ANI310, Semester 2
In this advanced course, students will develop preproduction design concepts and characters. The emphasis will be on the creation of original characters with unique character traits. Work may be done in 3-D, 2-D, or puppet. This course is concerned with the cultivation of ideas and problem-solving strategies for the moving image and animation. The use of composition and frame, color and shape and other design elements will be explored. Students create treatments, inspirational sketches, descriptive drawings, character and object design, storyboards, colour keys and production paintings communicating concepts for animation.
ANI390 Animation Seminar I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ANI210 and ANI 220, Semester 1
This course focuses on conceptual development and practical aspects of planning an animation project. Topics include the fine-tuning of story concepts and visual development, layout and colour design, character design and characterization refinement. A seminar enforces students' ability to develop and realise their own concepts in a professional way.
ANI 495 Animation Final Project
9 Aus, Prerequisites: Year 4 only, Semester 1 and 2
In the Final Project courses student(s) have to create a fully finished animated short film in an animation technique of their choice over the course of the final year. This can be done as a group work or as an individual project. In a seminar based approach teaching faculty will be advising the students in the best possible way in concept, creation and production of the final year project. Final Year Project I will cover the first half of the production process, with clearly defined milestones structuring the workflow adequately.
FIL210 Digital Film Production
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
By working individually or in small teams, students create a personal project at a selected off-campus location. The course covers basic story elements and scripting, the fundamentals of production design, an introduction to the cameras and camera movement equipment, lessons in planning and executing a film shoot, actual on-site filming and simple post-production steps.
FIL 220 Introduction to Editing
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 2
In addition to learning the theory behind classic editing techniques, students would become adept at the software available — particularly Final Cut Pro and AfterEffects. The course also includes examples and exercises in recent trends of transition beyond the cut, dissolve, and fade — the new uses of morphing, 3D camera effects, and uses of multiple screens and dividers in the assembly of digital film.
FIL 230 Asian Film History
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This survey course will cover the recent trends, history, and culture of East Asian cinema by focusing on the national cinemas of countries such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and the region of Southeast Asia. Key films and notable directors will be studied in detail and larger trends placed in historical context. Students will also write research papers on specific topics.
FIL240 Cinematography Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL210, Semester 2
The digital cinematography course focuses on the tasks and duties of the cinematographer in the filmmaking process. Students will learn hands-on to light and place the camera in a storytelling environment. Technical aspects of camera handling and the use of light to set the mood for a scene will give the student an insight of how to translate that script to the screen.
FIL250 Western Film History
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course is an introduction to the history of fictional and non-fiction film and the basic principles of film theory. Complementing lectures will be active analyses of cinematic theories and concepts. Background reading will include key texts on the history of cinema by film directors, editors, philosophers and film theorists.
FIL260 Writing for Film
AUs: NIL, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 and 2
This course covers the fundamentals of writing for film. Basic elements of scriptwriting are examined: narrative structure, scene development, character, conflict, theme and dialogue. Students will examine published scripts, do writing assignments and complete a short screenplay.
FIL270 Film Directing Workshop
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL210, Semester 1
This course enables film students who have already learned the basics of film production to further develop their skills in working with actors and directing for the camera. Film students will develop and hone their skills and craft as directors through lectures and hands-on exercises. Each student will learn to develop a project from script to screen, interpreting language, visualising shots, and designing their vision. They will learn to work with actors, gain an understanding of the acting process (from auditions to rehearsals and onset technique) and learn how to direct performance for the camera. Directors will also learn to communicate effectively with their crew and key creative collaborators, with the focus falling on the DP-Director relationship.
FIL280 Sound Design
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
The course fosters a comprehensive understanding of the quality of sound and the process of capturing it, manipulating it, and using it as an element in conjunction with the moving image. Topics will include visual and invisible sound, special uses of sound effects and dialogue, field and studio recording, mixing, ADR, foley, effects, scoring, and narration. Students will work with ProTools to learn technical skills and the professional software used in sound design.
FIL320 16mm Film Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL210, Semester 1
The course will include a comprehensive understanding of the quality of sound and the process of capturing it, manipulating it, and using it as an element in conjunction with the moving image. Topics will include visual and invisible sound, special uses of sound effects and dialogue, field and studio recording, mixing, ADR, foley, effects, scoring, and narration. Students will work with ProTools to learn technical skills and the professional software used in sound design.
FIL330 New Technologies for Digital Film
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL210, Semester 1
Recent developments in the creation and presentation of digital film have opened up a wide range of new fields beyond narrative-structured formats. The course will introduce new technologies being explored with the moving image and discuss possible future directions in the production of digital film. In tandem with the lecture topics, four short prototypes will be created by the students that explore and incorporate new technologies in each of the primary areas of new types of film production: capture, assembly, presentation and context. Students will conceptualise and visualise each prototype through the production of very short films using composite software.
FIL340 Documentary Filmmaking
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL210, Semester 1 or 2
This course covers the history, theory and practice of documentary film-making. Different documentary forms and styles will be explored. Students will be taught to understand the art of documentary and also be aware of its influence and power. Basic documentary skills such as researching, collaboration, ethics, writing, and narrative will be covered. Students will understand the production pipeline behind creating a documentary.
FIL350 Film Producing
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL210 and FIL260, Semester 2
Film Producing will cover and demonstrate the different functions of a producer in filmmaking – from pre-production, production to post-production and distribution. Students will learn about the preparation, organization, and marketing of a film, essential in the business of filmmaking.
FIL360 Digital Film Production II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL220, FIL240 and FIL270, Semester 2
The studio course is an in-depth analysis and production of two distinct genres of filmmaking—commercial production and music video production. Beginning with a series of lectures from industry professionals and ADM faculty, concrete theoretical and practical production instruction is given that is unique to the two genres. Students will then work in small teams to produce a commercial or music video from concept to final cut. During the process, students will have scheduled consultation with a panel of professionals and faculty at the concept, treatment, pre-production, rough cut, and final cut stages.
FIL370 Audio Post-Production for Film
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL280, Semester 1 or 2
This course focuses on the knowledge and skills fundamentally required of a successful Audio Engineer. It prepares students for audio post production work and provides them with a solid understanding of the entire audio post production process. Of central focus is the hands-on experience of using audio post production suites.
FIL380 Cinematography Workshop II (HiDef)
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL240, Semester 1 or 2
This is a hands-on course on the high-definition production pipeline and technology with an emphasis on how the planning, filming and post process aredifferent for this digital format. The course covers pre-production organization, principal photography and practices using High-Definition, and post-production planning and final output.
FIL390 16mm Film Workshop II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: FIL240 and FIL320, Semester 1 or 2
The main aim of this course is to use the appropriate techniques for a given content. The focus will be on image control while using the specific qualities of high end film equipment and being creative with it. The result should be an 8 min art film that uses the high end techniques of the medium film, on set as well as in post-production, to captivate the audience.
FIL 495 Film Final Project
9 Aus, Prerequisites: Year 4 only, Semester 1 and 2
The Final Year Project in Digital Filmmaking emphasizes technical proficiency, progressive design, and artistic creativity. The team-based projects will require advanced skills in the planning, production, post and marketing of a polished, professional short film. The film faculty will supervise and assist through critical, academic, and professional support.
INT210 Interactive Media Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course explores how to create interactive projects using Max/MSP/Jitter (a visual programing application) and various types of sensors. The course will start with the making of unique video and audio presentations. From there, students will create various forms of physical interactive projects that use a variety of triggers, such as light, motion and temperature sensors. Each student will develop their own unique project. The nature of the elements used in this course allows student to do a wide variety of work and encourages them to use and think about their talents in new and fresh ways.
INT220 Game Design Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
Game Design Workshop I focuses on the elements of gaming. How do narrative, characterisation, and level design play a role in the gaming experience? What elements found in causal games are common to most of our daily interactive experiences? We will address these issues through the creation of causal games.
INT240 Interactive Public Art and Media
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This is a course on the practice, history and theory of Public Art and Interactive Public Arts and Media. The course will give students a strong foundation in the aesthetics and culture of ‘the Public’, spectacle, hybrid forms of art, and the new intersections of personal, natural, urban, and telematic geographies. Through a semester of projects, reading and lectures students will arrive at a strong idea of the history of public, and attendant arts. Classical readings in aesthetics and social theory, in addition to studies and complete projects involving interactive software, will allow the student to broaden their portfolios and develop their own grammar of mixed media.
INT260 Interactive Media Workshop II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: INT210, Semester 2
The class is designed to further students’ skills in creating interactive environments both individually and collaboratively. Emphasising live computing, the class will explore the concept of psychogeography. Students will create an experiential form of report based on the concepts and research done. The final group project can be either environmental or screen based.
INT270 Performance and Interaction
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This is a class in the practise and theory of various forms of performance art. It will explore how interaction is interpreted in this form. Students will learn about the history of performance art in general as well as its practise in Singapore. From performer/audience interaction to the use of digital interaction, the class will investigate and create works.
INT275 Website Design and Development I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This is a class in the practise and theory of various forms of performance art. It will explore how interaction is interpreted in this form. Students will learn about the history of performance art in general as well as its practise in Singapore. From performer/audience interaction to the use of digital interaction, the class will investigate & create works.
INT280 Scenography and Performance Architecture
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This is a course on the practice, history and theory of Scenic Design and Performance Architecture. We will begin with the notion that Virtual Spaces are nothing new and they are intimately linked with a specific type of performance architecture. The course gives students a strong foundation in the aesthetics and culture of scenography, art direction for film and gaming, architecture, and new and hybrid forms of public performance and media spaces. In this class, we explore and create notions and realised projects in the ancient and modern performance environments and study/create projects within the art form of scenography/art direction for theatre, dance, opera, film, and video games. Through a series of lectures and workshops, students will study and design the new performance and interactive environment, as well as design scenography for performing and digital arts.
INT285 Website Design and Development II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course is an introduction to Flash, highlighting its animation capabilities as well as the potential for more dynamic and creative uses of multimedia. Students will experiment and explore the creative platform that Flash and offers. Using Flash as a tool to create interactive content will give students the groundwork for the majority of multimedia applications.
INT290 Game Design Workshop II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: INT220, Semester 2
Game Design Workshop II continues where Game Design Workshop I left off. This class is focused on the creation of multilevel computer-based gaming i.e. the creation of a finished game. The student is expected to create the narrative, characters, levels and play found in the game
INT320 Interactive Web Experiences
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
We all use the web on a daily basis. It is our primary source of interactive experiences. In this class, students will explore how to create interactive events. Using the current tools of web interaction, they will generate original concepts and develop them into working projects.
INT330 Narratives for New Media
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
New media structures demand different ways of telling stories. Be it a game, an interactive installation, a movie on a cell phone, the nature of the experience is different from traditional media. How do we create narratives for these media? What do these forms have in common? What makes them different from the media we grew up with, such as television or the movies? These are the issues that will be investigated in this class.
INT340 Music Composition Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This class will introducestudents to the concepts of music composition as it has developed to its present form. Areas covered will include serialism, improvisation and generative music. Students will learn about computer based compositional tools for both recorded and live performances.
INT360 Project Development and Planning
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: INT330, Semester 2
Project Development and Planning explores the process of conceiving, planning and executing a large project. This class is a core class intended as a dry run for Interactive Media students’ year four project.
INT370 Soundscape Design
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 2
This class will concentrate on the use of sound in environments. Students will learn about acoustics, recording techniques and generative music. They will learn how to create sound installations and live environmental sound performances.
INT 495 Interactive Final Project
9 Aus, Prerequisites: Year 4 only, Semester 1 and 2
This class will provide the major supervision and critique to year 4 students for final year project. Students will present their concepts, work plans and provide updates on their Final Year Project. The work will be discussed and critiqued during the term. They will also be expected to write analytical papers explaining the concepts and structure of their Final Year Projects.
PHO210 Photo Imaging I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course will introduce the principles of black and white photography. Students will learn all aspects of a traditional wet darkroom such as development, print-making and proper use of chemicals. Lectures, demonstrations, critiques and hands-on practice will clarify techniques, while encouraging creative approaches to making pictures. There will be slide lectures to introduce students to photographers of historical relevance. Assignments and projects will allow students to explore content, make aesthetic choices and learn how to better articulate their ideas through the medium of photography. Topics will include camera handling, film selection and characteristics, f-stops, shutter speeds, metering for proper exposure, composition, and framing. Upon completion of this course students can expect to have a thorough understanding of the basic principles of analog photography. All enrolled students will be working with manually adjustable 35mm cameras.
PHO215 Introduction to Black and White Photography
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course introduces the principles of black and white photography in the traditional darkroom. Lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on practice will clarify techniques, while encouraging creative approaches to making pictures. Topics will include camera handling, film selection and characteristics, f-stops, shutter speeds, metering for proper exposure, and fine print-making techniques. As students become familiar with their equipment, the class will move on to exploring aesthetic considerations including course matter, composition, and lighting. Examples from the rich history of photographic artists will be used as sources of inspiration.
PHO220 Digital Darkroom
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course will cover the basic concepts and tools of Photoshop for photographers. Through demonstrations and instruction, students will gain a knowledge and understanding of digital workflow for the photographer, including the processing of scanned images and digital camera files, the fundamentals of retouching, and printing. Students will learn about both computer imaging hardware and software technology as they explore the capabilities of the digital darkroom. Emphasis will be placed on the translation of wet darkroom skills into the digital realm for the purpose of image enhancement. Enrolled students will have access to digital SLR cameras -- Canon 200D or Nikon 200D, -- for their shooting assignment.
PHO230 History of Photography
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course examines the emergence of photographic traditions within the context of social, cultural, political, economic, and scientific forces that formed particular directions in the medium. Beginning with the first discoveries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, illustrated lectures will trace the parallel developments of artistic, commercial, scientific and social applications of photography. Particular attention will be paid to the dynamic relationship of creativity to technical innovation especially in the early years in Europe and the United States when photographers functioned simultaneously as artists, inventors and scientists. Examination of works by individual photographers, as well as those parts of art and social movements, will inform the student of photography’s well-documented rich and diverse heritage. Course work will include lecture, examinations, research papers and/or photography projects.
PHO240 From Film to Digital
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This introductory course offers students an artistic journey from film-based to digital photography. While focused on a creative approach to picture making, students learn the principles of photography in black-and–white and colour. Topics include camera handling, film selection and characteristics, f-stops, shutter speeds, negative scanning, and desktop printing.
PHO250 Contemporary Issues in Photography
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
The course examines the impacts of the art movements, cultural attitudes and new technologies on photographers. This seminar course will develop ways of understanding photography, photographers, the photograph and the photographic act within the larger art world of film, video, performance and installations. Current trends within photography and related art forms are examined from aesthetic, cultural, social, and political points of view. The course aims to acquaint students with a broad range of critical theories and to develop students’ skills in verbal and textual analysis.
PHO260 Photo Imaging II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO210 or PHO215 or PHO240, Semester 2
This course will serve as an introduction to colour photography as well as help to reinforce the concepts introduced in Photo Imaging I. Through the development of personal projects, critiques, technical instruction and exploration, students majoring in photography will develop a more solid understanding of what it means to be an image-maker. This course will help students define and develop their artistic vision, personal aesthetics, and individual style. Through discussions and lectures about other photographers’ work, students will begin to understand how their own work will fit into the contemporary and historical landscape of photography.
PHO270 Principles of Lighting
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO210 or PHO215 or PHO240, Semester 2
Light is the most fundamental aspect of photography. In this class, students will learn the rudimentary skills of metering, mixing light sources, and how to use electronic flash on location. Students will also be introduced to the photographic studio and learn how to use the portables strobes. Students will also learn how to work with larger format camera and be introduced the technical aspects of the zone system.
PHO280 Experimental Photography
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course introduces students who may have little or no experience in photography to some of the creative and experimental aspects of the medium. Students in this class will gain a solid repertoire and understanding of diverse techniques that yield interesting results not typically seen by novice photographers. Many of these techniques can be achieved without access to darkrooms and even without using cameras. Process will range from Pinholes and Cyanotype to cross processing and photograms. The emphasis in this class will be on creativity and experimentation.
PHO290 Intermediate Black and White Photography
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO210 or PHO215
The traditional black and white darkroom print is a unique and powerful art form. The ability to make expressive prints requires mastering many different skills. This course will help students on the road to making fine-art black and white prints. Some of the topics covered will be accurate film speed tests, brightness range metering techniques, the principals and application of the Zone System, film exposure and development controls, alternative formulas for both film and paper developers, selenium toning in archival processing and finishing methods as well as split-toning techniques. They will also explore various paper types and larger film formats using film sizes from 120 to the view camera. Each student will produce a portfolio of high quality, expressive and archivally sound black and white prints.
PHO320 Fashion Photography
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO260 and PHO270, Semester 1
Our visual culture has been altered by the popularisation of technology such as the Internet. In a world saturated with imagery, the boundaries that once existed between art and commerce have become less clear, nowhere is this more prevalent than in the world of fashion photography. In this class, we will explore the line between fashion and fine art. We will look at the history of the genre and how it has evolved in today’s world. We will examine the symbiotic relationship between fashion photography and culture as well as how other photographic trends have influenced the genre. By working with models and stylists both in the studio and on location, assignments will facilitate the development of each student’s personal style and aesthetic.
PHO330 Lighting for Studio and Location
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO270, Semester 1
In this course, students will explore set ups and techniques that are used in editorial and commercial work. Through demonstrations and discussions on metering, exposure, and film types, students will learn how to produce the desired effects through exploring a variety of lighting strategies using single, multiple, and mixed sources. As students become more comfortable with all the aspects of the studio and more advanced photographic equipment such as spot and flash meters, and high end digital backs, the class discussion will move on selective ways of using lighting techniques to enhance the certain moods, concepts, or contents of the photographs. The studio and location workshop will train students how to both create lighting and work with existing conditions. There will also be assignments and projects in which students will be able to further investigate their particular area of interest.
PHO340 The Narrative Portrait
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO210 or PHO215 or PHO240, Semester 1 or 2
Good portrait captures the essence of the subject; it exemplifies the subject’s inner being. This course will investigate the physical space between the subject and the photographer, and the psychological space between the identity of the subject and the perception of the photographer. Emphasis will be placed on exploring ways to interpret the psychology of the subject through photography. At the end of this course, students will learn to balance social and technical skills so that they can engage with the subject in a meaningful way. Classes will be conducted with live demonstrations that include working with different light sources, while collaborative techniques in lighting, framing, and directing will be discussed critically. As a source of inspiration, students will explore the relationship between photography and painting. Through assignments and projects, students will discover their own point of view in portraiture.
PHO360 Advanced Digital Photo Processes
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO220 and PHO260, Semester 2
This course offers a broad range of approaches to photo printmaking. Creation of extended images on a unified art paper surface will utilize both 19 th century hand applied non-silver emulsions and 21st century digital printing. The traditional single image format will be examined in contrast to collage, montage and serial forms e.g., the sculptural artist’s book. Students will use the computer as a canvas to explore technical and conceptual approaches to constructing meaning from multiple imagery. Studio work will incorporate project-based assignments that encourage an investigation of alternative printmaking methods including mixed media. Field trips to museums, galleries and printmaking and graphic studios will augment studio work. Historical and contemporary uses of hand-applied mediums and digital imaging in commercial and fine art photography will be discussed.
PHO370 Documentary Projects
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO260, Semester 2
This advanced level studio critique course aims to expand the boundaries of artistic, creative and realistic perspective in documentary projects. The course stresses the aesthetic, scholarly and ethical considerations involved in representing other people and cultures. Discussions will address how photographers as well as multimedia artists, such as Nan Goldin, Rineke Dijkstra, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, and Shirin Neshat, have embodied their meanings through cross-genre narrative techniques. Topics will include developing concepts, approaching people, using available light, and creating a dynamic composition. Through assignments and critiques, students will gain an awareness of the expressive possibilities of their surroundings.
PHO380 Contemporary Landscapes
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO260, Semester 1 or 2
Landscape photographer Emmet Gowin once said, “The landscape gives the heart a place to stand”. This course will encourage the use of the landscape to make creative photographs. As they do so, students will examine the different ways nature has been a prominent subject for photography since its invention over 160 years ago. After examining the sublime works of photographic masters e.g., Carleton Watkins and Ansel Adams, we will see how photographers worldwide in the 2 nd half of the 20 th century have portrayed the land as at risk and contested notions of an ideal that no longer exists. Field trips will allow students to make ample use of the multitude of natural parks and sites in Singapore where an idea of the natural world has been preserved in captivity. While use of 35mm cameras (both black and white film and digital colour) will predominate, students will have an opportunity to use a large format 4x5” black and white “field” camera.
PHO390 Location Experiences in Photography
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO210 and PHO260, Special Term 1 or 2
This course is designed to introduce to the students the ethical and practical issues surrounding location photography. It will centre around the production of a body of work done in response to a two week travel experience.
PHO415 Extended Photographic Image
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PHO220 and PHO260, Semester 1 or 2
This class will consider new ways of translating images into different media, allowing students to extend their ideas beyond the conventional uses of straight photography. The course will teach students additional ways to communicate using photographic imagery having already trained in silver and non-silver darkroom techniques, as well a color digital printing. Students will make use of the full range of experience developed in their last 3 years as photography majors. Using content and ideas as inspiration, students will learn how to work with new media and extend their own forms of expression. Assignments will encourage students to think beyond the usual way they may have previously worked. There will be projects and lectures on topics that relate to installation, video, the Internet, and performance.
PHO 495 Photography Final Project
9 Aus, Prerequisite: Year 4 only, Semester 1 and 2
The Senior Thesis class will allow fourth-year photo-majors to concentrate on an extended body of work resulting in an exhibition/presentation of the results in a Senior Show. The work can be done using traditional photographic materials, a digital workflow or any combination interesting and challenging to the student. The participant senior students are encouraged to reach beyond what they already know both in technique and in subject matter. There is a written component to this class as well as the final exhibition. This written portion examines the historical, aesthetic and cultural background of the work being presented.
PRO 210 Conceptual Design
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 2
The course introducesthe fundamentals of design process the world of objects, subjective experiences and the world of meanings. The course teaches students how to analyse the context of ‘new’ products, which goes beyond form visualisation and function of the products towards behavior and status, beliefs and culture of the user. The course concentrates not only on hardware problems but much on immaterial values like the interaction with the body (personal), society (event/service) and the environment. This fast-paced studio course produces several design scenarios using various presentation techniques and mock –up models.
PRO220 Product Design I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
The course focuses on general theories of design, including problem definition, articulation, and resolution. Learning research methods and design process, developing products and complete process of user-manufacturing- market. The course introduces materials and techniques of model making and through class projects, student explore issues of function, cognition and aesthetics.
PRO240 History of Product Design
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course focuses on understanding objects in the context of history. It emphasises the relationship between object and technology, and object and society. Students will gain an understanding of fundamental and valuable insights in discovering that the history of product design is not about products but about ideas which made these products possible. The student will get an overview of the relationship between art and industry, and the impact of new products on the individual, society and the environment.
PRO250 Product Design II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PRO220, Semester 2
The course continues from Product Design I and consolidates the idea of embodied interaction. Through lectures and projects, students will explore a range of object types as well as the relationship between function, behaviour and form. The course allows students to do “hands-on” research by getting out into the real world, observing, and understanding how people actually use products. Students will also create prototypes of their own hand-held digital devices to explore the ergonomic as well as the physical mapping of issues involved.
PRO260 Computer Aided Design
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course introduces the application of two-dimensional and three-dimensional computer graphics for visualising concepts in digital form. Students construct realistic models of actual objects and learn the communication language unique to 3-D modelling applications.
PRO270 Product Design Seminar
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course consists of short workshops and lectures in practical (skills based) topics in the current Design field. Renowned local designers will be invited to ADM to share their ideas and experience with students. The workshops encourage students to think beyond the classroom projects and bring them in closer contact with the experience and methodology of the professionals. The course develops students' skills and abilities for the professional world.
PRO320 Product Design III
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PRO250, Semester 1
The course continues from Product Design II and consolidates the idea of embodied interaction. Through lectures and projects, students will explore a range of object types as well as the relationship between function, behaviour and form. The course allows students to do “hands-on” research by getting out into the real world, observing, and understanding how people actually use products. Students will also create prototypes of their own hand-held digital devices to explore the ergonomic as well as the physical mapping of issues involved.
PRO330 Advanced Form Workshop
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PRO220, Semester 1
The course is a study of form based on metaphors. Students will visualise forms using fantasy, cultural connotations and bionics, and then translate the original virtual design into a physical object. Students will experience product design from the initial concept through digital medium and finally to the delivery of a unique real object. They will begin with previous knowledge of 3D modelling applications (Auto-Cad or Rhino) and using rapid prototyping machines create real objects.
PRO340 Computer Aided Design Workshop II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PRO260, Semester 1 or 2
Students in this studio course will learn the fundamentals of lighting for an array of product surfaces, and pick up the necessary skills to create professional quality product renderings. They will focus on a variety of advanced digital techniques for portfolio development strategies, and work from past projects to develop more polished and sophisticated presentations in preparation for their portfolios and internships including the design and production of a CD-ROM and animations.
PRO350 Product Design IV
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PRO320, Semester 2
Pervasive, Mobile and Wearable Computing is transforming the way people conduct business, take care of their health, entertain themselves, and more. Advances in computer technology allows for the integration and embedding of technology into many everyday household objects and devices. This course looks at the futuristic aspects of such devices/ products – both physical and digital, and the closing gap between the two – and encourages a human, experiential attitude towards interactive product design.
PRO360 Advanced Development and Prototyping
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PRO320, Semester 2
This course allows students to develop individual portfolios comprising three projects in specific and current areas of Product Design, giving them the confidence to deal with different projects; create scenarios, conceptualize and build prototypes, thus preparing them for the real world and giving them the opportunity to showcase their abilities and desires, and thus define their future careers.
PRO380 Designing with Light
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: PRO220, Semester 1 or 2
This course focuses on understanding the quality of new user experiences of lighting design, which is particularly imbued with the power to appeal directly to the human spirit. The project is a search to play with “light” rather than to design a practical functional role of a “lamp”. The idea is not “constant” but “variable”, about luminous forms or formless light, rather than light being contained within a lamp. The exploration looks at concepts of lighting effects, about embracing light as an invisible form of substance, creating ambiences and refreshing experiential impressions rather than creating product objects.
PRO 495 Product Design Final Project
9 Aus, Prerequisite: Year 4 only, Semester 1 and 2
All students will complete a project after intense research that is developed into a written thesis. Students will choose a topic for the project. With the guidance of a faculty project advisor/advisors, they will develop their theoretical and scholarly direction. At the end of this academic exercise the student will develop the project using media and material necessary for the project. Working with the faculty advisor/advisors, the project will be completed with a presentation of the work to members of the school. Mock-ups and models to support the thesis will also form part of this presentation. Upon completion of the project and presentation, the written corollary will be concluded and summarized. Students interact with industries, institutions and social organisations during their projects to understand, study, analyse and solve various existing problems. The choice and outcome of the final degree projects reflect the student's aspirations and areas of their interest.
VIS210 Typography I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course introduces and demonstrates the broad applications of type as a multidisciplinary tool for communication, visualisation and presentation within the context of design. Through lectures, studio work and assignments, all aspects of letterforms such as the components and relevant historical and present developments are introduced. Strong emphasis is placed on the acquisition of historical, theoretical knowledge and more importantly, skills necessary in applying typography as a device capable of making the written language visible and effective.
VIS220 Graphic Design I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
As the first in a series of four, this course introduces students to the fundamental principles applicable to all disciplines within the visual communications field. Emphasis is placed on the importance of research and a strong process as the keys to successful design in any media. Studio projects explore methods for communicating ideas visually and strive to improve craftsmanship and presentation skills. In addition, analytical thinking is honed within a culture of self and peer critiques and a design vocabulary developed to articulate rationale in support of visual and conceptual decisions.
VIS230 Illustration for Designers
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This course equips students with the necessary skills to conceptualise and develop design-based illustration as one of the possibilities in which images can be used in communication design. Students are encouraged to extend their own interest in drawing as well as the manipulation of visual media to develop their own illustrative style and voice. Both traditional and modern influences are explored to further strengthen their visual vocabulary.
VIS240 History of Graphic Design
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1
This course introduces students to a survey of the development of design, specifically graphic communications from the early 20th century to recent and current histories of artistic outlets that have continued to shape the way we live, work and play. Underscoring this survey is the focus on stylistic development of traditional and new media in art and design within the context of changing political, religious, intellectual and cultural environments. Course work incorporates written and/or project-based assignments that encourage investigations of traditional and alternative methods and formats. Field trips to museums and galleries augment the purpose of this course.
VIS250 Typography II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: VIS210, Semester 2
This course provides the opportunity for students to dwell deeper into the applications of dimensional typography where spatial, sculptural and temporal concerns combine to augment the visual and editorial power of letters. It broadens students’ skills in understanding and applying the multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary aspects of typography in dimensionality; expands students’ typographic skills in the areas of two, three-and four-dimensions; and broadens students’ typographic skills in the areas of interactivity, media production designs, website designs, installations and screen-based applications.
VIS260 Graphic Design II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: VIS220, Semester 2
This course provides the opportunity for those students who may not wish to explore each aspect of visual communication design in detail but wish to maintain a broad-based understanding of the major areas of visual communication specialisation that they will be involved in during their working lives. It outlines the broad governing principles and main areas of specialisation of visual communication, namely: publications, promotion, information and corporate identity design.
VIS270 Designed Experiences
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
As we move into the Experience Economy, designers are challenged with bringing their communication campaigns to the world of experiences and events. Agencies have added departments focused completely on 4D design. What are the historical roots of designed experiences and how can we push the event into the realm of high design? Who designs the grand media spectacles now? What do traditional gatherings and festivals communicate and what roles do they play within society? This course examines historical and international festivals, the choreographed national spectacle, and the development of gatherings and happenings in the 20 th century art movements. Students will be expected to research, distill, create and document experiences and to exhibit communication pieces that reflect the expanding role of the communication designer.
VIS280 Type In Motion I
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This introductory course is designed for students who are interested in motion graphics. This course develops students’ basic thoughts about moving type and gives them understanding the relationship between words’ movement and its meaning. The class will learn basics of Macromedia Flash MX as a tool for animating type. The knowledge of traditional typography is a plus but not a requirement.
VIS320 Graphic Design III
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: VIS260, Semester 1
With the visual and conceptual sensitivity gained in Graphic Design I and II, students test their skills by developing a series of projects that revolve around one topic. Challenges include managing complex content, creating a clear, flexible system that is adaptable across media and applications, and creating a comprehensive gestalt while maintaining integrity and interest.
VIS330 Advanced Typography
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: VIS250, Semester 1
This course urges students to test the limits of typography through experimentation and personal expression. Consideration of the difference between readability and legibility are discussed while alternative and unconventional methods of creating typography are explored. Students are encouraged to develop highly conceptual and provocative solutions that challenge what typography is and could be.
VIS340 Motion Graphics
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
How an audience’s experience of dynamic media differs from traditional, static media and the issues of motion, namely rhythm, space and time, are explored and discussed in this course. Through the use of animation, sound and video, projects address the applications of motion graphics, including brand identities, film title sequences, television show packaging, interstitials, music videos and online graphics. Students gain a working knowledge of current tools and techniques.
VIS350 Graphic Design IV
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: VIS320, Semester 2
In preparation for the fourth year and as a bridge between the rigidity of the graphic design course series and the flexibility of the Final Year Project, this holistic studio provides students the opportunity to develop a personal direction and voice. Students explore, experiment and innovate within a research-based, highly conceptual environment in the design of interdisciplinary projects proposed by the instructor.
VIS355 Publication Design
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: VIS260, Semester 1 or 2
This course acts as a platform for students to integrate text and images to communicate in the most meaningful and provocative of ways through typography and imagery while developing editorial portfolios that address a defined audience.
VIS360 Environmental Design
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
As the realm of visual communication continues to expand in scope, sculptural and physical solutions for built environments are increasingly common. After a preliminary examination of how graphic design principles apply to three-dimensional spaces, this course further explores the spatial issues of scale, structure, form, materiality, light and kinesthetics in projects including exhibitions, signage and wayfinding, branding and interpretive design.
VIS370 Corporate Identity
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: VIS260, Semester 1 or 2
In this course, students develop skills in both iconic and typographic identities. The course is focused on identifying the visual “voice” of a product or an organisation across a systematic application of an identity system. Related areas of corporate identity such as branding and image management skills are also explored.
VIS375 Packaging
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: VIS260, Semester 1 or 2
In this course, students learn the art and craft of packaging design, focusing on revitalizing existing brands as well as developing new brands based on the development of identity and packaging applications. This course considers a goal-based methodology which defines client need, assesses audience demographics and explores the unique conditions affecting dimensional construction, point-of-purchase and display of package product.
VIS380 Production for Graphic Designers
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: VIS260, Semester 2
This course covers materials related to the actual production of design materials that are often overlooked during education and usually learned by experience. Image reproduction, press-checks, colour specifications and proofing, trapping procedures, file preparation, paper selections and binding and finishing techniques will all be explored. At the end of this course, students will gain the basic production knowledge.
VIS390 Contemporary Issues in Graphic Design
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 or 2
This seminar explores design within the greater cultural context, past, present and future, by viewing visual communication as an influential societal conduit. Through discussion and critical examination of design’s relationship to areas such as consumerism, mass culture and current trends, students develop an awareness of a designer’s social, ethical and environmental responsibility and an understanding of new communication models and language forms.
VIS 495 Visual Communication Final Project
9 AUs, Prerequisite: Year 4 only, Semester 1 and 2
In preparation for the final semester and final degree project exhibition and as a focused research and presentation-building course, students work within a clear schedule developing their personal direction and voice. Students research, present, explore, experiment and innovate within a research and exercise based, highly conceptual environment towards the creation of an interdisciplinary project proposed and refined by the individual.
GD02 Creative Design in Communication and Marketing
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 and 2
This course introduces ways to attain creativity in design that is intended to inform, persuade and to shape perceptions of a distinct brand or identity for marketing. Students are introduced to the creative thinking processes and techniques that unlock their potential power in visual imagination. They learn to develop dynamic concepts and develop value innovation strategies that generate creative solutions. Students also learn how to use design basics to get creative results and their applications in designing brand identity. Effective packaging design and techniques for designing advertisements are also introduced.
GD03 S’pore Architecture: The Historical, Cultural and Socio-Economic Perspectives
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 and 2
The study of Singapore architecture examines the historical, cultural and socio-economic influences on architectural development of Singapore over the years. The concepts of architecture and development are clarified and illustrated by the critical analysis of selected case studies of architectural designs at different periods in the history of Singapore. These offer a broad overview of multi-cultural influences, as well as the innovative technological advances that have come to characterise Singapore architecture. These serve future generations who learn to appreciate the dynamic impact of past influences on the emerging architectural developments on the one hand, and the imperatives and consequences of the socio-economic and cultural influences on the other.
GN02 Eco-Architecture in the Urban Living Environment
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 and 2
The course on the eco-architecture in the urban living environment examines the key environmental issues and their impact on the built-up urban living conditions around us. The concepts of the eco-green architecture are clarified and illustrated by the critical analyses of case studies of both the natural and man-made landscapes such as the nature reserves of the National Parks, the green belt, public spaces and urban parks, water catchment, rivers and reservoirs that contribute to the creation of a harmonious and eco-friendly living urban environment in Singapore.
GV11 Aesthetic and Creative Use of the 2D Media
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 and 2
In this course, students study various media used for visual communication: graphic design, typography, logos and signage, advertising design, packaging design and photojournalism. The emphasis is on the form and content of each medium. By studying the elements that contribute to the aesthetic and sensual appeal of visual images and their intended messages, students can learn to identify effective visual communication means.
GV12 Aesthetic and Creative Techniques in the Moving Images
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 and 2
This course is concerned with the nature of the TV medium; image and reality; the cinematic quality of images and lighting aesthetics; special effects; computer generated images; the art of sound; the creation of film music; the art of editing and non-linear editing technology; and how a programme is produced -- studio and on location with a single camera or multiple cameras.
GV17 Magic of Voice in the World of a Singer
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL, Semester 1 and 2
This course increases your awareness of physiological influences on singing, based on the anatomical and muscular function in the effective performance of a singer. Each topic deals with the various elements of singing, such as posture, breathing, resonation, articulation, etc. The course deliberates on how these contribute to your understanding of what good singing is and in the development of a good voice. The study leads you to analyse a variety of music to show the magic of voice that makes a singer.
ART190 Drawing as a Conceptual Tool
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: NIL (For IEM Students), Semester 2
Students learn how to represent their ideas through a combination of life drawing and illustration studies. This course provides engineering students with an overview of figure drawing, composition, and sketching as a conceptualization and communication tool.
ART 290 Visual Workshop I
AUs: 3, Prerequisite: NIL (For IEM Students), Semester 1 and 2
This course presents the fundamental of image-making starting from the conceptualization stage, and moving onto basic techniques using a combination of traditional and digital tools. The emphasis is on still imagery, colour, composition, foreground and background, the interplay of word and image, and simple storytelling. (In addition to class time six hours are required to complete the workload presented in this course.)
ART292 Visual Workshop II
AUs: 3, Prerequisites: ART290 (For IEM Students), Semester 1
The Visual Workshop forms a practical exploration of advanced visualisation and design of products and devices with creative and innovation as the core conceptual focus. The course allows for new methods in the teaching of drawing, visualisation and design process to be experienced by students. Using state of the art technology, the course provides access to the new input methods using tablet screens, and new software technologies that are intuitive, fast and easy to use for the creation of new designed products and devices. The course content is design to learn how information engineering can be created and augmented with creative and artistic approaches to the design and engineering of new products and devices.
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