COMM415

Visual Effects is a 400 level capstone course in the Design and Interactive Media concentration in the Communication Arts major. Advanced students design and execute a substantial project of major proportion. The project must demonstrate their mastery of the learning outcomes of the concentration and advanced motion graphics including form, content, style, technical proficiency, leadership, and accountability. Student projects will culminate in the creation of a near professional DVD reel of work created in this course that includes an interactive menu with multiple sub-levels and complex links and chapters. Students demonstrate their expert level skills in visual effects by integrating pyrotechnics, keying, 3D virtual and real studio lighting, virtual and real camera work, advanced sound, and color correction into their own visual narratives. Each student creates near professional quality DVD of work produced in class. The class is divided into 4 units: Research and Proposal, Project Phase I, Project Phase II, and DVD Design and Finishing. Each phase represents a milestone in the production of a large, significant project. At the end of the course, students are responsible for screening and discussing their work in a special Communication Arts presentation. Additionally, a 10-page paper that documents the viability, process, and outcome of the project is due the last day of class. A significant portion of students' evaluation (65%) is based on the successful outcome of the final project.