Digital Media and Design Spotlight

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By Kenneth Thompson, DMD Assistant Professor In-Residence & UConn ECE DMD Faculty Coordinator
and Jennifer Sinski New Canaan High School DMD Instructor

 

Digital skills and design thinking are critical in a world filled to the brim with multimedia. Classes are now available in the Digital Media and Design program in the School of Fine Arts. We offer rigorous film, game development, illustration, animation, and graphic design studies. But most importantly, we emphasize communicating ideas to solve unique problems. Whether it’s a 20-foot tall interactive game wall in the Boston Children’s Hospital or historic VR tours of King Charles the IV’s crowning ceremony, our students make works of art by thinking collaboratively. Collaboration and critique are valuable skills in new media, corporate, and academic environments. Our program accommodates most professional and open-source software, and we work with teachers who need initial support converting courses. Students in our program intern and work at companies like Adobe, Disney, Epic Games, ESPN, and Pixar. For teachers looking to apply, please check the requirements of the portfolio on the UConn ECE DMD course page.

  • DMD 1002: Foundations in Digital Media II – is our storytelling through various mediums.
  • DMD 1101: Design Lab I – this is where students begin to explore digital image manipulation.
  • DMD 1102: Design Lab II – takes those skills further to focus on time-based mediums.
  • DMD 2210: Film and Video Editing I – get students thinking through the lens of a camera and how to craft a story.
  • DMD 2500: Introduction to Game Design teaches students the art, business, code, and design of interactive media and the 180 billion-dollar video game industry.

 

This is the pilot year for New Canaan High School’s UConn ECE Course, Advanced Film and Video Editing. Our course is designed to take our students through an exploration of storytelling with a focus on video production and non-linear editing with Adobe Premiere Pro. Project Management, sound design and time-based storytelling techniques are embedded into various projects and film screenings. NCHS Art teacher, Jennifer Sinski, has established this course for the student who is serious about building their creative film portfolio and knowledge of video editing. Student, Megan Brunner, describes the positive highlights of the course: “The people in the class but also the different projects we have already done. For example, the first movie I made was able to make a film about one of the most important things in my life, I was able to use a more professional editing software and it made it look more professional and I made something I was truly proud of.”