ad·vanced
1 : far on in time or course <a man advanced in years>
2 a : being beyond others in progress or ideas <tastes a bit too advanced for the times> b : being beyond the elementary or introductory <advanced chemistry> c : greatly developed beyond an initial stage <the most advanced scientific methods> <advanced weapons systems>

Welcome to Advanced Digital Imaging. This is an intensive, upper-level studio art course in electronic media. As such, it necessarily involves the production and critique of images. You will learn about electronic media by making, viewing, and (perhaps most importantly) discussing digital images. Whereas becoming familiar and proficient with specific technical features of software and hardware is relatively straight-forward (anyone can read a manual and memorize buttons to click), understanding what new technologies hold for the future of art and artists is a much more formidable task. We will examine the cultural, political, aesthetic and ethical questions that arise as we refine our investigations into the world of images composed of bits and bytes.

Charlie Traub and Jonathan Lipkin write in their new book In the Realm of the Circuit: "Digital tools have simultaneously lowered the price and raised the level of creative exploration to the point that many more people now have access to these powerful means of expression. Because of the ease and seductiveness of these new programs, it is easy to think that one can master these new means of expression. But mastery lies not with the tool, but with what one does with the tool. Learning to type does not make someone a writer any more than learning Photoshop® makes one a photographer."

To assist our inquiry, I have adopted Peter Lunenfeld's Snap to Grid; touted by the publisher as a "...clear-eyed evaluation of new media...". Lunenfeld uses--again quoting MIT Press--"...'snap to grid' as a metaphor for how we manipulate and think about the electronic culture that enfolds us. In this book he snaps his seduction by the machine to the grid of critical thinking." We'll also have additional online readings each week. These are not simple readings and will require much effort on your part to keep up. Fall behind at your peril. We will have readings (and subsequent online discussions) each week, averaging 10-20 pages or so a week, and will begin immediately. I cannot stess strongly enough how important these readings are to your understanding of the topics we will discuss.

Let me stress one more point: I do not teach software--I teach art. You will need ideas and a rigorous work ethic to excel in this class. If you have enrolled merely to "learn Photoshop" (or Flash or Director or FinalCut, et. al.), then you will doubtless be better served by either purchasing the respective software or signing up for a technical certification course. I can make recommendations if this is the direction you want to go. If, however, you wish to investigate, with rigor, the role of the computer in your own studio practice as well as in contemporary culture, then, as I say above: welcome.

This may be unlike other studio art courses you have taken, in that you will be overtly required to assume the roles of both student and teacher. The focus is the development of your digital portfolio as an artist. Much of the work you do in this course will prepare you for artistic pursuits following college, whether you are considering professional digital media, photography or graphic design, graduate studies, grant or artists' residency applications, etc. You will be expected to propose and produce a sophisticated, self-directed project over the course of the semester. Being a strong believer, as I am, in the Socratic model of alternating seminar/tutorial, I have structured this course so as to provide as much freedom as possible for discovery and individual artistic development within the context of a close-knit forum for the open exchange of ideas and criticism. We will meet each Tuesday afternoon for lectures, workshops in specific processes, to talk about your work and/or to discuss readings. Each Thursday afternoon class meeting will consist of open lab time in which you may expect one-on-one help from me. The bulk of your lab time, however, will occur almost exclusively outside of regular class hours. Please plan your schedule accordingly. At least twice during the course of the semester, you will each meet individually with me in my office. The purpose of this conversation is to create a more candid space for the discussion of issues pertinent to your work that may not have been fully developed or discussed in the group critiques.

This is a rewarding but demanding course that requires you to thoughtfully examine your work and to strive to refine your artistic vision, vocabulary and voice. Likewise, you will be expected to push the limits of your ability to synthesize technical information and to correlate theory with practice. To this end we will utilize essays and other writings by prominent theorists and artists in the field, as well as several software packages for the Macintosh platform, including: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Apple Quicktime Virtual Reality Authoring Studio (or 3rd-party versions), Quicktime Pro and FinalCut Pro, FormZ, Cinema 4DXL, Macromedia Studio MX, etc. We have recently acquired several high-end imaging devices such as high resolution Nikon and Epson large-format film scanners, 44"-wide and 24"-wide archival Epson photographic printers, and a "real-time" non-linear video editing suite. We have the means to author DVDs and CD ROMs, and to output your print work as large as 44 x 125" at true photographic quality. That said, it is up to you to make the most of these tools through your willingness to push the limits of your creativity.

(Recommended) FinalCut Pro HD for Macintosh: Visual QuickPro Guide, Lisa Brenneis (Berkeley: Peachpit, 2002).

(Recommended) Flash MX for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide, Katherine Ulrich (Berkeley: Peachpit, 2002).

(Recommended) Dreamweaver MX for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide, J Tarin Towers (Berkeley: Peachpit, 2002).

Single copies of manuals for software packages will be made available in the lab but may not be removed, as we have only a single copy of each. I highly recommend the Peachpit "Visual QuickStart" and "Visual QuickPro" manuals. They are clear, concise and inexpensive. Avoid the $65, 4"-thick ones with CD-ROMs filled with trial versions of useless and cheesy plugins and filters. I suggest you purchase copies of manuals you expect to use a lot. Most have been pre-ordered by Mary Jane Books or are available at Half.com.

Although I do not rigorously audit attendance, it is virtually impossible to pass this course if you miss more than three classes. If you miss class, it is up to you to get notes and/or handouts, and you are responsible for all assigned work regardless of attendance in class. I don't repeat lectures. Lab days are no exception. Come to class prepared to work. If you are working at home or in an off-campus studio, be prepared to show me the progress you are making. I will not permit you to leave on a lab day because you "need to shoot". The goal of a lab day is not only to get work done, but to take advantage of the fact that I am available to help you.

More importantly, failure to attend any critique will result in an overall reduction of one letter grade for each crit missed. Failure to attend the final critique will result in an automatic "F" in this course, regardless of one's grade average going in to the final project. This policy is not negotiable.

Grades will be figured on the conventional percentage scale. More importantly, grades are an indication of how well you are doing in the course. "C" is successful completion of the work and is "average". You will have to do above average work or superior work to get a "B" or an "A", respectively.

A (90 - 100%) = Outstanding; pushing the limits of both the student's creativity and the assignment.
B (80 - 89%) = Thorough, thoughtful, and creative approach to the assignment.
C (70 - 79%) = AVERAGE; minimum project requirements met.
D (60 - 69%) = Poor; does not meet minimum requirements.
F (0 - 59%) = Fail; failure to complete the assignment.

Studio art classes can be quite expensive, as most of you already know. That said, this can be an exceptionally expensive class, depending on the type and amount of work that you choose to do. Please budget carefully to insure that you are able to produce the work required. Students typically spend around $300 (on average) on consummable supplies and materials. Some spend twice as much, some get by on much less. Because digital image making is in its relative infancy, it is still slightly more expensive than traditional analog photography (although this is changing daily). In addition to a working 35mm camera or a reasonably high-resolution digital still or video camera, you will be required to provide the expendable supplies described below. If you choose to work with a digital camera, it must be capable of capturing and easily uploading high-resolution images, therefore I must inspect it before I can give you permission to use it for our projects. Likewise, if you wish to use your own digital video camera, you will need to show it to me before beginning your project so that we may quickly insure that it is compatible with our DV equipment.

You will be charged a non-refundable lab fee of $100.00 to cover ink usage and maintenance on the three state-of-the-art archival fine art printers we use in our labs. This fee applies to all students, regardless of whether or not you forsee printing. Please note that I cannot allow you to print in the lab until you have paid for your portion of the inks, so keep your receipt. Once the fee is paid, however, you will not be required to pay further for ink usage--with some rare exceptions (as in the case of the student who printed an entire portfolio of "life-size" full-body portraits). We have established a special relationship with a local vendor of specialty inkjet printing papers to provide you with the papers we most often use at substantial discounts for U. Albany art students. National Graphic Supply at 226 North Allen Street in Albany (518-438-8411) offers Epson's Somerset Velvet Photo Enhanced and Epson's Premium Photo Gloss in both 24", 36" and 44" x 100' rolls and in a variety of cut-sheet sizes, as well as a range of other media. You may purchase other papers, but please know that you may not run any paper through our printers for which I have not given prior approval. Pigment-based archival inks are not compatible with low-end hobbyist papers (such as glossy Kodak, Polaroid, HP, etc.) available at office supply stores. Your results will be disappointing and the printer could actually be damaged. Toilet paper, as one student learned the hard way, doesn't work too well either.

Students wishing to print large-format (larger than 24 x 30") should consider splitting the cost of a roll of paper with other students. Click here for the latest pricing on roll and sheet stock of the most common fine-art inkjet papers we use.

Additionally, you may be required to purchase several of the following items:

• 6 to 10 CDR or CDRW disks, 650 or 700 MB w/jewel case
• 4 to 6 DVD-R 4.7 GB disks (available online at Apple Store for Higher Education)
• 4 to 6 MiniDV cassettes

The lab fee is to be paid at CAS Technical Services, which is located in the Chemistry Building, room B-44. Once you pay the lab fee for inks and maintenance, you are given a voucher that you must present to me before you will be allowed to print. The paper can be purchased directly through National Graphic. It is always a good idea to call ahead to make sure they have the paper you want in stock. For questions, contact George Liang. If you need to special-order papers, they can usually have them the same week. Both the CAS Store and National Graphic Supply take all major credit cards.

You may also need a roll or two of 35mm slide film and a working 35mm camera. For higher-resolution output options, you will have the opportunity to take advantage of several service bureaus with whom I have established relationships for high-end output such as Lightjet digital photographic prints, Iris giclee prints, Fuji Pictrographic prints, and super-high-resolution film recordings (negatives--from which traditional photographic enlargements may be made). I will inform you further of these options as the need arises. This type of high-end output is usually prohibitively expensive, yet is often worth it when superior image quality is the goal. It is by no means required, however, to pay for any additional output outside of our lab.

For those of you considering purchasing a computer for your creative work this year, please be advised that the Art Department has arranged for special discounts on Apple wireless laptop computers and software. These discounts are available only to University At Albany students and they are only available by logging in to the Art Department's Custom Online Apple Store.

To log in to the store, enter the following:

login = art
password - student

These discounts are being offered as a result of a special relationship with Apple Computer. Almost all of the Art department faculty members and Art department computing facilities are based on the Apple platform. Whereas we are strong proponents of a pluralistic computing environment, we feel that the Apple platform is best suited to the work we do in our studios. In addition, wireless coverage is available in all Fine Arts facilities, and in many other places on campus. Soon, the entire campus will be completely wireless, which will allow you to gain access to the internet and University network from anywhere on campus. We will be urging incoming students to buy wireless laptops effective Spring of 2007. This will not be a requirement for you at this time, but you will be prepared for future coursework within the Art department. We are pleased to be able to offer these discounts, which in some cases are as much as $200 off regular student pricing. These are excellent deals on Apple products and they are configured to work in the University's network environment. Review the different bundles being offered and see which one makes the most sense for you. Again, this is not a required purchase at this time. We simply want to make sure you had the opportunity to buy these at discounted prices. Please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail at dgoodwin@albany.edu with any questions.

Because we have no technical supprt staff for these art classes, all intermediate and advanced students in Digital Media must volunteer to monitor the lab a minimum of three hours a week. In exchange for this work, you will receive a code which enables you to 24/7 access to all three imaging labs. Your duties will include: monitoring access to facilities and preventing unauthorized users from accessing the lab, routine cleaning and maintenance. We have a fantastic studio facility and, if we all pitch in just a little, it will remain so.

We will also hold group discussions regarding our readings, etc. via listserv. In order to participate in these activities, you will be required to establish an e-mail account immediately (if you do not already have one). It does not have to be a campus account. I encourage you to post routine questions and messages to the list so that all may benefit from the information. Private messages to me, however, should not be posted to the list but sent to dgoodwin@albany.edu. This is the most reliable means of contacting me. While calling me at home late at night may earn you points for "creative risk" (see grading criteria above), it is probably a very bad idea.

Additionally, although it is not required, I encourage you to consider joining the moderated listserv Nettime. This is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the net. For more infosend a message to majordomo@bbs.thing.net with "info nettime-l" in the msg body.
View the archive at www.nettime.org

NOTE: This is a working syllabus and, as such, is subject to change. You will be notified via the class listserv of any changes to this schedule. Major updates will be posted to www.albany.edu/faculty/dgoodwin/aart450

A word about class participation: