Orature, or oral storytelling, places a strong emphasis on performative techniques that come to life most effectively when conveyed through both spoken and non-verbal means within a live social setting. It is “the creative and imaginative art of composition that relies on verbal art for communication and that culminates in performance”. Consequently, linear media recordings of oral storytelling experiences often fall short of capturing the immersive and interactive essence found in live storytelling sessions. 
This Wintersession course invites students to explore motion capture through the lens of traditional oral storytelling practices from indigenous communities. Students will actively identify the unique and distinguishing features of orature, and leverage their own cultural backgrounds, personal perspectives, and idiosyncrasies to create motion capture data that can be used in crafting an interactive digital retelling of a folktale. Using software and equipment in the Movement Lab students will plan segments for oral storytelling, record verbal story content in their own voice, prepare a character based on their 3D scans, set up mocap equipment, record their movement, clean-up and apply the movement data to a character, and finally compile the individual segments into a digital retelling that refracts one tale through diverse facets of embodied expression. Through in-class practical activities, daily assignments, demonstrations, screenings and suggested reading, students will acquire new appreciation for orature as well as experimentation with motion capture tools that can support new retellings of works of orature in digital media.

Elective

Myth of Selfhood: Queer Diasporic Film Craft is a studio course where students will explore alternative approaches to depicting marginalized bodies and desires on screen. These approaches have been concerned less with identifications or lost origins; instead, they have foregrounded intimacies which have been concealed by Euro-American cis-hetero-normative ways of seeing. Queer diasporic imaginaries, in their multifaceted, cross-cultural iterations, question the neoliberal myth of visibility and representation, wherein legibility equates to authenticity. They seek hybrid ways of being in the world and relating to one another.

During the course, we will examine works by queer diasporic filmmakers, animators, and contemporary artists. The discussions will be followed by aesthetic exercises and introductory technical workshops on experimental film and animation practices. Students are encouraged to experiment with techniques learned in class to create time-based works around queer diasporic aesthetics.

Elective

This course will explore ways of creating original live puppet performance, drawing from a variety of performance traditions; including object performance, shadow play, and Bunraku-style puppetry. Students will work independently and in groups to develop new works in short exercises, while gaining the fundamentals in puppet construction and performance techniques. This course culminates in a final live performance project, and in-class showing, to demonstrate new skills and utilize students' pre-existing artistic practices.

Elective

In this course, we will make solo and collaborative performance works. We will approach performance as the project of creating new contexts for interrelation–between beings, material, matter, the known, and the unknown–that allow both the performer and the viewer to learn and/or experience something we otherwise would not have access to. In other words, the work of this class is the work of listening in the direction of something you can’t quite yet hear, and taking the time to figure out: where you might stand, what device you might invent, what you might wear, and how you might work with the resonance of the room, to get closer to hearing it. We will turn towards the body as intelligent in its own right and build personal movement practices that steer our making. We will then turn to the generation of sculpture, video, sound, and texts that scaffold, augment, reverberate, and challenge that physical action. 

Course material will draw from contemporary dance practices, somatics, embodied cognition, and queer theory, among other sources. We will practice expanding our attention beyond the boundaries of the art object to include the processes of production, reception, effort, transmission, collaboration, interdependence, decay and forgetting that locate art in time, space, and community. No prior movement experience necessary.

Elective

Movement touches every art form and is central to many approaches to making and knowing. It is a fundamental language with which we express, inquire, converse and explore. Movement expresses notions of time and location, manners and social interactions, and complex human interrelationships. The art and study of movement can help us understand histories, migrations, emotions and ecosystems.

An initiative of FAV's Movement Lab, topics will be different for each section, based on the expertise of the instructor. Please investigate the information for each section separately to learn the topic offered.

Elective

This course is a seminar/studio hybrid focusing on the fabrication of language for the moving image. Voicing, reading, telling, reciting, narrating, delivering, dialoging, interviewing, bearing witness, testifying, confessing, demanding, claiming, speaking, speaking up, singing, humming, shouting, whispering – silence.

Those various modes of expression and speech talk about positionality. In this class, exploring your voice and the voices of others will drive a method of research in practice. We will investigate how fabricating language is to shape complex sets of meaning, affect, information, trouble, references, etc.

Through this class, you will learn how to position yourselves as critical readers, writers, and voices –this will be crucial for the development of your own creations. The study of a broad range of artworks in which language is both tool and subject, will inform how we engage in writing, reading, and recording exercises. Notions in editing and sound recording are preferred for this class. SD card, personal headphones and notebook are required.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $75.00

Non-majors and graduate students are welcome. Please contact fav@risd.edu to register.

Elective

This course is designed for students with any level of musical experience to explore music composition and the creation of experimental films based on music. During the course, students will experiment with various approaches including sampling, field recording, sound synthesis, ensembles and altered instruments. This will be complimented by strategies for creating animation, experimental film, and video based on music composition. Along with weekly experiments and workshops, students will create a short experimental film based on music they create. 

Elective

This course will cover how to translate scripts into visual images with clarity and creativity. 
Students will study the language of film - both animation and live action- including different
kinds of shots and approaches to editing.  We will cover how to interpret and visualize both acting
and actions, as well as staging shots for the dramatic content they contain.  The course will
focus on developing the conceptual strengths and technical capabilities needed to visualize from
the written page.

Elective

This course offers a deep investigation of the role that camera movement and composition, framing and sequencing of shots can play in live action digital cinema projects. We employ a visualist approach, where cinematography and movement are used to amplify a plot/performance and/or reach beyond conventional storytelling, by creating emotional or even physical/sensory reactions in a viewer. By focusing on and exploring the plasticity of time - using movement of the camera in space, the stretching of time through use of time-lapse, slow-motion and live action/stop motion animation hybrid methods - students build strong visions as directors and artist makers of moving images.  Borrowing methods used in independent cinema, experimental animation, film and video art, painting, sculpture, architecture and photography, students will consider what types of seeing can be developed by applying these approaches.
 
This course uses advanced motion control systems that are only available for this course (the eMotimo/dana dolly tracking system and custom build rigs/gimbals) which give students detailed control over their use of cinematic movement. In addition, we explore uses of lenses, including vintage lenses and filters to destroy/enhance the materiality of the digital image to emulate filmic looks. The course also offers an in-depth look into color correction and grading, where students can apply painterly approaches to the moving image. 
 
Students work collaboratively and individually on two short film projects and/or multi-channel installations, where the goal is to develop a strong artistic vision and create a distinct film experience for a viewer. Interdisciplinary approaches/collaborations are encouraged, and students from other departments at RISD are welcome.

Estimated Materials Cost: $50.00

Elective

Okay, you have an idea! What do you do with it? We'll take you through the steps: from writing a logline, developing a pitch deck, pitching and selling. Through lectures, demos, discussions, and weekly assignments, students will develop a hands-on understanding of professional elements of pitching your idea in a professional, industry context, learning from a renowned leader in the field.

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Elective

In Film Practices, students learn 16mm film processes, skills, and techniques - as a material and conceptual foundation necessary for every time-based practice. Exposure, focus, depth of field, and basic editing strategies are explored as tools for becoming fluent in the language of cinema. Students will build an understanding of the various meanings conveyed by aesthetic decisions regarding composition, movement, and editing. Through individual and group projects, screenings, in-class assignments, and readings, students will explore key concepts in material-based filmmaking to build, expand, and deepen their time-based practice.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $220.00

Deposit: $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

In Film Practices, students learn 16mm film processes, skills, and techniques - as a material and conceptual foundation necessary for every time-based practice. Exposure, focus, depth of field, and basic editing strategies are explored as tools for becoming fluent in the language of cinema. Students will build an understanding of the various meanings conveyed by aesthetic decisions regarding composition, movement, and editing. Through individual and group projects, screenings, in-class assignments, and readings, students will explore key concepts in material-based filmmaking to build, expand, and deepen their time-based practice.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $220.00

Deposit: $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

In Film Practices, students learn 16mm film processes, skills, and techniques - as a material and conceptual foundation necessary for every time-based practice. Exposure, focus, depth of field, and basic editing strategies are explored as tools for becoming fluent in the language of cinema. Students will build an understanding of the various meanings conveyed by aesthetic decisions regarding composition, movement, and editing. Through individual and group projects, screenings, in-class assignments, and readings, students will explore key concepts in material-based filmmaking to build, expand, and deepen their time-based practice.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $220.00

Deposit: $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

In Film Practices, students learn 16mm film processes, skills, and techniques - as a material and conceptual foundation necessary for every time-based practice. Exposure, focus, depth of field, and basic editing strategies are explored as tools for becoming fluent in the language of cinema. Students will build an understanding of the various meanings conveyed by aesthetic decisions regarding composition, movement, and editing. Through individual and group projects, screenings, in-class assignments, and readings, students will explore key concepts in material-based filmmaking to build, expand, and deepen their time-based practice.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $220.00

Deposit: $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

Intermediate Film is a year-long course emphasizing technical production in sync sound film making. Theoretical concerns and cinematic techniques are stressed. We explore concepts of (and the relationships between) narrative, documentary and experimental filmmaking. The first half of the Fall semester, students work in assigned teams, completing a series of short exercises. In the second half of the term, class members individually create their own longer films for final projects. Students screen their work in class at various stages of completion: rushes, rough cuts, and fine cuts. In addition, there are weekly screenings of works by relevant filmmakers. Participation in class discussions is required.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $500.00 Deposit $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video | Live Action

Intermediate Film is a year-long course emphasizing technical production in sync sound film making. Theoretical concerns and cinematic techniques are stressed. We explore concepts of (and the relationships between) narrative, documentary and experimental filmmaking. The first half of the Fall semester, students work in assigned teams, completing a series of short exercises. In the second half of the term, class members individually create their own longer films for final projects. Students screen their work in class at various stages of completion: rushes, rough cuts, and fine cuts. In addition, there are weekly screenings of works by relevant filmmakers. Participation in class discussions is required.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $500.00 Deposit $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video | Live Action

Intermediate Film is a year-long course emphasizing technical production in sync sound film making. Theoretical concerns and cinematic techniques are stressed. We explore concepts of (and the relationships between) narrative, documentary and experimental filmmaking. During Spring semester, the course is devoted to improving skills in many aspects of live action filmmaking, including conceptualization, budgeting, camera work, and sound recording. Projects are transferred to tape and edited digitally. In addition, there are weekly screenings of works by relevant filmmakers. Participation in class discussions is required.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $500.00

Deposit: $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video | Live Action

In Video Practices, students will work with digital video cameras, sound recorders and microphones, and editing and color correction software. Through projects, screenings, in-class assignments, and readings, students will explore key concepts in digital moving-image making to build, expand, and deepen their time-based practice.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $60.00

Deposit: $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

In Video Practices, students will work with digital video cameras, sound recorders and microphones, and editing and color correction software. Through projects, screenings, in-class assignments, and readings, students will explore key concepts in digital moving-image making to build, expand, and deepen their time-based practice.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $60.00

Deposit: $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

In Video Practices, students will work with digital video cameras, sound recorders and microphones, and editing and color correction software. Through projects, screenings, in-class assignments, and readings, students will explore key concepts in digital moving-image making to build, expand, and deepen their time-based practice.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $60.00

Deposit: $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video