Computation Arts Courses

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Enrolment in a Computation Arts program is required. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course is a critical introduction to new media theory focusing on issues of interaction, inscription, representation, code, reproduction, spectacle, control, body and resistance. Students develop tools to undertake a critical analysis of media and technology and their social, political, economic, and cultural ramifications.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for CART 255 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Enrolment in a Computation Arts program is required. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course gives a broad introduction to the fundamentals of creative computing and network culture. Through readings and practical examples, students explore the histories of the Internet, computing, and interactivity as well as gain knowledge of fundamental technical tools used for creating network‑based media.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for DFAR 251 or CART 251 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be taken previously: CART 211. Enrolment in a Computation Arts program is required. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This studio‑based course focuses on the production of dynamic and interactive audio/visual media. Students develop proficiency in generating original audio and visual material as well as exposure to current digital media software. Concurrent with gaining knowledge of existing tools for production, students create a high‑quality studio work for portfolio inclusion.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for DFAR 252 or CART 252 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Enrolment in a Computation Arts program or the Microprogram in Web Design and User Interface is required. If prerequisites are not satisfied, permission of the Department is required.

Description: Key themes of visual communication are explored in the context of computation arts. This studio course considers design elements such as line, pattern, shape, texture, interpretation of space, surface, perspective, dimension, repetition, randomness, colour and colour spaces, typography, drawing from observation, layout and composition and conceptualization. This class is predominantly non‑digital and discusses the relationships between analog and digital approaches.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for CART 254 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Enrolment in a Computation Arts program or the Minor in Game Design is required. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course is an introduction to the design of playful activities and games in particular. Students are introduced to terminology, conceptual frameworks, and critical approaches in order to develop a precise understanding of games at a formal and pragmatic level. Students acquire and develop tools to conceive, formalize, and communicate game design ideas.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for this topic under a CART 398 number may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Enrolment in the Specialization or Minor in Computation Arts is required. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course focuses on developing students’ programming abilities, beginning with basic concepts and building toward approaches of increasing complexity. Students put these concepts and techniques into practice by creating their own expressive digital media projects, exploring areas such as interactivity, play, sound, and video.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be taken previously: CART 253. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: In this course, students build on developing proficiency in programming by engaging in larger‑scale project work and learning to use more sophisticated data structures, algorithms, and code reuse. Emphasis is placed on developing ambitious and experimental applications that engage deeply with the underlying ideas of computation as a medium.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be taken previously: CART 210. Students are required to have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course introduces the theories and practices of interaction design. Students learn about interaction design from the early history of computers and computation through to present‑day best practice and experimental approaches still being developed. In the studio portion of the course, students apply the theory introduced by developing specific prototype works in multiple forms, including paper, video and digital prototypes.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be completed previously: CART 212. Students are required to have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This studio‑based course furthers work done in CART 212, focusing on the production and authoring of dynamic audio/visual media using advanced techniques such as compositing and motion graphics. Students develop proficiency in generating original audio and visual material as well as exposure to current digital audio‑visual‑authoring software including postproduction environments such as After Effects and Motion. Concurrent with gaining knowledge of existing tools for production, students create a term‑long project which will be a high quality, studio work appropriate for portfolio inclusion.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for CART 352 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following courses must be completed previously: CART 263 or COMP 218 or COMP 248. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: Students study specialized game technology, create a series of digital game prototypes, and are introduced to higher level programming concepts pertaining to interactive applications. Efficient approaches to the design and development of complex interactive software, such as iterative development and rapid prototyping, are explored.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for this topic under a CART 398 number or for COMP 376 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This is a studio course in which students conduct experiments in digital text, type, and typography. It looks at how type can be used in dynamic, interactive, and performative contexts, how manipulating the appearance and behaviour of type affects the meaning of the text, and how to work with the materiality of letterforms. Class projects include motion typography for video, interactive texts, liquid/ random/malleable fonts, and computationally responsive letterforms.

Component(s): Studio

• Students are expected to have training in the fundamentals of typography.

• Students who have received credit for this topic under a CART 355 number may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 24 credits completed in a Computation Arts, Electroacoustics, or Intermedia (Video, Performance and Electronic Arts) program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course is an introduction to the fundamental principles of real‑time digital audio: the use of a computer to process, synthesize, and manipulate digitized representations of sound in real‑time. Topics such as physics of sound, sampling, synthesis techniques, filters, and acoustics are introduced through the use of the real-time programming environments Max/MSP and Supercollider. Students experiment with digital audio techniques through lab exercises and the development of a final real-time composition/sound design work.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for this topic under a CART 356 number may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be taken previously: CART 346. Students must have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts, Electroacoustics, or Intermedia (Video, Performance and Electronic Arts) program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course is a seminar/project studio in the conceptual and technical nature of digitally based sound design for film, video, and interactive multimedia (web, DVDs, games, sensor-augmented environments). Topics include sound and image fusion, audio-vision and conceptual/technical issues related to file and compression formats, spatialization (5.1), communication protocols, editing, mixing, tracking, asset creation and socio‑cultural theories of audition. A term‑long individual or group‑based project is developed that takes participants through all phases of the sound design production workflow.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for this topic under a CART 356 number may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following courses must be taken previously: CART 211, CART 212; CART 263 or COMP 248. Students must have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: In this course, students develop interactive projects that use networked data, redefine online communities, and experiment with new communication structures. The perceptual and aesthetic aspects of digital media are addressed in relation to the technical skill sets required for navigating and understanding the possibilities and limits of networked environments.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following courses must be taken previously: CART 263. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: In this course, students develop their programming skills via specific technologies and design perspectives, including but not limited to artificial life, evolutionary computation, procedural content generation, and playful design. The course focuses on students’ own studio practice as artist‑programmers and supports their continuing exploration of the medium.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling.

Description: This course provides an opportunity for the study of special topics in kinetic imagery. Specific topics for this course, and prerequisites relevant in each case, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for DFAR 355 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling.

Description: This course provides an opportunity for the study of special topics in abstract soundscapes. Specific topics for this course, and prerequisites relevant in each case, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for DFAR 356 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling.

Description: This course provides an opportunity for the study of special topics in digital and immersive space. Specific topics for this course, and prerequisites relevant in each case, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for DFAR 357 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling.

Description: Research into sensory perception, touch, and noise is key to project proposals, methodology, and production. Interdisciplinary referencing and collaborative projects are emphasized. Specific topics for this course, and prerequisites relevant in each case, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for DFAR 358 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

For students enrolled in the Specialization in Computation Arts, the following course must be completed previously: CART 263. For students not enrolled in the Specialization in Computation Arts, the following courses must be completed previously: CART 263 or COMP 248. Students must have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course explores the concepts of tangible media and physical computation as well as related concepts of ubiquitous computing, wearable computing, and interaction design. The focus is on conceptual development, prototyping, and implementation of tangible media and physical computing artifacts from the perspectives of technical proficiency, functionality, aesthetics, and personal/social meaning.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 24 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: In this studio course, students are introduced to the language, principles, and practices of 3D digital animation. Students are exposed to a wide range of traditional film animation techniques and learn the technical skills and conceptual strategies for 3D digital production.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for CART 261 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be completed previously: CART 361. Students must have completed 24 credits completed in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This intermediate studio furthers conceptual and technical skills related to 3D digital animation. Through film analysis, readings, and lectures, students study film animation aesthetics, contemporary film practice, and advanced 3D animation techniques.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for CART 262 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 24 credits completed in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

A studio course in the creation and real‑time processing of moving textures and video. This studio course covers the creation and real‑time processing of moving textures and video. This course surveys computer‑based video art, particularly applied to installation or performance arts. It provides an introduction to mathematical approaches to real‑time processing of 2D and higher-dimensional arrays, image and video filters, motion segmentation, and tracking blobs, optical flow, faces, and shapes.

Component(s): Studio

• Students should have experience or knowledge in videography and video editing.

• Students who have received credit for this topic under a CART 498 number may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Enrolment in a Computation Arts program is required. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course provides an opportunity for the study of specialized aspects and applications in computation arts. Specific topics for this course, and prerequisites relevant in each case, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following courses must be completed previously: CART 210, CART 310. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course consolidates and contextualizes students’ existing understanding of their own practice by framing it in terms of research‑creation. Related theoretical and methodological frameworks are introduced and discussed in order to give students the language and conceptual insight to think, write and speak convincingly about their own and others’ work.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling or must receive written permission of the Department.

Description: In this course, students integrate skills with objects, narratives, and environments. They refine both critical and practical management skills in team-based projects.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be completed previously: CART 411. Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This advanced studio and theory course allows students to integrate skills with objects, narratives, and environments. They refine both critical and practical management skills in team‑based projects.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for CART 452 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite: The following course must be completed prior to enroling: CART 210. Students must complete 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enroling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This seminar prepares students for professional creation/ research via analog or computational media and material arts, informed by philosophy of technology, art, and design. Topics may include continuity, transformation, distributed agency, responsivity, and tangibility.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for this topic under a CART 454 number may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following courses must be completed previously: CART 315 or CART 353 or COMP 376. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This course introduces students to experimental game design, especially through the creation of their own unconventional and expressive digital games. A theoretical and critical understanding of play and games is established through lectures, discussion, game playing, game making and critiques. Students make multiple prototype games in order to better understand relationships between design, technology and the resulting player experience.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following courses must be completed previously: CART 315 or CART 353 or COMP 376. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: In this studio course, students engage in larger-scale, team-based, iterative game development projects. Specific attention is given to the design of games that have intended purposes alongside entertainment — whether these be expressive, critical, persuasive, or educational in nature. Working in teams, students move from developing a concept around a rhetorical/experiential intention, to designing and developing a digital game prototype, and finally to examining play outcomes. Practical work is in dialogue with theory drawn from game design, game studies and interaction design.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students are required to have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This course focuses on rhetoric, visualization of information, instructions and complex text-based content. Issues of communication, simplification and clarification of content, and information architecture are addressed through diagrams, maps and visualization of statistics.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for DART 455 or for this topic under a CART 498 or DART 498 number may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be completed previously: CART 362. Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This advanced studio builds upon 3D modelling for animation, gaming, and spatial environments. Concurrent with the development of technical skill sets, students develop thematic projects with consideration given to industry standards and cultural products for public or private enterprise.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for CART 354 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This studio course leads graduating Computation Arts students through an analysis and synthesis of a personal body of work, self‑promotional material, and a framework for a group exhibition. Discussions and assignments address the technical, formal, and conceptual elements in their work, and strategies for documentation and presentation. Students are also expected to locate their work in a social, cultural, and historical context. Various future options for Computation Arts graduates are discussed, including careers in art, entrepreneurship, design, research, and academia.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for this topic under a CART 498 number may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be completed previously: CART 351. Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This course introduces advanced topics in networked media, exploring the potential of connected technologies in multiple contexts, from their role in present‑day life to potential future scenarios. Special attention is given to the design rhetorics and values commonly embedded in the web and internet‑enabled devices and how students can work to subvert or repurpose these conventional approaches to design.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This studio course is based on mobility or nomadic considerations in new media productions. Transportable and flexible equipment configurations are developed to support on‑site performance events, projection, and multimedia installations.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for DFAR 453 may not take this course for credit.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. Written permission of the Department is required.

Description: Students work in the industry for a period of nine to thirteen weeks to allow them to gain experience in design firms and multimedia companies. Internships approved for credit must be academically appropriate to the program.

Component(s): Practicum/Internship/Work Term

• Students may count a maximum of six credits in professional internships towards their degree program.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. Written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

Students work in the industry for a period of nine to thirteen weeks to allow them to gain experience in design firms and multimedia companies. Internships approved for credit must be academically appropriate to the program.

Component(s): Practicum/Internship/Work Term

• Students may count a maximum of six credits in professional internships towards their degree program.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. Written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This course provides an opportunity for a limited number of students to pursue advanced studies in computation arts research and creation project under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. A clearly defined written agreement between the student and the faculty supervisor is required before the independent study is approved.

Component(s): Studio

• Students may count a maximum of nine credits in independent studies towards their degree program.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. Written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This course provides an opportunity for a limited number of students to pursue advanced studies in computation arts research and creation project under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. A clearly defined written agreement between the student and the faculty supervisor is required before the independent study is approved.

Component(s): Studio

• Students may count a maximum of nine credits in independent studies towards their degree program.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. Written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This course provides an opportunity for a limited number of students to pursue advanced studies in computation arts research and creation project under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. A clearly defined written agreement between the student and the faculty supervisor is required before the independent study is approved.

Component(s): Studio

• Students may count a maximum of nine credits in independent studies towards their degree program.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be taken previously or concurrently: CART 411. Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This advanced studio course examines the ways computation can be deeply integrated into students’ creative practices. Projects look at how computation can be used to transform interactivity into a semantic strategy, input/output into a dialogue between the user, the work, and the world, and data processing into means of aesthetic exploration.

Component(s): Studio

• Students are expected to have solid skills in general‑purpose programming before starting the class.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

The following course must be taken previously: CART 461. Students must have completed 48 credits in a Computation Arts program prior to enrolling. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

This studio course introduces advanced topics in tangible media and the related aesthetic and interaction design challenges and opportunities. Students work together on experimental projects that push the boundaries of physical interfaces and the expressivity of installation‑based digital work.

Component(s): Studio

Prerequisite/Corequisite:

Enrolment in a Computation Arts program is required. If prerequisites are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description:

An advanced course which provides an opportunity for the study of specialized aspects and applications in digital fine arts. Specific topics for this course, and prerequisites relevant in each case, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.

Prerequisite/Corequisite: Students must complete 48 credits in the Computation Arts program prior to enroling. If prerequistes are not satisfied, written permission of the Department is required.

Description: This advanced course provides an opportunity for the study of specialized aspects and applications in digital arts. Specific topics for this course, and prerequisites relevant in each case, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.

Component(s): Studio

• Students who have received credit for the same topic under CART 498, DART 498, or DART 499 may not take this course for credit.