Courses

NM Courses List

NM 101 Digital Design Principles
In this course you will learn how to use Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as develop an understanding of essential design concepts
Course Highlights: Creating animated gifs of people with derpy Photoshopped dog heads

NM 121 Intro Web and Interactive Design
This course teaches how to code html websites from scratch, in the style of the early 1990's internet age. Although a lot has changed since then and pre-built web templates have become the current trend, understanding the process of experimental website layout will help the designer think of innovative non-linear approaches to composition, user interfaces, and site navigation
Course Highlights: Making glorious Geocities websites

NM 151 Intro to Motion Media
Begin a long and arduous love/hate relationship with Maya, the capricious animation software program. This intro course focuses on modeling 3D environments and animation basics such as storyboarding and squash and stretch. The final involves producing an animated short.
Course Highlights: Enjoying the best sleep of your life after staying up for the past 72 hours trying to finish your final project

NM 281 Intro to Video Art and Design
Learn motion graphics, stop-motion animation, post-production video/audio editing in After Effects, and how to use digital video camera equipment.
Course Highlights: Transporting your friends into Tahiti using a green screen

NM 142 New Media History and Theory
Learn about the history of typography and technology and stuff. This course covers a lot of esoteric theory and requires writing a research paper.
Course Highlights: Really weird experimental art

NM 144 History of Animation
Learn about animators ranging from Lotte Reiniger to Ub Iwerks, and study the cultural and technical changes the animation industry has gone through. This is one of the most popular classes at UNCA
Course Highlights: Watching a bunch of animated movies

NM 222 Art and Design
The emphasis of this course is on creating 2D and 3D projects, along with presenting on subjects relevant to NM theory and modern society
Course Highlights: This is the class where you can make pretty much anything you want, so don't waste the opportunity to make something cool for your portfolio

NM 350 Video Motion Graphics
Learn how to produce a short film with a group
Course Highlights: Learning that making videos can be more stressful than you originally thought

NM 310 Intermediate Animation
This course focuses entirely on character animation and walk cycles. You will want to use references and befriend the graph editor
Course Highlights: Very awkward improv

NM 320 Intermediate Interactive Design
Students will create a non-linear website and then modify it into a responsive website
Course Highlights: People will be jealous of your fluency in web programming languages

NM 330 Internet Art
Explore sonic art, glitches, immersive narrative, and the stranger regions of the world wide web
Course Highlights: Weird webcomics and learning to make glitchy cat gifs that crash the browser

NM 344 History of Design
Learn about William Morris and some other guys. Study Arts and Crafts, Futurism, Constructivism, Dada, and the Bauhaus. Then write a fun seven page paper.
Course Highlights: Art Nouveau is pretty awesome

NM 340 Internship
Get on-the-job training experience that will go a long ways towards helping you get hired in the industry
Course Highlights: Getting paid!

NM 450 Digital Video Art
More video editing!
Course Highlights: Channeling your inner Spielberg to become a pro-cinematographer

NM 420 Advanced Interactive Media
This class examines the theory behind performance, interactivity, time, and space.
Course Highlights: Installation Art

NM 410 Advanced Animation Techniques
Robot design, character rigging, and UV texture mapping
Course Highlights: Saying goodbye to Robo Rex and creating your own character

NM Study Abroad
Education with benefits
Course Highlights: Traveling the world!

NM 438 Senior Capstone
ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. This is a very stressful class that involves creating a group project in a short amount of time. These projects will be critiqued by all of the faculty, and they don't go easy on anyone.
Course Highlights: Hang in there. The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight

NM 490 Senior Portfolio
Time to get your act together and make at least one decent thing for your portfolio
Course Highlights: The last NM class you need to graduate!

NM 499 Undergraduate Research
Optional independent research

Special Topics Courses

CSCI Creative Fabrication
Taught by Susan Reiser, this course focuses on 3D modeling and practical engineering, as well as methods for thinking creatively

NM Digital Creation Lab: Reality Capture, Digital Prototyping, and 3D printing
A special topics course usually taught during the summer that may substitute for a required programming course with permission from the Department Chair

The Virtual Lincoln Project
This is an intensive undergraduate research course intended for advanced level animation students seeking to improve skills in the more nuanced technical aspects of Maya. The project has received national recognition for its research discoveries and adherence to historical accuracy in recreating a virtual simulation of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address


NM Storyboarding & Visual Narrative, NM History of Video Games
These are usually taught in the summer as special topic electives

NM 379 Tactical Media/D.I.Y. Anarchy
This writing intensive class examines the implications of revolutionary art
http://www.lab404.com/379/




Study Abroad
Study abroad trips offer a really unique learning experience. Students take lots of classes, but how many of them are really memorable years later? The New Media Department has offered some really interesting study abroad opportunities in China and the Netherlands. Registered college students can often get financial subsidies, so don't rule this out just because you think you can't afford it now. Talk to the Study Abroad Office or the faculty to find out more
City University of Hong Kong
Belgium/Amsterdam Brochure

Undergraduate Research
You get to choose to work on a subject that you are actually interested in. Unfortunately the credits only count as general hours and can't be substituted for required classes, but if there is a topic that you want to learn more about at a pace that accomodates your schedule, independent study is the way to go

Internships
Internships offer a chance to build up valuable work experience in the design field, which is something most employers are looking for when hiring. Some internships are paid, which is pretty awesome, and some internships aren't paid, which is still kind of alright because you're at least learning stuff even if you're not getting paid. Speak to a faculty member early so you get first choice selection

Double NM Concentration
Many New Media students minor in a related field, but it is also possible to specialize in more than one NM concentration by taking an extra two classes in one of the other tracks. It still only counts towards one major, but the extra experience can come in handy when looking into careers



The Doc Show directed by Jennifer Bennett, 2015

The Prerequisites

PHYS 101 Physics of Light and Visual Phenomena
or PHYS 102 Physics of Sound and Music

MATH 167 Precalculus
or STAT 185 Statistics
or higher Math level credits

CSCI 181 Intro Programming for Media Applications
or CSCI 182 Intro Programming for Numeric Applications
or CSCI 185 Internet Client-Side Technology

CSCI 346 Computer Graphics
(this course also has a 200 level prerequisite, which means you need to prepare to take an additional programming class unless you can get a course override from the instructor)

Registration

Course Descriptions
Some of these descriptions haven't been updated in years, and the classes and instructors have changed since then.
NM Course Descriptions

Registrar of Classes for Fall/Spring
https://registrar.unca.edu/schedule-classes-and-exams

NM Major Requirements
http://catalog.unca.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=3&poid=386&returnto=178

NM Minor Requirements
http://catalog.unca.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=3&poid=387&returnto=178