Integrated Media Meetings

Our Alumni/ae

2006-03-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

I'm collecting a list of successful graduates to assist the President in pitching INTM to funders.
Please email me a Name, date of graduation (approx.), and one or two sentences describing what they are up to. (and a contact if you have it)
Probably best to send this to my faculty or home email, so that I can edit the list.

thanks,
jhouseholder@faculty.ocad.ca

ARE YOU AVAILABLE? RETREAT DATE - MARCH 10th

2006-02-23T21:56:00.000-05:00

This just in from Yael -- please comment on this post with your availability and suggestions re: facilitators--

We settled on a Retreat Date that seemed to serve most everyone:

FRIDAY, MAR. 10

Please book this time, and let me know ASAP about your attendance.

We will be trying to get the University Club.
As well, I would like to have someone outside of our area facilitate the process. I’ve asked Blake for support on this..
Doug and Johanna had suggested Su Ditta, so I’ve left messages for her, to see if she would be willing and available.
As Su is familiar with the kind of practices that we are engaged with, she would be rather ideal. Let me know if you have other suggestions, just in case Su cannot do it.

I’ll keep you posted.
Yael

Animation Future

2006-02-20T11:37:00.000-05:00

At the last faculty meeting it was suggested that the future of animation in IM be discussed. One way to start this discussion would be to get an idea of what already exists. Here are some questions that occur to me:
1) What form of animation are you teaching?
2) What percentage of your class time is focussed on animation?
3) How are you integrating animation with other areas?
4) What demonstration materials are you using?
5) How many periods are you teaching?
6) Do you detect demand for change in this area?

Here are my answers:
1) Computer animation using 3dMax in the PC lab.
2) 100%
3) All four assignments have sound tracks, some made by sonic arts students. Video is used for background, materials or projection. Painted or drawn images are also used as background, materials or projection.
4) Mainly past student and faculty work, although some commercial films are included for examples of state of the art technique.
5) One in second year and a variant in first year, Nature and Culture, which uses computer animation as the medium for investigating issues of, you guessed it, Nature and Culture . Other sections of N and C use painting, sculpture/installation, etc to cover the same ground.
6) Huge demand for more intro courses (Michael is adding one next year) and strong demand for an advanced course or courses. Design students who happen to be in the lab frequently express anger at not being alowed to do the animation course.

Does anyone else have answers to these questions or other questions or comments that could open this topic up?

Buid it and they will come

2006-02-15T19:37:00.000-05:00

I would like to make a general comment regarding enrollment, facilities and faculty renewal. We have been told by previous administrations that what we do is expensive and therefore, we should be as small as possible. Many faculty have stated that they think small is good and less is more.

It may be that the new administration feels differently about the size of our program and relative cost of what we do. Other institutions received dramatic increases in funding for technology-based areas of study in the last twenty years. OCAD has been in a decline in these areas with lost periods and facilities.

In the Stewart Building, we had two sound labs, two post-production areas, two shooting studios. Those of us who where around for the bail-out of the Stewart Building, remember the promises of "this will all come back with the new expansion when it happens" (Get it in writing next time)

In plotting our future, we should cast a wider net. Invite students from other programs to study with us. Press those who guide the curriculum in other areas of the College to make our courses available to S&I, Photo and Design students.

There is a will to break down barriers between the Art & Design divisions. Design students will want courses in film & video, web, digital media & animation. ID students will want courses in electronics and fabrication. From what we have seen, students benefit from the mix.

Let's build production, post production and fabrication facilities that are greater than those that students might have access to in their own apartments or in their parents basements. -Michael

Welcome

2006-02-14T13:22:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Judith, for setting this up. I hope that this blog will allow for some thoughtful discussion about directions we are going in and provide background for our face meetings and retreat.

I find the most productive way to arrange stuff in a blog is to create a new 'Post' when you want to open a new subject for discussion, and to use the 'Comment' feature to add to an existing thread.

Clicking the time/date stamp (!) for some reason shows the original post and all the ensuing discussions.

Response to Doug

2006-02-13T09:38:00.000-05:00

Hey all,
In 2003 there were two intro. courses for electronics - one ran in the fall and the second ran in the winter. They both had good enrolment numbers. I agree that an over enrolled intro. class in electronics leads to greater attrition in the upper year levels - this should be avoided. In terms of thinking about curriculum - we need to remember first-year -- this is crucial in terms of overall numbers in INTM (students choosing their major and moving into second year) as well as conceptualizing the "flow" of information between year levels. Introducing first-year students to our studios here at 100 McCaul will help to define what INTM has to offer.
Simone

I'm in

2006-02-13T09:35:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the Blogger invite Judith.
Simone

2006-02-11T21:28:00.000-05:00

Hey Blogies,
I’d like to respond to these;
- insufficient audio courses: esp. 200 level
- same with video …… we think

The same applies to electronics/mechanical in the 200 levels.. If I’ve got this right there is only one Electronics Intro course (which was over enrolled)... which of course means that the second term course will have a drop in numbers, third year will have a drop in numbers, etc. One Intro course cannot maintain a stream of study.
What are the number of Level 200 Intro courses in each medium anyway? I think that should give us some indication of what is needed rather than all of us saying we need more Intro courses.
How should we think about required courses?
- Should we think from second year on up to 4th year/Masters?
- or from what kind of graduates we want in 4th year/Masters down to second year courses?. If we want to graduate students by medium... I think we are in trouble.
Yours Doug

Minutes from Feb. 1 Meeting

2006-02-05T22:03:00.000-05:00

Johanna's Minutes --

INTM CURRICULUM FEB. 1, 06
bh Yael, S. Jones, B. Jarvis, K. Truchan, J. Householder: minutes.
J. Cole, J. Doyle
W. Coburn

Immediate Concerns

- insuffiecient audio courses: esp. 200 level
- same with video … we think
- no data on numbers who can’t get in – can waiting list be kept on-line?
[Wendy volunteered to look at how many non-majors are in the video classes, this would give an indication as IM students have priority]
- Animation – group discussion to conceptualize overall animation sequencing: computer, traditional, etc.
- AREA ORIENTATION needed in first year, again in first term, and again in Hybrid Media.
- action: include overview facilities (and curriculum) orientation in first year syllabus.
- Introduce technicians, Review facilities in Hybrid
- WEB faculty need to get together for curriculum develoopment re:2007/2008 ALL FACULTY NEED TO BE AWARE 07/08 CURRICULUM WILL BE DUE IN NOVEMBER 2006.
- Publications Digital raises naming conventions. On Line Course Calendar searches do not turn up courses addressing Web unless Web is in the title.
- (Johanna will contact IT to see if the search engine can be improved]

Engage with admissions and recruitment, outreach and university fair.
Simone is all over this. Meet with Jan Sage, put together package.

Equipment Access Policies need revision – we do have sufficient equipment now to extend access to 3rd and 4th year students. Card stamping system?

Community Building – Yael.
Judith – BLOGS – student server get Andy Morris, Local Galleries.
yael is hearing that students are not seeing each others work
put a monitor in the hall with some speakers

Simone – there is a projector and speakers in the Fourth Floor 113 McCaul for first year faculty to show.
Kim – things will be projected in the cage window.
Yael – has obtained a G4 which is in the viewing room
Bentley – Sonic Lunches: Room 330 and/or Great Hall (Christine S.)

Judith: Scholarships – every year someone says they will fundraise but so far nothing
Banff New Media Institute: 2 graduates and 1 faculty
- Faculty Get Togethers – going for drinks at the Rex

Intermediate Concerns
Thesis Restructuring – Photo and D+P will be offering a 1 credit (.5 seminar, .5 studio) option.

Shared Labs become a scheduling concern
- Time-Based Media will move into the fall only in 2006 in order to avoid the conflicts with PID.
- Super Lab is 665. We should use it.
- Judith is our lab watchdog.
HD TV needs special funding: CFI Grant, project driven interdisciplinary initialtive.

Future Issues

Masters Programs impact on undergrad.
Masters proposals
Growth + New hires
Growth through collaboration: Should these be INTER courses, cross-listed
We need to meet curriculum group to curriculum group with Ass Deans
SCIN – three dimensional space
MAAD – wearable tech., thermochromic and sensor technology
Design – wearable tech., 3d space, etc.

Space – new facilities discussion
Laptop program enables student mobility. Can there be bursuries? Or through CFI?
Open Source ?
PC/MAC split.
High tech/low tech split
FtoF/Blog

OK WE NOW HAVE DECIDED THAT WE WILL BLOG INSTEAD OF EMAIL IN REGARDS TO MEETINGS. THIS WILL NOT REPLACE F TO F MEETINGS BUT IT WILL REDUCE THE EMAIL CLUTTER. JUDITH IS GOING TO SEND JOHANNA AN INVITATION.

Groups:
Thesis restructuring: Thesis versus “Senior Studio”, Room 340 issues.

Collaborations/Curriculum

Community Building

Growth, Space, Equipment, Research Projects, Laptop

FOR THE NEXT MEETING WE SHOULD
ANIMATION GROUP AND WEB GROUP SHOULD
ACCESS POLICIES – TECHNICIANS GROUP