Students work independently with their advisor towards completion of their capstone experience for their BFA degree. Students have a predetermined timeline and must complete all deadlines of that timeline to pass this thesis course including completion and public screening of finished work or final presentation of craft experience.

SOFA Independent Study will provide students with the ability to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. Students, with the assistance of a faculty adviser, should propose a course of study or project with clearly defined deliverables. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll. Student must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to apply.

A forum to establish among a diverse student group a common vocabulary for discussing film language and structure, collaborative relationships, and a sense of community, while exploring issues related to scene analysis, production practice and planning, story boarding, story telling, visual music, School of Film and Animation policies and professional business realities.

Students work independently with their advisor towards completion of their capstone experience for their BFA degree. Students have a predetermined timeline and must complete all deadlines to pass this course.

Film and Animation Graduate Independent Study will provide students with the ability to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. Students, with the assistance of a faculty adviser, should propose a course of study or project with clearly defined deliverables. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll. Student must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to apply.

This is the second of two courses designed to advance a student towards completion of their thesis. Students will work independently on their approved plan of work for their thesis while meeting on a regular basis with their committee chair. They are required to meet at least twice with their full committee during the semester as well as present a final screening of their thesis.

This is the first of two courses designed to advance a student towards completion of their thesis. Students will work independently on their approved plan of work for their thesis while meeting on a regular basis with their committee chair. They are required to meet at least twice with their full committee during the semester.

This introductory course will give graduate students a basic and solid understanding of stop-motion animation. The class will cover aspects of stop-motion in its various forms but will mainly concentrate on stop-motion puppet / character animation. There will be demonstrations on model fabrication, animation techniques and camera / grip techniques. Topics, such as latex and silicon mold-making and intensive postproduction techniques will be introduced.

This is an introductory course that will give students a basic and solid understanding of stop-motion animation. The class covers all aspects of stop-motion in its various forms but will mainly concentrate on stop-motion puppet/character animation. There will be demonstrations on model fabrication, animation techniques and camera/grip techniques. More in-depth topics, like latex and silicon mold making and intensive post production techniques will be introduced. There will be opportunities for students to practice animation with specific goals and assignments.

Continuation of thesis course provides MFA students’ additional semester(s) to complete their thesis research and supporting documents. Taking COT before a Thesis film is screened needs to have the approval of the Graduate Director.

Provides the student with on-the-job experience in the field of film/video/animation. The student seeks and acquires a school approved internship position in a business or industry. The working environment provides the forum for learning more about the student's chosen career. A final interview with the internship coordinator assists the student in evaluating the experience. The coordinator should be the faculty member most familiar with the student's internship field.

Cooperative Education will provide Film and Animation students with hands-on experience in their field, directly related to a student’s major with an established studio or related business. Students will need to apply for co-ops, and interview as part of the selection process, based on available positions posted by the Co-op and Career Services Office, or found through the students’ own research. In programs where co-op is a degree requirement, students must obtain permission of their program or graduate director prior to enrollment. Co-ops are typically paid work experience, and can be part-time (150-479 total hours within the term), or full-time (480+ hours within the term). Co-ops may be one or two consecutive terms - fall, spring, or summer – with department permission.

Cooperative Education will provide Film and Animation students with hands-on experience in their field, directly related to a student’s major with an established studio or related business. Students will need to apply for co-ops, and interview as part of the selection process, based on available positions posted by the Co-op and Career Services Office, or found through the students’ own research. In programs where co-op is a degree requirement, students must obtain permission of their program or graduate director prior to enrollment. Co-ops are typically paid work experience, and can be part-time (150-479 total hours within the term), or full-time (480+ hours within the term). Co-ops may be one or two consecutive terms - fall, spring, or summer – with department permission.

This course will focus on the role of the small animation business owner, the studio employee, and the individual freelance animator in developing a small business. The elements of discussion will teach students how to approach animation work in the industry from a small business perspective. This course will discuss the creation of sample reels, websites, self-promotion, contracts, pitching, fund-raising, research and interview techniques all related to the individual in animation. Ethics and individual responsibilities will also be discussed. Professionals working in the animation industry will often be guests for the class.

This course will give students an opportunity to explore a visual language of acting and posing that will help their storytelling abilities. Acting, timing and pacing are critical elements to any successful character animated film. Identifying and building a library of expressions, poses, and movement for emotional and visual expression is the goal for each student. Students will study reference material from silent and animated films. Students will also create their own reference material through acting and filming. The visual references will be scrutinized on a frame-by-frame basis for a deeper understanding of this visual language. Students will produce animated studies related to the acting principles.

Students will explore all phases of animation short film production. Students design and produce a short film with sound that must be screened for the RIT community.