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.

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.

An exploration of the interconnected careers of the entertainment industry and the city of Los Angeles for a behind-the-scenes look at either film or animation. Students travel during the winter break. During the course students will discuss the industry, city, and their travel. This course has a mandatory travel component and requires an additional travel fee. Permission to enroll is required.

This course is an introduction to three-dimensional computer animation and character rigging. The basic principles of animation will be addressed in relation to three-dimensional animation. Character rigging techniques are presented and will include skeletons and animation controls. Students produce a series of short 3D computer animations and some basic character rigs. Students will become familiar with a variety of 3D computer animation techniques.

In this advanced three-dimensional modeling course, students will refine their knowledge and skills by creating objects and characters in 3D space. Students will build and create on their previous modeling knowledge and will be introduced to digital sculpting. Modeling concepts such as edge-loop placement for proper animation deformation will be emphasized.

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.

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 course will focus on three-dimensional character modeling. Students will learn about anatomy and creating economical topology for deformation in animation and be introduced to industry-standard digital sculpting techniques.

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 course will explore advanced character animation utilizing performance, emotion, and speech. Course content will include facial expressions and scenes with multiple characters interacting. Professional animation software will be used. By the end of the course, students will be able to create advanced biped character animation with dialogue and emotion.

This course will offer hands-on experience in manipulating live action video and applying digital effects. There is an emphasis on digital compositing using rotoscoping, image tracking, alpha channels and transparency. Composites may be accomplished through green screen shooting, transfer modes, masks, and/or traveling mattes. Node based compositing will also be addressed as well.

In this course students will learn the mechanics of motion within characters. Complete character-rigging techniques will be discussed and demonstrated. Students will gain further knowledge of a variety of three-dimensional computer animation techniques and will produce a series of short 3D computer animations using a pre-rigged character.

An exploration of the interconnected careers of the entertainment industry and the city of Los Angeles for a behind-the-scenes look at either film or animation. Students travel during the winter break. During the course students will discuss the industry, city, and their travel. This course has a mandatory travel component and requires an additional travel fee. Permission to enroll is required.

Students will learn digital compositing using rotoscoping, image tracking, alpha channels and transparency. Composites may be accomplished through green screen shooting, transfer modes, masks, and/or traveling mattes. Students will shoot their own footage to combine with their effects to create the final image. Node based compositing will be addressed as well.