BA Multimedia

BSc. Visual Communication

The restructured undergraduate programme  BSc. Visual Communication is designed to equip students in the art and craft of multimedia production so as to enable them to emerge as thoroughbred professionals matching the manpower needs of the fast growing multimedia industry. Towards this end, the Programme besides providing for a good grounding in the theory of the core as well as complementary areas, enhances the scope for practical training in the core areas of multimedia productions.

Course Duration

The Programmes shall be of six semesters spread across three years.

Eligibility for Admission

Candidates who have passed Plus two course with not less than 45% marks in aggregate

shall be eligible to apply for admission to the BSc. Visual Communication programme. Relaxation of 5% marks will be allowed to candidates belonging to socially and educationally backward communities as referred to

by Govt. of Kerala. SC/ST candidates need have only a pass in their qualifying degree examinations.

Those awaiting results of their qualifying examinations also can apply. But such candidates will be

admitted provided they produce the marks sheets of the qualifying examination on or before the date

prescribed for admission.

Admission Criteria

Admission to the Programme shall be based on the marks secured by candidates in the qualifying examinations. Candidates who have diploma/certificate courses in multimedia/computer/IT/fine arts will be given weightage as indicated below provided they produce relevant certificates.

1. Diploma in computer/IT/Fine arts subjects of 10 months duration or more 5 marks
2. Certificate/short term courses in IT/computer/Fine arts subjects 3 marks

Candidates will be given weightage in only one of the categories, whichever is highest. To earn

weightage candidates should produce relevant certificates.

Course Requirements

Students should attend the prescribed lecture and practical sessions without fail and should submit their assignments, practical work and projects in the prescribed mode within the deadlines. Those who fail to put in 75% attendance in both the lecture and practical sessions will not be permitted to appear for the semester-end examinations. The University can however condone the shortage of attendance as per the rules and procedures framed by it from time to time. Core Course

Course Content

Along with the regular language learning under language reduced programme of the University the students have to undergo theory and practical training in the following subjects.

Semester I

1: Introduction to Communication

Complementary course 1: Introduction to Computer

Complementary course 2: Media Laws and Ethics

Semester II

Core Course 2: Creativity and Design Skills

Complementary course 3: Fundamentals of Multimedia

Complementary course 4: Introduction to Cinema

Semester III

Core Course 3: Media Publishing

Core Course 4: Computer Graphics

Complementary course 5: Digital Photography

Complementary course 6: Design and pagination

Semester IV

Core Course 5: Scripting for Media

Core Course 6: Introduction to Videography

Core Course 7: Fundamentals of Web Designing

Complementary course 7: Multimedia Journalism and E-Content Development

Complementary course 8: Advertising

Semester V

Core Course 8: Techniques of Post Production – Visual Editing

Core Course 9: Techniques of Post Production –Sound Recording, Editing and Mastering

Core Course 10: Introduction to 3D Modeling and Texturing

Core Course 11: Advanced Web Designing

Core Course 12: Audio & Video Editing Project

Open Course 1: Film Studies

Semester VI

Core Course 13: Multimedia Designing & Authoring

Core Course 14: Introduction to Motion Graphics

Core Course 15: Television Production (Digital Media)

Core Course 16: Advanced 3D Animation, Vfx and Compositing

Core Course 17: Multimedia Project

Core Course 18: Web Site Project

Learning in basic and advanced Computer programmes

Computer basics – CPU, memory and storage devices; input/output devices; communication devices; operating systems – DOS, Linux, Unix; Cross-platforms problems and solutions; workstations; networks. : Analog and digital principles; image formats; video formats; resolutions and pixels; internet : File Transfer Protocol and Real-Time Transport Protocol, mobile communication

technology: GSM, CDMA and GPRS, to 3G,Wireless network technologies such as IrDA, Bluetooth, Wireless USB, Z-Wave, ZigBeeWireless LAN, interactivity, brain control interface.

Introduction to MS Office- MS word Spreadsheet basics. Excel environment. Entering data. Excel toolbars. Creation and manipulation of charts and graphs. Manipulation of data. Mathematical and statistical calculations. Introduction to PowerPoint. Starting PowerPoint. AutoContent Wizard. Working with texts, graphs, pictures, audio, and video in slides. Design templates.

Types of Graphic card- Fire wire card- Types of Audio card- Studio monitors- External Sound Cards- VGA Splitter- VGA to HDMI converter- HDMI input and output- RCA cables- MIDI cables- VGA Switch- Fire wire cable- Meaning and scope of the Internet. Surfing the Net. Creating, sending and receiving e-mails using Outlook Express and hosting websites. Browsing the WWW. Downloading from and uploading to the Internet. Online journalism.

Learning Design

Creativity: Creative skills; Creativity factors-imagination and visualization; Tools of creativity; art and science of creativity.

Design skills: concept of design; design principles; traditional and modern designs; basic designs for cards, posters, brochures, newspapers and magazines and advertisements.

Drawing skills; basic drawing skills; drawing living and non-living objects; drawing backgrounds;  adding depth and perspective; use of Colours and tones; Colour sense.

Colour theory -RGB-RYB-CMYK-primary colours-secondary colours-tertiary colours-rays colours-Ink colours-tint-shades, Colour Practical Colour mixing-Colour makingapplying Colours-Secondary Colour mixing- tertiary Colour mixing-making- Colour wheeldefine Colours-cool Colours-Warm Colours Colour, tint & Shades, making tints-making shades about black and white.

Multimedia

Definition of Multimedia, elements of Multimedia features of Multimedia and applications of Multimedia. Multimedia file formats, standards, data compression techniques, typo graphs, fonts,

font formats, hypertext, communication protocols.

Digital still photography, image authoring and editing tools, image file format, jpg, TIFF, GIF, contrast, brightness, Hue, slicing, aspect ratio, gray scale, filters, image enhancing designing technique.Video in Multimedia, analog and digital signals, video for N and web, video shooting,capturing, editing techniques, video storage formats. Sound in Multimedia, characteristic of sound, acoustics, recording techniques, and mixing, mastering, audio storing formats.

Multimedia applications in business, education and entertainment; multimedia teamproject

manager, designers, writers, video/audio specialists, multimedia programmers. Multimedia production – idea/concept, outline, script, storyboard, templates; user interface; production and delivery strategies; design and navigation structures-linear, hierarchical, non-linear and composites; hotspots and buttons; multimedia building blocks preparation and assembling, pre-and post-production problems and solutions.

Multimedia authoring tools – page based, icon based, time based and object oriented tools; structured programming and techniques. production tools and applications; interfaces; working with scores and cast members; importing text/images; working with action scripts and OOPs, Extras, assembling a multimedia project; CD Rom delivery.

E- content Development

Introduction to online journalism, portals, blog writing, social media, e-zines, ejournals, e-newspaper, IMDb, you tube, web 3.0. Essentials of writing for web, hypertext, web archives, search options, search engines, optimizations, multimedia content development. Writing and reporting live use of mobile devices in online journalism, interactive communication, user-generated content, content uploading, content management system, Joomla. Citizen Journalism, professional ethics, IPR, free and open source software, creative commons, privacy copyright act.

Introduction to E-Content Development. Definitions of e-content, Types of e-content, Examples of e-content. Scope and career opportunities in e-content development. Basics of EContent

Development. Learner needs analysis, Design document, Course map, Writing learning objectives. Content analysis, Content chunking, Working with SMEs. Storyboarding for e-content. The e-content development cycle. E-content development tools. Multimedia elements: Working with graphics, animation, narration and audio. Technical considerations: Introduction to LMS, LCMS, SCORM and AICC.

Instructional Strategy for E-content Development. Learner Engagement: Engaging learners through interactivity, branching, visualization of content. Types of interactivity for econtent:Point and click, drag and drop, text-input, match, system process simulations. Presentation Strategy: Scenario-based learning, Game-based learning, Virtual coaches and avatars. Cognitive overload: Ways to avoid. Assessments: Types of assessment, Types of feedback, monitoring the learner’s progress through CYUs and self-assessments. Different ways of delivering e-content: Synchronous versus asynchronous Practical: E-Content Development Tools,

Basics of Web Programming using HTML.

Photography

History of Photography; role of Photography in communication and journalism; nature, scope and functions of Digital Photography; Understanding the camera – types of camera, lens, films and filters; Types of photography – portrait, candid shot, news photo, photo feature, landscape, nature and wildlife, and sports difference between analogue and digital photography. Qualifications and responsibilities of photojournalists; sources, covering issues, writing captions and cut lines for photo; legal and ethical aspects of Digital Photography.

Holding the camera; using tripods and monopods; tricks and tips; white balance; shift;

bracketing; choosing; Colour temperature; white balance preset; light; shutter speed; aperture; ISO, ASA, DIN; the relationship between light, shutter speed, aperture and ISO; mobile camera; point and shoot; SLR, built in- digital and digital backs.

Understanding the camera; types of cameras – analog and digital; lenses, films and filters; Focusing, shutter speed, aperture, depth of field; Rules of composition. Lighting sources – ambient/natural light; hard and soft lights; light fixtures and reflectors; indoor lights; functions of lighting. Available light; artificial light; hard and soft light; definition of subject detail and shape; choosing the right Colour; moving camera and subject; high shutter speed and low shutter speed; frozen picture; movement in picture; control of lighting conditions; Colour difference in relation to shutter speed; shallow depth of field and increased depth of field; varying ISO for getting more depth; speed and light.

Film Making

History Of Cinema, evolution of sound films,the major cinema movements – German expressionism, Soviet montage, Italian neo-realism,French new wave, Latin American Cinema, Hollywood cinema, Japanese cinema, African cinema and Indian cinema.

Film terminology; characteristics, potentials and limitations of cinema; types of films – feature films, documentaries, short films, animations and others; cinema today-Hollywood, Bollywood and south India. Defining film and film language – shot, scene, sequence, screenplay; cuts and transitions, misen-scene and montage.

Pre-production –Production- Post-Production

A comprehensive overview of Malayalam Cinema.

Script writing for Media

What is a script? Types of scripts – documentary, short films, feature films ad sports, educational, corporate presentations; script presentation styles. Key elements of a good script – structure, clarity, coherence, flow of ideas, interest; media and material selection; stages of scripting idea, proposal, treatment, script development, revision of the script. Important hints of multimedia scripts.

Writing Television Script. advertisements, game show, variety programmes, information programmes, children, women and minority programmes. Concept of spoken language. Relation between narration and visuals. Script layout: treatment, screenplay one page and split page. From script to storyboard; planning a storyboard; objectives of story board, organizing elements; stand story board styles for multimedia projects.

The art of writing for films; Fundamentals of film screenwriting; Script formats;stages of script and screenplay – idea, research, treatment, draft script, revision of script; Structure, Characters Dialogue, Hiring a Writer, Optioning a Screenplay.

Television Production

Concepts creation; Programme selection; Program me formats documentaries, docu drama;

fiction; sitcoms; soap opera; quiz; news and news based program me, program me treatment; program me briefs objectives, content, duration, selection of crew, cast and properties; floor management.

Media Research; Importance of research; types of research-qualitative, quantitative, kinds of research-historical, ex-post-facto, survey, content analysis; program me research literature/document research, interviews; collection of material, authenticating information; statistical data analysis and interpretation.

Production planning, pre-production planning-duties and responsibilities of producer/director. Production techniques- Camera for TV, Single camera and Multi-camera productions, treatment, screenplay, shoot, script, storyboard; documentary, serial, talk show, interview, demonstration, discussion, profiles, commercials. Set designing and makeup –visualization and composition-aesthetics-directing the actors directing the crew. Planning and Production of indoor and outdoor shootings, planning and management of live shows. Multi Camera productions – live telecast – switchers

Anchoring and safety measures: role and responsibilities of anchor person; qualities and qualification of an anchor; anchoring techniques and styles; safety measures in production in indoors and outdoor locations. Post-production editing for commercials; for news reporting; for live programmes. Narrative editing and non-narrative editing, sound for television, digital audio workstation. Effective shots, File shots, Footages, Special effects. graphics and animation, Chroma key usage and Economy shooting methods.

Animation- 2D and 3D

Introduction to Motion graphics- History of motion graphics- footage- Animation- Key frames- Nodes- Flowchart-Visual compositing- keying (Green and Blue)- Alpha compositing- Matte painting- wire removal- 3D cameras- Lighting.

Layers- Compositions- Video standards- camera movements- titling- Particle emitters- Advanced Colour corrections- import video, Masking- Motion Tracking- Advanced transformation- 3D Layer- Keyframe assistant- Effects- Third Party Plug-in- Use Clone Stamp Tool-Advanced Animation – Null Object-  Rendering (RAM).Building and Animating a 3D Object- Using 3D Features- Distorting objects with the puppet tools- stop motion animation-cinematic terminology- Utilize three kinds of interpolation: linear, Bezier, and hold to define the relationships between key frames.

Introduction to Colour Correction; Colour Correction Features and applications, Colour Correction Filters; Colour Correction Examples; TExtreme; Rendering and Video Processing; Mixed- Format Sequences; Backing Up and Restoring, Introduction to DI colouring Technology.

Develop the skills to make original animations with text and objects. Create and import masks, layer masks, and backgrounds from combine video and still images. Use blending modes to correct Colour, lighting, and sharpness in video footage and still images. Implement the basics of rotoscoping to composite a video. Slow down and speed up movie clips through time remapping. Utilize painting and erasing tools to add or remove elements from a movie. Gain techniques

Principles of animation – Types of animation:- stop-motion – 2D – 3D – Clay animation – Cut-out animation- cell animation. Animation production terminology- Light box. Animation techniques – Key frame animation; editing keyframes; track Views Animating modifiers; hierarchies; animation helps and controls; forward kinematics and inverse kinematics.

Camera Animation – Attaching Camera – rendering different cameras. Animating Texts. Path Animation – Motion Capturing- morphing and wrapping. Use of Graph Editor – Basics of rigging -Facial Animation –Character animation- walk cycle- run cycle –cycle animation with animals.

What is light & its theory, attributes & shadows. spotlights – on stage – in motion pictures- Directional lights- Ambient lights – Point lights – Area lights – application, characteristics, properties and palettes for the above 3-point lighting concepts, Three-point lighting in visual media such as video, film, still photography and computer generated imagery- effective use of key light- fill light – back light.

Special effects – Types of Effects their applications and advantages; -Smoke effects – fire effects – etc. Particle Systems- introducing the particle emitter-introducing particle interactor & deflectors Configuring a particle emitter-creating particle collision-using interactors to make particles track an object.

Sound Recording and Editing

Introduction to Sound, Sound characteristics, midi and digital sounds, psychoacoustics; audio recording techniques; sound mixes/synthesizers; audio recording devices; signal ratio. Perception of sound, hearing sensitivity, frequency, range-sound wave length-measuring sound-basic setup of recording system-analog/digital cables, connectors, analogue to digital conversion. Microphone types unidirectional, bidirectional, Omnidirectional, cardioids-direction and pickup pattern, noise, choosing the right mike, technique sound reproduction devices, input devices, various sound file extensions.

Audio studio fundamentals: DVD contents, signal flow, gain stages, IIO setup, types of tracks, creating a new session in Pro Tools, keyboard shortcuts. Pro Tools recording techniques: setting recording levels, sample rate and bit depth, sound wave fundamentals, deeper into sampling, sampling and antialiasing, quantizing and coding, hard drive space requirements, disk allocation, session parameters, buffer settings and latency times, the basics of microphones and microphone techniques, importing audio and session data, keyboard shortcuts, assignment : the ultimate recording.

File formats; data selection; recording audio; recording modes and media; audio mixing; audio formats; MP3s Location sound recording, Separate Audio vs In Camera Audio, Leads and Adapters, Microphone Accessories, Lavalier Tie Clip Placement, Boom Mic Placement, Recording Gigs & Amplified Performances, Wildtrack & Room Tone, Syncing Audio. Basic of audio editing and Mastering; conversion of files from one format to another; mono-stereo conversions; spectrum analysis. Techniques of Mastering, Surround Sound Creation , Audio special effects; audio plug-ins; pre-recorded audio editing; copy right issues. Recording: busses, playlists, use of sound effects, dialogue, music. Equalization. balancing of levels- panning, mixing, creative use of soundtrack, the art of producing and recording Your Own Music, memory locations and markers, window configurations and arrangements, using inserts, the basics of effects loops, headphones and headphone mixers.

Video Recording and Visual Editing

Basics of video signals; signal-noise ratio; video standards; analog and digital video; video for TV and Web Video in multimedia;. Editing in Digital era:’ Standardization in formats and aspect ratio in Television; Action cutting; Sequence cutting; Parallel cutting; Editing styles in advertising; Editing dramatic scenes; Dramatic continuity.

Basics of video production techniques and technologies; Visual recording equipments-cameras and VTRs – analog and digital, Light fixtures; Basics of Video editing – linear and non-linear, non-linear editing equipment and software. Shot logging; metadata, reshoot; EDL; importing and organizing, video clips; timeline tools; trimming clips.

Introduction video editing softwares- features and characteristics; importing and organizing video clips; timeline tools; clips trimming; batch capturing; capturing with and without device controls. timing; ordering of shots; manipulating time through editing continuity; structuring a scene; structuring a film/programme; mixing under tracks; editing and organizing audio effects; monitoring and adjusting audio levels; applying transitions to fade volume; setting keyframes to change volume; using the audio mixer; recording a narration track; applying filters; viewing and modifying filter parameters; applying audio filters; using a Colour correction filter; animating filters.

Video editing techniques; transition devices/effects; Audio tracks; Mixing audio tracks; Editing and organizing audio monitoring and adjusting audio levels; Setting keyframes to change Usage of an audio mixer; Recording a narrative track.Audio and Video Channels, Alpha Compositing, Visual Compositing, Chroma Keying, Trimming, Advanced Colour Corrections, Third Party Plug-ins, Final Compression, Final Rendering. preparing the project to the finish; detecting audio peaks; adjusting video levels for broadcast; exporting quicktime files; compressor; outputting to tape; making a timecode window burn; backing up projects.

Web Designing and Launching

The internet : Introduction – internet defined – internet history – the way the internet works – internet congestion – Internet culture – Business culture and the internet – collaborative computing and the internet . World Wide Web : introduction the web defined – web browser details – web writing styles – web presentation outline, design , and management – registering web pages. Types web sites- Principles of web designing.

Introduction to HTML. HTML Tags and their applications. Commonly used HTML Commands Structure of an HTML program. Document Body. Lists Types of Lists (Unordered List (Bullets). Ordered Lists (Numbering), Definition Lists). Adding Graphics to HTML Documents. Basics of Javascript. Features and characteristics of web authoring tools; interfaces; images; website creation process; working with text-formatting, importing, editing text; links-adding; modifying, layers, forms; working with templates, shock waves.

User interface design – Webpage layout- Header banner Design – Design aesthetics- layouts- Poster Layout Design – collage – inputting Text – Adding Title – Matte painting for web page – creating Web Pages to suit client needs.

Java Programming: Constants, Variables and Data Types – Operators and Expressions – Decision Making and Branching – Decision Making and Looping. Classes, Objects and Methods – Arrays, Strings and Vectors – Interfaces: Multiple Inheritances

CSS features and Usage, Creating and Managing CSS, Site and Manage Site, Meta Tags, Tag inspector, behaviors, Creating Lists, Tables, Tags, Links, (External Document References, Internal Document References); Images as Hyperlinks (Image Maps), Hyperlinks, Frames and their usage, Spry Framework, Dynamic Data, Forms, CSS Styles, Div Tags, Edit tag and Quick Tag editor, Creating Pages with CSS, Dynamic Pages, Adding external content to the page- animation- Sound Contents-Visuals. Multimedia for www; web servers, browsers; web page markers and editors.

What is jQuery? , Downloading and installing jQuery , Creating a simple jQuery, enabled page, Overview of jQuery’s features Retrieving Page Content, Using basic jQuery selectors , Using basic jQuery filters , Using jQuery attribute filters, Child, visibility, and content filters , Form selectors and filters, Traversing documents Understanding jQuery statement , chaining, Manipulating Page, Content Creating, getting, and setting content, Manipulating attributes, Inserting content, Wrapping, replacing, and removing content, Working with CSS. Working with Events, Understanding the jQuery event, handling features, Binding and unbinding events Convenient event helper methods, Using the jQuery event object, jQuery Animations and Effects, Hiding and showing elements, Fading elements in and out, Sliding elements Creating custom animations, Using the jQuery UI Plug –In. Putting It All Together Overview of the sample web site, Using the accordion widget, Creating an image rotator Building hover tooltips, Making an image selector ,Using the Resizable effect.

Introduction to authoring tools for 2D animation, SWF, FLA, FLV, streaming media, key frame animation, shape animation; path animation, actionscript, Global Functions, Buttons, use of actionscript in animation, integrating audio with animation, Export SWF File Formats. Testing a website, site launch, validating web pages; troubleshooting, moving website in internet, understanding server models; creating dynamic pages; passwords and protection of web pages.

Projects

1. Audio & Video Editing Project

Each of students should carry out a 5-minute project to demonstrate their proficiency in

assembling and editing video and audio footage.

2. Web Designing Project

Each of the students should independently conceive and build a Website of an organization of

his/her choice under the guidance of a faculty member of the Department. The Website should be complete with home pages, links and hyperlinks pictures, logos, illustrations, test and other features that are essential in a professionally built website. The project should be submitted in DVD format. A project record should be submitted along with the DVD.

3.Film making Project

The students should submit a Multimedia Project (Group) at the end of Sixth semester. They have to do a project work in a group under the guidance of a faculty member of the Department. Maximum number of students in a group is four. Each of the group should conceive and execute a multimedia project of at least 10 minutes duration on any topic/theme. The project must encompass all building blocks (text, pictures, graphics, video, sound) and these should be assembled using appropriate authoring software. The project should be submitted in DVD format. A project record should be submitted along with the DVD. It is a group project and all students in the group must have a role in the project.