Original Article: Here

UConn Pre-College Summer Courses – Storrs, Connecticut

While not technically a summer camp, the University of Connecticut holds a unique opportunity for high school students, offering Pre-College Summer courses. Strictly for rising juniors and seniors, the programs all consist of four week-long sessions for each class. In addition to the courses you select, there are exploratory workshops throughout each session on resume building, writing college essays, selecting a major and developing professional communication skills.

The diversity of class options through this program are remarkable for any student pursuing a major in a STEM field. For the technology-minded considering developing their own app to impress a future college, there are courses in Game Design, Programming, and Web Design. The Engineering courses include Global Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and a unique Makerspace design class among others. Pre-med majors will appreciate a wide variety of medical classes, from Pharmacy, Neuroscience, Medical Anthropology, and Sports Medicine. For all majors, the course in Creative Writing allows students to hone their writing skills before tackling college applications.

The courses are all taught by the universities’ top professors, allowing for early connections to be formed in the field.  The program requires an online application, which includes the submission of short-answer questions, transcripts, attendance records, and a reference. The cost of one session is listed as $2050. There is an Early Bird discount of $150 off for students applying before April 1, 2019, with a hard deadline of June 23, 2019.

(Original Article can be found on the Christie Digital Systems USA website)

PHOENIX, Ariz.​ – (February 20, 2019)

Students at the University of Connecticut’s (UConn’s) Digital Media & Design program had a big canvas to fill for their final projection mapping project. ATD Audio Visual, a full-service event production and rental company in the Bronx, New York, served as technical partner, selected the Christie Spyder X80 multi-window processor to facilitate mapping the students’ digital content onto the façade of The Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford.

The beautiful neoclassical walls, columns and pediment in the courtyard at The Bushnell lent themselves to the dynamic and colorful graphics and animations created by the UConn students. The Bushnell has been a gathering place for arts, education and community activities in Greater Hartford for almost 90 years.

“The Bushnell’s façade was ideal for projection mapping,” says Or Israel, president, ATD. “It has many 3D elements – columns, brick walls, and lions’ heads supporting the portico – which made an interesting surface to display the 1920 x 1920-resolution content. The façade had been scanned and content specs supplied to the students who built their projects on templates of the projection surface.” Favorite Color, a New York City-based design studio and production company, also created content for the show.

“It was exciting to work with ATD on this pilot for a program we hope to continue,” says Ryan Glista, Project Manager at The Bushnell’s Digital Institute and a recent UConn graduate. “This was the first partnership between The Bushnell and UConn. Seven students were completing an introduction to projection mapping course; they are all juniors and seniors with a strong background in animation. They had done projection mapping on small objects in class, but their final project was on a much bigger scale.”

ATD provided two 20,000 lumen projectors with short-throw lenses, mounted under the glass portico of the courtyard façade; a media server; and a Christie Spyder X80 multi-screen windowing processor. The project was the first projection mapping assignment for the new Spyder X80, which ATD acquired last November. In addition, Israel shared his expertise with students by teaching a two-hour class on basic projection mapping and 3D mapping at UConn.

“Or told me about the Spyder X80, and I was as excited as he was to see it in action at The Bushnell,” says Glista.

“We knew if we used the X80 it would be a stress-free show,” says Israel, who acted as project manager. “With the Spyder X80 we connect the system and everything works. I feel free to mingle with the client; without it I have to be behind the technicians making sure nothing goes wrong. Even though the X80’s success rate is extremely high, we also had the security of Spyder’s built-in redundancy; we knew the still store would step in if there were any failures.”

Glista notes that, “the show was initially supposed to be a two-day test, but when the CEO of The Bushnell saw it he was so impressed by it and what it could mean for the theater that we installed it for the three-week, sold-out run of ‘Hamilton.’ That meant thousands of people saw the projection mapping every night – how amazing for the students!”

Israel notes that ATD used the X80 on five shows in just two months. “Since we took delivery of the Spyder it’s done a number of live shows for high-end clients, including a corporate event in Manhattan with six 4K outputs and a total of 60 million pixels.”

At ATD, Riley Irving was the Spyder X80 operator for The Bushnell project and Kevin Gomez the AV Technician. At UConn, the department head was Heather Elliott-Famularo and the professor was Kevin Richetelli. The students whose work was shown were Ian D’Arcangelo, Nick Donati, Eric Fritz, Orly Mobilio, Jasmine Rajavadee, Morgan Rossi and Renoj Varghese.

About ATD Audio Visual
ATD provides AV Services for a variety of events, including presentations, conferences, meetings and trade shows. With decades of technology and programming experience, ATD offers a variety of services backed by industry-leading expertise. By guiding clients through the entire process, ATD acts as a full-service consultant providing insights, advice and unique solutions to meet specific requirements.

About Christie®
Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual and audio technologies company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world’s most advanced projectors, complete system displays, and cinema audio solutions; Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images, accompanied by awe-inspiring sound. Visit www.christiedigital.com.

Christie® is a trademark of Christie Digital Systems USA registered in the United States of America and certain other countries
DLP® is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments.

Franklin Street Works, a non-profit contemporary art space in Stamford, Conn., presents “Collective Action Archive: Redux,” an exhibition exploring the intersections between art and activism, featuring materials from dozens of U.S. artist/activist collectives.

The exhibition expands on the 2013 show, “Collective Action Archive,” which was curated collaboratively by Franklin Street Works with Purchase College, SUNY and then was accessioned into the college’s library archive. The updated group exhibition features materials from the Library’s archive along with new items from collectives who were not included in or had not yet formed at the time of the 2013 show. In the spirit of a living archive, new contributions will be added throughout the exhibition’s run. It is on view at Franklin Street Works February 9 through September 8, 2019 and launches with with a free, public reception on Saturday, February 9, 5-8pm.

Curated by Franklin Street Works creative director Terri C Smith, “Collective Action Archive: Redux” is rooted in  two past exhibitions curated by the Stamford art space. The first, “Working Alternatives: Breaking Bread, Art Broadcasting and Collective Action,” included a 2012 call to more than 90 artist/activist collectives. For the show, the materials were presented in archive boxes with only a portion on display. The second, the 2013 “Collective Action Archive,” at Purchase College Passage Gallery, opened the archive boxes to create a vibrant exhibition. Co-curated by Smith and her FSW colleague Sandrine Milet in collaboration with students and faculty from the Media Studies Department at Purchase College, it featured materials gathered from artist/activist collectives. When the exhibition closed, its contents were accessioned into the Purchase College Library archive, becoming a resource for students and scholars. That archive along with new, borrowed materials will form the 2019 exhibition “Collective Action Archive: Redux.”Photos, videos, artworks, pamphlets and texts by more than 3-dozen artist/activist collectives from across the United States will be on view, including contributions from longtime collectives such as ABC No Rio, the Guerrilla Girls, Paper Tiger TV, subRosa, and Temporary Services.

Programming for “Collective Action Archive: Redux” will include: talks by exhibiting collectives, informal presentations by regional activist organizations, and discussion groups about the often contradictory relationship between social activism and the arts.

Exhibiting artist/activist collectives include: ABC No Rio, Artists Against Apartheid, Big Tent, Codify Art, Conflict Kitchen, Critical Making, fierce pussy, Floating Lab Collective, Futurefarmers, Ghana ThinkTank, Guerrilla Girls, Guffey Hollow, Howling Mob Society, Illegal Art, Just Seeds, Kitchen Sink, Knifeandfork, Lucky Pierre, M12 Collective, Meme Rider Media Team, National Bitter Melon Council, Okay Mountain Collective, Paper Tiger TV, Philly Stake, Preemptive Media, Publication Studio, RAGGA, Regional Relationships, Second Front, Students of the African Diaspora, subRosa, Temporary Services, The Pinky Show, W.A.G.E., and Work Progress Collective.

Saturday, March 9, 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Knifeandfork: Brian House and Sue Huang in Conversation

Brian House and Sue Huang of the internationally exhibiting media arts collaborative Knifeandfork will discuss their practice. Sponsored by Stamford Community Arts Partnership Program (CAPP) grant.

Event Details: http://www.franklinstreetworks.org/event/media-arts-collaborative-knifeandfork-in-conversation/

Franklin Street Works is a not-for- profit contemporary art space whose mission is to manifest contemporary art in a professional and welcoming setting. Franklin Street Works aims to broaden community participation in the arts, contribute to a larger arts dialogue, and cultivate emerging artists. To date, the organization has exhibited the work of more than 350 artists, curated 30 original exhibitions, and organized approximately 150 programs, including talks, tours, and performances. Their work has received national and regional support, including two multi-year grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts as well as regional grants from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, Connecticut Office of the Arts, New Canaan Community Foundation, among others. Exhibitions have been recognized with positive reviews in major publications such as Artforum online, Art in America online, Art Papers, The Brooklyn Rail, Huffington Post, Hyperallergic, Art New England, Modern Painters and Two Coats of Paint.

Franklin Street Works is located at 41 Franklin Street in downtown Stamford, Connecticut. Click here for more on directions and parking: http://www.franklinstreetworks.org/visit/

Franklin Street Works has an ADA compliant ramp to our back door on the first floor and is accessible from Franklin St. Once inside there is an elevator and bathrooms are spacious but do not have grab bars.

With the help of a $25,000 Digital Projects for the Public award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), researchers from UConn’s Digital Media and Design Department in the School of Fine Arts, UConn Library’s Archives & Special Collections (ASC), and Neag School of Education are working with colleagues across the globe to make this project a reality.

The team hopes that their Courtroom 600 project – named for the courtroom in the Justizpalast in Nuremberg, Germany, where the trials took place – will draw learners into ongoing thought and empathetic discussion about human rights both past and present.

“The Courtroom 600 project team is grateful for the opportunity NEH funding will provide to advance this work,” says principal investigator Ken Thompson, assistant professor-in-residence of game design. “Evidence shows there is a significant decline in Holocaust awareness, with one study citing that 1 out of 5 millennials haven’t heard of or are not sure if they have heard of the Holocaust. As publically engaged scholars, we believe it is critical to create engaging and well-informed educational experiences to begin to address this disconnect, and the Courtroom 600 project aims to do just that.”

The goal of Courtroom 600 is to engage learners in historical thinking processes as they explore international justice and Holocaust histories through the lens of the major war criminals trials that took place in Nuremberg, before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in 1945-1946.

Although the trials were held more than 70 years ago, their impact is still evident in modern international law. Legacies of the IMT include the development of international criminal courts, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and the “Nuremberg Code” of medical and scientific ethics.

The research and advisory team, which includes experts in educational psychology, digital public humanities, human rights, international law, and Holocaust history, considers teaching learners how to evaluate the nature of evidence as a critical first step in understanding the histories and legacies of the Holocaust and the IMT. Among other aims, the Courtroom 600 VR experience will also write women’s roles and Jewish resistance back into Holocaust history.

While the project seeks to help users have a personal encounter with an important event from Holocaust history, the technology behind the project couldn’t be more futuristic. The team has completed a technological proof-of-concept, with software code that connects the UConn Library’s digital repository to various systems used for educational VR experiences.

Embodying a fictitious member of the U.S. prosecutorial team, learners must investigate digitized copies of documents, photographs, and other primary source materials. Then, aided by materials that provide historical context, they piece together an understanding of past events and accumulate evidence against selected defendants.

When finished with the discovery phase of the investigation, the Courtroom 600 experience places learners in a three-dimensional, human-scale reproduction of Courtroom 600. Here they listen to testimony, interrogate witnesses and defendants, and consult with the prosecuting attorneys on their team about strategy – in other words, learners actively experience the trials instead of passively hearing about them.

The archival materials used for the virtual experience are pulled in real time from executive trial counsel Thomas J. Dodd’s papers housed at UConn Library’s Archives and Special Collections in Storrs. Through one of the first collaborative projects of its kind in the nation, UConn and partner organizations digitized 50,000 depositions, photographs, pieces of evidence, correspondence, drafts of legal briefs, and other documents from the Nuremberg Trials for use by scholars and now the public.

“The potential impacts of Courtroom 600 extend beyond its subject matter and beyond its proposed approaches to engaging self-directed learners in Holocaust history,” says Greg Colati, co-investigator on the project and assistant university librarian for University Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Curation. “It also demonstrates the value of interoperable data standards so we can increase the versatility and discoverability of digital collections and allow people to personally interact with media and history.”

Thanks to the recently awarded NEH funding, members of the Courtroom 600 project and a panel of national and international experts will meet in Storrs for a two-day charrette in June 2019. Project collaborators include specialists from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, and the Memorium Nürnberger Prozesse(Nuremberg Trials Memorial) in Germany. They will have the opportunity to don VR headsets, take up the controls, and spend time experiencing the prototype for themselves. In addition to gathering information on possible approaches to the narrative, learning objectives, and visual treatments in focus groups, the software will capture data about user interactions to refine the prototype.

The June meeting will also involve discussions of what it means to present Holocaust history through this new medium.

“The use of immersive, interactive VR technologies to educate learners about difficult histories by ‘placing’ them in convincing simulations of the past is still a relatively new area of work,” says co-PI Clarissa Ceglio, assistant professor of digital humanities. “And it comes with a number of important ethical questions that need to be addressed. Sharing how we work through these issues will be one of the key contributions that Courtroom 600 makes to the field.”

The NEH funding will bring the project closer to completing a prototype of the first educational module of the Courtroom 600 experience. The team will test the module at UConn and with collaborating museums dedicated to Holocaust and human rights histories.

UConn Today Article: Growing Connecticut’s Digital Media Pipeline
December 5, 2018 – Anna Zarra Aldrich ’20 (CLAS), Office of the Vice President for Research

Many movies we see now include computer-generated images of dragons, aliens, castles, or other fantastical things that can transport us into another reality – a far cry from where we were a few decades ago with films like “Jaws” or “Star Wars” featuring less-than-convincing creatures and special effects.

Just as movies are evolving, so is the field of film making to include new opportunities to create video content for the web and social media.

A revitalized program, Digital Media CT 2018, is working to address critical workforce development needs and respond to the film industry’s needs. Led by Matthew Worwood, Heather Elliott-Famularo, and Michael Vertefeuille from UConn’s Department of Digital Media and Design, Digital Media CT 2018 is funded by a $150,000 grant from the Connecticut Economic Resource Center.

In 2008, the state of Connecticut established the Film Industry Training Program to help young professionals entering the field develop the skills to work in the ever-evolving world of film and digital media.

Ten years later, the program, which was re-launched in 2015 as a collaboration with the University of Connecticut, is embracing its role as a state-wide initiative to connect digital media talent to careers around the state.

“I think people can sometimes think of film, television, and digital media, and somehow connect it to that starving artist stigma,” Worwood says. “As a consequence of digital technology, including the ubiquity of social media, there are tremendous career opportunities in these fields, including here in Connecticut.”

These exciting developments in the field are exactly what inspired the creation of the Digital Media CT (DMCT) program and has continued to fuel its expansion.

The program has helped catalyze the growth of Connecticut’s film industry since its inception a decade ago, but it was not until the program re-launched with UConn that it began emphasizing digital media skills that are critical to anyone looking to enter the field today.

DMCT’s ConnectNext series features workshops and hosts speakers, which help promote the thriving industry in the state and connects hundreds of newly trained graduates and students to job opportunities in their field in Connecticut.

“As the state university of Connecticut, we have a commitment to do what we can in the Department of Digital Media & Design to help build the creative economy within the state,” Elliott-Famularo says. “Graduating students with the needed technical, aesthetic, and leadership skills will help to fill jobs – with Connecticut residents – and feed the growing film/digital media industry and let corporations know that they don’t have to look outside the state to find creative talent.”

ConnectNext workshops focus on relevant topics including motion graphics, game design, virtual reality, and social media management. These bi-weekly workshops are being held in Stamford and Hartford. The workshops will benefit high school students and recent college graduates with an interest in digital media, film, television, and other related fields.

There will also be a state-wide summit at UConn Stamford, which will promote digital media career opportunities in the state’s entertainment and business sectors.

“The state has tremendous opportunities in film, television, and digital media,” Worwood says. “High school students can pursue relevant degrees at Connecticut’s higher education institutions, and then secure employment upon graduation. Digital Media CT is designed to support this talent pipeline by connecting students to their next steps in these growing fields.”

Matthew Worwood is associate director of UConn Digital Media & Design and a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University. As a research practitioner in the learning sciences, Worwood’s past work includes the documentary “Creativity in Education: Exploring the Imbalance,” collaborating on the design and development for the Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and founding the Connecticut Student Film Festival. More recently, Worwood co-founded the Class of 2032 project where he produced the film “Class of 2032: Schooling for a Digital Culture.”

Heather Elliott-Famularo is the new department head and Donna Krenicki Professor of Design and Digital Media, who joined UConn in January 2018. She is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and digital artist and holds an MFA in art & technology from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA in art media studies-computer graphics from Syracuse University.

Michael Vertefeuille joined the UConn faculty in 1992, and since then he has worked in several capacities at the University, including teaching and as the assistant dean in the School of Business. He is currently the associate department head in the Department of Digital Media and Design. His current area of research is emerging technology with a focus on the internet of things, rendering systems, computer vision, 3D projection mapping, and wearable electronics.

 

Source

Meet Department Head Heather Elliott-Famularo! Heather joined the DMD family last semester from Bowling Green State University, where she she served as professor and chair of the Digital Arts division. Heather Elliott-Famularo is an award-winning filmmaker and artist active internationally in the fields of broadcast television, computer graphics and interactive multimedia, with a focus on collaborative digital humanities and public education.

Between Professor Elliott-Famularo’s rich background in film and digital media and her passion for education and the future of digital media, we cannot wait to see how she continues to broaden and promote the Digital Media & Design program! Since her arrival in January 2018, she has led UConn DMD through an exciting first eight months. Not only has the first floor of the Bishop Center undergone major facilities’ renovations, but we also welcomed 49 new DMD Freshmen, eight new graduate students, and six new full-time faculty members into the DMD family. Heather said she is most looking forward to working with faculty to develop and refine the curriculum, build new facilities, and broaden DMD’s outreach in Connecticut this semester. Watch her interview with us to learn more about Heather and her goals for the future of DMD.

And learn more about her here: https://dmd.uconn.edu/person/heather-elliott-famularo/

On June 7th, DMD welcomed Colombian artist Rafael Gomezbarros to view the prototype of the AntU interactive exhibit that DMD students helped develop this year in Anna Lindemann and Michael Toomey’s “AntU Traveling Exhibit Development” course. This interactive exhibit exploring the decades-long research of Carl and Marian Rettenmeyer, and the creation of the Army Ant Guest Collection, will be installed at the UConn Storrs Babbidge Library in October 2018 and will then travel to the regional campuses. Rafael Gomez Barros will bring his Casa Tomada “House Taken” installation to UConn in 2020, which will involve more than 2,500 large ant sculptures on buildings across campus!

In the AntU Traveling Exhibit Development course, students explored the use of interactive motion graphics for museum exhibition design. Working collaboratively, students developed digital media for integration within a traveling exhibit being created by AntU. Students in this course work with a team from Digital Media and Design, the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, and the UConn Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department.

AntU is an idea borne out of an award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Collections in Support of Biological Research program to the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB), in partnership with the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History (CSMNH), to preserve and curate the Carl W. and Marian E. Rettenmeyer Army Ant Guest Collection. This world-class collection of over 2 million army ants and their guests is the result of 50 years of careful, detailed fieldwork in Central and South America by the Rettenmeyers. AntU expands existing outreach components of the grant in an effort to share the secrets revealed by this project with society at large.

Multiple departments and schools across UConn campuses will be participating in AntU over the four year life of the grant, each challenged with exploring the idea “Learning from the Miniature Societies of Army Ants.” Their efforts will be guided by three overarching themes: (1) the role of the real, (2) complexity, and (3) informing human culture.

Anna Lindemann and Michael Toomey

Ali Betlej, Ali Sailer, Allie Marsh, Thomas Carter, Jacob Rodier, Nini Constable, Rachel Enzie, Helena Sirken, Corlis Fraga, and Sarah Shattuck

Dr. Janine N. Caira

Jane O’Donnell, Ph.D.

Leanne Kennedy Harty

Collin Harty

Elizabeth Barbeau

Geert Goemans, Ph.D.

Bernard Goffinet, Ph.D.

Class of 2032 is a crowdsourcing and documentary project that engages educators, students, and parents in a conversation about the future school experience. This education app helps facilitate a fifty-minute workshop that can serve as part of a lesson or professional development session for teachers.

As part of the Class of 2032 Project, a series of documentary films will be produced to explore relevant topics in our conversation about the future school experience. The first installment, Schooling for a Digital Culture introduces the context for the project from the perspective of a three-year-old boy called Ray. The film examines the origins of our Digital Culture and discusses the most pressing issues that are currently challenging the traditional system of schooling.

In partnership with Xennial Digital the Class of 2032 app helps facilitate a 1-hour workshop that can serve as part of a lesson or professional development session for teachers. As part of this experience, participants will be introduced to ideation strategies and encouraged to identify trends and potential issues regarding the future of schooling.

The Future Trends Forum

Class of 2032 Leadership

• Joel Salisbury (web design)
• Nathan Carr (logo design)
• Kate Kormushoff (logo design)
• William Battle (assistant editor)
• Danielle Brown
• Elizabeth Caron
• Thomas Lee
• Brittney Garth
• Michael Rivera Jr
• Erik Lindsay
• Matthew Bilmes
• Kevin Richetelli
• Bridget Costa
• Aaron Seitz
• DJ Rose
• Mike Carlson
• Evan Field
• Doreen Maclellan

We recently had the opportunity to interview one of UConn DMD’s 2D animation & film students, Henry Stein (’18) on his experience performing with his band “Mild Monk” at the WHUS Spring Fling. Stein recalls the experience as being nothing short of “sheer euphoria. I had the most fun I’ve ever had. Thanks to my incredible band mates and a really awesome and receptive crowd!”

What started as learning to play his acoustic guitar evolved into writing his own songs after being “compelled to add [his] own flavor” using nothing more than his iPhone and a $40 iRig which may not be the most elaborate setup, but proved to be a nonetheless successful or convenient method for his song writing.

When asked about the origin and inspiration behind the name “Mild Monk,” Stein recalled it being a combination of his mellow & mild personality and pair of monk strap shoes that he owned. He also noted that name is also an ode to two of his jazz heroes: Thelonius Monk and Mild High Club.

Not only does Henry’s involvement in Mild Monk showcase his musical talent, but he also uses some of his Digital Media & Design skills throughout his marketing. From using Photoshop to designing CDs, t-shirts, and posters, to promoting himself on social media, Stein is really putting his talents to work. Stein shared, “The whole marketing aspect of the music is something I’m just learning about and having DMD skills makes these goals like making merchandise and posters really obtainable.”

Although Henry will be graduating this May and parting from both school and the band, you can always stream his music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, YouTube, and iTunes/Apple Music.

Photo credit: Carly Zaleski & Henry Stein

Fun Fact: According to Henry, his spirit animal is a Hen.