2021 - Summer

All summer 2021 classes will be taught as web-based courses. Online activities and exams may be scheduled; proctoring charges may apply. Go to http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tower/online/courses/ for additional information and to test your computer and internet connectivity. For financial assistance with tech needs necessary to participate in these classes, please apply for funding through UT’s Student Emergency Services.

FOR CLASS DETAILS, INCLUDING TIMES, CLICK ON "FIND COURSES NOW" ON THE REGISTRAR'S PAGE.

Summer courses are offered in three terms. The letter preceding the course number describes the course dates:

f	first term	June 3 - July 8
s	second term	July 12 - August 13
n	nine-week term	June 3 - July 27
w	whole session	June 3 - August 13

NINE-WEEK TERM

UTLA - WOFFORD DENIUS UTLA CENTER FOR ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA STUDIES (listed on separate site)

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WHOLE SESSION

RTF w306 INTRO WORLD CINEMA HISTORY - Web-Based• ASH D'HARCOURT
Open only to non-RTF majors.

Love the movies? Join us and explore how the movies developed from a circus amusement to multinational industry as well as how film can be understood as socio-cultural , technological, aesthetic and economic artifact. Global in scope, this course will sample a variety of “national cinemas” in order to compare and contrast how moviemaking developed uniquely in different parts of the world. We will also address how decades of popular and critical attention to the glamour and gossip surrounding Hollywood movies has affected our understanding of “American” cinema. The course fulfills VAPA requirements, and is designed for non-RTF majors who have not taken previous coursework in film or media studies. 


Internships & Special Classes

RTF 178 RADIO-TV-FILM INTERNSHIP   Hybrid / Blended
Restricted to Radio-Television-Film majors. RTF 178 is a one-hour internship course intended for students doing a second internship, i.e., those who have already taken RTF 330L. The purpose of this course is to provide professional internship experiences with television and radio stations, film, video, and new media production companies, governmental agencies and production units, audio recording studios, and new media industries. Students are responsible for securing their own internship position. Resources and position listings are available in the College of Communication Career Services (CCS) office, CMA 3.104 / (512) 471-9421.

At the end of the semester, you will be required to submit an Internship Report consisting of:

• A weekly journal
• Work samples or a portfolio
• Your evaluation of the internship
• Your supervisor's confidential evaluation of your performance

Register Now

RTF 330L INTERNSHIP IN FILM & ELECTRONIC MEDIA    Hybrid / Blended
Restricted to Radio-Television-Film majors. The purpose of this 3-hour internship for RTF majors is to provide practical work experience in the media industries (film, television, radio, video games, and/or digital media). Students must make their own arrangements to secure relevant internships in the Austin area. In addition to providing practical experience in the vocation of your choice, this course is designed to help you develop the resources and routines necessary to succeed in the contemporary media industries. While no meeting time is listed, there will be multiple required workshops scheduled throughout the semester, totaling 10 contact hours for the semester. Resources and position listings are available in the College of Communication Career Services (CCS) office, CMA 3.104 / (512) 471-9421.

RTF 330L and RTF 330N may not both be counted. Offered on the pass/fail basis only.
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and consent of the internship coordinator.

At the end of the semester, you will be required to submit an Internship Report consisting of:


• A weekly journal

• Work samples or a portfolio
• Your evaluation of the internship

• Your supervisor's confidential evaluation of your performance

Register Now

This course gives students the opportunity to do independent research or creative projects. These are developed and executed by the student under the supervision of a faculty member. (Note: Students cannot use departmental equipment to complete these projects.)

Prerequisites:

• Upper-division standing
• Approval from a faculty sponsor
• Approval from the Department Chair

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FIRST TERM

*RTF f318 INTRO TO IMAGE AND SOUND - Web-Based • MICAH BARBER
Open to both RTF majors and non-majors.

This course is designed to introduce fundamental production concepts and techniques, and is a prerequisite to upper-division production classes. Through a series of online lectures and visual, hands-on projects (created at home using smartphones), students will develop skills in visual storytelling. Emphasis will be placed on developing a storyteller's point of view, and creating simple yet effective visual and narrative structures.

We will meet MTW from 10 am—12:30 pm CDT via Zoom: Monday for class, Tuesday for lab, and Wednesday for individual student meetings. The rest of the class will be asynchronous.

*To take this course, students will need a smartphone with a simple editing app (e.g., iphone + imovie) or a computer/laptop with editing software (Resolve, Premiere). Students can purchase Adobe Premiere Pro either as a discreet license, or they can purchase it bundled in Adobe Creative Suite.  For financial assistance with tech needs necessary to participate in these classes, please apply for funding through UT’s Student Emergency Services.

RTF f328C     GENDER AND MEDIA CULTURE - Web-Based • JENNIFER McCLEAREN
Open to both RTF majors and non-majors.

This course provides an introduction to the critical and theoretical analysis of gender (femininities and masculinities) in media (film, television, new and emerging media). Students will engage dominant and oppositional practices of media production, representation, and reception to investigate the sociocultural mechanisms that shape individual and collective notions of gender in our media-saturated environment. Paying particular attention to wider questions of power, politics, and identity, students will read key texts in cultural, media, and communication studies, as well as influential theories within gender, feminist, and transgender studies. Although primarily focused on the mediated construction of gender, this course insists on an intersectional approach that examines gender in conjunction with race, class, sexuality, nation, and generation.

RTF f329C DIGITAL MEDIA PRODUCTION - Web-Based • BEN BAYS
Open to both RTF majors and non-majors.

Animation, Visual Effects, Digital Painting and CGI are used to produce content for a variety of media including live action film, classical and 3D animation and interactive formats like video games and XR. This course will teach you the industry standard tools and practical techniques of digital media production, no experience necessary. The course is self-paced, non-linear and offers a variety of options. Students choose their area of interest from a large array of assignments covering topics like concept art and previsualization, color correction and post production, animation and simulation, compositing and visual effects or CGI and interactive game design (and more). Will you become a generalist across all digital media production, will you specialize in one discipline or will you define a new role in digital media production? Choose your own path and the instructor and a team of TAs collaborate with you. No prior knowledge of digital media production required. Mac or PC. No software purchase required. This course offers both access to instructor guidance and the ability to complete assignments at your own pace. See course promo video.

RTF f344M INTRO TO VISUAL EFFECTS AND MOTION GRAPHICS - Web-Based • BEN BAYS
Open only to RTF majors.

This is a production course designed to introduce and expand your knowledge of the world of motion graphics and special effects. Credits, transitions, greenscreen, filters, masks, mattes, all sorts of things. In contrast to the animation course, this class will focus on advanced compositing and techniques to enrich your video, stills, typography and to get exactly what you want to see onscreen. You will not be required to draw anything (complicated). Consider this more of a course in design than art. We will take the elements of design: line, shape, value, texture, color, direction, size, perspective and space and add one more thing to them: time. Mac or PC. No software purchase required. This course offers both access to instructor guidance and the ability to complete assignments at your own pace.
 

RTF f347C DIGITAL STRATEGY IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS -WB  Web-Based • KAITLIN REID

The music business is an incredibly dynamic and fast-paced industry. Best practices, platforms and tools change at lightning speed and in order to be a successful music business professional, one must be able to adapt, think critically and challenge the status quo. In this course, students will learn the basics of how the music industry works and what goes into creating a digital strategy around an artist’s release (TikTok, gaming, social media, content creation, music video strategy etc.). The class will be experiential and project-based in nature, so students can build concrete, marketable skills to set themselves up for success upon graduation. The course will also feature a variety of guest speakers to highlight different perspectives and paths within the industry, while also giving students the opportunity to network with industry professionals.

 

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SECOND TERM 

RTF s317 NARRATIVE STRATEGIES AND MEDIA DESIGN - Web-Based • RUSTY HATCHELL
Open to both RTF majors and non-majors.

This class focuses on the style, structure and storytelling strategies in a wide range of media forms, from narrative films and television series to documentaries and videogames.

RTF s352  GLOBAL CULT CINEMA - Web-Based • BABAK TABARRAEE

With their dedicated fans and enduring presence in the public sphere, cult films unfold important crossovers between media and culture in different regional contexts. This course will analyze global configurations of cult cinema, especially in the Middle East. From various scholarly viewpoints, we will ask how and why certain movies have generated emotional attachments in different sociocultural environments. Reviewing the foundational texts on the concept of cult in cinema studies, we will examine several approaches to studying the applications and functions of cult films and film cults. We will specifically examine case studies from and through the Middle East to understand the resonance of cult media texts around the world. Moreover, we will investigate the communal identities displayed through the cultural expressions of cult fans in order to better understand people’s complex relationship with the political order and cultural power. As such, “Global Cult Cinema” will explore less examined but significant areas of international film canons and fandoms. The interdisciplinary nature of this course further enables us to investigate important constituents of audience reactions to the global and local media through the purposeful use of the theories on popular culture, fandom, stardom, and politics of national and transnational film reception. This course carries the Global Cultures Flag (GC) and the Writing Flag (Wr).