Introduction to photography will focus on learning and building the photography skills necessary to complete a variety of technical assignments revolving around nature and wildlife. Students will learn how to utilize the main functions of a digital camera in order to make accurate exposures. They will also learn the correct terminology and equipment associated with basic photography. This course is designed to build each student’s confidence when using their camera to complete challenging assignments. Introduction to photography will give students a solid foundation that will be used throughout their photography degree program. Shooting assignments for this course will primarily consist of nature photography concepts using available light. Use of tripods, meters and lenses will be taught on field trips with an emphasis on basic color control, composition and exposure.

This course is a studio and lighting class covering the basic fundamentals of various types of lighting. It includes different lighting systems that will demonstrate studio techniques for portrait, tabletop and still life photography. This class will give the students an understanding of how to work in the studio to achieve hard light and soft light using different types of light modifiers including the use of reflectors, soft boxes, umbrellas, grids, snoots and various other lighting accessories.

This course will teach students the Adobe Illustrator program, which is the industry standard for vector-based design in the graphic arts field. Students will learn to create their own designs, illustrations, and reach an understanding of the types of real-world problems students face on the job. Printing, color, and design techniques (the latter learned in the various graphic design courses) will be integrated for completion of the various projects.

This course teaches students how to work with Adobe Photoshop, the industry-standard, photo-manipulation program – from a photographer’s standpoint. Building upon what was learned in the Adobe Lightroom course about organizing and developing images, Adobe Photoshop for Photographers will delve deeper into the technical aspects of image developing, showing photography students techniques for color management, image and color adjustments, montage techniques, and preparing images for print.

This course is primarily a shooting course. Students are expected to shoot hundreds of images improving their techniques and skill as they progress through the course. Some of the images students produce may be of portfolio quality. Additional topics include digital imaging, analyzing digital images, image capture with digital cameras and scanners, output devices, resolutions and digital file formats.

This course is designed for students with advanced knowledge of computers and image editing software. It is designed to teach students how to fully develop digital images in Camera Raw; to post-process images in Photoshop using advanced techniques; to apply color management techniques to their workflow, including soft-proofing; and, to professionally manage their workflow from concept to final output. Topics include soft- proofing and color management; using speed lights and diffusers; noise reduction; controlling DOF; correcting lens distortion in post work; using Photoshop’s panoramic; Zoomify, displacement and vanishing point features; HDR imaging using Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw; and, focus stacking using Zerene Stacker.

This course will introduce students to basic video production techniques and tools. Students will learn how the camera acts as a storyteller. In addition to learning basic procedures and techniques of video productions, students will dissect various film and commercial projects to analyze detail and tricks of emotional augmentation.

This class is designed to describe the history of filmmaking and the equipment and techniques that have evolved into modern motion picture creation. As technology and business practices advance, so does the sophistication and expectations of the audience. Throughout the twentieth century, film has established itself as the most popular and profitable form of entertainment, changing the social landscape of the planet, challenging the foundations of storytelling and current politics and setting the stage for the video game, videography and DSLR revolutions. Hollywood broke free from the monopoly of the east and generated a studio system of film production that continues to this day. With the introduction of the computer, all aspects of production and exhibition changed. Students will learn the history of films and will create short videos utilizing the various techniques demonstrated in class.

In this course, students continue to learn traditional content and functions of illustration as it relates to books. In addition, students will learn the fundamentals of choosing themes to visualize in a narrative. Students will learn advanced aspects of book illustration, including styles, market, reproduction, character development, and audience. Students will work on independent projects and explore the subject of book illustration in depth. A basic history of the Illustrated Book is covered through an examination of both historical and contemporary examples. Students will learn how to develop the concept of an original idea and how to prepare it for presentation to a commercial publisher.

Whether it is music videos, sporting events, corporate, commercial, documentary, narrative video or family events, one must understand the basic structure and tools of sustaining the capital, clientele and business aspects of the creative process. This course will focus on business basics in videography, including sales, marketing, branding, social media and building and maintaining a community of artists, co-workers, clients and referrals. Business skills, pitching, communication, contracts, waivers, scheduling, preproduction, maintaining equipment and favors and the bottom-line will all be major topics of discussion and exercise. From VID 301 and Business I, all the way to Capstone, students will continue to evolve in their entrepreneurial presentation. It begins here.

Building on the foundations set in BUS 270, The Business of Videography II will walk students into the long-term focus of solidifying a company, community, brand and style, along with inspiration. Conceptualizing the pitch process and thinking for different budget ranges will all be key points in this class. Through an interview project and two major production plans, students will continue to hone their understanding of clientele, business role models, production frugality, job role responsibility and smart equipment investment.

This course is designed to instruct students on all of the practical ways to use social media for their photo and/or video business. Students will create social media accounts, learn to write effective messages, and post to those accounts on a weekly basis. Students will generate a weekly content plan and be graded on the effectiveness of engagement of their posts. TikTok and Instagram Reels are video platforms emerging as powerful ways for creative artists. Students will learn to create content for that. NFTs are a new marketplace based on Cryptocurrencies that will be discussed. The students will also create a website to market their photography and video.

This course is an advanced study of lighting, specifically for commercial digital video projects. Students will be expected to show competency in basic lighting techniques as well as advanced understanding of how light can be manipulated to produce a specific result.

This course explores preproduction planning from concept to completion, including communication and pitching. Students learn basic screenwriting, designing lighting charts, budget management, storyboarding, scheduling, location scouting and roles of the director and crew.

This course will introduce students to the concepts, tools and practice of story structure and screenwriting. Theme, character, narrative form and the tools of screenwriting (telegraphing, dramatic irony, dangling cause and dramatic tension) will be observed, discussed and exercised within the frameworks of feature and short film writing. Students will write idea pitches, a basic full length film outline, and short scripts with a technical focus on formatting, pacing, and diction. They will analyze film/video as a medium, observing its strengths and weaknesses. The class will also discuss studio screenwriting and independent screenwriting with spec scripts, adaptation, budget, demographic, agents/managers, producers, and distribution in mind.

This course will examine the visual storytelling techniques and tools of video editing. Students will dissect editing styles, experiment with video projects, and learn terms and tricks. The overall pacing of scenes and sequences will be discussed, as well as the importance of drawing visual and timing cues from the story itself. Going beyond the basics of storage, timelines, shot choices, inserts, montage, series of shots, transitions and fades, this course will examine how to draw an audience in and make them identify with the characters’ perspectives for the sake of the overall scene and story arc.

Students will learn basic audio recording, mixing and editing techniques for video production using industry hardware and editing software. Using various recording and editing exercises, students will get hands-on training exploring the technical and theoretical aspects of audio engineering.

This course will define and display the various roles that producers and directors play in film, television and videography throughout all the major phases of the filmmaking process. Students will use this knowledge to produce two projects and direct one project from preproduction, to production, to postproduction.

This course is designed to extend the understanding of the software and techniques used in the creation of professional motion graphics projects including motion logos, motion text, and infographic presentations. With the demand for specialized information presentations in nearly all aspects of marketing, communication, and content production on the rise, having an understanding of key concepts and methods in motion graphic production as well as experience with relevant software will provide an extension of the capability and flexibility of graphic designers. With such a wide range of concepts and techniques available, continued study and practice of motion graphics introduces new capabilities including 3D layers, lights, cameras, and advanced effects use and animation techniques. Building on previous semesters, students will create pro-level graphics presentations within Adobe After Effects and other software tools available.

This course will introduce students to video field production and editing techniques through practical application. Field lighting, audio recording and use of field production equipment will be reviewed and applied to create various types of video presentations. Movie length, frame size, frame rate, quality, compression and data rates will also be discussed as it relates to video editing in the field. Common Internet streaming formats (H.264, Quicktime, AVI, RealMedia, Windows Media Player and others) will be examined.

Students will study and learn methods and procedures for shooting and preparing video for news, with some focus on live events as well. Students will be trained in story and preproduction, field work, interviewing, lighting and shooting, logging, editing, sound and music mixing for overall tone and delivery.

Wedding Videography will take students into preparation and execution of personal and emotional live-event shooting. This class will explore how to present yourself as a wedding videographer (clients, referrals, branding, online presence, product delivery and look) as well as how to pre-produce and prepare oneself for shooting once-in-a-lifetime live events. The class will discuss and review not only how to communicate with and schedule clients but also how to deal with limited control in an on-location production (poor lighting, loud environments, difficult angles). Focus, discussion, reading and projects will also involve graduations, birthdays, coming-home-celebrations, engagements, some business events, sermons or speeches.

This course will build on the foundations set in Screenwriting. With the basics of theory and formatting behind them, students will continue to sharpen their craft with a focus on description, dialogue, structure and character. The tools of screenwriting will be experimented with and expanded on through class assignments. Styles of analysis, 3 Act Structure, theme and economy-of-words will also be refined as they relate to short form screenwriting. Commercial breakdowns, short scripts, feature scripts and documentary breakdowns will all be discussed and dissected. Students will also take a great focus on audience, delivery and how demographics and investors influence storytelling and the message.

Acting and Directing will walk students through the basics of the directoractor relationship, how to interact with talent and how to set the tone for a specific project or scene. Monologues and scene work will be the primary project focus, including in-class rehearsals and test-run performances. The course will also delve into the theory, tools and tricks of understanding the core of a scene and getting into a performance. Discussion, research and professional testimony will also aid the student’s understanding of the world and expectations of an actor.

In this practical, hands-on course, students will build upon Nashville’s rich heritage as a music video production hub to create a music video from pre-production to completion. In addition, students will learn to apply visual storytelling, tone, color, composition and pacing tools to their music video productions. Students will learn how to watch, break down and analyze music videos, and will also turn in a small promo piece and a live performance piece.

This class is designed to expose the student to techniques and software used in postproduction when going beyond editing and sound, particularly in the areas of color correction, color grading, motion text, composite shots and green screen, motion tracking, logo incorporation, basic image animation, particle emitters and behaviors. With the demand for specialized post-production in all aspects of marketing, communication and content production on the rise, having experience with the key concepts and methods of these tools will provide greater flexibility and capability for videographers, filmmakers and graphic designers.

This course will guide students through the preproduction, production and postproduction process of documentary videography. Preproduction work will including planning pitches, stories, pre-interviews, motifs, budgets, schedules and personnel for documentary and guerrilla videography. Production will include camera and audio set ups, working with nonactors and executing coverage. Postproduction will include footage logging and editing, sound design and reforming your story. Discussions of what the documentary has become, the ethics of documentary and the mocumentary (sister-genre) will also inform the class. Long form, short form, commercial, behind-the-scenes, how-to and educational aspects of documentary will all be involved in class debate and assignments.

This course walks students through the commercial process from start to finish. The class will examine commercials from a production standpoint with a focus on investors, sales, demographics, slogan, color palette, product and brand history, casting and the pitch process. Preproduction planning, idea, pitch techniques and look books will play a large role early in this course. Mixing art and business, creating eye-catching visuals and defining a clear message will be discussed and exemplified in commercial planning, shooting and editing. Students will also dissect professional commercials for television and web markets and discuss the future of sales, persuasion, archetypes and ethics within the field.

This course focuses on the overall process of directing and producing narrative story in short, episodic and long form. Students will dissect professional film, television and web series and discuss the techniques and tools of plant and payoff, character arc, theme and storytelling for fiction. Various production styles and budgets will be reviewed, as well as utilizing a project's characters (as in episodic) or a project's story (as in classic, drama and/or film). Writing for the genre and budget, pre-production and casting, location and studio shooting, working with actors, editing, sound design, score and single vs. multi-camera shooting will all be observed and experimented with to solidify experience in the form.

This course will focus on alternative and emerging forms of video, production, and postproduction, going into streaming options, new tech, apps, advanced special effects techniques, basic character animation, beyond basic image animation, awareness of 360º video, and discussion of what new tools are coming into our industry, be it through mainstream or more alternative methods of commercial creativity. Specialized coverage and techniques for live events, commercials, how to’s, and various types of storytelling continue to emerge as the industry evolves. This course will prepare students for this changing market, broaden their perspective and career options, allow them to think outside the box, be aware of the past and possible future of the industry, and to gather actionable experience with these concepts and techniques.

This course combines all that has been learned to facilitate the preproduction, production and postproduction of projects in line with the interests and creative and professional goals of the student, as well as any technique, genre or form they feel they want to strengthen before graduation, be it documentary, narrative, promotional, commercial, music video, abstract, etc. These projects must be sharp, well written, well shot, well edited and contain quality audio.

Independent study courses are individually designed to meet the specific needs of students. They may vary from one to four semester hours of credit. They may be in any subject area a student needs in order to complete degree requirements. Independent study courses must be approved by a member of the Faculty, the student's Program Chair/Director, and by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Nossi College of Art & Design students have the opportunity to take an internship for class credit during the last semester of their program. The internship is a program completion requirement and must be approved by the current Program Chair/Director.

The goal of the internship is to expose the student to valuable job experience that will enhance their skill sets. This monitored program for senior level students provides an opportunity to work part-time with cooperating employers (i.e., Sponsor). Though students will be provided professional leads, they must secure their own internship.

This intensive capstone course provides students with the technical, conceptual, and aesthetic skills to organize and develop an outstanding professional portfolio. Students will build on their comprehensive body of work while at Nossi College. Self-promotional identity themes are developed along with a thorough review of student resumes, cover letters, and business cards. Interviewing techniques and job search preparation are also stressed. Portfolios, resumes, business cards, and self-promotional materials are showcased at the mandatory Portfolio Review each semester. Industry professionals and potential employers attend the event.

Success Strategies is a course in goal setting, techniques of note and test taking, problem solving skills, time management and critical thinking skill development. The course is designed to help each student improve his learning skills. In addition, students will acquire skills necessary to succeed as commercial artists. Life enhancing principles are also a major aspect of this course.

This course is offered on ground with an online component.

This course examines history in America. The course will be a combination of lecture and discussion.

This is a survey course of the science of psychology. It covers the key terms of most of the psychological concepts from brain biology to abnormal, motivational and developmental psychology. This course surveys a broad field of study. A study of the thinking and research behind various fields of psychology will lead to a discussion of how each field applies to human events in the everyday lives of people. An examination of how psychology applies to advertising, graphic arts, illustration and photography will be made.

This English class will include intensive grammar review as well as writing assignments to complete a portfolio. Illustrations are encouraged to enhance the writing and the portfolio (these can add points to the grade). A resume and a cover letter are a separate part of the writing. A research paper is required and must have the correct documentation and analysis format. Professional presentation of final portfolio is required for completion of this course.

This course is designed to provide the student with instruction in two major areas of the English language – writing and oral communication skills. Writing techniques using correct English grammar will be emphasized and will be applicable for different environments including corporate, business and professional settings. A variety of public speaking techniques will also be taught. The student will learn what is appropriate for each situation in which, as a professional artist, he might find himself.

Students will examine common uses of mathematics in everyday life. This course will also focus upon mathematical applications involving choice, voting systems, routing and networks, probability, project scheduling and descriptive, and inferential statistics.

This course presents students with a survey of Western Civilization from the ancient world to contemporary culture. Through discussion and appreciation of historical works, students will draw connections between the origins and influences of Western Civilization, as well as an understanding of its role in shaping cultures.

This GE requirement was established, in part, because of the potent influence of science on society. Therefore, a major objective of this course is to help develop an understanding of the nature of science, including its philosophical basis, power and limitations. The content of the course is centered on life and its relationship to the environment.

This class is designed to enhance the student’s understanding and exposure to literature. Readings will come from PDF files on Moodle as well as from handouts from the instructor. A novel reading is required and each student will read and analyze a different novel from a list provided by the instructor. Readings from different genres and cultures will include short stories, poetry and drama. Essays to analyze the readings are the method of assessment as well as tests over the readings and background materials.