Immersive Storytelling and Emerging Technologies

This introductory course will provide students with the tools and the mind set for making compelling VR/AR experiences. While the industry is nascent, the technological and storytelling innovations move forward at breakneck speed. Students will also, each class, dissect to understand the approaches to the current catalog of immersive experiences, ranging from 360 film, to animation and room scale installation experiences, often with creators who made them to understand challenges and lessons learned. Subsequently, after this overview, students will have the option to build their own prototypes and, also, to support a VR/AR project housed within the program with a leading artist.

This cross-disciplinary course brings together our Writing and Immersive Storytelling & Emerging Technologies concentrations to collaboratively develop, design and build an interactive XR game experience. Students will engage with technologies such as mixed and augmented reality, 360-degree navigable environments, WebXR, volumetric capture and 3D scanning. The course will include group and individual assignments outside of class to expand and challenge the student's exploration of the intersection between creativity and technical prowess. This course blends storytelling, character development, worldbuilding, and emerging technologies to create an immersive experience. ** This class requires Approval from the Course Instructors (Jason Gray and Sig Libowitz, who are co-teaching the class) to be admitted. Interested students should answer the three questions sent to you by Program Director, Sig Libowitz, and send their answers to both Professors Gray and Libowitz (at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively).

By dynamically using real-life case studies as a basis for discussion and learning, students in this course will explore the legal and business affairs aspect of filmmaking. We will examine the meaning and structure of copyright law, fair use, option & purchase agreements, key crew & talent agreements, distribution agreements, tax credit/rebate statutes, music licensing and product placement deals, among other topics.

Through in-class projects, interactions with working producers, line producers and AD’s and on-going independent productions, students will be exposed to the myriad responsibilities of producers, from the creative and on-the-field perspectives. We will explore the many elements that make up the creation of films and television shows, with a focus on a producer’s creative input from development to post production to a producer’s understanding of the nuts and bolts fundamentals of how to budget and schedule.

Successfully pitching your prospective film, video game, pilot script or web-series is a key factor in making your dream a reality. A strong pitch can attract financing, distribution and star cast attachments. How do you craft a pitch that is compelling and engaging, while also concise and leaves them wanting more? Over the course of the semester, you will pitch multiple projects in different mediums and learn from observing your colleagues pitch their projects. You will create look-books, pitch-decks and sizzle reels. We’ll consider the use of visuals, music and props, and hear from successful writers, directors and producers about their techniques and insights from the front lines of professional pitching.

A cinematographer is instrumental to crafting the look, tone, and texture of a film. In this course, students will explore the fundamental aspects of the camera department’s creative and technical role on set and in pre/postproduction. These roles will include but not be limited to that of Cinematographer, Camera Operator, Gaffer, Key Grip, Assistant Camera, and Colorist. Through a series of screenings, discussions, and hands-on workshops, students will learn foundational responsibilities, overlap, and creative intention of each of these roles. This in-class process will then be translated to group and individual assignments outside of class that continue to challenge the student’s exploration of the intersection between creativity and technical prowess. Students will work with a variety of cameras from manufacturers such as Arri, Red, Sony, and Blackmagic Design, as well as editing and color correction software such as Davinci Resolve. Camera topics include everything from fundamental camera settings & trouble shooting to on-set data management, color management and color science pipelines.

An introductory course that provides students with an overview of the process to create innovative and meaningful cinematic stories in the evolving field of interactive games. From concept to completion, the class will explore the creative architecture, production process and technical considerations necessary for developing for the new wave of interactive entertainment across platforms. Drawing from theoretical and production frameworks in game design, narrative and documentary filmmaking, art, immersive theatre, and motion capture––critical attention will be given to intuitive and engaging design. The hands on portion of the class will culminate with students developing a prototype for their own original interactive cinematic project.

This course, offered in conjunction with a Nexus Research Grant sponsored by the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, explores how neuroscience, AI, wearable biometrics, and brain-computer interface (BCI) technology can transform immersive storytelling, interactive media, and live performance. Students will have the opportunity to collaborate closely with an active production that will be in development, rehearsal, and performance at JHU during the 2025-2026 academic year. Initial course meetings will focus on creative research, speculative design, and world-building exercises, utilizing Stanislaw Lem’s iconic science fiction novel Solaris (about an alien planet that can read the brainwaves of humankind) as a source text and springboard for collective imagining. We will juxtapose Lem’s novel with iconic film adaptations (Tarkovsky, Soderbergh) and critical theory about the climate crisis, environmental and synthetic intelligence, planetary-scale computation, and the ontology of “hyperobjects.” Mid-semester, students will work hands-on with neurotechnology and AI, including EEG headsets (Muse, Emotiv, G.Tec), AI tools (Midjourney, Runway, Streaming Diffusion, Hugging Face), and interactive performance platforms (Touch Designer, Isadora). The course culminates in classroom-based, student-led demo performances integrating AI, BCI technologies, and experimental theater techniques (Viewpoints, Wooster Group). Guest artists at the forefront of AI and neurotechnology, along with field trips to the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., will further enrich the experience. Prerequisite: students must have taken at least one ISET course although exceptions will be granted on a case by case basis based on the student's level of experience.

Lush and realistic virtual worlds that were recently impossible are suddenly commonplace. These synthetic scenes surround us, hidden in sweeping virtual backgrounds on film sets or featured prominently in seemingly endless videogame landscapes. While breakthroughs in computer graphics and game engines make this possible, new tools make it common. The hidden development conjuring up seemingly anything is a new class of reality capture and filmmaking tools that creators to quickly bring the real world into virtual spaces. These are the tools of virtual production and volumetric filmmaking.

This course starts with personal stories, transforming a vivid memory into a sharable immersive experience with tools and insights from volumetric filmmaking, virtual production and game design. Students learn how to adapt a script for immersion, 3D modeling, photogrammetry scanning, and applying techniques like virtual lighting, virtual cinematography, and the basics of motion capture and volumetric capture to bring their scene to life. The course invites students to create lush and imaginative worlds immediately with common hardware – mobile phones and computers.

Students develop and workshop short narrative scripts that they write. The course covers working with actors and understanding the filmmaking process from the actor's point of view. Students visualize their scripts so they are prepared to work with a Producer, Director of Photography and additional crew. The course also explores techniques of blocking and staging action for the camera, with emphasis on the practical problems and aesthetic questions that arise.

Why are we drawn to stories … and why do we react so emotionally, viscerally, even physically to flickering images on screens (of all sizes)? What techniques do the most skillful, most agile cinematic storytellers apply to affect their audience and compel us to journey alongside? This course will examine cinematic “storytellers” and the multiple creative decisions they make in some of the most impactful films of the past 50 years. By “storytellers”, we include directors (of course) but also the writers, cinematographers, composers, editors, actors and other key personnel (sometimes creative producers as well) who join with the director to collaborate and elevate a story and the characters who dwell within. Discover how choices in sound, lighting, acting, music, shot selection and story/character development can dynamically and instrumentally affect the audience. Cinema provides a deeply personal lens, coupled with an enormous public reach, acting as both a reflection of - and an agent for - shifting perspectives on the world around us and our society. Together we will explore and analyze how cinematic storytellers' distinct choices on character, composition and conflict humanize our perspective on others' lives , different cultures, and complex issues far removed from our own --- and how you as developing storytellers can learn from such creative decision-making to craft your own stories.

Discover the intersection of artificial intelligence and the creative process. Recent developments in generative AI tools have made it possible for amateurs to create visual art in seconds that previously would have required hours or days of expert effort. This has raised fascinating legal and philosophical questions about authorship, craft, and even consciousness. Through collaborative activities, students will develop new norms and ethics for our age of generative AI and test them while learning to use the major AI tools available. Explore the ethical implications and best methods for working with AI-generated media, while engaging in discussions about authorship and creativity in the context of artificial collaboration. Students will gain practical experience using AI tools, learn to balance technical proficiency with artistic vision, and develop a deeper understanding of the creative potential of AI as well as the ethical considerations involved in using AI tools in the creative process. The course is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to become ethical, informed, and creative practitioners in the age of generative AI.

This class will guide students through the process of developing, packaging and producing short form content (i.e., short films, web series, etc). We will learn about fundraising, budgeting, festivals and distribution. Beginning with an initial concept, students will develop a treatment and pitch deck, draft a schedule and budget, explore the grant writing process, and work through the planning phases of pre-production, production and post. By the end of the class students will have at least one packaged short form project on the path toward realization.

Robert Bresson said that “a film is born three times... First in the writing of the script, once again in the shooting, and finally in the editing.” Editing a film is one of the most important aspects of narrative filmmaking. Most professional directors arrive on the set with a good sense of how the scene they are about to shoot will eventually be edited. This class will focus on teaching the fundamentals of film editing by looking at techniques, tools, and approaches to understand what makes for a good cut and how to shape both a performance and a story (matching visual action, visual fluidity, pacing, transitions, montage, time manipulation, and time ellipses). We will discover how story beats are revealed and how the audience connects with the characters, as well as how to employ the elements of question and answer to build suspense and surprise. The class will focus specifically on the short film, an essential format for filmmakers in their early careers, as we define the different types of shorts (narrative, non-fiction, commercials) and learn how they employ different cinematic languages and story structures unique to the format. By the end of the class, you will know the rules, but also when to break them - all in service of the story and an emotional experience.

This enhanced 12-week course takes a deeper dive into the tools and techniques learned in the Foundations of Immersive Storytelling: Theory and Practice course. The curriculum is designed to equip participants with enhanced skills in 360 video production, WebXR content creation, 3D scanning and the utilization of Unreal Engine for scene creation with 3D assets.

Beginning with an introduction to camera and the foundations of cinematography, this class will take a hands-on approach toward the definition and understanding of visual storytelling. Through a sequence of practical applications, students will come to understand the concepts of space, volume, pacing, composition, eye control, and various other cinematographic techniques and their applications within the worlds of physical production, ISET, and animation.

This class will explore the process of creating light specific show LUTs, various forms of cinematic lighting that prioritizes a predetermined postproduction workflows, and advanced editing techniques, compositing, and color correction in Davinci Resolve, as well as text, titling, and animation in both Fusion and After Effects.

This course will explore the marriage of visual and audio crafts in the creation of narrative. We will work from the presupposition that sound and picture are intricately and inherently linked. The course will help students uncover the visual and audible elements of genre, mood, tone, and cinematic texture. Then, working through a series of introductory to medium level assignments, students will create initial MOS works that visually shape these cinematic modalities and develop audible landscapes that further define the intent and visual aesthetic of each piece. Through the incorporation of guest speakers, craft workshops featuring professionals in the audio field, and exploring professional post-production environments, the course will allow students to develop a fundamental proficiency in the intersection of sound and visual aesthetic and an understanding of the tools and methods used in their creation.

Movie Magic is a specialized software used throughout the industry to schedule and budget films and television. Gain practical knowledge and training for the professional world to boost your job opportunities and experience. Over the semester, you will schedule & budget multiple projects including, for example: a short film, a commercial, a documentary, etc. and learn how to properly assess and budget for travel, locations, production departments, union positions (i.e., SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA and IATSE) and their corresponding Pension, Health & Welfare requirements.