The Department of Creative Media at I.T. Tralee has three programmes geared towards the film industry:
TV Radio and New Media; Animation,
Visual FX and Motion Design &
Computing with Games Development.
All students are taught how to develop stories for their respective areas, from the development of screenplays through to the finished production.
The skillsets naturally diverge as the students develop specific skills in their respective broadcasting, animation and music programmes. At the end of their studies, all students form interdisciplinary production teams and work on short films ranging from the ‘classic’ short film format (both live-action and animated), to the more experimental immersive VR based film forms. Regardless of the format used, all students are trained to use sound and image to maximum storytelling effect. The quality of the students’ work is evident in the many nominations and prizes they achieve for their work in film festivals.
Students in the Department of Creative Media develop complementary skills in event and project management, media law and enterprise development. Our graduates have a rounded understanding of the film industry and their potential roles as creative professionals.
TV Radio and New Media
The broadcasting students develop their skills primarily for live-action productions in both studio and location-based settings. All phases of pre-production, production and postproduction are covered during their studies. Students learn how to plan and record picture and sound to a high level in a variety of settings. Students are drilled in the creative and practical aspects of filmmaking and are required to consider legal and personnel issues throughout their productions.
As film-crew members, the students reach a high skill-level with cameras, microphone and lighting as well as an understanding of cinematography and sound design. Their coursework requires them to work in teams to produce documentaries and nonfiction shorts. All post-production skills are developed: editing picture and sound in Adobe Premiere, sound-mixing in Pro-Tools, colour grading in DaVinci Resolve and titling/FX in Adobe After Effects.
Animation, Visual FX and Motion Design
The animation students produce films in pure animated form (2D and 3D) and also by combining their animations with live-action footage. The students begin with traditional paper-based drawing and physical modelling skills which are later extended into the digital domain as stop-motion, 2D animations (Toon Boom) and 3D animation (Maya). Digital motion tracking and compositing skills are developed in the studio where students film green-screen scenes and composite them in Adobe After Effects (with Mocha). This, combined with the traditional animation skills gives the students the ability to work across a variety of media types. While the image is key for these students, they are also proficient in sound production techniques, allowing them to deliver all aspects of animated productions and also work effectively with audio professionals and musicians.
Music Technology
The Music technology students are trained in music production, sound design, sound recording (studio and location based) and mixing. Skills are developed in foley design and recording for animated and live-action films. Students are trained to compose and produce music in traditional and electronic forms. Students on this course have a high degree of technical and creative awareness in live engineering and have immersive training at a variety of events during their studies. The students also take two video production modules including the use of cameras and lights and have an in depth awareness of all aspects of the film production process.