How is the program structured?
During the 1st semester, students focus on combining strategies from different media formats in a transmedia architecture based on the principles of experience design, using digital storytelling and design thinking methods.
In the 2nd semester, they explore and refine innovative conception and production strategies within their chosen focus area (Expanded Realities, Expanded Sound & Music, Expanded Storyworlds).
Students who are enrolled in the 3-semester program proceed with the master module.
All other students use the 3rd semester to further gain practical skills during an industrial placement. Please refer to the FAQ section to see, if you are eligible to enroll in the 3 or 4-semester program (with or without an Industrial Placement).
The final semester (3rd/4th semester) consists of the development & production of a master project.
What courses are being offered?
Mandatory Courses for all Students
1st Semester: Expanded Media Project (15 CPs)
In this project, you will be working in a diverse, multicultural and interdisciplinary team with approx. 5 students to develop an expanded media project, designing and realizing a story-driven, immersive, interactive and participatory experience for events or applications in:
- the music sector (e.g. bands, orchestras, music festivals)
- the cultural sector (e.g. museums, theatres)
- the entertainment sector (e.g. multiplayer game events, Alternate Reality Games)
- the marketing sector (e.g. trade shows, PR events)
- the educational sector (e.g. learning institutions, serious games)
- the scientific sector (e.g. social sciences, psychology)
Concepts aim to bridge the real and the virtual, with participation via online channels or social VR/AR/MR expanding the scope of the real-world event.
During the whole semester, your group work will be facilitated using Design Thinking as an overall framework. Thus, you will be guided step-by-step through the entire design process, with individual coaching sessions by faculty members. Additional impulse lectures cover design strategies & technology. Towards the second half of the semester, a tool week will be offered, where you will get the opportunity to update your tech skills and prepare you for the prototyping/production phase of your project.
All teams will present their design concept in a midterm and final presentation, providing convincing arguments for their choices and demonstrating the targeted experience in a prototype and experience trailer.
1st Semester: Experience in Media (5 CPs)
The course provides a unified design framework for the creation of engaging experiences in transmedia story worlds accessed in live and virtual events. You will be introduced to strategies for experience design and narrative design from the fields of drama (film & television dramaturgy), user/audience experience design, games and Virtual & Augmented Reality.
2nd Semester: Expanded Media Project (15 CPs)
For the second semester project, you will be building upon your acquired skill set of the previous semester, adding an emphasis on spatial experience design and working for live audiences.
Again, you will be working on a semester challenge in an interdisciplinary team. As part of this module, you will also be joining a master class in your chosen focus area (Expanded Realities, Expanded Sound & Music, Expanded Storyworlds), to support your team as an emerging expert in your focus area.
2nd Semester: Science in Media and Scientific Methods (5 CPs)
The module Science in Media and Scientific Methods provides you with the skills to research, prototype and evaluate your own projects in an objective, user-centred design process. Meant to serve as a preparation for your master thesis, you will also learn to how to approach a scientific publication and write the exposé for your master thesis.
Electives (5 CPs)
Each semester you are free to choose from a wide range of electives. We recommend to attend two electives during the 1st semester and two electives during the 2nd semester but you can of course take more.
The program changes every semester, so the following list is merely exemplary:
- Scenography in Science & Art Communication – from VR to analog stage design
- Music and Spaces – staging music videos as special experiences
- Experimental 3D Audio
- Dialogue and Space
- Addicted to Light
- Art sneaking into capitalism – Playful tryouts on the idea of self-making
- Virtual Brands and artist personas for playful and subversive self-promotion
- Media & Emotions
- Disruptive & Innovative Media Technology – A journalistic Foray
- Virtual Environments for Storytellers – An introduction to Unreal Engine 4
- Worldbuilding for Storytelling and Character Development
- The Art of Threads and Traits – Course in Serial Storytelling
- Leadership & Agile Project Management in Start-ups
- Deep Dive Design Thinking
- Designing Your Life: Using Design Thinking Principles for You
- Innovation: Emerging Technology, Advanced Creativity, Systemic Management
3rd or 4th Semester: Master Project (30 CPs)
In your master thesis project, you will find an opportunity to employ all your project-based learnings in your own project, working your way to a professional and innovative Expanded Media product in a reasoned and systematic design process that demonstrates your understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges in Expanded Media design, particularly in your chosen focus area or Expanded Story Worlds, Expanded Sound & Music or Expanded Realities.
