Multimedia Arts and Technologies (MAT)
What is Multimedia?
Multimedia is the field of creating and producing digital content by combining multiple
forms of communication—including text, photography, illustration, graphic design,
audio, video, animation, and interactive media.
Multimedia professionals use creative and technical skills to develop engaging experiences
for a wide range of platforms, from websites and mobile apps to social media, streaming
media, games, and immersive environments.
In the media production industry, multimedia serves as a bridge between creative disciplines and digital technologies. It involves not only creating individual media assets (images, audio, animation and short videos), but also integrating them into cohesive experiences, using creative thinking, visual communication, and storytelling, to engage audiences and communicate ideas in ways that are expressive and encourage interaction.
As digital media continues to evolve, multimedia production plays an important role in how organizations, brands, educators, and creators communicate and connect with audiences across platforms.
Our MAT Department
Our curriculum develops technical competence by providing training with industry standard software and production processes.
Our courses give students a core background in art, design and technical skills in media development,
production, content creation and online transmission.
We offer classes in digital graphics (Digital imaging to create photographic images
and Digital Drawing, to create vector based graphics).
We provide a foundation in time based media: developing a sense of timing in animation,
incorporating audio and working in compositing to create video and interactive assets.
We introduce our students to production processes in 2D, 3D, web production and gaming
standards.
The department’s programs prepare students for employment in applied media industries or for transfer to media programs at 4-year institutions.
Our Programs
The MAT department offers two fields of study with common foundational classes and intermediate classes that specialize on each aspect of media production:
Certificate or Associate in Arts degree in Media Arts
🎨 Digital Imaging & Visual Design (creating original images, digital compositing, and vector-based artwork)
✨ Motion Graphics & Animation (motion graphics, short animations, and animated content)
📱 Interaction & Interface Design (designing interactive experiences, interfaces, and prototypes)
📣 Social Media & Content Production(creating content for social media, blogs, podcasts, and digital platforms)
🌐 Web Technologies(web design, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and interactive web content)
Certificate or Associate in Arts degree in Animation and Gaming
🎨 2D Animation (classical animation, digital animation and compositing)
📱 Interaction Design (creating buttons and typical interactive structures)
🎬 3D Animation (Intro to 3D production, VFX and 3D animation)
🎮 Game Design with the Unreal Engine (game development, prototyping and interactive experiences)
🧩 Game Art / Asset Creation (creating characters, environments, props and other visual assets for games)
Certificate or Associate of Science in Digital Content Creation
This is a collaborative and interdisciplinary degree between the different Media programs:
Photography, Graphic Design, Film Production and Multimedia.
It has been designed to expand and diversify the background of students on each one
of our programs and for students that want to customize their background in Media,
since it is a short program that includes very diverse intermedia classes as electives
(4 mandatory classes and 4 electives).
Digital Content Creation program
Program Student Learning Outcomes
Media Arts, Associate in Arts Degree and Certificate of Completion
- Students will be able to input, create, edit, enhance and composite, a variety of visual media (vector-based and bitmaps, 2-D and 3-D) then optimize and format for output to web, screen or mobile media.
- Students will be able to develop sophisticated imagery that conveys a message.
- Students will be able to plan, design and construct a website that effectively communicates business and user goals.
- Students will be able to plan, design and construct an interactive, user-oriented interface.
Animation and gaming, Associate in Arts Degree and Certificate of Completion
- Students will be able to create complex models, apply complex colors and textures to them according to a storyboard.
- Students will be able to create a digital lighting system and render Photorealistic images in 2-D.
- Students will be able to create the necessary visual effects (environments and natural forces) specified for the story.
- Students will be able to set up a skeleton for a 3-D model and animate a character according to a storyboard.
- Students will be able to animate a character according to the dialog in the story.
Faculty and Offices
Alejandra Jarabo, Chair (A-174 office, ext. 4722)
Michael Medel, Dean (BC-216, ext. 4001)
Part-Time Instructors
Michael Gallegos, professor
Mihir Mahapatra, Instructor
Andrew Price, Instructor
Julia Moore, Instructor
Dual-Enrollment Faculty
Patrick Estrada (MAD Academy, SBHS)
Andrew Henning (MAD Academy, SBHS)
Nicole Barr (VADA Academy, SBHS)
Amanda Domingues (DPHS)
Walter Bazylewicz (SMHS)
Lara Willbanks (SMHS)
Staff
Abril Orozco, LTA (A174, ext. 4440)