SCHEDULE FOR THE LAST 2 WEEKS & FINAL!

Be sure to read this entire post.  Below is the itinerary for the final two weeks of school:

Those are the deadlines, and that is how the class will be structured.  With that said, here is your final.  Homework for tuesday is also written below.

----------------------------------FINAL----------------------------------------

Theme: Dealer's Choice 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Minimum time duration:  5 seconds.

Requirements:  Clean. Professional.  Demonstrates the skills you've learned in class thus far.

Description:  You are to create a professional 5-second piece that demonstrates the skills you have learned in class.  This project is the most flexible one we have had, due to the nature of our individual levels of progress.  Each student falls into one of two categories:

Category A:  10-second project is complete.

Category B: 10-second project is NOT complete.

If you are in category A, you are free to choose a new focus for your final, or enhance the project you have turned in.  If you do choose to enhance the project, by adding in extra frames of animation, or extra effects or extra story content, I am expecting an even higher level of polish for your final versus what was turned in today.

If you are in category B, you are free to choose a new focus for your final as well.  However!  If you decide to do something new for your final, the 10-second content that you needed to turn in today still must be completed in addition to the new 5 seconds you plan to do for your other project.  

This gives everyone in class some interesting choices to make: Do you expand on the project you have already completed,  or do you complete the animation you planned to turn in today and then create something brand new?  For those of us that had ideas for much longer-format cartoons, this may be the opportunity to expand on the ten seconds that was due.

Remember that, even if we do have Thanksgiving break, you are getting this assignment today.  You can do preliminary work on it ahead of time.  It would be THE BEST idea, especially if anyone has plans to visit family over the holiday.

--------------------------HOMEWORK FOR TUESDAY---------------------------------

BE READY TO PRESENT YOUR FINAL IDEA.  ALSO, START WORK ON YOUR FINAL THIS WEEKEND!

FOR CLASS ON TUESDAY:  I will meet with each of you in a one-on-one fashion to discuss your final.  You will pitch your idea.  I need to know the following:

• What is your idea for you final?
• What is your schedule for completing your final?  How long will it take?  How do you plan to get it completed?
• Of the skills we've covered in class, what do you need to improve the most to produce a high-quality animated piece?  What do you feel you can do best in your work?
• This will help me make sure that everyone learns and masters any skills he or she may feel is lacking before the end of the semester.
• You will also be tasked with finding one other student in the class to learn a technique from as well.  WE all have different strengths and weaknesses, and a trick of this will be making sure we all refine our skills together.
• What content have you already created for it?  
• How much of your final can you have complete between now and December 3rd?  The more you can complete, the better.  
• As a bar of measurement, it's a good idea to have about 90% complete on December 3rd, so you can refine the last 10% in class, and not stress between Tuesday and Thursday to complete the rest.  Design your final project in a way that maximizes success!

*******Remember that you have FIVE DAYS BETWEEN THIS CLASS AND THE NEXT TO GET STARTED ON YOUR FINAL!  We know everything we need to know about time management for animation now. SPEND THIS WEEKEND WORKING ON YOUR IDEA! The more you show me on Tuesday, the better. 

For those of you that have not finished your 10 seconds, finish it!  We've learned some hard lessons today, and there is even more to learn before the semester is over. Bring your A game to the last three classes so we can finish the semester strong!

DEADLINES:

NOV 26th:  Present idea for final.  You will have the entire break to work on your animation, and between eating delicious turkey and spending time with family, produce amazing work! Don't waste your break! Your grade depends on it! =D

DEC 3rd: Milestone check. 90% of your final should be complete by this day.

DEC 5th: All projects are due at 1PM! NO EXCEPTIONS!

I will produce some video tutorials you can keep on person as reminders for everything we've covered in class.  Email me if you have any questions!

As a final note:  Remember the reasons you signed up in this class! We've taken ideas that were intangible, and created solid animated works!  No matter the level of completion, once you hit that milestone, IT EXISTS!

Remember that.

ANIMATION PROJECTS ARE DUE ON THURSDAY!

We will compile our animations together first thing in class!  Because of that, your animations must be finished and exported by 1:00 PM!

You will be given your final Thursday at 1:30!

DUE 11/5/13

1.  Make a list of everything you may need to know to animate your story!

2.  Preproduction must be done. And completed. FULLY! NO EXCEPTIONS! =D

3.  Start working on your animation when all of your preproduction is fully completed!  I will begin to cover NEW 

functions of toonboom and advanced animation and painting techniques tuesday!

4.  As a class, come with a time and a date for our Movie Day! We will discuss our final decisions sometime before class is over Tuesday!

5. Bring your supplies to class to start animating! We will have class time on Tuesday to animate!

DUE FOR TUESDAY, OCT 24, 2013

A. If you missed class, please download the pdf of cinematic storytelling below. It describes many elements of the miss en scene, that is, the many elements that make up your stories, with some extra notes for live filming.

Introduction to Cinematic Storytelling

1.  Finish your story, character, and environment designs!  Remember to adhere to the standards I asked for in earlier posts!  Create a file that has all of your elements professionally and cleanly laid out, like the character designs below!

2. Write out the beats of your story!  Remember to write it the same way you charted out last weeks homework.  We need to know the cause and effect of your characters, and your story!

3.  Using Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, create a storyboard and animatic for your cartoon!  Remember that the more storytelling detail you include, the better!  I covered a lot of shortcuts and ideas for creating these projects today.  For those of you that were not here, you are also responsible for the work, and I will upload a video tutorial that supplements what we learned in class in the next two days.  All the same, find one of your classmates, and ask them for any tips in creating your storyboards in Toon Boom Storyboard Pro.4. Bring your animation gear, ready to work on Tuesday!

RECAP NOTES FOR VISUAL STORYTELLING 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO!

Note: The following resources were compiled from various resources on the internet. Pick and choose and find what works best of you! That said, there are three books that will need to be in your library if you want to be the best at what you do, be it animation, illustration, or more cinematic photography.

Why are we learning shot types?  The only way for you to expand your knowledge as a visual storyteller is to know all of the formulas and conventions you have at your disposal.  Even one new frame could be the difference between an amateur production and presentation and a visual masterpiece of storytelling!

A list of helpful books for cinematic storytelling, good for both Animation and Live Cinema!

http://www.amazon.com/Cinematic-Storytelling-Powerful-Conventions-Filmmaker/dp/193290705X

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Vol-2nd-Techniques/dp/1615930876/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Volume-Shooting-Dialogue/dp/1615930558/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z

THE RULE OF THIRDS:

http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

http://vimeo.com/14315821

VARIOUS CAMERA SHOTS:

Basic Shots: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/

Advanced shots begin to manipulate the camera and treat it as more of a character in the film, moving and swaying between angles and shots to create a more lived in space:

Examples:  http://revision4gcses.wordpress.com/media-studies/camera-anglesmovementshots/

Dolly shots are some of the most advanced, yet easiest to preform in animation.  Dolly shots are where the camera trucks, weaving in and out of the scene, around characters key environment elements, and other places.

Two Shot: A medium shot with two subjects.

Overhead shot (bird's eye view):  Camera is facing down from above.

Canted shot:  When the camera is tilted on it's axis so that normally vertical lines appear slanted to the left or right.  Ordinary expectations are frustrated.  Often used to create mystery and suspense in films to create a sense of unease in the viewer.

http://www.slideshare.net/StaceySmith1/camera-shots-and-angles-5618222

Handheld Shot:  "shaky cam"  sometimes played up in action scenes to suggest a state of unrest.

Remember that the shots you use already come loaded with information for your character to use.  Also remember that keeping the camera steady in some instances will give your character pivotal moments to come alive.

BONUS: Notes on camera angle diversity: Notes on camera diversity.

http://www.demotix.com/blog/advice/1072724/creating-shot-list-diversity-your-camera-angles-and-image-submissions

Staging and blocking for animation: 

Why do we stage and block shots?  To better plan our animation.  It's a good idea to have a list of documents for what our cartoon will be.  Printouts of our character and our character's expressions for easy reference.  Printouts or organized sketches for your characters.  Documents of the action and shot direction. Drawings of where you think your shots will be.  And, it makes you feel better about the work you do. Seeing the pieces of your cartoon come together creates a sense of pride in your cartoon, as if you are doing something important that many people are simply unable to do.  It's the truth.

Things to remember:

Practice your draftsmanship!  Draw lighter in the beginning, sketch first, refine second!  We will animate our character through drawing frames!  Block out each shot.  Export your drawings out of Storyboard pro as a pdf.  You can board on paper, or photoshop, and scan in too.  but we will make an animatic of your work for the final.

For Tuesday: October 21, 2013

1. Watch your favorite animated movie, animated film, or animated cartoon episode (web or TV).  Then, I want you to list each major plot point from your favorite part of the story, from beginning to end.  

• You can choose any animated work you wish.
• Be as specific or a generic as you feel is necessary. 
• From your notes, you need to be able to understand the cause and effect from each action.  

2. Come up with a character for your next animated story!  The only parameters for your story include the following:

• Time limit: 10 seconds (minimum time limit).
• Your character is supposed to interact with an inanimate object. The inanimate object must change in size and mass over the course of the story.
• We will cover design work and layout next class, but have a few ideas for what you think your character may look like.

Here is how your character design should be laid out!  Make a turnaround, similar to the examples that were shown in class! You need to be able to draw the character from every angle!

some additional resources that may help with your character designs are below:

A link to character designs and production art in the Living Lines Library, anthropormorphic, animals, and humans:  http://livlily.blogspot.com/2010/11/model-sheets-production-drawings.html


If you want more information about character designs, look in the REFS and EBOOKS ---> Character Design folder on the server!

Draw sketches of your environment design for Tuesday! We will cover environment design in detail next week!  If you need examples, look at the REFS and EBOOKS 
---> [pireze]MakotoShinkai_Sora_no_Kioku_REVIEW



-----------------------------------------

As an example for your story layout, I have made the following detailed set of notes from Natasha Allegri's "Bee and Puppycat."  (10 minutes)

• Bee gets fired from work.
• On the way home, a mysterious animal (part cat, part dog) falls out of the sky.
• She brings the animal home.
• Bee heads home, reflecting on her sense of self in a self deprecating manner.
• She hears a knock at the door, only to answer it and find her friend Deckard.
• Blushing, they make small talk until she accidentally hits him in the crotch with her umbrella.
• Embarrassed, she slams the door and runs to get him ice.
• She shoves the ice under the door.  He takes it, leaving her a casserole to eat.

• Afterward, Bee has a nightmate about dancing cats.
• She wakes up, realizing she's late for a temp agency appointment.
• The temp agent refuses to hire her, and she eats all of his candy while she waits.
• She heads back home, after bringing toys for her new cat.
• She realizes she has no more money to eat.
• A magical envelope comes out of the animal, requesting the cat, named Puppycat to come to work in a place called fishbowl space.
• Puppycat's pawprint teleports them to fishbowl space.
• The two get teleported to fishbowl space.  Bee is considered an intruder, and a talking box tries to incinerate her.
• Bee mentions they are friends, and the talking box gives her an outfit.
• Bee learns Puppycat's job is to babysit a fish who misses it's mom.

• Puppycat tells the fish a story, about a space outlaw who was betrayed by a space princess. The thief was transformed by the king into a hideous monster and escaped.
• After hearing the story, the fish turns into a space demon, speaking menacingly about Puppycat, calling him into a monster.
• The space demon picks up puppy cat, and Bee runs to save him.
• She bites his tongue and hits him with her sword, swinging it with little experience.
• She bites his tongue off, picks up Puppycat, and uses him as a laser gun.
• She asks him if the story told was true. Puppycat does not answer.
• They get teleported back to her house, where Puppycat is given a lot of cash. He gives Bee half.
• Bee thanks him, and heads to bed, offering to make a better ending to Puppycat's story. A reflection of the Space Outlaw is seen in the mirror.
  
  

Welcome to the Second Half of The Semester!

Congrats everyone on finishing the first half of this class!  For the next half, we will focus much more on storytelling for animation, and cover a wide range of subjects, from production pipelines: (pre, prod, and post), film and camera techniques, to storytelling and storyboarding devices.

As a precursor to our next big project, here is a reminder for what was asked of you to complete last Thursday. Our next class is mostly discussion and research, so the following will be due in a final form next Tuesday, October 22.

1. Watch your favorite animated movie, animated film, or animated cartoon episode (web or tv).  Then, I want you to list each major plot point from your favorite part of the story, from beginning to end.  

• You can choose any animated work you wish.
• Be as specific or a generic as you feel is necessary. 
• From your notes, you need to be able to understand the cause and effect from each action.  

2. Come up with a character for your next animated story!  The only parameters for your story include the following:

• Time limit: 10 seconds.
• Your character is supposed to interact with an inanimate object. The inanimate object must change in size and mass over the course of the story.
• We will cover design work and layout next class, but have a few ideas for what you think your character may look like.

As an example, I have made the following detailed set of notes from Natasha Allegri's "Bee and Puppycat."  (10 minutes)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lOG_UtLxh58" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

• Bee gets fired from work.
• On the way home, a mysterious animal (part cat, part dog) falls out of the sky.
• She brings the animal home.
• Bee heads home, reflecting on her sense of self in a self deprecating manner.
• She hears a knock at the door, only to answer it and find her friend Deckard.
• Blushing, they make small talk until she accidentally hits him in the crotch with her umbrella.
• Embarrassed, she slams the door and runs to get him ice.
• She shoves the ice under the door.  He takes it, leaving her a casserole to eat.

• Afterward, Bee has a nightmate about dancing cats.
• She wakes up, realizing she's late for a temp agency appointment.
• The temp agent refuses to hire her, and she eats all of his candy while she waits.
• She heads back home, after bringing toys for her new cat.
• She realizes she has no more money to eat.
• A magical envelope comes out of the animal, requesting the cat, named Puppycat to come to work in a place called fishbowl space.
• Puppycat's pawprint teleports them to fishbowl space.
• The two get teleported to fishbowl space.  Bee is considered an intruder, and a talking box tries to incinerate her.
• Bee mentions they are friends, and the talking box gives her an outfit.
• Bee learns Puppycat's job is to babysit a fish who misses it's mom.

• Puppycat tells the fish a story, about a space outlaw who was betrayed by a space princess. The thief was transformed by the king into a hideous monster and escaped.
• After hearing the story, the fish turns into a space demon, speaking menacingly about Puppycat, calling him into a monster.
• The space demon picks up puppy cat, and Bee runs to save him.
• She bites his tongue and hits him with her sword, swinging it with little experience.
• She bites his tongue off, picks up Puppycat, and uses him as a laser gun.
• She asks him if the story told was true. Puppycat does not answer.
• They get teleported back to her house, where Puppycat is given a lot of cash. He gives Bee half.
• Bee thanks him, and heads to bed, offering to make a better ending to Puppycat's story. A reflection of the Space Outlaw is seen in the mirror.

This work is considered research for our next project.  Doing it will help you when you create the story for our next work! We will talk a lot about storytelling and pre-production in our next class!

Things Required for Midterm Grading! (Thurdsday, Oct 10th)

Start work on your midterm project! Remember that it is due at the end of class on Thursday, Oct 10th!  
The theme of your project is "DEALER'S CHOICE."  You are allowed to create anything between now and Thursday that demonstrates the animation skills you have learned at this point!  Use this as an opportunity to experiment with new ideas, ideas you've always wanted to do, or push the skills you have already learned!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blog requirements for midterm grading:

• Your blog, completed, with a link to your work!
• Have documentation of the following:

• Your ball bouncing project
• Your first walk cycle
• Your second walk cycle
• -and what you learned from each project!
• Any sketches made from the projects, 
• and your hour life drawing sketches from past weekends! (first 7 weeks of class)

Have a great weekend!   The next half of the class will be geared toward more storytelling, and solid animation production methods.

Due Tuesday, October 1st!

note: for those of you that were absent on thursday, please read the previous post for what critiquing you need to do with your classmates.  

Bring in both of your walk cycles for critique!  Critique will factor heavily into your grade.

You will be graded on the following:

Walk Cycle 1:
Displaying realistic, believable motion.
Solid grounding of the feet and proper weight distribution.
Craftsmanship. (solid black lines, consistent line weights. Clean line art)
Documentation of first walk cycle critique notes.
Identification of the Contacts, Passing Positions, Up and Down Positions, and In-betweens.

Walk Cycle 2:
Characterization: Do we understand who the character is by his, her/it's walk?
Identifying Extreme Drawings, Key drawings, and In-between Drawings in Critique.
Craftsmanship.
Believability of walk.

From this point on, we will be focusing primarily on storytelling in animation! Excellent work in trying to undertake such a hard project so early!

To be completed for Thursday!

1) Gather references for your second walk cycle and start work/continue working on it! Bring any questions you have to me on thursday! Remember we will turn in both walk cycles on the 30th!

2) Get 2 people from the class to critique your FIRST walk cycle!  The people you pick should be determined by the following.

• Person #1: Someone in class that you know well!
• Person #2: Someone in class that you do not know well!

This is a good chance for you to get to know your classmates a little better, and gain a fresh perspective of the work you are doing.

• Make note of their comments!  Structure your critique of your work in a sliding scale of 5 comments, based on the following:

• 1st:  What is the most successful thing about your walk?  (STORYTELLING) (+ +)
• 2nd: (+)
• 3rd: (*) Something working, but still needs to be refined further.
• 4th: (-)
• 5th:  What is the thing that needs the most improvement in your walk cycle? (- -)

Please document their comments, then write what you learned about your walk cycle.  This can be typed or written down.

Turn in your documentation about your first walk cycle to me BY 3:00 on THURSDAY!

----------------

REMEMBER THAT BOTH WALK CYCLES ARE DUE ON SEPTEMBER 30TH!

An excellent link about acting for animation!

(Remember to check the link below for details about what's expected for Tuesday!)

Check out this article about acting for animation.

http://floobynooby.blogspot.com/2012/04/james-baxter-notes-on-acting-for.html

As you begin to work on your second walk cycle, we are starting to add more characterization and personality into our walks!  There are some important things to consider when creating a character, and animating a character on screen:

• What is more important? The main poses, or the content between each pose?
• When I animate, do I have to always act out what I want to create?
• How close to reality should I stick with my actions?
• Is there a way I can subvert expectations by creating a character that looks a certain way, and giving that character actions that betray her/his/it's look?
• How do I compose my character's actions, and how do I stage that character in a scene?
• I need to remember that the paper that I draw on is not the bounding box of my character's actions.  It is merely the frame of a camera. Can my character create more important gestures by moving in and out of the frame?

The link above will help answer some of these questions for you.  Personality and engagement is key, and when we can create something believable on screen, we are naturally drawn to it.  Animation prides itself on making the unfamiliar, familiar to us, so feel free to experiment with your character's walk!

I will talk in detail about this link on tuesday. Remember to check the link below for details about what's expected for tuesday, and email me if you have any questions!

Things to be complete next tuesday, and notes for second walk cycle!

1)  Finish your first walk cycle and scan it into Toon Boom!
2)  Between now and next tuesday, get 2 people from the class to critique your walk cycle!  The people you pick should be determined by the following.

• Person #1: Someone in class that you know well!
• Person #2: Someone in class that you do not know well!

This is a good chance for you to get to know your classmates a little better, and gain a fresh perspective of the work you are doing.

• Make note of their comments!  Structure your critique of your work in a sliding scale of 5 comments, based on the following:

• 1st:  What is the most successful thing about your walk?  (STORYTELLING) (+ +)
• 2nd: (+)
• 3rd: (*) Something working, but still needs to be refined further.
• 4th: (-)
• 5th:  What is the thing that needs the most improvement in your walk cycle? (- -)

3) Start work on your second walk cycle over the weekend! We will be working on our second walk cycles in class on tuesday, but this weekend is a great (re: the best!) chance you have to do some significant work for your next cycle!

Your second walk cycle is one of CHARACTERIZATION, meaning, that we are to be able to understand who the character is by their walk alone. Some of the greatest walks in popular culture are so indicative of the people who walk them.  You may even know people in real life by the way they walk, enter a room, or exit one.

Parameters and notes to follow:

• We should know important personality tidbits about the character by their walk!
• The walk, like the first one, is done on a 2-D plane, moving from left to right.
• You will be graded on quality and craftsmanship, as you are on walkcycle#1.
• Create/use reference footage for your walk cycle! You can film it with anything; it is just important to use references for the type of motions you want. 
• Remember. You are ACTING! But also keep in mind that when we act, there are some things our characters do that our body can not.  It is up to you as an animator to know that references are only that: References.  They are not a crutch, or the end-all be all to acting.

As a secondary note: Youtube is the greatest free source of historical footage, if you are inspired by famous walks from Earth's history.  Make the most of the Web Resources you have!

4) On Tuesday, come with tools in hand ready to continue working on your SECOND walk cycle. I need to know by then what walk you are doing.

Have a great weekend!


-------------------------------------

Important due dates to remember:

Sept 26:  Incentive day for finishing both walk cycles (Scanned into toonboom) at 95%.
If the entire class can do this, we will do something special.

Sept 30: Both final walk cycles due at 1:00 PM.

(Reminder) Things to be Completed by Tuesday!

A) If you have not paid for your animation paper yet, be sure to bring your money for paper on Tuesday!

1) Finish your ball bouncing animation!  Get your timing and spacing solidified, have everything laid out on your timeline and finalized in Toon Boom, so we can export and review as a class on Tuesday!

2)  Read pages 84 - 163 of the Animator's Survival Kit.  This section covers:

• Different types of walk cycles.
• Methods for creating walk cycles, from 4 cycled frames to 32.
• Adding personality to your walk cycle.
• Procedures and principles for manipulating your character's limbs and skeletal structure.
• Contact positions, up positions, down positions, and how all of these things are used together in your cycle.
• How different passing positions (breakdown frames) can change the style and personality of your walk.
• The double bounce.
• Walking in perspective!
• Notes on limb movement, the difference between "common" male and female walks, and methods for spicing up your walks.

2a) Pages 64-82 are optional, (mainly because we thoroughly discussed these pages in class), but feel free to read them if you need any additional info on charting for your animations, or other workflow practices.

3) Also! On the DM200 server, are two tutorial videos I made for you.  Watching these two videos will help answer any questions you may have over the weekend.

• The first is a refresher of importing and vectorizing your work in Toon Boom, called "importing_and_vectorizing_demo.m4v" (13:14)
• PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE MATERIAL @8:00.  It will help you work much faster in the future!
• The second is for those of you who worked much smaller on your animation paper, called "resizing_your_animation.m4v" (6:38)

4) Remember to complete your hour of life drawing this weekend! We will start class by sharing what we worked on over the weekend, and what we learned from what we drew.

5) I mentioned creating your blog on Thursday.  Message me if anyone has any questions concerning producing one.  As we are working towards professionalism, use your platform of choice (blogger, wordpress, tumblr, etc.) for creating it, and email me the link at mshaw@mca.edu so we can keep in touch with everyone's work!

6) Enjoy your labor day weekend! Remember to email me if anyone has any questions!

---------------------------------

(REMINDER)  Steps for Logging onto the server.
1) Click on desktop and hit "COMMAND + K," or in the menu at the top of the screen, GO -----> CONNECT TO SERVER.
2) Type in afp://dali in the server address box that comes up.

3) Hit Connect, then type in your username and password.

4) Click "classes" then look for the DM200 server.  Double Click it to open it.
5) The tutorials will always be in the folder called VIDEO_TUTORIALS!

Things to do for Tuesday!

1) Pay the business office for your animation paper! ($42.40)

2) Bring your reciept to class to receive your paper and peg bar!

3) Read pages 1-63 of the Animator's Survival Kit (REQUIRED READING). Acquire the hard copy, a pdf, or read the one on reserve in the library. It goes over the following:

• basic principles of drawing in time
• timing and spacing
• a little dose of animation history
• animation and peg bar usage philosophies
• the first exercise we will do on monday: the ball bouncing exercise
• charting for animation
• easing out and easing in

keys, extremes, in-betweens, passing positions, and when to use each.

4) Bring your light boxes on monday, any questions you might have, as well as some tools to work! (Pencil, ruler, pen, erasers, etc.) We will jump right in after the first lesson at 1:00! =D

I'm excited for our class! How about you?

Reminder for thursday!

1) Bring your supplies to make lightboxes! See the post below for details, and contact me at mshaw@mca.edu if you have any questions!

2) Print out and complete the attached questionnaire below! (It will help me tailor the class you meet each of your individual needs as future animators and artists!  In the future, we will have a shared folder on the server to transfer files much faster,

See you Thursday!

LightboxOrahma!

Go! Go! Go! Have fun -- plan for the future -- you will be using 10f paper as an intro student -- however, you may want to move to a 12f or 16f paper in future classes. Below are the standard paper sizes:
10f - 8.5X11
12f - 10.5X12.5
16f - 13.5X17
Do not buy a 10f pre-built lightbox -- You will grow out of it!
Materials below can be found at the Home Depot down the street -- You can walk there! 

(for those needing a box as well) 1 18" x 18" X 24" Large Box

 

23 W CFL -- Do not buy "soft" white -- only purchase daylight color temp

1600 Lumens -- 100W replacement -- 10.97 for four -- go in as groups and split the pack  

explanation of color temp

 

5 1/2" Clamp Light -- 6.97

 

12 ft. Extension Cord -- 1.47 -- You may be able to find cheaper or bring one you already have.

 

18" X 24" X.093 Acrylic Sheet -- Do not purchase glass -- Glass is not allowed in studio

9.78

*if you are going smaller -- fruit box example -- do not attempt to cut plexi yourself -- the lowe's on perkins will cut for free -- example a 60X30 sheet = 6 15X20 pieces -- they will do 3 cuts free

cost for the larger sheet that can be split among students = 37.00 -- again cutting plexi yourself is hard often rough / and/or cracks etc.

If you are purchasing an under cabinet light make sure it has a plug that will go in the wall also make sure you are buying the correct color temp -- med as shown above will produce and ugly pinkish light and will serve to distract. The light above is 12.97 -- but the bulb is the wrong color temp thus you will then need to buy a T8 replacement bulb that will run you another 7.00 -- The light above is from the poplar home depot -- it is the wrong color! Lowe's on perkins sells an 18" under cabinet light for 10.97 and has the right color temp.

Fall 2013 Syllabus

DM 200

Intro to Animation Techniques

Mac Lab 4

T,TH 1-3:35

Michael Shaw

michaelshaw.art@gmail.com

mshaw@mca.edu

office hours by appointment

Course Description

In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of traditional animation production. Below are the major blocks of study covered in the course:

I.  Introductory Animation Procedures, Timing and Principles

II. Walk Cycles and Locomotion

III. Weight and Object Interactions

IV. Flexibility and Emotion

V. Storytelling and Performance (subtle action, dynamic action, foreshortening)

Course Outcomes

·      Students will demonstrate the capability to organize and present concepts verbally.

·      Students will demonstrate the capability to organize and present concepts visually.

·      Students will produce evidence of an understanding of the methods of Animation production.

·      Students will be able to communicate content in their Animation productions.

·      Students will demonstrate the time management skills necessary to complete the post-production process.

·      Students will demonstrate the capability to effectively publish their Animation production.

·      Students will research and identify screening opportunities.

·      Students will research and identify career goals.

Professional Practice Outcomes

·      Students will demonstrate the ability to write an artist statement.

·      Students will demonstrate the ability to document their work.

·      Students will demonstrate the ability to exhibit work beyond the classroom.

·      Students will demonstrate basic computer/software literacy applicable to their field.

Methods

DM200 is geared towards instilling within the students a rich foundation in traditional animation principles, techniques, and philosophies.  Students begin the class learning about the mechanics of animation, working on paper to create short cartoons.

Outside of class, students are required to draw in sketchbooks for a minimum of 1 hour per week.  The contents of which are to be a combination of gesture drawings from observation, and designs for characters, environments, and objects they may have from their own cartoon ideas.  This assignment supplements the drawing practices they have had prior to starting the class, and promotes healthy content creation to for future projects.

Standard class assignments are mostly be regulated to short animation drawing assignments with regular deadlines.

Each week, a lecture is given with interactive demonstrations.  Required reading assignments are given each week to supplement what is learned in each class. The next project is introduced with an emphasis on how it builds a well-rounded skill set for future animated projects. 

Accompanying each lecture is at least one screening that emphasizes the current skills each student is building. These screenings will embody a comprehensive list of various schools of thought the world, and through Animation's history (in the format of movies, television, web shows, etc) and will be appended to as time goes on.

In creating their animations, students are encouraged to act out and time their respective shots using school equipment (in-house cameras, webcams via imac, or otherwise) and refine their animations through trial and error. For projects spanning more than one week, daily grades will be given for reaching assigned milestones in their projects.

In Class Discussion, Critique, and Exercises

You will be expected to do original analyses of your work and that of others – your peers and recognized professionals and to complete in class exercises illustrating the techniques presented. Extra time outside of class will be needed to master the skills and complete the exercises presented in class.

Blog

You will be required to keep a blog for this course that includes thumbnails, sketches, assignment write-ups and final documentation for each assignment. You should also use these spaces for idea development exercises and reading /screening responses.

Visiting Artist Lectures

You are required to attend 50% of these lectures and post a short review to your blog. Review Guidelines

Evaluation and Grading

Grading will be based on:

Creativity, aesthetic and conceptual development

Technical execution

Participation in critique and class discussions

Attendance

Blog and Sketchbook development

Visiting Artists Lecture reviews

Assignments are due at 1p.m. on their scheduled dates. If you are to miss a scheduled due date, work must be handed in prior to absence. Points will be deducted for failure to participate in critique. Late assignments will not be accepted. Lost files are not an excuse for a late assignment. Loss of data, files, or other associated items needed for any assignment or project will require that you recreate your work, with no exceptions. You are solely responsible for the security of your files. Your files are not 100% secure on the server or computer. You should have multiple copies on multiple sources at all times. No files are safe unless backed up to 3 locations.

Attendance Policy

Punctual, consistent attendance and serious participation in class is required for receiving credit. If there are five absences during the semester, credit will not be granted. If you have three absences, your grade will be lowered by one letter grade. Three late arrivals/early departures = 1 absence.

Materials and Supplies

Textbook: The Animator's Survival Kit, Expanded Edition: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators. Richard Williams

Supplies:
Sketchbook
1 Ream 10f Ingram Bond , 1 plastic peg bar – DM 200 course materials pay in business office bring receipt to class – $42.40 -- Course materials purchased in bulk to save you $10.00

Light box – Build your own approx 20.00 – Buy 119.95 + 15.24 shipping = 135.19 Build/Buy for at least 12f paper size. Do not purchase a 10f box – in the future you will likely want to draw larger.
Pencils
Erasers
Ruler
External Hardrive, large jump drive, or blank DVD's to save work and archive

Copyright

You must receive copyright permission for all non-public domain media used in your film projects. Public domain material can be found at http://www.publicdomain.org/ and http://www.creativecommons.org/. Visit American University's Center for Social Media Website for detailed information regarding the difference between rights infringement and fair use.

Learning Accommodations

In compliance with MCA policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Request for academic accommodations need to be made during the first week of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made.

Health and Safety Precautions

As more and more work, education and recreation involves computers, everyone needs to be aware of the hazard of Repetitive Strain Injury to the hands and arms resulting from the use of computer keyboards and mice. This can be a serious and very painful condition that is far easier to prevent than to cure once contracted, and can occur even in young physically fit individuals. Paul Marxhausen – visit his site below

http://rsi.unl.edu/
http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/rsi.html

All students are required to follow the standards detailed in the "EPA Material Handling Protocols

Department and Lab Policies

Immediately submit an online tech request to report any problems with a lab computer or printer. 

Main MCA computing info site = mca.edu/labs  -- go here for answers to frequently asked questions and online tutorials for MCA specific technologies.

No Food or Drinks in Lab.

Keep the Lab Clean. Dispose of all trash -- Paper scraps, old media etc.

Leave your workstation in an orderly fashion. All materials left on the desktop will be deleted. Organize files within the documents folder on your account. Delete your trash from your desktop and trash bin. 

Back up work to an external source. Remember files are only safe if they exist in 3 separate locations. MCA servers are not to be considered secure and used only for temporary storage.  

Log Out of your workstation prior to your departure. Upon your departure, the chair should be pushed in. Your monitor, keyboard and mouse should be placed in their proper positions.