Class DM 225 - 2D Animation 1
Location - Mac Lab 4
Michael Shaw: Adjunct Professor
Contact:
mshaw@mca.edu
Office Hours: (Location and time TBA) Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu,:
6:55 - 8, or 3:35-4
(1 hour before or after class; will be finalized by end of
first week.)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Welcome
to DM 225! This class is an intermediate
course in animation production. Each week we will focus on a different part of
the production process and build towards creating a polished web portfolio and
a short animated film of exceptional quality.
The class is geared to refine your current animation abilities while
enhancing the traditional drawing and technical software skills you already
have. This is done through emphasizing
the more nuanced parts of animation production: Design and Layout. We will spend time researching different
artists and jobs in the industry to have a firm understanding of best practices
in a professional animation studio setting.
The
major blocks of study in this course are as follows:
I. Animation Exercises and Practice: Flexibility, Weight Distribution, and
LipSync
II. Preproduction:
Layout, Environment Design, Character Design, Story Design
III. Pitch Season: Pitching your short film in a class jury
to be green-lit to production.
IV. Production: Producing an animated film as a team,
gaining experience in the different job duties of an animation artist.
V.
Post-Production/Compositing: Utilizing school facilities and technologies
to complete and refine your animated film.
VI. Career research:
(Interspersed throughout the semester in every assignment.)
Each
block of study is given ample time throughout the semester so every student can
finish the class with confidence in one's own abilities.
METHODS:
The
most important goal of 2D Animation 1 is to demystify the lengthy production
process of animated films and reveal it to be a doable, manageable, and
systematic method of art-creation.
At
the same time, the class is designed to enhance your foundation in traditional
animation principles, techniques, and philosophies. This is achieved through
weekly practice, research, and workshops for intermediate animation
concepts. Because an animated film is a
heavy undertaking, the semester is divided into small weekly assignments. Each assignment builds toward a complete film
by semester's end.
Outside
of class, students will be required to practice their animation and
storytelling skills. Outside class work
will be given each week based on the in-class work given. These assignments range from story
development, to working on sections of one's individual film.
COURSE GOALS:
·
Students
will demonstrate the ability to design, execute, refine and polish an animated
short film.
·
Students
will demonstrate a firm understanding and implementation of visual storytelling
devices.
·
Students
will demonstrate the ability to efficiently animate intricate scenes with
prolonged character acting.
·
Students
will effectively communicate emotion and character motivations through the
animated medium.
·
Through
collaboration, students will work together to produce high-quality animated
films by understanding the benefits to great layout design, excellent
pre-production development, and refined visual design and storytelling.
·
Through
competition, students will create production packages that will showcase the
raw essence of a film, long before the film itself is produced.
STUDENTS' PROFESSIONAL GOALS:
·
By
semester's end, students will demonstrate a level of speed and accuracy when
animating, equivalent to industry standards of a minimum of 6 seconds a week.
·
Students
will showcase their work beyond the classroom by establishing a professional
web presence.
·
Students
will pursue their career aspirations, and refine their search with an informed
perspective on industry standards and criteria.
·
Students
will demonstrate experience gained from understanding both the competitive and
collaborative sides of the animation industry.
·
Students
will demonstrate mastery over the tools used to create an animated film, both
analog and computerized.
-------------------------ASSIGNMENTS and
REQUIREMENTS---------------------------
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
You
are required to attend class everyday, on time.
Students are allowed to miss via MCA's handbook, 2 absences due to
illness or emergency. For every absence
afterward, your final grade is lowered one full letter grade. Therefore,
missing six (6) classes is the equivalent of failing the course. Three tardies equals one absence. Notify me
ahead of time if you will be late to class. Arriving more than 30 minutes into
class will count as an absence, as will leaving early, or constant wandering in
and out.
In
this course you will need to use class time efficiently. This means not leaving
early, wandering in and out, or arriving late. Leaving class early
constitutes an absence unless an arrangement has been worked out with me.
Assignments will require additional time out of class to complete as well. If you miss an assignment due to lateness or
absence, take the initiative by checking the syllabus and/or getting it from
another student. Notify me ahead of time if you will miss class that
day. If you then have questions, email
me, or come see me after class or during office hours.
TURNING
IN ASSIGNMENTS:
Students
are required to turn in assignments on time, on the blog and/or server, as
instructed for each assignment. Any
assignments that require printing must have their work printed before class,
unless otherwise instructed. Failure to
print assignments before class will result in that project being considered
"Late," and subject to the same
penalties.
Late
assignments will not be accepted for major critiques, final projects, midterms,
and any other major assignments assigned at my discretion. An assignment that
is turned in, on time, with a proficient level of work may be reworked and
turned in again at a later date, for a higher grade.
For
all other assignments, the class works on a 3 strike policy. Please make note
of the following:
1st
late project: -1 letter grades. (maximum: B)
2nd late project: -2 letter grades. (maximum: C)
2nd late project: -2 letter grades. (maximum: C)
A
third late project will not be accepted.
You
will have a maximum of 2 days to turn in your project for a grade, with your
assignment dropping 1 additional letter grade for each day it is not turned in.
CLASS BLOG, CRITIQUE, AND STUDENT WEB PRESENCE:
All
assignments will be posted in full detail to the class blog, located at
http://mcadm225.blogspot.com.
The blog will be updated/checked regularly, so
students
are free to reply to assignment postings with questions, comments and concerns.
As
we complete projects in the class, we will develop a web presence to showcase
our work. (Creating blogs via blogger. or tumblr.) We will also use these blogs
to communicate outside of class.
As pitching is important
for every artist of an animation production, you will be encouraged to speak up
and share feedback. Remember to be open
and honest, but stay cordial.
IN CLASS DISCUSSION, CRITIQUE, AND EXERCISES:
You will be expected to do original
analysis of your work, as well as the work of
your
peers and professional artists. We will
do this through communication via blogs, and through in-class critique. As pitching is important for every artist of
an animation production, you will be encouraged to speak up and share
feedback. Remember to be open and
honest, but stay cordial.
VISITING ARTIST LECTURES:
You
are required to attend 50% of these lectures and post a short review to your blog.
Materials
and Supplies
1.
Textbooks:
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 ($25.00)
Your Career
in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive - David B. Levy ($14.46)
Directing
the Story: Professional Storytelling and Storyboarding Techniques for Live
Action and Animation - Francis Glebas ($29.95)
2. External Hard Drive for saving work: About
$130
Can purchase
online, and use with other classes. An investment purchase that should last you
the rest of your undergraduate career.
Note: The computers now use primarily USB
3.0 connections. The Hard drives listed
below are compatible both with mac and pc, but require formatting to go
cross-platform. If you use firewire
connections, you will need a firewire-to-USB converter. Check the model number online to see if it
runs at 7200 rpm, for optimized performance.
Western
Digital Brands:
3TB My Book
| http://tinyurl.com/HD4mac
3. A
sketchbook for storing
all of your ideas, and in-progress work. Must be separate from other classes,
but can contain your personal work within.
GRADING:
Each
assignment will be awarded a grade based on the following rubric. Plus(+) and
minus(-) will denote more or less intricate mastery of objectives. Students will be allowed to turn in
higher-quality versions of their projects midterm for a higher grade.
Group assignments will be graded on individual achievement, and group achievement. Both grades count 50% of any group assignment.
A - Excellent. Assignment objectives are completed above and
beyond the course requirements to great effort and great success. Technical and conceptual skills are on
display in a masterfully coherent manner with clean craftsmanship.
B - Proficient.
The assignment completed demonstrates most mastery of the skills presented, and
objectives are completed beyond course goals. Much effort, and a clear and
concise direction shines through the final result. There are still a few issues
that can be pushed further.
C - Competent. The assignment completed demonstrates relative
mastery of the skills presented, and objectives are completed to average
sufficiency. Assignments are successful,
and craftsmanship and technical skills are on display -- All are completed at
an average level.
D - Deficient. The assignments completed are missing
demonstrations of the skills presented, and/or required objectives have yet to
be completed. There are conceptual and technical flaws and hurdles that have not
been overcome.
F - Failure. The majority of the project is either not
completed, and/or objectives for assignment are not met.
Final
Grades will be based on a comprehensive average of all of your projects, as
well as midterm and final milestones for blog upkeep.
*Your
blog upkeep factors into your grades for each major assignment handled out of
class.*
Assignments
are due at 9a.m. on their scheduled dates. 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. (Example: Personal hard drive
or flash drive, school network, personal computer, or web service. Note: you can store work on dropbox. We will
discuss cloud storage.)
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 that cure
once contracted, and can occur even in young physically fit individuals. Paul
Marxhausen - visit his site below.
http://eeshop.unl.edu/rsi.html
http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/rsi.html
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.
COPYRIGHT:
You must receive copyright
permission for all non-public domain media used in projects. (Music, film
footage, etc.) 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. We will discuss fair-use policies during class.
EPA MANDATE:
Memphis College of Art students and
faculty are required to follow the standards
detailed in the "EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Materials
Handling Protocols - September
2007"
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