Course# DM225: 2D Animation 1
Location: Mac Lab 4
Instructor: Michael Shaw
Time: Monday and Wednesday 4:00 - 6:30
Office Hours: 1.5 Hours After Classes,
Monday and Wednesday, 6:30 -8:00.
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.
Methods of Study – The Flow of Class is as Follows:
Class Readings:
Each topic we cover in class will have an accompanied reading or video that provides more information and instructions on the current study. These readings are meant to give you means to practice in-class content on your own!
Interactive Demonstrations:
The best way to learn how to animate is to practice hard, and see how others animate! This semester will have many interactive demonstrations on making quality animated works. Each demonstration will be on an individual topic that you will be able to integrate into your current animation skill-set! Some of these demonstrations will be on individual concepts (like animating water) which will make it much easier to navigate unseen hurdles during the film production process!
Projects:
Each week, you will be given an assignment to accomplish that will investigate the possibilities of story and visual development of an animated film. The purpose of these assignments is to prove that the process of making a film is not magic, but a series of calculated steps that help you hone in and further develop your creativity. You will be able to combine each assignment into a professional portfolio by semester’s end, and have all the tools needed to begin applying for internships, and exploring new content that piques your interests!
I. Animation Exercises and Practice: Flexibility, Weight Distribution, Performances, Volumetric Animation Effects, and more!
II. Conceptual development and preproduction: Visual Storytelling Research, 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.) This includes internship research, your value as an animation artist, creating portfolio content, demo reels, submitting to film festivals, and more!
DEPARTMENTAL OUTCOMES:
Students will demonstrate the capability to organize and present concepts verbally.
Students will demonstrate the capability to organize and present concepts audibly.
Students will produce evidence of an understanding of the methods of audio production.
Students will be able to coherently communicate the content their audio productions.
Students will demonstrate the time management skills necessary to complete the entire sound creation process.
Students will demonstrate the capability to effectively publish their audio production via the web, and integrate it into their current body of work.
PROFESSIONAL OUTCOMES:
Students will demonstrate the ability to write an artist statement.
Students will demonstrate the ability to document their work.
Students will demonstrate basic computer/software literacy applicable to their field.
Students will demonstrate the ability to give a public presentation about their work.
Students will demonstrate the ability to research to stay current in their field.
Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of communication etiquette in their field.
Students will demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively.
-------Assignments and Requirements ------
You are required to attend class everyday, on time. We will start class @ 4:20 every day, unless otherwise noted. As with the Student Handbook, students who misses 6 days of class will fail the course. This will be strictly enforced. Prior to this event, any student that must miss a day needs to notify me ahead of time, long before the start of class. Anyone who wonders into class at least 30 minutes after class begins will be considered absent for the rest of the day. 4 absences result in a loss of one letter grade. Three tardies equate to one absence. If you miss, you must catch up on assignments via consulting other students first, and myself via email. I reserve the right to notify students ahead of time for any day that MUST NOT BE MISSED due to course content be it finals, assessments, midterms, or other coursework.
----Turning in Assignments -----
Each Assignment will be due on a scheduled date, given at the beginning of the assignment. Often, this will be the day before the class, to give students time to listen to, and review other students’ work. Part of your grade will be your review of the creations of your peers. We will remain objective throughout, even when we are delving into content that goes beyond our personal taste. When it comes to late assignments, assignments will drop a letter grade each day they are late. After 3 days, I will not accept your assignment.
Supplies: (you will be required to keep a blog for this class!)
1) 1 ream of 10f Ingram Bond Animation Paper and 1 plastic peg bar (for those of you who elect to work traditionally) Additional paper can be purchased for $35.00. Notify me ahead of time, in case we need to order more.
2) Folder and Notebook for taking notes. You are required to keep track of your notes. You will also be required to turn in your sketches for review from time to time, so be sure to keep your sketchbook on hand during class!
3) $100 Deposit to check out audio equipment. (optional) Upon completion of the class, or the major, you will receive this deposit back. This single deposit can count for multiple classes within the department.
4) External Hard Drive: Can purchase online and use with other classes. If you already have it, great! If not, it’s an investment that can last you long beyond your undergraduate career. The Computers primarily use USB 3.0 connections. The hard drives listed below are examples, compatible with mac and PC, but require formatting to go cross-platform. IT IS IMPORTANT TO ACQUIRE ONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, as students no longer have personal accounts!
6) 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)
7) Pencils, tablets, erasers, etc! For those that draw traditionally, it may help to obtain a pack of non-photo blue and blue pencils for sketching characters and drawings!
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.*
Loss of data, files, or other associated items needed for any assignment or project will require that you recreate your work, with no exceptions. I can not grade what does not exist! 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.)
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
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Students with a special learning need are encouraged to let their instructor know at the beginning of the course. Reasonable accommodations (such as extended time for exams, readers, scribes, and interpreters) are provided on an individual basis as determined by documented need. It is the student’s responsibility to provide authorized documentation to Student Affairs or Achievement Center Support Staff as early in the semester as possible.
Course Content and Title IX Reporting
Students should be aware that information disclosed to faculty (whether through assignments or as a personal disclosure) that indicate experiencing sexual harassment, abuse, or violence while a student at Memphis College of Art, requires that your instructor as a “mandatory reporter” disclose this information to Student Affairs staff to ensure students’ safety and welfare are addressed. Student Affairs staff will contact you, and/or those involved, to make you aware of accommodations, remedies, and resources available at Memphis College of Art.
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"
Below is a calendar of topics for the semester. *This is subject to change, based on class performance, unforseen events like inclement weather, etc.*
