This course introduces students to the process of animation production. Students learn about story development, story boarding, layout, 3D modeling and animation, character development, cinematography, lighting, and shading using Maya, a state-of-the art 3D rendering software package. Students collaborate in teams with their classmates as well as students in either MUSC 339 Digital Music Techniques or MUSC 121 Creating Music with Technology to produce a complete animation with original music. Team work and collaboration is a critical component of this course.
For a listing of topics, click here
You are expected to be comfortable using a computer and learning new software. No experience with programming or computer graphics is required. However, please anticipate a very heavy workload, particularly in the second half of the semester, so budget your time accordingly.
Lecture: TuTh 9:40-11:10pm in Ford 202
Lab: TuTh 12:50-2:20pm in Ford 202
For additional help, Prof Orr will also be available TuTh 2:20pm in Ford 202.
Matt Wolpa (mwolpa@willamette.edu) will be available one evening a week (the day TBD) to provide extra help. We may also have a TA helping out in the lab.
Attendence at lectures and labs is mandatory. More than 4 unexcused absenses (class or lab) may severely hurt your final grade.
Class and lab time is critical for review, class critiques, and
coordination of work.
It is also the only time in which you are guaranteed of being able to
meet
with all of your team mates. If you miss
class, you will be unable to participate in this process. Your absense
will pose significant problems for your individual success and the
success of
your team. If you do not already own a set of headphones, then you will need to purchase them. They
do not need to be high quality; any set will do. You will also need to purchase some form of backup system (e.g. a 1G thumb drive). This is discussed more below under the Backup section.
No textbook is required for the class. However, students may check out books on computer animation
from the instructor or from the library. Several books that
maybe of particular value are
You will primarily be using the 3D rendering and animation software Autodesk Maya 2009
Other software you will be using includes:
Keeping files organized is critical. If you are unsure of the best way to
structure your work, please ask the instructor.
It is critical that you backup your work after every work session. Work
lost due to failure to back up files will have to be redone if credit is to be received. If you do not
own a thumb drive or other similar backup device then you are required to purchase one. It
should be at least 1 Gigabyte in size. Thumb drives (1G) are available in the Willamette Bookstore.
You will also need several blank DVDs at the end of class
in order to turn in all of your work.
Lecture time will be used as follows: First half of the semester: You will work intensively with
Maya to learn the basic techniques of modeling, shading, lighting,
and animation. Labs will be assigned approximately weekly and
instructions
will be available on the class web site. There will be several
assignments working with students in music. Second half of the semester: You will work entirely on the
team animation
project. During this time, lecture time will be largely, but not entirely, devoted to
review
of student work and progress. Lab time will be used for group meetings and coordination - it is very important that
you are present for these. Disk Space: Your H drive will not be sufficient for storing your
work. Instead, a separate network server (\\home\enfuzion) will be
provided. It has the additional advantage that it can be accessed by
others in the class (important for team projects) and it is accessible to the
renderfarm (important for speeding up your rendering). At the end of the
semester,
you will be asked to submit all of your work on a DVD, so don't lose or delete
your work!
Back-ups: You should be neurotic about backing up your work.
Keep extra copies in multiple places including, your H
drive,
your home computer, on a thumb drive, and/or on a CD/DVD. When copying to a backup
device,
make sure your copied maya files are still readable. If you have not organized your files
well it is possible that misc files will be stored in distant locations. Lost files will
rarely be an
acceptable excuse for incomplete work. Text and Other Materials
Software
For practice at home, you may download for free the Personal
Learning Edition (PLE), however, be warned that files created in
the PLE can't be imported into the full version. You should not use the learning edition
for work you plan on submitting for class.
Backup
Lectures:
Labs and Assignments:
Critiques and late policy: Assignments will be reviewed and critiqued by the class on the day the assignment is due. As a result, late assignments will be heavily penalized. If you are ill and cannot attend class, then the work you were able to complete should still be available for review on the network server. If you are so ill that you can't get your work on the network, then a written note from the doctor is required. If you are unable to complete the assignment, then turn in whatever you have been able to do. Something is always better than nothing.
If you must miss class due to things such as sports, job interviews, family demands, etc, you are still expected to have your work on the network by the due date of the assignment. In such cases, you will not be penalized if these absenses are infrequent.
There are no written exams in this course. Evaluation will be based on the following:
Credit Distribution
|
20% |
lab & lecture attendance, participation in critiques |
|
35% |
non-project labs (first half of semester) |
|
30% |
individual work on the final project including your participation and status reports. |
|
15% |
group work on the final project, i.e. overall organization, collaboration, resulting animation. |
If you do a search on the web, you will find a significant amount of material on Maya, including already created models and scenes. You are not to use this material without authorization from the instructor. The purpose of this class is to create your own work.
In the context of this class, plagiarism is defined as representing someone else's work as your own. Cheating is defined as violating stated rules for an exam or an assignment. Plagiarized work will receive a grade of 0 as will any assignment in which cheating occurred Generally, you will be encouraged to cooperate on lab assignments. The rules and limitations of this cooperation will be defined in class. (Also see student handbook and college catalogue for more details)