An in depth study of computer animation production that extends and expands on skills learned in IDS252. Emphasis will be on story, character development, directing, and cinematography. Additional topics include global illumination, scripting, special effects, skeletons, skinning, and kinematics. Students work as a group to produce an animated short with original music. A key component of this course is interactive work with students in music. Prerequisite: IDS252
Lecture: TuTh 2:30-4:00pm in Collins 408
Lab: Available times are:
No textbook is required for the class. However, there will be numerous reading assignments. All readings will be either online or from books that may checked out from the instructor or the library. For a listing see books
You will primarily be using the following software
It is critical that you back up your work frequently! Save multiple backups in different places as insurance. It pays to be paranoid and neurotic.
This is primarily be a projects-based course. There will not be significant lecturing. Class time will be spent on:
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.
There are no written exams in this course. Evaluation is primarily based on the following:
Credit Distribution
|
30% |
attendance, participation, and team work |
|
30% |
individual labs assignments |
|
15% |
maintainance of journal. |
|
25% |
completion of final 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. 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)