Assignments / Grading

Assignment Specifics:

1. Website: Critiques, Research and Writing Assignments = 30%

The on-line website includes all your assigned work as list below. Note the assignment desciptions and due dates.
Online portfolio websites should be published to your webspace and accessable, clear and fast to navagate (no flash or gratuitous slow sites!). Please use as your online portfolio address: http://<your sfu weburl>/iat445, so for me it would be www.sfu.ca/~sdipaola/iat445.

Your website must have the following:

- - - - - - - - - -

IAT445 Your Name

TeamPage (link)

Log    (link)        due week 11 (ongoing work)
-         log your research, animation you've found, objects you've built, issues
-         log your work with weekly entries
-         use one web page for the whole log, with weekly title sections

Assignment 1 : Role   (link)             due week 5
-         discuss your role and your specific individual plan to help your team get the project completed
-         build a weekly milestone list

Assignment 2a&b : Critiques  (links)  due week 6
-        1)   give significant critiques to the pitches of two teams
         o       use separate pages (separate url) for each one, add links here and from there feedback                            discussion area; critique should be at least ½ a page
         o       feedback should be constructive, talking to improving the final project of that team
         o       base your significant critique not only on the pitch but on all aspects of the team page                                    (resources, roles, pitch feedback, what style fits, can they do it or do they need to simplify)
         o       your graded by how thoughtful you consider the work and help the team

-        2)   give simple Forum critiques to at least 8 teams pitches
         o       do not post anything to your website here, just use a discussion style entry (entries) in                                     the teams's Forum PitchFeedback discussion areas

Assignment 3 : Production  (link) due week 8
  -         Research a production role, and write a summary of it, use links and at least a 1 page writeup
  -         Make it a standalone web page that would useful to others - about how that role works
  -         Possible roles: character animator (film or game), technical director - td ( film or game),                                 writer, storyboard artist, game programmer, UI designer, sound designer, ...
  -         Look for interviews (online/mags), articles, and build a comprehensive clear site on the role

Assignment 4 : Research  (link) due week 10
 -         Research a research topic and create a page on it, use links, images, ~ a 1 page write-up
  -        Make it a standalone web page that would useful to others wanting to know about that                                            graphics/interactive research area
  -        Possible area: motion capture, video cards architectures, radiosity and rendering research,                            artificial life system, physically based systems, non photorealistic rendering, voxels, facial                            animation, collision detection, the future of 3d on the web, VR in medicine, …
  -        Look for research papers online, articles, and build a comprehensive clear site on the area,                           include a significant bibliography (traditional or weblinks)

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See some old webpage examples from iat445 (was 342) from two years ago:

here and here and here and here

See last years pages here:

2. Portfolio Project - 40%

This is a group production project -- you will be creating a linear or interactive project such as a short film, 3D world, or interactive game or visualization or ... (see class discussion). Creating an animatedor interactive project embodies a process of production stages from Pre-production (story/ aesthetic concept, visual research, scripts...) through Production (creating the storyboerd, presentation of the pitch, design of character, set, effects, acting and staging, timing, the animatic, and animated motion in editing/ compositing techniques)... in Post-production editing and presentation design are part of rendering and clean-up, towards presentation of your individual/ team animation project due for Week 13's class.

In this project, you will complete the phases of 3D production resulting in an 3D project accompanied by a production report. The project integrates an exploration of concepts explored in reading, discussion, forum and studio expressing artistic, technical and theoretical concepts in 3D. Most groups have a team of 3 to 5 people to achieve the 3D project. Reports must indicate roles of team members. Only one report is needed for the whole team. You may use your online portfolio for additional information about your individual research and thoughts on making the short.

- script - wk 4 - Your teams simple script descriping the project and schedule.
- storyboard & pitch - wk 5 - The teams storyboard which you will use to pitch the project in class.
- animatic (or prototype)- wk 7- Your 3D based animatic of the project, that you will build into the short.
- short & report - wk 13 - Your team's final 3D project and it's report.

Your final project is 1) your teams completed 3D project in a produced format that you will hand in. Your final project must also include 2) a production report which will serve as an outline of the individual production roles, challenges, accomplishments. Students should identify the strengths they feel they have achieved in the work, and some of the areas they would change or improve. They should construct a self-critique of their own work, explaining why they chose to use specific modelling, animation, editting, rpogramming ( ...) or general production techniques.

Grading: Quality of production, production phases, story concept, innovative and creative exploration of tools, techniques, concepts, progress and development.

Team Page
Every individual must have a Team Page that links off thier main individual iat445 website site (see 1 above ). All info and links should be on your page by the due date. You do not have to have the actual linked team work resident on your webspace, any team member can have the work, but you individal team page must link to it. Work with your team to decide organizational roles to make your team page and team discussions (see below under Forum) work for all. The Team Page (which every team member / student must have) looks as follows:
- - - -

Team Page

Your Name     

Class Number of your Team (ie. Team 01)    |

Name of Team (your choice and optional)

Team member   team_member_url
Team member   team_member_url
...                ...  
Team member   team_member_url                   due week4

<you need the following links which link to the work by the due date)

Discussions (link to Forum team folder)               due week 4        (see Forum below)          
Script (link)                                                     due week 4
Storyboard (link)                                             due week 5                                          
Pitched_Storyboard (link)                               due week 5
Animatic (link)           due week 7
Final (link)  web_sized_final (link)                      due week 13
Report (link)                                                    due week 13

- - - - -

Team Forum folder - (how to register to the forum)
Each Team needs to maintain their Forum folder. Elect someone on your team to take care of this:

In your IAT445/ teamForum folder:

1) Maintain your team board with the other teams (see the fake Team0 example in the Forum)
- once you have your team number, your team will use that team board, so team 1 will use board Team01 or team 5 will use Team05.

2) In this board you should have a sticky link at the top to a team page (any one) called TeamLinks
(see Team0 example in the Forum)
- You should also have a link to your team Forum page from your team page (see Team0 example)

3) You will have discussions for (mandatory and exactly written):
                  TeamDiscussions
                  PitchFeedback
- Students will use PitchFeedback to give you feedback on your Pitched Storyboard.
- You can use TeamDiscussions to talk about your work and let others in the class chime in.
- You can add other discussions as you see fit for your team to get their work done and to show                team participation and discussion. Including polls, links ...

NOTE: There is limited sapce on this forum ( it is on your instructors ISP), so rather than post large images, sounds, ... please put them on your site and link to them on the forum.

IMPORTANT: To get on the forum for the first time you must use your sfu id and email to register, don't use your sfu password - once in you should edit your display name to your (preferred) first and last name. Register here: FORUM

3. Participation - 10%

You are accepted to participate in the Forum chats, in class discusstion, studio lab discussion as well as helping others as you all as a community work through problems. See the discussion forums on the Forum site, contribute to critiquing our teams pitches/storyboards, help out in studio lab with maya issues, and participate in lecture discussion. Attedance to lecture and studio lab is mandatory and attendance will be taken (students are allowed to miss 1 class before particapation grade is affected). Participation is More than just attendance - we are a creative community and you must help and support that community.

4. MidTerm - 20%

There will a midterm test on week 8 in lecture (or as annouced). This is a individual written test on concepts learned mainly in lecture and assigned readings. Not all lecture material will be on the midterm - the instructor will specify which material is for the midterm in lectures.