Assignments / Grading

Assignment Specifics:

1. Essay - 15%

A Compare / Contrast essay: select, screen and critically analyse two animation shorts (Animations are available on loan at SFU Library; also see the VPL). Refer to course readings and class discussion in building a compare/contrast discussion. Critically analyse your chosen two animation shorts looking for similarities and differences in technique, narrative, and aesthetic considering the socio-cultural and historical context in animation and cultural theory. (see Paul Well's).

Notice digital effects, editing techniques, quality of aesthetic style, in addition to the film genre,
presence of artist, use of metamorphosis, animated motion and fundamentals, and technical
constraints as some points of departure in your analysis. Write 250 - 400 words. Best submission process it to put this up on your online porfolio site for week

Grading: Quality of analysis, organization and style, references/quotes to readings, includes a Work Cited list. (the Works Cited will list the Animated film titles, in addition to the text resources).

2. Online Porfolio = 30%

The on-line portfolio includes four assignments as listed following. For each assignment, include tutorials completed (jpg or mov), in addition to the specific assignment - your creative work. Note in 2 - 3 sentences which tools were used (ex. extrude, subdivision modeling, CV curve tool...)

Indicate a references list for tutorials which you have worked through for each assignment. For example, if you used a tutorial from the electronic resource Maya Savvy, in addition to the Maya installed tutorials, indicate tha; (your 'References" list functions like a Works Cited or Bibliography).

The Assignment work will be your original work - a creative, artistic application developing tools/ techniques as gained in working through the Maya tutorials. Include both the completed tutorial files and the digital sketch assignments in your on-line portfolio. Extra credit will be possible for additional work in the portfolio such as a production diary of your work on your animation short - research you have done to get your part of your teams short/report done, comments on the readings and other research notes on the animation process and creative industry (final review - week 11).

Online portfolios should be created as a website and published to your webspace. Please use as your online portfolio address: http://<your sfu weburl>/iat241, so for me it would be www.sfu.ca/~sdipaola/iat241. We will grade your work the week after it is due by going to your portfolio website and reviewing you posted work(text) and links to your files ( jps or mov). So for Port 1) Compostions assignment which you will do week 1 and 2, your work should be up on your web portfolio site at class time week 3 for review. Late work or work that we continuely can not find because you did not follow instructions will be penalized.

See some examples from last year:

here, and here and here

• Port 1) Composition assignment [week 1 and 2] [ Interface and Polygonal modeling]
- Due week 3

Working in Maya with basic Polygons and Polygonal modeling tools, create 3 or 4 shapes in your environment, considering positive and negative space, point-of-view, depth, image plane and perspective. Export 3 .jpg images demonstrating an artistic study of this space in the 3D environment.

• Port 2) Still Life assignment [week 3 and 4] [ NURBS and Subdivision modeling]
- Due week 5

The subject matter of some modern painters was the Still Life -- a study of objects found in everyday life, such as a bowl of fruit, a table setting, a vase of flowers, or other objects. Create your own still life from your imagination (you may choose to reference a photograph, or your own visual sketches). Model these objects in Maya creating an interesting, dynamic composition which explores the use of NURBS modeling, and may include some Subdivision modeling.

• Port 3) Environment assignment [week 5 and 6}[ Rendering: Light, Material, Colour, Camera]
- Due week 7

To complete this assignment, you will be working with Rendering tools which include Lighting,
Materials and Camera, all tools which can enhance sensory affect in the visual 3D space while
creating an atmospheric environment and a sense of mood. Creatively explore how Rendering tools can be used in shaping and defining an environment (this could be indoor, or outdoor, or this could be an abstract space, such as a virtual environment). Include a few objects in your environment to define the space, and map some materials on these objects (ex: consider landscape and architecture, or sculptural forms; gravity, weight and volume).

Port 4) For Week 7 and 8 choose either one of the following 2 choices (base your choice on whether you are more interested in character animation or effects animation):
- Due week 9 ( do only one 4a or 4b)

• 4a) Character assignment [week 7 and 8] ( Camera and Animation)

In creating character, animated motion and metamorphosis can greatly affect character expression,
acting, and believability, giving life, or the illusion of life" to an inanimate object. Through
anthropomorphism, a character can be an object, such as a light, or a teacup, an object which has human attributes, behaviours, and identities. Create a character in an animated environment using camera and animation to create an animated short. Adobe Premiere will be used to create a .mov file from your Maya created animation. Batch render your Maya images (frames) as .tga files. Apply both animation and camera techniques and, imagination in creating your Character animation short movie of about 10- 20 seconds in length.

OR

• 4b) Expression Animation assignment [week 7 and 8] [Tools exploration; Painting ]

Independently experiment with and explore some new Maya tools, such as Painting, Deformations or Particles, or, you may wish to continue to develop on your Modeling, Animation and Rendering skills for this Assignment. As a melting pot of tools exploration, this assignment may be a digital sketch (.jpg), or an animated movie -- in any case, create an expressive and meaningful art work.
In a creative composition, apply your individually developed skills and technique expressing
innovative composition design, developed modeling techniques, or advanced effects of your choice.
Adobe After Effects may also be assistance in this assignment. After Effects is a good linear editing tool, like Premiere, which offers more advanced compositing techniques as used in Special Effects.

Grading: Creativity, technical development, animation concepts applied, progress/ development.

3. Animation short production - 35%

This is an individual or group production project -- you will be creating an animated short production that is about 30 seconds to 2 minutes in length. Creating the animated production 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 animated production resulting in an animated short movie accompanied by a production report. The project integrates an exploration of concepts explored in reading, discussion, CMS and studio expressing artistic, technical and theoretical concepts in Animation. Most groups have a team of 3 to 5 people to achieve the short. 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 short.
- storyboard & pitch - wk 6 - The teams storyboard which you will use to pitch the short in class.
- animatic - wk 10 - Your 3D based animatic of the short, that you will build into the short.
- short & report - wk 13 - Your team's final animation short and it's report.

Your final project is 1) your teams completed animation short in a produced movie 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 and general production techniques.

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

4. Participation - 20%

You are accepted to participate in the WebX 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 webX 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).