DESMA24 - Motion (Winter 19)

PDF version of the Syllabus
Access the course repository (View on Github) for all contents, files and the discussion board.

Time: Tuesday – Thursday 2:00pm–4:40pm
Location: Broad 4230

Professor: Refik Anadol
Email: refo@refikanadol.com
Office Hours: Tuesday 1:00pm-2:00pm or by appointment.

Teaching Assistant: Hirad Sab
Email: dma@hiradsab.com
Office Hours: Tuesday 5:00pm-6:00pm or by appointment.

Description

This course is organized to teach the aesthetics and fundamentals of motion and its application to design and media arts through an introduction of the basic concepts and tools for the design of moving images. In a series of assignments and a final project, students will explore principles and aesthetics of moving imagery including timing, pacing, repetition, editing, composition, resolution, process, and the link between sound and image. Class time will include class discussions, student presentations, software and equipment tutorials and studio time for project development.

Evaluation

Students will complete three projects, a sound/image exercise, and a larger final project. Projects will be evaluated based on aesthetic and conceptual qualities, innovative approach to the medium, and effort. All projects must be completed in order to pass the course. Late assignments will reduce the numeric score of the assignment. Assignments are only considered complete when accessible from the course website.

Attendance is mandatory. Absences require professor notification and permission. If a student is late 3 times, this will count as an unexcused absence and will affect your grade. Your participation and presentation skills will be considered in grading.

Grading

20% Assignment 1
5% Audio / Image Exercise
20% Assignment 2
20% Assignment 3
30% Final Project
5% Participation and Presentation

Software

Adobe After Effects
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Audacity
Maxon Cinema 4D
Blender
Various 3rd Party Plug-ins

Schedule

Assignments:

1. Behaviour & Interaction

• Use just two shapes: a circle and a line/rectangle.
• Define a type of behaviour for each shape (e.g. aggressive, flighty, ponderous, playful, jumpy, smooth, erratic, etc.)
• Design a storyboard for a 30 second animation in which one or more circles and lines express their behaviour and interact with each other at some point. In 6-8 drawings show the key points that describe the piece.
• Create a 30 second animated video based on the storyboard.

*EXERCISE: Audio & Image

• Select a 15 second section of music or sound effect.
• Using Audio to Keyframe, create a video that tightly synchronises two or more abstract shapes with the audio.

2. Midterm: Immersion

• Find one or two short videos that you think are good examples of the use of Immersive Room.
• Come up with concepts, words or a phrase to be animated.
• Create a background by using one (or more) photographs or create your own graphic or illustrated background image.
• Design a storyboard for a 30-60 second animation where the movement/behaviour of the type and the audio complements and enhances the meaning of the word or phrase.
• Create a 30-60 second animated video with audio.

3. Final Project: Bioluminescence

• Create a 60 second projection mapped animation, with audio onto a sculptural form. Processes for creating this assignment will be explored in class.

Submission Guidelines:

Every student is responsible to create and maintain their respective folder on the DMA Cloud server. This is how we will access, review, and grade your assignments. DMA Cloud is accessible remotely through a web interface, as well as locally in the studios during class.

You can access the submission directory using the following breadcrumbs:

file.dma Home > myClassses > W19-24 > drop

Folders should be structured similar to the following:

-- Charlie Doe  
    -- Assignment 01  
        -- AEP
        -- Misc  
        -- Render  
        -- Storyboard
    -- Assignment 02
        -- AEP
        -- Misc
        -- Render
        -- Storyboard
    -- Assignment 03
        -- AEP
        -- Misc
        -- Render
        -- Storyboard
    -- EXERCISE Audio & Image 
        -- AEP
        -- Misc  
        -- Render  
    -- Midterm
        -- AEP
        -- Misc
        -- Render
        -- Storyboard
    -- Final
        -- AEP
        -- Misc
        -- Render
        -- Storyboard

Aside from the structure above, there are no restriction on how many folders/files are created and stored on the cloud.

Please ensure that your final submission, which will be reviewed by us and presented by you during class is of acceptable quality. This means that it should contain an audio stream, is reasonable in size and resolution, and can be played during presentations without any issues.

Moreover keep in mind that uploading to the cloud could take a long time for large files. As such prepare assignment submissions in advance. It is your responsibility that presentation materials are ready and uploaded by the due date.

Handbrake is a great tool to convert large video files for web streaming and uploading. If you feel more adventurous try FFmpeg.

Website & Online Interaction:

Although Github might be an unconventional platform to be used for this class, yet it allows for easy editing, structuring, and rapid adjustments to the course if need be. Access the course repository (View on Github) for all contents, files and the discussion board.

The Issues section allows for facilitating a dialogue among everyone. Do not get stuck on the title Issues, since in our case it is mostly a Discussion section. Please feel free to post your questions, discoveries or inspirations in the Issues section so that it is shared openly with your peers as common knowledge and to prevent reemergence of similar concerns/contents. I have already posted some examples of how posts can be formatted. Please keep the title of your topic concise so that it can be easily addressed/found, and practice using the predefined labels for extra clarity. Also if you are able to help your peers, do not hesitate to do so as it will be much appreciated!

Moreover, Github allows you to Watch repositories (in this case the class website), which basically means you will be notified through email any time there is a change (e.g. syllabus, resources, etc.) or an issue is submitted.

Finally, don’t hesitate to explore Github and enjoy the fruits of the open-source community. There are many great things to be discovered here!

Updates:

Jan 08: Course website initiated.
Jan 10: Resources updated with books, video tutorials, and plugin websites.
Jan 11: Resource folder restructuring.
Jan 11: Submission guidelines added.
Jan 21: Updated schedule.
Jan 29: Added 3D resources to Assets, Addons & Plugins.
Jan 31: Immersive Space Manual.pdf added to Documents folder.
Jan 31: Immersive example video files added to Documents folder.
Jan 31: EDA 3D models added to Documents folder.
Jan 12: Updated schedule