Course Information

CS125 (CSCI1250): Introduction to 3D Computer Animation
Course Missive
Fall 2008

Staff
Instructor: Prof. Barbara Meier
CIT 307; office hours by appointment
bjm@cs.brown.edu

TAs
HTA:
Chris Smothers Christopher_Smothers@brown.edu
UTAs:
Roxanne Paredes   Roxanne_Paredes@brown.edu
Federico Rodriguez   Federico_Rodriguez@brown.edu

TA hours Listed here

TA email: cs125tas@cs.brown.edu
Website: www.cs.brown.edu/courses/cs125

Hours and Location
Class: M, W 1-2:50 in CIT 367, some classes held in MS lab, CIT 167.

TA hours, some special sessions, in MS lab: see course website for hours

Introduction

This course will introduce students to the 3D computer animation production pipeline which includes script/story writing, production planning, creating geometric models and their surface properties, designing motion, staging and lighting the action, compositing rendered images with 2D effects, and editing them into a short finished film. The first two thirds of the course will lead students through a series of exercises that build on each other to learn basic skills in the use of 2D and 3D animation tools. The remainder of the course focuses on group projects that will result in a short finished animation. At each step student work will be evaluated visually for expressiveness, technical correctness, and aesthetic qualities.

Course Content Overview

First section: 2 weeks

Second section: about 8 weeks

Third section: 3-4 weeks

Class time will be spent in lecture, in-class projects, discussion, watching films, demonstration, and critique of student work. The critique is essential for students to learn the iterative cycle of visually evaluating work in progress, determining possible improvements, and then implementing those improvements.  For many assignments, work will be critiqued more than once so that students get the opportunity to improve their work and get feedback on the results.  By looking at other students’ work, they are able to practice critical evaluation more often and with more distance than they can with their own work.

Prerequisites and CS curriculum

There are no absolute prerequisites for this course, but computer competence and experience in some related area is required.  Related areas include computer graphics, visual arts or MCM production courses, some RISD courses, or production experience in a related area such as computer graphics, filmmaking, video production, animation, digital imaging, or photography. The course is limited to 20 students and instructor permission is required.  Students will have to demonstrate prior experience before being given permission to register.  If the course is over subscribed, preference will be given by seniority and to more experienced students, but some spots will be reserved for motivated juniors and possibly sophomores.

The Computer Science Department is committed to multi-disciplinary study and welcomes students who would like a taste of computing as well as those who are interested in the full course meal.  This course is open to CS concentrators, non-concentrators, RISD students, and graduate students.  CS students who have taken CS123 or CS224 will find this course to be a creative application of the graphics algorithms explored in those courses.

Aims

These aims are broad goals for this course, while objectives are the concrete measures by which the aims are realized.

Our aims are that by the end this course you will

(1) learn and use the production pipeline to create your own animated film

(2) see animation as an artistic and personal expression both in what you view in others' work and in what you create

(3) develop your critical eye so that you can improve your work

Objectives

To achieve the aims above, students will be able to do the following by the end of the semester:

Textbooks

Required Texts

After Effects Apprentice by Chris and Trish Meyer ISBN 978-0240809380. (You will need this immediately.)
Introducing Maya 2008 by Dariush Derakhshani ISBN 978-0-470-18536-4. (You will need this in about 2 weeks.)
Digital Lighting and Rendering by Jeremy Birn, 2nd ed. ISBN 978-0321316318 (You will need this in about 4 weeks.)

Recommended Texts

These books are recommended for those with stronger interest:

After Effects 7.0 Studio Techniques by Mark Christiansen
Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting by Lee Lanier, 2nd ed.
mental ray for Maya, 3ds Max, and XSI by Boaz Livny.

Some class material will be taken from these sources, and others to be announced:

Cinefex, a journal of visual effects, published quarterly (available in Rock)
Steven Katz, Film Directing Shot by Shot, Michael Wiese Productions, 1991
Eadweard Muybridge, Animals in Motion, Dover, 1957.
Eadweard Muybridge, The Human Figure in Motion, Dover, 1989.
Steve Roberts, Character Animation in 3D, 2004.
Mike Wellins, Storytelling for Animation, 2005.
Ed Hooks, Acting for Animators, 2003.
Charles Solomon, The History of Animation, Wings Books, 1994.
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life
Richard Williams, The Animator's Survival Kit, Faber and Faber Ltd, 2001.
Maya Press, The Modeling and Animation Handbook, 2008.
George Maestri, Digital Character Animation 3, New Riders, 2006.

Recommended DVDs

Many Maya training DVDs are available.  You are welcome to buy or rent these on your own.  Many students ask if we can buy a set for the class and post them online.  Unfortunately, this is not allowed under the license agreements of the companies that produce the DVDs; you would each have to buy your own if we were to post them online.  The recommended DVDs are from Digital Tutors and Gnomon Workshop; the websites of these companies have many free online tutorials as well and a few of their titles can be rented from smartflix.com. The official Autodesk Maya DVDs are generally not worth the cost. As Maya licensees, we do have some of these and we will tell you where to find them online.

Assignments

This course has garnered a reputation for taking a lot of time and being fast-paced, but we would like to help you contain the time spent on this course to a reasonable amount.   Animation is a time intensive process, but not all of the time requires hard thinking; some is just going through steps you’ve already figured out how to do.

Students taking this course have widely varying backgrounds; therefore, they may choose, within bounds, the level of complexity for their projects, both technically and aesthetically.  As long as the lower bound has been met, projects will not be penalized for being “simple,” but they should be polished.  More complex projects can be considered for “extra credit,” but complexity is not a substitute for quality.  Students should consider what they want to get out of the course, their strengths, and their other commitments when choosing projects. The choice of projects is the most controllable key to keeping your time commitment within your budget.  While each assignment is relatively simple, the complexity and vagaries of production software end up eating your time.  We will try to eliminate as much wheel-spinning as possible, but going down dead ends and contending with the software are part of the production process.  Students should plan accordingly and start assignments promptly.  The final project, in particular, can be quite time-consuming and students should plan for this when choosing their course load.

Most assignments have two components: the product of the assignment and a written progress report and/or evaluation. Both must be turned in by 10am on the day they are due.  The evaluation is a paragraph in which you discuss the challenges you faced, both technical and aesthetic, and how you approached and solved them or worked around them.  For some assignments, there are specific questions or areas that you are asked to discuss.  You should include ideas for how your work can be improved. Assignments turned in without a meaningful evaluation are marked down 1/3 of a letter grade.

You are encouraged to start early and work steadily on every assignment.  This will allow you to make several iterations on your project.  Getting away from your project is as important as working on it.  The time away helps in two ways: it can help you think of a different approach to solving a problem and it can help you view your work with a fresh eye so that you can find ways to improve it.  Many assignments are intended to be work in progress and should be handed in on time so that you may receive the benefit of the critical evaluation.  In addition, some assignments build on the previous ones; staying on schedule is essential.  Assignments often overlap with the previous assignment.  We recognize this can add to general confusion, but it can also work to your advantage because looking around the corner to the next task can often help you do a better job on the current task.  You may also find that your lab time can be made more efficient when you are working on two things at once. For example, you can work on the next tutorial if you are stuck on the current problem.  Finally, please note that other classes often use the MS lab in the evenings for sections, so you will need to plan your time there accordingly.

The due dates can be found on the course calendar.  They are to be completed individually except for the final project which will be done in groups of two to four students.

Attendance and Class Participation

This is a studio/seminar course.  The success of the class depends on your participation in discussions, projects, and critiques; therefore attendance is mandatory.  You must email me before class if you have a legitimate conflict or are sick in order to be excused.  Students who have more than two unexcused absences class may not pass.

The class participation grade will be based on participation in discussions, critiques, in-class exercises, and presentations.  Please note that it is a large part of the grade, and can raise or lower the final grade significantly.

Assessment and Late Policies

The following is an approximate breakdown of the contributions of the course components:

Tutorials: 5%
Assignments: 35%
Participation in Class Discussion and Critique: 20%
Final Project: 40%

Each assignment will be graded with a rubric that shows how well the design and technical criteria for that project have been met.  The rubric will be available when the assignment is handed out.   In real-life production, following your supervisor’s artistic and technical direction is key to getting projects done to a successful level within a time budget.  Accordingly, we place emphasis on following the directions of assignments in this course.   If you want to explore an alternate path or otherwise “show us your stuff,” do the regular assignment first and then play to your heart’s content.   We love to see what you can do.  

To receive a passing grade in this course, students must

  1. Participate in class critiques and discussions on a regular basis. I expect you to come to all classes having prepared assignments for critique and/or to have read and considered reading assignments carefully.
  2. Complete all assignments and the final project.
  3. Submit a written evaluation for all assignments and the final project.
  4. Write and orally present a group proposal for the final project that includes a 1-2 page written description and supporting visual material.

Assignments must be handed in by 10am on their due dates.  In-progress works are not graded, but if work is not presented on a critique day, the assignment will be marked down ½ letter grade.  In progress assignments may not be handed in late.  Assignments are marked down 1/3 letter grade for each 24-hour period late up to one full letter grade.

For final versions of assignments, students have three “free” late days.  These will be applied for maximum benefit in calculating final grades, but will not show up in grades for individual assignments.  Free late days do not apply to final projects.  Late final projects will only be accepted with a dean’s or doctor’s note.

Extensions on an assignment will only be given for valid medical or personal emergencies, and must be supported with a note from Health Services, your doctor, or a dean.  The free late days should cover an occasional concurrent deadline or short illness. Occasionally, there may be opportunities to earn more free late days.

In this course you will be learning new skills.  Some would argue that letter grades are not appropriate during this process.  You are welcome to take the class S/NC, but the same passing grade requirements apply.



Collaboration

In the real world of production, nearly all work is collaborative and there is almost always more than one way to achieve the same goal.  In this course, we encourage students to discuss approaches with each other on assignments in which each student will be pursuing a different project (e.g. a different object to model or a different scene to light). For assignments in which all students are working on the same project, more care should be taken not to share strategies.  Students may also find they are stuck not knowing how to proceed with the software.  In this case, it is probably best to see a TA. If TAs are not available soon, then asking another student for direction is okay.  Often the problem is simply not being familiar with the software.  However, one student may not “drive” the software for another student.  Students need to acquire a basic level of competence at each production task in order to complete the final project.  Students may critique each other’s work outside of class, but students whose work is being critiqued should figure out how to improve their own work.

Students may not do assignments using software that duplicates the functionality of AfterEffects or Maya, and then import the results into AfterEffects or Maya.  Students may not use third party solutions to any assignment with the exception of sound material, images, or movie clips that are incorporated into a larger piece.  This includes downloads from the web and scripts, recipes, etc. from any outside source whether they are published or not.  Students may not hand in tutorial solutions found on book CD/DVDs or any other source. You are welcome to use tutorials to learn a technique, but you may not hand in the results of a tutorial as an assignment.  For further information, please refer to Brown’s Academic Code.  If you are not sure about something, see me or TAs before proceeding.

Software

We will be using Adobe AfterEffects CS3, Autodesk Maya 2008, and Adobe Premier Pro for class assignments in the MS Lab, CIT 167.  You may acquire your own copies of these programs if desired. Be sure to get copies that are discounted for education.  Autodesk has a program that allows you to have a Maya license until you graduate for a reduced fee.  There is also a Personal Learning Edition of Maya that may be downloaded for free, but you may not turn in assignments created with Maya PLE as it is not intended for classroom use.  In addition, files saved in PLE are not useable in the lab versions of Maya and images rendered with Maya PLE are emblazoned with a huge, moving watermark. 

Finally

Making animation is fun, but it takes a lot of time to do great work.  Pixar animators typically animate about 10 seconds in a 40-50 hour work week.  That does not include designing,  modeling, shading, lighting, or compositing.  You will not have the luxury of spending that much time, and your work will not look as polished at this stage.  But don’t be discouraged – you are in the beginning of learning this great art medium.  Expect the software to make you insane at times.  Just choose your projects wisely and stay on top of the assignments.  You can do this!