ART 4823 - Motion Graphics
Course Syllabus
Spring 2006
Instructor: David Stoddard

Purpose and Goals of this course
Motion graphics can be described as time-based graphic design. Movement and sound are married with narrative or simply interestingly stylized visuals in which one goal is to create a rich viewer experience. Just as with graphic design, motion graphics are often created to convey information in an interesting or appealing way. The list of tools for creating motion graphics is extensive. In fact nowadays, almost any visual digital tool might be used to create media content. This includes tools for the web, for movie production and for broadcast. The most obvious uses of motion graphics in contemporary life can be seen in network ID's such as the those on Scifi channel, main title credits of movies, and TV commercials. As designers, especially nowadays, you will be involved with motion graphic production to some degree in your careers.

We will cover many tools and a lot of information about production in general for this course. Your goal for this course should be to learn as much about the tools and techniques as possible, but also to have fun and be creative with tools that interest you the most. Because there is no way to become an expert in the short time we have in a semester, you should gravitate to the tools and techniques that truly interest you, and keep your use of things you are less passionate about to a minimum. By limiting yourself in this way, you will produce better, more developed and less confused works.

Be sure to draw on the things you know already. Each of you should already have a pretty good sense of composition from your other art courses. So, whether you are shooting video or animating type, be sure to think about what will make your composition interesting and appealing, or how it can be used to convey emotions like tension or joy. Use the principles of design. Pay attention to what you already know. This is true for tools as well. If you want to make some type move and you don't feel comfortable creating it in one program, try a program you do feel comfortable using. Part of creating motion graphics and part of this course is to explore methods and discover new uses for the things you already know. Many of your tasks for this course will involve creative problem solving.

Ultimately, you should aspire to having three strong pieces to add to your portfolio or "reel" from the work you do in this course.

Here is a link to a list of topics and tools I hope to cover this semester. We may not get to everything. How well you keep up with the work for the course will determine how much we can cover.

Don't hesitate to help your fellow students by sharing knowledge, ideas and labor (such as with shooting video). Also don't hesitate to ask for help of me. I may not have the answer immediately, but i may know who will or where to find the answer to you problem.

In Class and Out
You will be using three separate media labs to study, explore, and create your pieces. We will have class in the Mac lab in Arkansas Hall and the Digital Studio in (143) RFA. Certain tools such as Adobe After Effects, and Motion are only available in the Advanced Media Lab (the small lab inside of the Production room in RFA -139). You may work in there whenever there is someone available to let you in and no. We may need to keep a schedule to allow everyone time with the resources in that room.

Plan your work. Map out the steps you need to take to create you projects. If you have a computer and Photoshop (for example), or you are working in the Digital Studio, you can create the raw materials for an animated sequence, save it and import it later when you have time to work in the AML. This way you are not spending time in the AML doing something that could be done easily elsewhere.

This is true for equipment too. You may be using cameras, lights or other equipment to produce your projects. You need to carefully plan each step and stick to your schedule. You could loose your privileges to barrow equipment if you do not return things on schedule. So, planning is essential to your success.

Class time will be for demonstrations on tools, planning and working on the production of your work, discussions of your work and critiques. Much of your production and post production work will be done outside of class. It is very important to storyboard and map out your ideas and to show the work in your sketchbook. Find a good method of storyboarding. some people use more verbal storyboards, some people draw their storyboards in detail, some of you may need to collage you ideas from photos or scanned images. We will look at all of these ideas.

Attendance
The tools and techniques for this course are complicated. If you miss something it will be up to you to learn how to do it on your own. Remember, work you do as part of the production team, and the feedback you offer in both the critiques and the creative research phase of the semester (participation) when required, will carry a lot of weight with regards to your final grade.

Grading
This is a "portfolio" style course. You will submit at least three projects for you final grade. Your grade will be based on the finished product, on the work you do leading up to the final product, and your effectiveness as a member of the "production team." I will grade projects as you finish them, but you not be given a final grade until the end of the semester after these tree aspects have been evaluated.

Your sketchbook for the course, which will include verbal ideas, sketches and storyboards, will be 20% of your final grade.

Course Materials
There will not be a textbook for this course. A recommended book is The Art of The Storyboard, by John Hart. There are several online resources for you to check if you need information or help. It is important that you make an effort to discover new techniques and practice using tools like Lightwave, and Flash MX on your own as well as in class. You will learn more about the tools if you discover new techniques on your own. I encourage you to look at the links to the online resources and search for your own links for too.

I strongly recommend subscribing to Lynda.com's Online Training Library. As most of you know these are Quicktime movie tutorials that include almost all of the software that we will use. You may want to wait to see if you need help, but if you fall behind, Lynd's tutorials are the fastest way to get caught up. I use them to refresh my memory about techniques I have not used in a while. Access to the complete library is only $25/month. This is a big bargain compared to the $150/title for the tutorials on CD.

You each need to purchase a MiniDV tape to hold your footage and to move your work to at the end of the semester.

You will keep a sketchbook for the course.

Losing your work because you did not save it in more than one place is not an excuse for not having your work finished. Back up your work on a regular basis.You may use network sharing, CD -R’s, DVD-R's and/or a USB mini-drive for this.

We have some sophisticated equipment, such as cameras, that is available on limited basis. You may also use your own digital cameras and equipment if you own some that you would like to use. I will try help you with digital compatibility issue if there are any.

Digital Studio Hours
The Digital Studio is open to art students during regular business hours (8AM to 5PM). If you are enrolled in this course, you will also have access whenever the Russell Fine Arts building is open. Please read the rules for the Digital Studio posted inside and outside the door to the lab. Please clean up after yourself.

Contact
Office: RFA 243. My hours are posted outside my door.
Phone: 230-5020. If I don’t answer, leave a message.
The most effective way to ask me about something is still e-mail.
E-mail: stoddad@hsu.edu

Website
The schedule, assignments, links, and this syllabus for Digital Skills for Artists can be accessed on the web at
http://art.hsu.edu/dad/courses/4823/index.html