This web site is currently under development for spring 2023. More course information is forthcoming.

DRAFT

Image above, credit, Garett Weaver’s submission “Drop Watcher” for final exercise, Computer Animation & Storytelling, University of Oregon, 2019

INSTRUCTOR
Earl Mark, PhD, https://faculty.virginia.edu/mark/, emark@uoregon.edu
Visiting Associate Professor of Architecture, University of Oregon
Associate Professor of Architecture, University of Virginia

DESCRIPTION

Dreaming In Animation Space is a hands-on subject in moviemaking through techniques in three-dimensional computer animation, composite video editing, as well as sound editing and capture. The class will periodically screen short and feature length animations as well as ongoing student work. Discussion of these works will be an integral part of the subject. There will also be a few readings in film theory and cognitive science. The links between perception, representation, storytelling and digital animation will be examined within both a historical and a contemporary critical framework.

Tutorials include methods of constructing computer models of the built and natural environment, the dynamic simulation of light, air, wind, water, fabric, hair, springs, hinges and other physical phenomenon. They include character rigging and animation as well as related inverse kinematics techniques for controlling movement. An inertial motion capture body is not available this quarter to enhance the simulation and exploration of character movement. However, we will access a library of such motion capture data to rig characters for smooth continuous and natural movement and also explore alternative methods for character rigging foe forward and inverse kinematics, Scripting in a java-like language to animate and generate forms will be incorporated into some exercises.

The exercises and scenarios we examine will include animation the numerical basis and invisible geometrical order of shapes found in nature and architecture. For example, we will consider then decelerating spiral that can be used to generate the growth pattern on a sunflower plant, the accelerating spiral that has been used to generate the shape of a Nautilus shell, or the “split-average” curve formation sequence use to create the skin of the main character in the Pixar movie “Geri’s Game” which was developed with Maya. The forms of waves hitting the beach can be explore through fluid dynamic simulation methods.

Four animation assignments accumulate towards the production of a short (from 1 to 5 minutes) movie/animation by the end of the class. The project themes may vary according to individual student interest. These may include character based visual narratives, explicit reconstructions of buildings and landscapes, or more abstract compositions exploring materiality, light, three-dimensional forms and spatial geometry, or physical processes.

It is anticipated that an interdisciplinary group of students admitted to the course will bring perspectives from across the arts and sciences, including such diverse fields as fine arts, bio-mechanical engineering, design, computer music, computer science, drama, media studies, systems engineering, educational instructional technology or other subjects where computer animation or simulation is of interest.

 RESOURCES

The primary technology will be Autodesk Maya*, Autodesk MotionBuilder. .Autodesk software is free to the educational community for academic use (see autodesk.com for details). We wii have access to Open Shot, Chaos Player and Adobe Premiere on classroom, virtual and lab computers for Video Editing. iMovieHD may be a convenient video editing alternative for students who have an Apple personal computer. The open source software MakeHuman will be used to generate and rig  human chapters. MakeHuman is public domain and available at no cost or for a voluntary donation. A grant of software by Academy and Emmy award winning Chaos for this class includes global illumination software VRay, fluid dynamics software Phoenix, and Chaos Player. In short, there are no purchasing requirements. The primary workshop venue will be Lawrence 383, a computer equipped facility with all relevant software licenses provided. Additional facilities in the School of Architecture and the high performance virtual lab will be available for working in the course after hours.

* We will work with the most recent version of the sofware installed in our computing classrooms.

GRADING

Each of the first three projects count towards 20% of the grade. The final project counts towards 30% of the grade and class attendance and general participation count towards 10% of the grade.Missing class due to an excusable absence will of course not penalize the grade. However, due  to the sequential building block nature of the topics covered, full attendance is otherwise necessary to ensure consistency and continuity in the learning sequence and provide time to absorb and practice new concepts and techniques as they are introduced with some intentional redundancy between successive sessions so that students of any experience level can learn learn them efficiently, efficient and without memorization or difficult.

SCHEDULE

The order of the topics below may be slightly adjusted.

Week 1: April 3 – 7
	Exercise 1 Introduction to animation techniques and concepts/course oveview The interface and graphics primitives [Derakhshani: Lightly Browse Chapters 1 and 2, Chapter p. 54 –  62] Simple Key-framed Animation Photoshop Assembly Editing Select Modes and Templates [Robinson: Read Chapters 5 and 6] Grouping and Parenting- Quicktime docs: Import Image Sequence (p. 28) Exporting Movie (p. 43 – 45), Exporting to Mpeg 4 (p. 48)]: and Adding an Audio Track to a Quicktime Movie (p. 34)]:- LinkinLearning * Maya 1022 Essential Training by George Mastri, Overview, 1. The Maya Interface. 2. Selecting and Manipulating Objects, 3. Organizing Maya Scenes (optional)
Week 2: April10 – 14
	Selection Modes and Templates Instantiation [Derakhshani: Browse Chapter 3,] Grouping and Parenting Polygons and Nurbs Modeling In Detail [Derakhshani: Read Chapters 4 and 5] Skeletons Skins and Inverse Kinematics [Derakhshani: Browse Chapter 8, Read Chapter 9]
Week 3: April 17 – 21
	Review Exercise 1 Exercise 2 Graphical Editor and Path Animation Deformers Lighting, Shaders and Rendering [Derakhshani: Read Chapters 7 – 8, Browse Chapter 10] Camera Control and Environmental Effects [Optional, Robinson: Read Chapter 16 and Chapter 17] iMovie HD Editing – LinkinLearning Maya 2022 Essential Training 4. Creating Polygonal Models, 5.Modeling Polygonal Meshes, 7. Work with Curves – Nurbs Modeling Techniques (optional)
Week 4: April 24 – 28
	Motion Capture character Rigging Shaders, Material Palettes and Rendering Continued – LinkinLearning Maya Essential 2022 Training 10. Creating Matarials, 11. Applying Materials andTextures, 12. Rendering in Maya(optional)
Week 5: May 1 – 5
	Review Exercise 2 Exercise 3 MEL (Maya’s Embedded Programming Language) Dynamics/Particles and Collisions [Derakhshani: Read Chapter 12, p. 896 – 908]
Week 6: May 8 – 12
	Rigid and Soft Bodies with Constraints [Derakhshani: Read Chapter 12, p. 913 – 926] Fluid Dynamics Cloth [Derakhshani: Read Chapter 12, p. 946 – 953]
Week 7: May 15 – 19
	Review Exercise 3 Exercise 4 Final Exercise Blend Shapes Connection Editor
Week 8: May 22 – 26
	Hair MASH Audio Generated Animation Sound Editing and Capture Composite Editing Special Effects [Derakhshani: Read Chapter 12, p. 949
Week 9: May 29  – June 2
	Representative eview Exercise 4 Course Summary
Week 10: June 4 – 6
	Special Effects Final Project Workshop
	Final Exercise4  Review (DATE/TIME: TBA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: Recommended readings are available on-line through the University of Oregon Electronic Library. Details will be explained in class. Since there are workshop notes provided online for all tutorials we cover, these additional references and readings beyond on Maya are at the discretion of individual students.

REFERENCES

Online Highly Recommended Reading

Introducing Maya 2016 by Dariush Derakhshani, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2015 ± § –see on-line version of this book (follow series of links, some slightly slow)
Recommended Reading

Animation:

Maya 2022 Essential Training, George Maestri, LinkedInLearning, 2022, § see on-line version of this textbook
Mastering Autodesk Maya 2016 by John Palamar, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2016 A° § see on-line version of this textbook
Maya Visual Effects: The Innovators Guide by Eric Keller, Autodesk Official Press, 2013 +  §– see on-line version of this textbook
MEL Scripting for Maya Animations, Second Edition,  by Mark R. Wilkins and Chris Kazmier, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2005 + §
Maya Secrets of the Pros 2nd ed. / John Kundert-Gibbs, Dariush Derakhshani et. al. Sybex Inc., 2006. +  § – see on-line version of this textbook
Maya 8 for WIndows & Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide) by Morgan Robinson, and Nathaniel Stein, Peachpit Press, 2007 ± §
* lynda.com tutorials are available this link through independent subscription . See links in schedule above. Use is optional.

Moviemaking:

Arnheim, Rudolf, Film as Art. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1957.*
Cocteau, Jean, Beauty and the Beast: Diary of a Film. New York: Dover Publications, 1972.
Greene, Graham, The Third Man and The Fallen Idol, Penguin Books Ltd., 1977.
Murch, Walter, In the Blink of An Eye, A Perspective on Film Editing, Silman-James Press, 1995.

Philosophy and Perception:

Arnheim, Rudolf, Art and Visual Perception. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1974.
Goodman, Nelson, Languages of Art. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company Inc., 1976.
Sacks, Oliver, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1987.
Putnam, Hillary, Representation and Reality. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1988.
Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sarte, Edited by Walter Kaufmann, The World Publishing Company, 1956 (Rainer Maria Rilke, “The Notes of Malte Laurids Brigge”, 1910)

Notes:

± This is the primary text with paced readings and straightforward tutorials tied to the syllabus and week to week developmental progression of the class. It is also available online at no cost to members of the University of Oregon community eLibrary.
§ An online version of these books are available to members of the University of Oregon community only eLibrary..  
A° This is a more comprehensive introduction though less concise than the Derakhshani text.
+ These texts include greater focus on more on specialized topics. Mastering Autodesk Maya 2016  has over 800 pages, covers significantly more features and special effects than the primary text we will be using in the class.