grde1000 animation and special effects compositing...

Acknowledgement of Country We respectfully acknowledge the Indigenous Elders, custodians, their descendants and kin of this land past and present.

Unit study package code: GRDE1000

Mode of study: Internal

Tuition pattern summary: Note: For any specific variations to this tuition pattern and for precise information refer to the Learning Activities section.

Computer Laboratory: 1 x 3 Hours Weekly

This unit does not have a fieldwork component.

Credit Value: 25.0

Pre-requisite units: Nil

Co-requisite units: Nil

Anti-requisite units: 7844 (v.5) Design Technology 191

Result type: Grade/Mark

Approved incidental fees: Information about approved incidental fees can be obtained from our website. Visit fees.curtin.edu.au/incidental_fees.cfm for details.

Unit coordinator: Title: MrName: Jarrad GittosPhone: +618 9266 4170Email: [email protected]: Building: 201 - Room: 514E

Teaching Staff: Name: Jarrad GittosPhone: +618 9266 4170Email: [email protected]: Building: 201 - Room: 514E

Name: Bachtiar YakushovPhone: .Email: [email protected]: Building: 201 - Room: .

Administrative contact: Name: Sarah Norman-BrownPhone: .Email: [email protected]: Building: . - Room: .

Learning Management System: Blackboard (lms.curtin.edu.au)

Unit Outline

GRDE1000 Animation and Special Effects Compositing Semester 2, 2016

Faculty of Humanities Department of Design

GRDE1000 Animation and Special Effects CompositingBentley Campus 24 Jul 2016 Department of Design, Faculty of Humanities

Page: 1 of 17CRICOS Provider Code 00301J

The only authoritative version of this Unit Outline is to be found online in OASIS

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Syllabus This unit develops student’s skills and conceptual approaches in joining various elements together into a video form. These elements might be from 3D modelling and rendering, live action video, still images, logos, drawn characters, typographic/text elements, etc: to produce special effects for movies and video clips, web site banners, TV title sequences, TV commercials, architectural walkthroughs, and training simulations. The process of joining such elements into a single composition is called “compositing”. It is the fundamental technique of Motion Graphics and Special Effects, and very important in almost all forms of Animation. Students will be introduced to techniques such as roto-scoping, image tracking, keying, “blue screening”, and colour matching. Particularly, it encourages students to explore established conventions, visual styles, animation techniques, audio design, narrative structures, and screen language in their own works. It is a project-based study unit that places equal importance on both conceptual development and skills acquisition. The unit allows students to build on their understanding of the different mediums in terms of their possibilities and limitations through exploration and experimentation.

Introduction This unit introduces students to the techniques of animation and special effects compositing, as well as the sequential process involved in a professional production pipeline. Students are encouraged to conduct visual research across a variety of mediums to garner inspiration and learn from their approaches. The unit employs a project-centred approach that aims to develop critical thinking, creative problem solving and technical skill acquisition.

Through the development of open project briefs, students will have the opportunity to engage in a rigorous development process that spans research, conceptualisation, development and refinement. It is important to closely adhere to the proposed development process as it mirrors professional practice and facilitates a solid production workflow.

Unit Learning Outcomes All graduates of Curtin University achieve a set of nine graduate attributes during their course of study. These tell an employer that, through your studies, you have acquired discipline knowledge and a range of other skills and attributes which employers say would be useful in a professional setting. Each unit in your course addresses the graduate attributes through a clearly identified set of learning outcomes. They form a vital part in the process referred to as assurance of learning. The learning outcomes tell you what you are expected to know, understand or be able to do in order to be successful in this unit. Each assessment for this unit is carefully designed to test your achievement of one or more of the unit learning outcomes. On successfully completing all of the assessments you will have achieved all of these learning outcomes.

Your course has been designed so that on graduating we can say you will have achieved all of Curtin's Graduate Attributes through the assurance of learning process in each unit.

On successful completion of this unit students can: Graduate Attributes addressed

1 Acquire knowledge of the processes of compositing images in industry practice

2 Create original media elements suitable for compositing use

3 Build animations that demonstrate understanding of layers, filters and effects

4 Develop software skills to implement the composition of still images, video and 3D elements

5 Develop the ability to plan the resource needs for a compositing project





Curtin's Graduate Attributes

Learning Activities Students will conduct research to find a visual style they are interested in, and then make a video clip in that style that includes the minimum prescribed elements and techniques. This video clip will between 10 and 30 seconds in length. Under guidance, each student will follow a professional production process to develop their individual project idea. This process will allow students to customise their unit experience and develop technical skills that support the visualisation of their ideas.

Students are expected to spend at least ten hours per week outside of scheduled classtime, on the activities and assignments for this unit. This weekly time allocation must encompass software skill development, design research and active production. It is the student’s responsibility to organise any necessary facility access that falls outside of scheduled class/contact times.

RESOURCES

You will be introduced to a range of topics through weekly lectures, as well as a range of external video lectures and tutorials to help you learn and understand the production process and compositing techniques. You will also be supplied a range of references, video inspiration sources, and compositing blogs. It is suggested that you investigate the links provided as they are helpful in understanding exactly what you can do with compositing.

BLOG DOCUMENTATION

You will be required to set up and maintain a blog for this unit. This blog is an essential part of this project and it is important that you familiarise yourself with an online blog of your choosing. This may mean setting one up the day you receive this study guide/outline and making sure you understand how to post. Blogs you can utilise are listed in Week 1.

Documentation is extremely important for this unit, as you need to document your process, thoughts, struggles, victories, development and tests. This will allow the tutor to really understand exactly how much effort and work you put into developing your project. All documentation will be recorded on your blog, including video tests, illustrations, research, comments, tutorials etc.

On your blog, you will need to document the following things:

l Visual inspiration research, including comments about the research... ¡ What you are drawing inspiration from ¡ What is appealing to you in the example ¡ Why the example works ¡ Why the example doesn't work.

l Technique inspiration research, including comments about the research... ¡ What techniques you are referring to ¡ How you can use these techniques in your own project ¡ What ideas the examples generate

l Analysis of any research added to the blog, as mentioned above

Apply discipline knowledge Thinking skills (use analytical skills to solve problems)

Information skills (confidence to investigate new ideas)

Communication skills Technology skillsLearning how to learn (apply principles learnt to new situations) (confidence to tackle unfamiliar problems)

International perspective (value the perspectives of others)

Cultural understanding (value the perspectives of others)

Professional Skills (work independently and as a team) (plan own work)

Find out more about Curtin's Graduate attributes at the Office of Teaching & Learning website: ctl.curtin.edu.au





http://ctl.curtin.edu.au/

l Concept generation, idea generation, feedback on ideas and concepts. Self reflection of thought process. l Any planning for project ahead l Tutorials which will help you develop your project, as well as a short description of how you intend to use the

tutorial in relation to your own project l Test projects, completed tutorials, your thoughts on the process, notes from the tutorial l Critique comments, feedback on online critique l Things you are struggling with, ways you overcame the struggle l Things which worked out well for you l etc.

As you see, you can write a lot on your blog about your project. The main goal is for you to document the whole process you go through to create your project, including your thoughts on everything and anything to do with the project.

ACTIVITIES

Activities are tasks you will be encouraged to do to help you understand weekly topics. It is highly recommended that you participate in these activities to get the most out of this unit. Generally, activities include in class discussions, presentations, visual experimentation and reflection.

EXERCISES

Exercises are required elements for learning specific unit content. These exercises are generally related to where you should be at in the development process, so it is critical that you pay attention to the activities provided and when they need to be completed by. It is a good idea to do these exercises following the weekly activities. These activities will be supplied via the Lynda.com platform.

Learning Resources Online resources

l Weekly topics will be augmented with educational courses on the Lynda.com platform. The links to the educational courses will be supplied via Blackboard, and in class. It is a requirement for the student to complete each weekly course to assist the education and development of the various technical skills required to complete the projects in this unit.

(http://lynda.com)





http://lynda.com/

Assessment Assessment schedule

Detailed information on assessment tasks

1. Assessment 1: Pre-production document: 25% Due in week 4

Introduction

Over the duration of this unit, you will observe, understand and appreciate visual effects for film, television and motion graphics. You will learn various tools, techniques and communication methods of VFX, and construct your own short narrative leveraging your own understanding of VFX and film making theories and techniques. Your final project outcome will be a VFX project which leverages various film, 2D, 3D, colour and digital VFX production elements in a final visual narrative (max length 30 seconds).

The assignment structure closely follows the standard production pipeline of any VFX or animated project, and therefore the assessments are structured in a way, which closely mirrors a professional workflow.

In a production workflow, the first stage of development of a project is to gather research, analyse the research, and use this research to generate ideas for your own projects. This is called the research and ideation stage, and it will be the first stage of production for you. The goal of this stage is to exhaust all of the BEST ideas which can be implemented within the set time provided, gather all resources required to make your project a success, pre-visualise what your intended final outcome should look like, and plan how you will approach the project production.

The first project involves the various pre-production stages of constructing your very own visual FX project, leveraging a workflow that mirrors a professional studio workflow.

Learning Outcomes

Through the process of sourcing references, analysing, going through the ideation process, project planning and conceptual development, you will:

l Observe creative uses of compositing, and reflect on the effectiveness of gathered references. l Learn and understand the tools and techniques for digital compositing. l Learn and understand conceptual development techniques, and generate conceptual ideas for the

project. l Plan and gather resources required to assist in the creation of your concept.

Pre-production minimum requirements

Task Value % Date DueUnit Learning Outcome(s)

Assessed

1

Pre-Production document 25 percent Week: 4 Day: Tutorial Day Time: Start of Tutorial

1,5

2

Animate 25 percent Week: 8 Day: Tutorial Day Time: Start of Tutorial

2,4,5

3

Final Project 50 percent Week: 14 Day: Tutorial Day Time: Start of Tutorial

3,4,5





Through exploring pre-existing visual mediums, generating a range of various ideas of how you could create your own special FX project, visual narrative solutions, problem solving and project planning, you will produce a solid fundamental structure to build on for future projects. This project will be the base for the rest of your assignments in this unit, and as such requires to be as complete as possible to continue the assessment process.

You will be required to set up and maintain a blog for this unit. This blog is an essential part of this project and it is important that you familiarise yourself with an online blog service, in this case, we recommend Wordpress.com. This may mean setting one up the day you receive this assignment brief, and making sure you understand how to post.

The project development detailed in the blog will be assessed for Assignments 1, 2 & 3.

On your blog, you will need to document the following things:

l Visual inspiration research, including comments about the research... ¡ What you are drawing inspiration from

¡ What is appealing to you in the example

¡ Why the example works

¡ Why the example doesn't work.

l Technique inspiration research, including comments about the research... ¡ What techniques you are referring to

¡ How you can use these techniques in your own project

¡ What ideas the examples generate

l Analysis of any research added to the blog, as mentioned above

l Concept generation, idea generation, feedback on ideas and concepts. Self-reflection of thought process.

l Any planning for project ahead

l Tutorials which will help you develop your project, as well as a short description of how you intend to use the tutorial in relation to your own project

l Test projects, completed tutorials, your thoughts on the process, notes from the tutorial

l Critique comments, feedback on online critique

l Things you are struggling with, ways you overcame the struggle

l Things which worked out well for you

l etc.

As you see, you can write a lot on your blog about your project. The main goal is for you to document the whole process you go through to create your project, including your thoughts on everything and anything to do with the project.

Stages of pre-production

There are various stages of the pre-production process, which should be addressed in this assignment. This ranges from the visual collation of reference material, to the final storyboarding and construction of the project goal. Each of these stages should be documented on the blog for this pre-production assignment,





and developed/refined throughout the duration of the assessment. Below you will find further breakdown of what is involved in each stage of production.

Research into visual, creative and technical:

The first stage of project development is to observe pre-existing solutions, and understand what makes them fantastic. This may mean looking at creative examples of compositing, technical examples of compositing, or just strong narrative solutions – such as your favourite film. Every pre-existing sample in existence has something to be learned from it, and it is your task to find a range of examples and understand them.

For this stage, you will:

l Find 5 examples of creative uses of compositing. l Find 5 examples of technical implementation of the following compositing techniques: Green screening,

2D/3D tracking, rotoscoping, particle/sfx creation, colour grading. l Find 5 examples of strong narrative construction and filmic techniques, including style and camera

execution. l Find 5 examples of strong audio implementation into visual projects.

Some of these examples may cross multiple areas, and the analysis stage can help reveal the complex construction of the examples provided.

Analysis of research:

To really understand how to construct your own successful narrative and VFX project, you need to analyse the existing works. This stage includes going through the questions outlined in the blog overview above for each example you have gathered. Truly understand how the examples you have gathered are constructed, and highlight elements you can implement into your own project production.

Ideation and concept development:

Using the knowledge you have gained from researching and analysing pre-existing examples of VFX compositing, you will need to generate a range of ideas for your very own compositing project.

Your task in this stage is to generate 10 quick form ideas, including a synopsis of what each concept is about, some quick thumbnail sketches to visualise the ideas, and a breakdown of compositing tools and techniques you wish to utilise for each idea.

From this, select three of the strongest concepts, and develop them further. This may mean thinking more about camera angles, specific techniques and visuals present, audio design, character development and narrative structure.

Storyboarding:

Storyboarding is the stage where the concept is fleshed out even further to reveal specific visual communication methods you intend to leverage to construct your project. It includes the distinct illustration of camera angles, framing, audio, timing notes and narrative construction.

You will need to leverage templates provided to choose the strongest concept out of your final 3, and construct a detailed storyboard which clearly communicates camera angles, narrative structure, timing and audio notes. This will form a base for your final project, and will provide you with a guide for your filming and VFX production.

Project planning:

Project planning is the final stage of the pre-production process, where you lay out a plan to complete your project on time, in a decent quality. Project planning is essential for complex productions, as time





management is commonly the biggest problem for students.

You will gather a range of tutorials and resources you will require to construct your project, and you will construct a time schedule to keep you on track. To assist you with this, you need to list all compositing techniques you aim to leverage to construct your project, as well as a paragraph outlining how you aim to construct your project.

The time schedule should outline when you plan to complete tutorials, when you plan to gather resources, develop the project and refine the project. It also should include audio development and conceptual experimentation. This will form a strong guide for the production of your project, but may alter once you have completed visual experimentation through assignment 2.

Deliverables

Your submission should cover the four elements above, with relevant posts to your blog. The submission requirements will be a PDF with index links to blog posts for each section. You will need to construct your document in sections, each with links to blog posts, which address the assessable criteria. These sections are:

l Research and analysis ¡ Conceptual ¡ Technical ¡ Creative/narrative ¡ Audio

l Ideation and development l Storyboard l Project planning

The PDF file should be uploaded to Blackboard at the start of your class, on the day the project is due. The file name should be in the following format: A1_Surname_StudentNumber.pdf

Where to Submit: On the Blackboard website, go to the ‘Assignments’ section of the site and scroll down to find the Dropbox for Project 1. Upload your .PDF file to the dropbox by the due date.

Due date: Week Commencing 22nd August ’16 at the start of your allocated class for this week.

*Late uploads without prior extension approval will be penalized at 10% per calendar day.

2. Assessment 2: Animatic/Visual Tests: 25% Due in week 8

Introduction

The second stage of a professional VFX production process is to generate a ‘pre-visualization’ of the final project, which helps in understanding all the required elements for the final outcome. It is a rapid method of previewing a ‘draft’ version of your final project, and is useful in spotting issues with the project early on. This could include identifying poor camera angles, not enough camera shots, or unclear methods of VFX creation and implementation, or even a lack of clarity of concept.

This stage also provides you an opportunity to experiment with visual effects, visual styles and overall assembly of one or more of your shots, so you can both see if you can achieve the desired aesthetic you are after, as well as how long the compositing test actually took. From this point, you can re-evaluate your timeline/plan to accommodate for the outcomes of your tests.





Learning outcomes

Through the process of creating your animatic and doing visual style tests, you will:

l Test the successfulness of your narrative construction methods and techniques. l Complete a visual draft of your concept including audio, visual/camera and timing execution from your

storyboarded concept. l Complete compositing tests to demonstrate final intended visual style, as well as test compositing

elements and techniques. l Reassess your plan and gather further resources required to assist in the creation of your concept.

Project minimum requirements

Your project submission for assessment 2 must include a fully resolved animatic, which demonstrates your project concept in an animated form. This will leverage user-generated storyboards, accompanied by audio soundscapes constructed by the student. Any external audio elements not created by you must be referenced in Curtin’s Chicago referencing format at the end of the animatic, and on your blog. Your animatic must be in a compressed .h264 video format, and prepared for online upload. You must upload your animatic to YouTube, and link the animatic to your blog.

Accompanying this, you must construct one or more scenes in your final intended visual style, leveraging some compositing tools and techniques. This should successfully demonstrate what you want your final project to look like, and informs you how long it takes to achieve your final aesthetic. This will be utilised as a platform for review, critique and feedback.

Lastly, from the knowledge you gained through completing your visual test, reassess your time schedule and planning, and update your project plan/schedule. The documentation of these elements should be supplied via your blog, and indexed through a PDF submitted to Blackboard.

The project development detailed in the blog will be assessed for Assignments 1, 2 & 3.

Animatic:

An animatic is a draft video file assembled from your storyboard. It tests the timing, framing, audio, visuals, and communication techniques, before you develop the final aesthetic. The animatic must explain your concept effectively, and must mirror roughly what the final project will be like. Similar to the visual experimentation, it is recommended you show your tutor this video at least once before submission.

The video specifications for the animatic must be:

l 1280x720 resolution, 24-25fps l .h264 mp4 video codec (YouTube HD 720p setting in Adobe Media Encoder) l As long as specified in the proposed design solution, in this case, 30 seconds MAX l Based off storyboard only l Incorporates an audio soundscape

Visual tests:

The visual tests MUST reflect your final intended aesthetic. This means you will need to select an element/shot from your project, and try and execute this leveraging visual FX techniques required. This shot may be re-developed or redone later in the development process if necessary, but it provides an opportunity to experiment with tools, techniques and visuals. One shot or more (a shot is defined as a camera sequence) is required. This must be documented on your blog, with some reflection text highlighting your discoveries through attempting this VFX element.

Re-evaluation of project planning:

Using the knowledge you have gained from your compositing test, reassess your project plan, and check if you are on track, or if your time estimates are suitable to develop the rest of your project. From this point, reflect on your schedule and redo the schedule if necessary. To communicate your evaluation process,





document your thoughts and findings via your production blog.

Deliverables

Your submission should cover the three elements above, with relevant posts to your blog. The submission requirements will be a PDF with index links to blog posts for each section, and an index link to your YouTube upload of your animatic. You will need to construct your document in sections, each with links to blog posts, which address the assessable criteria. These sections are:

l Animatic (with related posts) l Visual tests l Project planning


It should also include your animatic .mp4 file for in class critique.

Files should be compressed and named the following: A2_Surname_StudentNumber.zip

Where to Submit: On the Blackboard website, go to the ‘Assignments’ section of the site and scroll down to find the Dropbox for Project 2. Upload your .zip file to the dropbox by the due date.

Due date: Week Commencing 19th September ’16 at the start of your allocated class for this week.


3. Assessment 3: Final Project: 50% Due in week 14

Introduction

The final stage of a professional VFX production process is to refine, and finalise project production. The final assessable point is to complete your intended VFX project, construct a VFX breakdown, which demonstrates the work you have completed throughout the semester, and reflect on the process of production and problem solving.

This culminates your experience with VFX compositing and post-production, which should be documented successfully through your blog. The final submission will be your final VFX project video, a VFX break down video, as well as a reflection into your project production. This content will be recorded on your blog, which also should document your development process throughout the semester.

Learning outcomes

Through the process of finalising your project production and creating your VFX breakdown, you will:

l Demonstrate your understanding of VFX fundamentals through the creation of your own project. l Develop understanding of technical software toolsets and skills for compositing. l Demonstrate an ability to plan, execute and present a final project through a production pipeline. l Reflect critically on a project production outcome.

Project minimum requirements





Your project submission will include your final project video, as well as your final blog wrap up and vfx breakdown. The project must be in a viewable animation form, with the standard of quality being representative of a refined outcome.

This assessment requires the following to be included in your submission:

l Final video files in .h264 format (Final, VFX Breakdown) l Source files for assessment l Reflection into project production l Blog documentation in PDF format

The aim of this project is to execute your concept outlined in the pre-production document. The project is designed to enable you to execute your compositing theory, and visual design to achieve a clear, concise and refined VFX outcome.

Final video file in .h264 format (Final, VFX Breakdown)

Your final video is the presentation of your whole development process for the second half of the semester. It’s the point where you showcase what you planned in your pre-production blog. It is recommended you show your tutor this video at least once before submission to allow for refinement.

The video specifications for the final project must be:

l 1280x720 resolution, 24-25fps l .h264 mp4 video codec (YouTube HD 720p setting in Adobe Media Encoder) l As long as specified in the proposed design solution – note: VFX breakdown can be longer than the

30-second final project restriction. l Based off storyboard only l Incorporates an audio soundscape

The VFX breakdown should demonstrate the various layers, compositing techniques utilised, and stages of assembling one to two VFX shots. It is a video format, which gives an insight into how much work was performed to achieve the final aesthetic. Visual examples will be provided in class. All video files should be posted to YouTube, then posted to your Blog and documented.

Source files for assessment

To assess the construction methods and techniques utilised in your project development, you will need to supply source files of your project. This will include audio files, imagery, visual elements, animation source files, and any files created in the production of this project. This will allow the tutor to assess your technical ability in finalising your concept. All elements, which are not your own work, must be referenced correctly using the Chicago referencing style, and clearly identified for your tutor’s reference.

Reflection post/blog

Reflect on the development process of your final animation. This may include documentation on your production process, the tools and techniques you utilised to execute your final project, your problem solving activities you completed, reflection on the task directly, and any other insights into the production process you went through to complete this project.

The reflection blog posts give a strong insight into the development process, and is an essential part of this submission.

The blog should also successfully document your stages of development between animatic stage, and final project presentation. This may include weekly production stages and documentation, as well as problem solving points in your production.

Deliverables





Your submission should cover the three elements above, with relevant posts to your blog. The submission requirements will be a PDF with index links to blog posts for each section, and an index link to your YouTube upload of your animatic. You will need to construct your document in sections, each with links to blog posts, which address the assessable criteria. These sections are:

l Final Video l VFX breakdown video l Source files l Final PDF outlining all blog posts and production pipeline stages.


It should also include your final project .mp4 file, and your VFX breakdown .mp4 for in class critique.

Files should be compressed and named the following: A3_Surname_StudentNumber.zip

Source file should be submitted in person in class, as these can be too large for Blackboard submission.

Where to Submit: On the Blackboard website, go to the ‘Assignments’ section of the site and scroll down to find the Dropbox for Project 3. Upload your .zip file to the dropbox by the due date.

Due date: Week Commencing 31st October ’16 at the start of your allocated class for this week.


Pass requirements

Students must achieve a final overall mark of 50% to pass this unit.

Fair assessment through moderation

Moderation describes a quality assurance process to ensure that assessments are appropriate to the learning outcomes, and that student work is evaluated consistently by assessors. Minimum standards for the moderation of assessment are described in the Assessment and Student Progression Manual, available from policies.curtin.edu.au/policies/teachingandlearning.cfm

Late assessment policy

This ensures that the requirements for submission of assignments and other work to be assessed are fair, transparent, equitable, and that penalties are consistently applied.

1. All assessments students are required to submit will have a due date and time specified on this Unit Outline. 2. Students will be penalised by a deduction of ten percent per calendar day for a late assessment submission

(eg a mark equivalent to 10% of the total allocated for the assessment will be deducted from the marked value for every day that the assessment is late). This means that an assessment worth 20 marks will have two marks deducted per calendar day late. Hence if it was handed in three calendar days late and given a mark of 16/20, the student would receive 10/20. An assessment more than seven calendar days overdue will not be marked and will receive a mark of 0.





http://policies.curtin.edu.au/policies/teachingandlearning.cfm

Assessment extension

A student unable to complete an assessment task by/on the original published date/time (eg examinations, tests) or due date/time (eg assignments) must apply for an assessment extension using the Assessment Extension form (available from the Forms page at students.curtin.edu.au/administration/) as prescribed by the Academic Registrar. It is the responsibility of the student to demonstrate and provide evidence for exceptional circumstances beyond the student's control that prevent them from completing/submitting the assessment task.

The student will be expected to lodge the form and supporting documentation with the unit coordinator before the assessment date/time or due date/time. An application may be accepted up to five working days after the date or due date of the assessment task where the student is able to provide an acceptable explanation as to why he or she was not able to submit the application prior to the assessment date. An application for an assessment extension will not be accepted after the date of the Board of Examiners' meeting.

For assessment extension, please fill out the assessment extension application form, and forward this through with supporting documents to the [email protected] email. Ensure that you CC your unit coordinator into the email. This needs to be done at least TWO days before the assessment deadline.

Deferred assessments

Supplementary assessments

Supplementary assessments are not available in this unit.

Reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities/health circumstances likely to impact on studies

A Curtin Access Plan (CAP) is a document that outlines the type and level of support required by a student with a disability or health condition to have equitable access to their studies at Curtin. This support can include alternative exam or test arrangements, study materials in accessible formats, access to Curtin’s facilities and services or other support as discussed with an advisor from Disability Services (disability.curtin.edu.au). Documentation is required from your treating Health Professional to confirm your health circumstances.

If you think you may be eligible for a CAP, please contact Disability Services. If you already have a CAP please provide it to the Unit Coordinator at the beginning of each semester.

Referencing style

The referencing style for this unit is Chicago.

More information can be found on this style from the Library web site: http://libguides.library.curtin.edu.au/referencing.

Copyright © Curtin University. The course material for this unit is provided to you for your own research and study only. It is subject to copyright. It is a copyright infringement to make this material available on third party websites.

If your results show that you have been granted a deferred assessment you should immediately check OASIS for details.





http://students.curtin.edu.au/administration/

http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/CAP.htm

http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/disability_services.htm

http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/disablity_services_eligibility.htm#/health-and-wellbeing/10126.htm

http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/contact_disability_services.htm

http://libguides.library.curtin.edu.au/referencing

Academic Integrity (including plagiarism and cheating) Any conduct by a student that is dishonest or unfair in connection with any academic work is considered to be academic misconduct. Plagiarism and cheating are serious offences that will be investigated and may result in penalties such as reduced or zero grades, annulled units or even termination from the course.

Plagiarism occurs when work or property of another person is presented as one's own, without appropriate acknowledgement or referencing. Submitting work which has been produced by someone else (e.g. allowing or contracting another person to do the work for which you claim authorship) is also plagiarism. Submitted work is subjected to a plagiarism detection process, which may include the use of text matching systems or interviews with students to determine authorship.

Cheating includes (but is not limited to) asking or paying someone to complete an assessment task for you or any use of unauthorised materials or assistance during an examination or test.

From Semester 1, 2016, all incoming coursework students are required to complete Curtin’s Academic Integrity Program (AIP). If a student does not pass the program by the end of their first study period of enrolment at Curtin, their marks will be withheld until they pass. More information about the AIP can be found at: https://academicintegrity.curtin.edu.au/students/AIP.cfm

Refer to the Academic Integrity tab in Blackboard or academicintegrity.curtin.edu.au for more information, including student guidelines for avoiding plagiarism.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Expectations Curtin students are expected to have reliable internet access in order to connect to OASIS email and learning systems such as Blackboard and Library Services.

You may also require a computer or mobile device for preparing and submitting your work.

This unit requires access to the Adobe Creative Cloud, as it leverages a wide range of applications. You can aquire student access to the creative cloud from the following link: http://www.adobe.com/au/creativecloud/buy/students.html

A decent computer capable of running the Adobe Creative Cloud is also recommended - if you do not have a decent computer, labs should be open 24/7 for you to utilise to complete your projects.

You will require a device capable of recording 720p video - quite often, mobile phones are suitable for this unit, but if you are having difficulty sourcing a video recording device, please talk to your tutor.

For general ICT assistance, in the first instance please contact OASIS Student Support: oasisapps.curtin.edu.au/help/general/support.cfm

For specific assistance with any of the items listed below, please contact The Learning Centre: life.curtin.edu.au/learning-support/learning_centre.htm

l Using Blackboard, the I Drive and Back-Up files l Introduction to PowerPoint, Word and Excel





https://academicintegrity.curtin.edu.au/students/AIP.cfm

http://academicintegrity.curtin.edu.au/

https://oasisapps.curtin.edu.au/help/general/support.cfm

http://life.curtin.edu.au/learning-support/learning_centre.htm

Additional information Research

In this unit you will need to look at the videos and movies that you come across. You will need to create a new perspective; that of the analytical designer. Previously, you may have only seen the observed aesthetic approach of a video in a passive manner. Now as you research animation and special effects compositing you will need to analyse the design of each element on the screen, consider how that aesthetic has been achieved and its impact upon the viewer. As you conduct your research, ensure that you cast a wide net by examining any areas that are relevant to the field.

Practice and Theory

Throughout this unit you will need to maintain a balance of the design you are pursuing and the techniques used to implement it. Between assignments you will be expected to sustain continuous practice into both these aspects. The theory components of this unit aim to introduce you to design concepts that you should consider as you develop your production. While the technical components aim to develop your compositing and 'finishing' skills that will be essential in bringing your production to life.

Feedback

What is Feedback? It is information designed to help you determine how much you have learned, whether you are learning the right things and the quality or depth of your learning. Feedback can take a number of forms including: marks given for assessment, comments on your assessed work, marks on a scoring rubric, generic feedback provided by the tutor to the group following assessment, tutor communication with the group in the discussion room, tutor communication directly to you via email, references and examples of good/appropriate models of practice provided by your tutor to assist your research and development (including websites, artists, readings, etc). Feedback is designed to make you think about your learning and help you find ways to improve you work.

All links were active at the time of writing, but the nature of the Internet is such that their status can change. If you discover a non- functioning link, please alert your tutor.

Enrolment

It is your responsibility to ensure that your enrolment is correct - you can check your enrolment through the eStudent option on OASIS, where you can also print an Enrolment Advice.

Student Rights and Responsibilities It is the responsibility of every student to be aware of all relevant legislation, policies and procedures relating to their rights and responsibilities as a student. These include:

l the Student Charter l the University's Guiding Ethical Principles l the University's policy and statements on plagiarism and academic integrity l copyright principles and responsibilities l the University's policies on appropriate use of software and computer facilities

Information on all these things is available through the University's "Student Rights and Responsibilities" website at: students.curtin.edu.au/rights.





http://students.curtin.edu.au/rights/

Student Equity There are a number of factors that might disadvantage some students from participating in their studies or assessments to the best of their ability, under standard conditions. These factors may include a disability or medical condition (e.g. mental illness, chronic illness, physical or sensory disability, learning disability), significant family responsibilities, pregnancy, religious practices, living in a remote location or another reason. If you believe you may be unfairly disadvantaged on these or other grounds please contact Student Equity at [email protected] or go to http://eesj.curtin.edu.au/student_equity/index.cfm for more information

You can also contact Counselling and Disability services: http://www.disability.curtin.edu.au or the Multi-faith services: http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/about_multifaith_services.htm for further information.

It is important to note that the staff of the university may not be able to meet your needs if they are not informed of your individual circumstances so please get in touch with the appropriate service if you require assistance. For general wellbeing concerns or advice please contact Curtin's Student Wellbeing Advisory Service at: http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/student_wellbeing_service.htm

Recent unit changes Students are encouraged to provide unit feedback through eVALUate, Curtin's online student feedback system. For more information about eVALUate, please refer to evaluate.curtin.edu.au/info/.

Recent changes to this unit include:

This unit was completely redeveloped in 2013. Additionally, student feedback from the University's eValuate survey has been incorporated into unit revisions.

Assessments have reduced from 4 assessable points in 2014, to 3 assessable points in 2015.

Lynda.com integration to facilitate education delivery of technical elements of unit.

To view previous student feedback about this unit, search for the Unit Summary Report at https://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/student/unit_search.cfm. See https://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/info/dates.cfm to find out when you can eVALUate this unit.





mailto:[email protected]

http://eesj.curtin.edu.au/student_equity/index.cfm

http://www.disability.curtin.edu.au/

http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/about_multifaith_services.htm

http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/student_wellbeing_service.htm

http://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/info/index.cfm

https://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/student/unit_search.cfm

https://evaluate.curtin.edu.au/info/dates.cfm

Program calendar Program Calendar – Semester 2 2016

Week Begin Date Tutorial Assessment Due

Orientation 25 July Orientation Week

1. 1 August Introduction to unit. Role of compositing as a technique in media production. What is compositing?

2. 8 August Presentation of student’s ideas. Feedback and critique. Discussion of format for next assessment – “Project Rationale”. Process and

brainstorming.

3. 15 August Successful storyboarding

Fundamentals of timing, framing, story telling and audio

Timetabling projects

Aggregating resource lists.

4. 22 August Formal presentation of “project rationale”. Group discussion, feedback and lecturer direction. Briefing for Project Animatic

presentation.

Project rationale 25%

5. 29 August Tuition Free Week

6. 5 September Creating/gathering images

Rotoscoping/green screening

7. 12 September Formal presentation of Project Animatic with one scene/shot fully rendered in final intended style. Feedback and discussion.

8. 19 September 2d tracking, 3d tracking and camera matching CG to video backplates

Project Animatic: 25%

9. 26 September Tuition Free Week

10. 3 October special fx compositing. stop motion + particles, after fx, 3d, live action etc

11. 10 October Final WIP feedback. Demonstration of progress made recorded on student blog.

12. 17 October Refinement stages, colour grading

13. 24 October typography and compositing

14. 31 October Presentation and hand-in of Final Project and Project Journal. Final Project: 50%

15. 7 November Study Week

16. 14 November Examinations

17. 21 November Examinations





grde1000 animation and special effects compositing...

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