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Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
North Georgia College & State University

Course Description: Advanced topics in a special area of computer science.

Course Objectives: Students will be introduced to 3D computer animation in popular modeling & animation packages used in industry. The goal of the course is to produce a small portfolio including several small works and one to two larger projects.

General Portfolio Items:

• Logo animations (5-15 seconds) - company/video logos (like the Universal/Fox video intros)
• Commercials (5-30 seconds) - SNL/MadTV-type commercial spoofs are preferred
• Trailers (10-45 seconds) - trailers for non-existent movies; again SNL-style is great
• Sketches (30 seconds - 3 minutes) - Monty Python/SNL/MadTV/you name it, all the way to dark humor
• Music videos (30 seconds - 5 minutes) - just like it sounds - best done to part of a song - whole videos can be monsters

Methods of Instruction: A combination of Lecture-Discussion, Labs, Projects, and an online Project Portfolio are the methods of instruction that are used in this course.

Evaluation:

Lab Requirements and Policies:

Labs are designed for hands-on experience. They are scheduled during the regular class hours and will be treated as regular class hours as far as the attendance policy is concerned.

During the laboratory sessions, you must work on the assigned laboratory programs. If you finish early, you may choose to help others or to leave class early. See the instructor before leaving to avoid missing end of class material.

Project grading:

Projects will be graded according to rubrics based on the assignment objectives.

General Expectations:

• absence/attendance policy: You are expected to attend each class meeting. If you miss a scheduled exam because of an emergency, doctor's appointment, serving on a jury, etc., notify the professor in advance if possible. You will make up the exam as a part of your final exam if advance arrangements cannot be made.

• class withdrawal policy: If you decide to withdraw from this class, you need to fill out a withdrawal form and get all signatures. After getting the necessary signatures you must submit the completed form to the registrar's office. This should be done before midterm.

• individual vs. collaborative work policy: Unless informed otherwise by the directions in an assignment, all submitted work is to be individual work.

• cell phones & pagers policy: Please do not use cell phones during class. Cell phones and pagers should either be turned off or use a silent ring.

 Course Content: (by week)

• Week 1: Introduction to Computer Animation
• Week 2: Principles of Animation
• Week 3 :
• Week 4 & 5:
• Week 6 & 7:  
• Week 8 & 9:
• Week 10 & 11:
• Week 12:
• Week 13 & 14:
• If Time Permits:

Required Text:

The Art of 3-D Computer Animation & Effects, 3rd edition, Isaac Victor Kerlow. Wiley & Sons, 2004.

Optional Text:

Academic Integrity Policy:

Honor Code: "On my honor, I will not lie, cheat, steal, plagiarize, evade the truth or tolerate those who do."

Suspected violations of the Academic Integrity policy should be referred by students to the instructor. If the instructor concludes that a violation of the Academic Integrity policy has occurred, the instructor will either (1) penalize the student and file an incident report with the Academic Integrity Council or (2) refer the matter directly to the Academic Integrity Council. If an incident report is filed by the instructor, the instructor will review the completed report with the student and will request that the student sign the report as an indication that the student is aware of the contents of the report.

Accommodation for Students with Disabilities:

North Georgia College & State University (NGCSU) is committed to the full inclusion of individuals with disabilities and to the principle of individual rights and responsibilities. To that end, the policies and procedures of NGCSU reasonably ensure that a person with a disability is not, on the basis of that disability, denied full and equal access to and the enjoyment of academic programs and co-curricular activities or otherwise is subjected to discrimination in such programs and activities.

The policies for access by individuals with disabilities at NGCSU are designed to ensure full compliance with all pertinent federal and state legislation, specifically to include Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

To receive disability accommodations, the student should contact the Coordinator of Disability Resources, Office of Academic Support Programs, Room 207 Barnes Hall. Approval of reasonable accommodations will be made on a case-by-case basis.