Syllabus

Arch 544/444 - Digital Moviemaking and Animation
Spring 2006

Instructors Teaching Assistants
Earl Mark, 225 Campbell, 924-6438
ejmark@virginia.edu

David Malda (specialty: 3D animation)
dcm9b@virginia.edu
Eric Field (Guest Instructor), 134 Campbell, 924-4033
emfield@virginia.edu 		Marta Skupinska (specialty: digital video editing)
mks4e@virginia.edu

Information Technology Staff		  
Jake Thackston , 134 Campbell, 924 -3122
jat5c@virginia.edu (Systems, Accounts)		 Terry Sheltra, 131 Campbell, 982 - 3047
tls2t@Virginia.edu (Windows computers)
Tony Horning, 131 Campbell, 962 5470
arh3s@Virginia.edu (Classrooms)		 John Vigour, 131 Campbell, 924 -1441
jiv5k@Virginia.edu (Apple computers)

 

Course Description:

Visual storytelling is the basis for making movies in this hands-on production oriented class. Themes may incorporate short character studies or visual narratives related to the built and natural environment, such as its observable symbols and images, the process of physical or conceptual assembly, transformations of light and form, spatial or formal composition, the movement of people and objects, and similar phenomena that vary over time. Students will have the option to use either computer graphics animation or video production for most assignments. Digital music and sync sound are considered as a means to underscoring visual sequences. The links between perception, representation, and design are examined within both a historical and a contemporary critical framework.

It is anticipated that an interdisciplinary group of students will bring perspectives from across the visual and design arts. The class is open to Architecture School graduate students under arch 545 and to Architecture School third and fourth year undergraduate students under arch 444. Other students, including students from other programs, may register for the graduate or undergraduate cross-listed course by instructor permission. Previous exposure to three-dimensional computer modeling (such as through architecture 541) or animation (such as through architecture 542) may be helpful but is not essential.

The first class meeting is on Tuesday, 1/24/06, in Campbell 158, at 3:30 p.m..
Format:

Hands-on methods of movie making constitute the basis for assignments. The technologies of 3-D computer graphics animation and of digital video production are the primary technologies used. Digital sound systems will be introduced at a less intense level. The assignments accumulate towards the production of a short (from 1 to 5 minutes) movie/animation by the end of the term. The projects may vary at your discretion. These include character based visual narratives, or explicit reconstructions of buildings and landscapes, or more abstract compositions exploring tectonics, materiality, light, and other formal or spatial elements. In addition, you will write a short critique of one of the films that we will review in class. 

We screen feature length movies, independent movies, animation, and student work. Discussion of these works will be an integral part of the subject. There will be a few readings in film theory, design theory, and cognitive science. The texts by Arnheim and Riddell are required. These texts will be available at the University of Virginia Book Store.

Note that some of the films screened may change depending upon the direction of student work in the course.
Schedule:

The class meets twice per week, the designated lecture time and a section time as posted on the course offering directory.

The lecture starts on Tuesday afternoons promptly at 3:30 p.m. in Campbell 158. Most Tuesday classes will last until approximately 5 p.m.; however, a few classes may run slightly later (or we may have one or two full length evening screenings during the term).

Workshops will occur in one of two smaller group meetings once per week for a hands-on instruction on the use of the media technology. The workshops will be held in either in Campbell 105 or Campbell 130, depending upon the material to be covered.  The first workshop will be held on second week of classes on January 27th for the first discussion group at 2 p.m. and again for the second discussion group at 3:30 p.m. in Campbell room 105.
Requirements:
There are six exercises for the term that will lead towards a final project. The first six exercises count for roughly 50% of the grade, the final project counts for 40% of the grade. Class participation through attendance in lecture and the workshops will count towards 10% of the grade. Full attendance to lectures and workshops is expected.

Week 1: Jan. 24 Introduction: Subject Goals and Syllabus - Video Camera Control
 
  • Space and time within movies.
  • Screening of movie excerpts that portray movement through architectural space over different intervals of time: Forty Second Street, In The Street, Daybreak Express, Cinema Verite, Crises, Jazz Dance
  • Discussion of editing cuts.
  • Lens aperture, focal length, perspective, depth of field, exposure, videotape, video recording technology.
  • Read Excerpt from Arnheim Text: pp. 8 - 34.
  • Portable digital video equipment, camera care and handling.
  • First assignment: in-camera edited videotape "post-card" of a place.
  • workshop: introduction to 3D animation, keyframing, camera control/Quicktime editing
Week 2: Jan. 31 Editing: Depiction of Time and Space in Movies
 
  • Editing will be discussed in relationship to the treatment of time and space in movies.
  • Techniques of cutting and pacing, cutaways, jump-cutting, editing, l- cuts, splice-cuts, mise-en-scene.
  • Movies which exemplify some relevant strategies for editing will be screened, including Raising Arizona, Follow The Fleet, Don't Look Back, Primary
  • Read Excerpt from Arnheim Text: pp. 181 - 187, 34 - 87 (scanned as 181- 187, 34 - 57 and 58 - 87)
  • workshop: 3D animation continued, nurbs surfaces, simple hierarchial motion
Week 3: Feb. 7 Editing:Story Telling & Cinematic Truth
 
  • Critique and discussion of first assignment.
  • Build-up of shot->sequence->scene->movie.
  • Muybridge.
  • Sequences from Employees Leaving Lumiere Factory (Lumiere), Arrival of Express Train at Lyons (Lumiere), Trip to the Moon (Melies), Don't Look Back (Pennebacker), Dead Birds (Gardner)
  • Optional reading: Hodder, Fraser Harbour, "Cinema Veritas", Harvard Magazine, Vol. 108. No. 2., November - December, 2005.
  • Second assignment: A study of process.
  • workshop:  introduction to video editing, compression, digital video capture
Week 4: Feb. 14 Editing: Digital Editing Techniques and Equipment
 
  • Digital video formats.
  • Special effects in video editing
  • Masking.
  • Chroma and luminance keying.
  • Transitions such as dissolves, end cuts, venetian blinds, etc..
  • Begin draft of team or individual proposal for final assignment.
  • Read Excerpt from Murch, Walter, In the Blink of An Eye, A Perspective on Film Editing, Silman-James Press, 1995, (pp. 1 - 14, 57 - 63).
  • workshop: analog to digital conversion, digital video editing effects (Final Cut Pro)
Week 5: Feb. 21 Lighting: Types of Lighting and Use in Movies
 
  • Key light, fill light, daylight.
  • Comparison of animation .vs. video lighting.
  • Screening of movies where lighting used most critically, such as The Third Man ,The Magnificent Ambersons, Eaux D'Artifice and others.
  • Still life setup as an in-class exercise in lighting.
  • Optional Reading: Hiltzik, Michael A, "Digital Cinema Take 2", Technology Review, Vol. 5. No. 7., September 2002.
  • workshop: physical lights, animation lighting, rendering, material shaders (Maya)
Week 5:Feb. 28 Animation: Advanced 3D Animation Techniques
 
  • Sequences from Tron, Jurassic Park, Toy Story 2, Titanic, The Incredibles
  • Advanced 3D animation techniques.
  • Morphing Materials editing.
  • Texture mapping and scaling.
  • Reflection mapping and scaling.
  • Bump map.
  • Opacity map.
  • Second assignment is due.
  • Third assignment: A study of time.
  • Read Excerpt from Rainer Maria Rilke, "The Notes of Malte Laurids Brigge", 1910, from Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sarte, Edited by Walter Kaufmann, The World Publishing Company, 1956
  • Read Exerpt from Lynch, Kevin, Chapter 5, "What Time is This Place", MIT Press, 1972.
  • workshop: 3d animation techniques with skeletons, bindings, inverse kinematics (Maya)
Week 7: Mar. 7 .............................. SPRING RECESS ..............................
 
Week 8: Mar. 14 Sound and Music: Digital Audio and Music  [Potentially With Digital Music Group]
 
  • Sequences from Toy Story, Sesame Street, Mary Poppins, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse, The Harvey Girls, Cold Case.
  • Digital audio recording
  • Sound synthesis
  • Microphones, digital effects
  • Mixing multiple tracks
  • Syncronization of music with video, MIDI systems
  • Read Exerpt from Sacks, Oliver, Chapter 1, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Harper & Row, 1985.
  • Greene Text: pp. 9 - 120 (optional reading.
  • workshop: capturing, monitoring and editing sound  (Final Cut Pro: Soundtrack).
Week 9: Mar. 21 Screening Discussion: Review of Assignment 3
 
  • The Third Man screening and discussion.
  • workshop: character animation with Reverse kinematics
Week 10: Mar. 28 Moviemaking: Movie Space and Real Space
 
  • The Third Man screening and discussion (continued).
  • Third assignment is due.
  • Fourth assignment: detailed description of semester project.
  • Fifth assignment: short two page critique of The Third Man.
  • workshop: individual project screenings of third assignment.
Week 11: Apr. 4 Animation: Parametric Animation Techniques
 
  • Parametric animation.
  • Degrees of Freedom.
  • Cocteau Text: Recommend reading of this text by April 17th.
  • workshop: parametric animation techniques, MEL scripts 
Week 12: Apr. 11 Video: Advanced Digital Analog Editing Techniques and Equipment
 
  • Screening of sequences from Eames' films, Powers of Ten, Cosmic Voyage, Ball of Fire, Mr. Blandings Builds his Dreamhouse, Hudsucker Proxy
  • Time-lapse/pixelation techniques
  • Configuration of editing room.
  • Review of NTSC Signal.
  • Build-up of shot->sequence->scene->movie.
  • Begin draft of team proposals for final assignment.
  • Chroma key, a/b rolling, special effects.
  • Begin draft of team proposals for final assignment.
  • Fourth assignment is due.
  • Special screening time to be announced.
  • workshop: advanced editing techniques, keys and filters.
Week 13: Apr. 18 Moviemaking: Editing Strategies and Structure of Story Telling
 
  • Screening and Detailed Analysis of Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can.
  • Bring your own popcorn & refreshments, and plan on a late evening.
  • Fourth Assignment, final proposal for semester project is due.
  • Sixth assignment: optional 1 - 2 page critique of Catch Me If You Can.
  • Final assignment: movie/animation of approximately 1 to 3 minutes.
  • workshop: rigging characters
Week 14: Apr. 25 Animation: Mixing Video and Computer Graphics
 
  • Review of technologies for frame grabbing, wave form monitor, analog to digital converters.
  • NTSC and RGB video signals.
  • In class practicum on chroma key merging of video and computer graphics.
  • Fifth Assignment is due.
  • workshop: story boarding, advanced file organization (Final Cut Pro)
Week 15: May 2 Moviemaking: Bringing Closure to Movies
 
  • Story telling via interconnecting of images produced with various electronic media.
  • Screening and discussion of movies which exemplify the mixing of media such as from Siggraph, Batman, Bladerunner, Tron, Beauty and the Beast, Jacques Tati Films.
  • Discussion and screening of rushes for of semester projects.
  • workshop: review of rough cut for final project.
Week 16: May 12 Friday Final Screening - 7:00 p.m.
 
  • Final screening of all student projects

 

Selected Bibliography

Moviemaking:
Arnheim, Rudolf, Film as Art. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1957.*
Bazin, Andre, What is Cinema: Vol. I. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967.
Bazin, Andre, What is Cinema: Vol. II. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1972.
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. **
Nichols, Bill, Movies and Methods. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976.
Nizny, Vladimir, Lessons With Eisenstein. New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1979. (trans. and ed. by Ivor Montagu and Jay Leyda)
Sarris, Andrew, The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929 - 1968. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968.

Moviemaking Articles:
Hiltzik, Michael A, "Digital Cinema Take 2", published in Technology Review, Vol. 5. No. 7., September 2002.
Hodder, Fraser Harbour, "Cinema Veritas", published in Harvard Magazine, Vol. 108. No. 2., November - December, 2005.

Computer Animation:
Riddell, Danny and Diamond, Adrian, Maya 6 for Windows and Macintosh (Visual Quickstart Series), Peachpit Press, 2004 *
(Maya 7, the next book in this series is due for publication in March 2006).

Philosophy and Psychology of 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.
Langer, Susanne K., Philosophy in a New Key. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1957.
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)


Architectural Theory and Criticism:
Lynch, Kevin, What Time Is This Place. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1972, 1988.
Lynch, Kevin, The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1960, 1971.
Rasmussen, Steen Eiler, Experiencing Architecture. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1959.
Wittkower, Rudolf, Architecture in the Age of Humanism, "Part Four: The Problem of Harmonic Proportion in Architecture", New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1971.


Moviemaking and Architecture:
Mark, Earl, The Physical and Conceptual Assembly of Architectural Form, in Cinema & Architecture (Edited by Francois Penz and Maureen Thomas), BFI Press, England, 1997.
Mark, Earl, Abstraction, Realism and Architectural Animation, Proceedings of Symposium on "Electronic Media in Architecture", Published by Technische UnversitŠt Graz (Graz University of Technology), Austria, 12.1993.
Mark, Earl, Architecture in Motion, Computers in Architecture (edited by Francois Penz), Essex, England: Longman, 1992.
Mark, Earl, New Media in Art and Architecture, Proceedings of the Symposium Arkitekturdagar (Architecture Days), 9. 1989. Published by Uppsala University, Tryckeri AW Grafiska, Uppsala, Sweden. (in Swedish ) 9. 1990.
Mark, Earl, Case Studies in Moviemaking and Computer Aided Design, The Electronic Design Studio (ed. by McCullough, Mitchell, and Purcell), Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1990.

* Required texts. ** The Cocteau text is highly recommended but not required. A limited number of mostly used and a few new copies will be available under course numbers Arch 545 and Arch 444 at the UVA Bookstore. The Fine Arts Library has a copy of each on reserve.