Week 13 Tutorial!!!

Final week of class!

Get feedback on your schemes, and any final advice on modeling or editing.

Good Luck, and feel free to email me anytime with any questions!

Week 12 Tutorial and Independent study for Week 13

• Continue working on your Assignment 3 Visualistaions, reading back through past weeks tasks to assure that you have fulfilled all blog requirements.

• By this stage you should have defined the concept and direction for your final video, have a workable storyboard that you can follow for your modeling and video editing, and should be working on refining your ideas, modeling your scenes, and producing rough video edits in AfterEffects an Premiere.
  

• Decide on the music that will accompany your visualistion, and consider sound effects that will compliment your content.
  

• Get feedback and assistance with any modeling or conceptual issue that you may be having.

For Next Week (Week 13, final class)!

• Create a rough draft video of your final movie in Adobe Premiere and AfterEffects, using low quality footage and images to get a feel for your scene transitions, and media integration.

• Post a low quality video of your draft to your blog. This should be close to full length, and contain representation of all scenes and audio. Transitions and scenes can still be rough at this stage, and this draft can be viewed as an animated storyboard at this stage.
  

Independent Study for Week 12

• Model ALL of your scenes, essentially creating sets for each section of your intended video. At this stage, they can still be fairly roughly models, but you should have all your main elements modeled, so they can be refined and rendered for the final stages of this project.

• Create low quality videos of all of the main sections of your intended videos, concentrating on camera movement, and animation of main elements.

• Post to your blog around 60 seconds of low quality footage, highlighting the main elements of your intended animation. These should be low quality videos, at 15 fps (frames per second) no bigger than 320 x 180 pixels, these should be quick renders, taking no longer than a second or so to render a frame. If they are taking longer, decrease the model complexity, or user lower resolution textures.
  

Week 11 Tutorial Task

• Start modeling in max, creating your main scenes and animations, setting the timescale and animating test cameras that can be refined at a later stage for the final renders.

• Concentrate on elements that you think may be tricky to model, so you can get help with modeling solutions from the tutors.

• As you model your scenes, you may have different ideas about the details of your narrative. This is fine, and expected, as this is a fluid process between your narrative, storyboard, models and final animations. As your ideas develop, you can go back and edit your narrative, and storyboard to align with your ideas, and refine your final animations.
  

Independent Study for Week 11

• Complete your 30 - 40 image storyboard!

• This MUST be completed for Week 11 tutorial (7th October), and the task will count towards your participation mark for the course.

• When creating your storyboard, consider coherent styling across the range of images, visual progression from one frame to the next and a logical ordering device (such as discreet numbering for each frame).

• Post your storyboard to your blog in a logical and clear sequence. Post high quality images, so each individual frame can be easily scrutinised. You can post each frame as an individual image or post in groups of frames, but all frames should be clear to see, and cropped well in photoshop.

• Your storyboard also comprises an element of your Assignment 3 grade, so it is in your interest to make your images visually attractive and convey a clear understanding of your narrative.

Week 10 Tutorial Task

• Finalise the concept for your video, and refine your 300 word narrative, using feedback from your tutors. Ideas drawn from your article, and summarised in your 200 word review/synopsis should be evident in your narrative.
  

• If you haven't started to storyboard your ideas yet, start with 10 expressive images of important "moments" from your intended video. These images can be digital montages or sketches, but should be attractive images that can stand scrutiny in their own right.

• Using your 300 word narrative as a guide to help you define your "story", continue producing your 30-40 images for your final storyboard (generally one image for around every 5 seconds of intended footage). Use rough sketching and quick 3D modeling to express the feel of each frame of your storyboard, thinking about the feel of your video, and how visual language will be used to convey your ideas. Any models you create at this stage can form the basis for your refined models in your final animations.
  

• Consider the overall flow of your video, being sure to include a beginning, middle and end, and incorporating ideas such as suspense, excitement, interest, surprise, climax, resolution and catharsis, using camera work and scene transitions. How do you keep the audience captivated, and how do you produce an emotional involvement for the viewer using visuals?
  

Independent Study for Week 10

• Revisit your 150 word theme outline, and using concepts, and ideas raised in your chosen article, expand and develop on your initial words to make it into a 300 word defining piece of writing, that clearly outlines your intended narrative.

• Consider this like a creative writing exercise.
  

• Begin creating an extensive storyboard for your intended animation, concentrating on beginning, middle and end, highlights and exciting moments of your narration, a climax, and resolution to your video. Also include storyboard elements for titles, scene transitions and credits.

• You should generally have a story board image for around every 5 seconds of your video, depending on the speed and complexity of the scene. So if you intend a 3 minute video, then you will need around 30 images in your story board.
  

Week 9 Tutorial Task

• Think of a concept for your Final Video.
  

• Decide on a subject area and direction for your final video, with your tutors help.

• Write an initial 150 words outlining a theme, or visual direction for your video. This will begin the idea generation process for your final video.
  

• Find a minimum of one online Journal article, using Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, or similar database, that interests you, and helps inform the direction you would like your final video to follow.

• Read through your article and write a 200 word synopsis/review of your article. (If you have chosen more than one article, write a synopsis for each one.) Include a full reference on your blog.
  

• Create a rough visual outline, or storyboard comprising of around 10 sketchy images, that begin to define your video. You can either use physical sketches, or digital sketches (models, images, montages, etc) as your rough visual outline.
  

Independent Study for Week 9

• Submit Assignment 2 by Midnight, Monday 21st September.

• Post your Assignment 2 Music Video to your blog using Youtube.

• Submit your final Music video to emustore, along with all source material (images, videos, after effcts files, premiere files, etc.)
  

Week 8 Tutorial Task

STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE!!! Even though I'm not striking, I still support the the industrial action by the NTEU!

• Work on your Assignment 2 submissions for Monday 21st September.

• Read through the Assignment brief for all submission requirements.
  

• Get feedback from the tutors on your draft videos.

• Make sure your blogs a
  

Independent Study for Week 8 (September 16th)

Work to complete over the Mid-Semester Break!

• Refine your 15 panel Storyboard for Assignment 2, to be a work of art, depicting the progression of your music video, showing any major transitions or scenes that you feel should be conveyed. Post a high quality image of your storyboard to your blog.

• Develop content in Max and After Effects for your Music Video, and piece together a close to complete draft project in Premiere, with your chosen music.

• Develop skills in video editing softwares (After Effects, Adobe Premiere), to do this do relevant tutorials form the Adobe sites I have provided links to on Courses on the Web to enhance your desired concepts and ideas. There are so many tutorials out there, and you will al have such different concepts, you will have to be selective in searching for tutorials that suit your needs.
  

• We will have one last lab session for feedback from the tutors on your music videos before submission, in week 8.

Week 7 Tutorial Task

• Review your grades for assignment 1. When you log in using your FBE login, and go to the Courses on the Web page, you should see an "Assignment 1 Feedback" link on the right-hand menu you that will take you to a feedback page.

• Sketch out a rough 15 panel storyboard for your music video, concentrating on scene transitions, and the way you will link and combine your media, ( your "set" images, architectural images and videos from assignment 1) to form a coherent music video that both supports and is supported by your chosen music. Consider titles, credits, text, special effects and graphics for your videos (credits should include all references for images and music), include these as story board components if they are relevant.
  

• Leading from ideas developed in your rough sketched storyboard, develop more footage in 3Ds Max to link your videos content together. You may want to start combining content from your Max files to render out linking scenes for your media. You will a minimum of three extra videos for submission.

• You are welcome to use external content, but it must be referenced correctly. Go through the other students blogs, and look for content that you may want to incorporate form their video stock, if you ask them nicely, they may let you use it. Or if you don't know who they are, use me as a conduit, and I will ask them for you.
  

• Do the tutorials on Synchronising Sound with animations in After Affects, from the Courses on the Web page, using your chosen music. You may also want to consider mixing in sound effects to your video to provide counterpoint for certain elements.

• There is also a link to the Adobe Video Workshop, and Adobe TV, that has many useful and relevant videos, relating to all things Adobe.

• Start reviewing Adobe Premiere video tutorials, which is the best place to combine your various media. You can use any programs you are comfortable with (doesn't have to be Premiere, After Effects, etc) to create your music videos, these are just suggested applications that Dan and I can help you with. With other applications, we can still help conceptually, but not not be able to help with technical problems.

• If you want you can check out Resolume, a VJ (video Jockey) software for mixing video in real-time. This is a great little application, very simple to use and has some great video effects. It is also very quick at rendering out video in varying formats. I have added links to the application download page and a manual on Courses on the Web page.
  

• As you develop your music clip, consider the flavour of your music, and how it relates to your content.
  

Independent Study for Week 7

• Find a song that you would like to use as the basis of your video clip. Here is a site that has Royalty free musiv that you can use: http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/

• If you are going to use a song that is not royalty free, you will have to make a silent version, as well as version with sound that you can only submit to emustore.

• Gather 15 architectural images that you will use an influence for your architectural content, and post them to your blog with references.

• Find a short clip from the net (eg: from Youtube, etc.), that displays a technique or atmosphere that you would like to convey in your own music video. Post the video to your blog.
  

• Bring headphones to class next week so you can hear your music.
  

Week 6 Tutorial Task

• Peer Review: Peer Review the next student down, underneath your name on the Course Blog Student list.

• Use the Peer Review document for Assignment 1 from the Courses on the Web site.
  

• Then post an image of your Peer review to your blog, as well as submit it to emustore in the "Peer Review Assignment 1" folder. Call the file YourName_1234567_Peer Review.doc.

• If you haven't already done so, submit all of your Assignment 1 files to emustore submit folder. This is required for you to be assessed correctly.
  

• Play around with After Effects using the content you created form Assignment 1.

• Start watching the After Effects tutorials at http://www.videocopilot.net/basic/
to get an idea of how you can use After Effects.

Independent Study for Week 6

Tasks to come. Check back later!

Week 5 Tutorial Task

Attend 'Animation Reels from SIGGRAPH 09 and Annual General Meeting' at COFA.

Date: Wednesday 19th August 2009
Time: 7:00pm to approx 8:00pm
Venue: EGO2 Auditorium, College of Fine Arts (CoFA), Selwyn St, Paddington
Cost: Free for SIGGRAPH members, guests and non-members.
(Attendees can sign up as a new member on the night. Annual Membership fees are $40 for professionals and $20 for students)

here is the link to the COFA information page on the event…
http://sydney.siggraph.org.au/event/2009/animation-reels-from-siggraph-09

…and a video showing a preview of the content you will see…
http://sydney.siggraph.org.au/gallery-content/2009/siggraph-2009-computer-animation-festival-preview-video

Independent Study for Week 5

Complete Assignment 1!!!

• Post all Assignment outputs, as specified in the Assignment 1 brief and Marking Schedule to your blog, consider blog layout for easy assessment.

• Submit good quality videos, images and Max files to emustore.
  

Week 4 Tutorial Task

To be completed during Lab

• Show your tutor your 7 representative drawings for each of your 7 words.

• Have your tutor provide feedback on your proposed animations.
  

• Work on finalising 3D scenes for each of your 7 words that you can animate throughout the week, looking to develop footage relating to your theoretical standpoint developed in the last couple of weeks of class.

• Your tutors will help you with any tools or techniques you may want to explore in your animations.

• A link to a useful 3Ds Max tutorial site has been added to the Courses on the Web page.
  

• Assignment 1 is due at Midnight on Monday 17th August!
  

Independent Study for Week 4 (3rd week of classes, 05/08/2009)

• For each of the seven words developed around your themes of "Set" during the last tutorial, sketch with a black ink pen and a small piece of blank paper (the size of the paper should be no bigger than a quarter of an A4 piece of paper) a representative picture of the the idea and emotion of each word, and the intended animated clip. This can be viewed as a single image of a Storyboard.
  

• These can either be extremely expressive representations of your words, or an imagined scene of your intended clips. Either way, they should have elements that can be modeled in your final videos for Assignment 1, and should each be a attractive artwork within itself.
  

• Post your 7 sketched images, labeled with your chosen Words to your blogs.
  


• Using your sketched images a s a basis, start to model 7 different 3Ds Max scenes (in 7 different files) that reflect the intent of your sketches, and consider camera viewpoints. Don't worry too much about animation at this stage, just concentrate on developing rich and detailed scenes first, that you can animate at a later stage.

• Bring your 7 3Ds Max files to class for next weeks tutorial, where the tutors can help you to develop and start animating your scenes.
  

Week 3 (2nd week of class) Tutorial Task

To be completed during Lab

• Give your blog address to your tutor.

• Have your tutor read through your 150 word post relating to an idea of set, and the readings you read throughout the week, seeking advice to refine your ideas.

• Extract 7 words, encapsulating ideas and emotions either straight from the text, or that emotively capture themes in your text, that are drawn from your written task.
  

• Continue with tutorials from the links on the BENV2402/7143 Time-Based Visualisation 'Courses on the Web' page.
  

• Experiment with animating camera paths and focus paths to start to increase the sense of motion in your videos.

• Continue to explore the the 'Animation' features of 3Ds Max, including the 'Create', 'Modify', and 'Modifier' tools available to you, as well as extending your understanding of materials by trialing different types of mapping techniques; diffuse maps, bump maps, opacity maps, etc.

Settings for Exporting 2 Videos

Here's a quick guide to the settings you should use to save your 2 x 10 second videos with:

10 seconds long
15 FPS (frames per second)
150 Frames
640x360 pixels (16:9)
AVI file type
Cinepak Codec

Once you have created your videos, upload to Youtube and embed the videos to your blog for the weekly task, along with the other requirements outlined in the weekly tasks post on this blog.

Settings Guide
Start by setting the frame-rate and animation length by clicking the "Time Configuration" button as shown in the image below.


You will get the "Time Configuration" a dialogue box pop up. Change the frame-rate to 15 FPS (frames per second), and the animation length to 150 frames. This will make your video 10 seconds long. (15 FPS x 10 seconds = 150 frames)


Go to the "Render Setup..." dialogue under the Rendering drop-down menu.


In the "Render Setup" dialogue, scroll all the way to the bottom and expand the "Assign Renderer" roll-out.


Click the little square "..." button next to the Production setting to "Choose Renderer".


Choose the "Default Scanline Renderer". This is a lower quality renderer than Mental Ray or V-Ray, though it has a quick render time.


Back in the "Render Setup" dialogue find the "Render Output" settings, and click the "Files" button, as shown in the below image.


In the "Render Output File" dialogue, you can name your file whatever you want, so give your file a name, and in the "Save as type:" drop-down, choose "AVI file (*.avi)".


After you have selected the AVI file type, click the "Setup" button to alter the AVI settings. This is where you can alter the codec.


Choose "Cinepak Codec by Radius" in the "Compressor" drop-down, and use the default settings (should be set to 15 FPS).


Back in the "Render Setup" dialogue again, for the "Time Output" option, choose "Active Time Segment", and set the "Output Size" to 640x360 (16:9 aspect ratio), this will effect the pixel size of your video, and obviously the larger the size the longer each frame will take to render.


Finally in the "Render Setup" dialogue, be sure that hte correct viewport is selected (in this case the "Perspective" viewport, and click the "Render" button to start rendering. Now sit back and wait.

Email for first weeks class, sent on Friday 24th July, for students who haven't received it.

..............................
Dear Students,

You are receiving this email because you are currently enrolled in BENV2402/7143 - Time Based Visualisation/Advanced Visualisation.

Classes start on Wednesday 29th July, Lecture at 6pm in room RC2035, and tutorials will be held in the Level 2 Computer Labs from 7pm – 9pm. In order to hit the ground running there is a small task to complete before class starts on Wednesday.

SET
Until recently “Set” was listed by the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) as the word with the longest entry in its pages. With over two hundred meanings, set can be used in an enormous range of contexts. Till this day, it is still the shortest word with the most meanings in the English language.

For class on Wednesday please bring with you to the labs 15 (fifteen) high quality images in digital format (jpg, bmp, png, etc.) all relating to the word “Set”. Images can be sourced from anywhere, though be sure to keep proper references (think Chicago Style of referencing) of where you obtain the images from, as you will be providing a complete set references for these images at a later stage. You can scan the images from books, search online or obtain the images through your own photography. All words should relate to the word “Set”, but don’t necessarily have to relate to each other.

If you would like, it is acceptable to theme your set of images, but in no way is this set in stone. From the outset, you may want to start setting yourself a theme for what sets the tone of your images. Don’t get upset if you can’t think of a good theme to set your images in, as a random set is as good as an ordered set. I am setting you this task hoping for you to be conceptual and creative in your thinking. Even if you set yourself a theme, try to find as large a range of settings as possible, in order to give you a large palette of textures, scenes, colours and shades to work from. You can concentrate on an aspect of “Set”, or try to encompass the full gamut of what you perceive “Set” to be.

Think abstract and conceptual when searching for your images, as these images will form the basis for your first assignment. You may want to start by looking at dictionary meanings of “Set” to spark the imagination, then extend further to how “Set” may be a subset of other concepts. More information will be outlined in the first class as to what you will be doing with these images.

So get to it… 15 images by Wednesday!!!

Sorry for the long Email!
Have a great Weekend, enjoy watching your TV set, watching the sun set or playing a set of tennis before we start another fun session!
See you all on Wednesday!
Good Luck !
Jeremy Harkins
.........................

Independent Study for Week 3 (2nd week of classes, 05/08/2009)

• Create a blog for the course using blogger


• Name the blog:
  
  yournameBENV2402.blogspot.com
  
  Or
  
  yournameBENV7143.blogspot.com

• Read the Week 1 Readings "Hypertextural Picturesques" and "Systemic Delay".
  


• Post to your blogs 150 words which start to tease out a theoretical context relating to concepts apparent in your set of ‘Set’ images and drawing on ideas raised in the weekly readings.
  


• Create 2 short visually appealing videos at a resolution of 640x360 pixels (16:9 ratio) playing on your proposed theoretical context (no longer than 10 second animations).


• Post your 15 images (including references) as well as your visually appealing clips to your blog.

Week 2 (1st week of classes) Tutorial Task

To be completed during Lab

• Complete simple tutorials, and start more advanced tutorials from the links on the BENV2402/7143 Time-Based Visualisation 'Courses on the Web' page.
  


• Explore the 'Create', 'Modify', and 'Modifier' tools in Max.

• Experimentally apply the 15 images you have collected to forms and objects within Max, and start playing with animation techniques. Use Diffuse maps, bump maps, opacity maps, etc.
  

• Consider the nature of your images to help guide your experimentation.
  

• Explore the 'Animation' features, using the 'Auto Key' tool.

Welcome to Time-Based Visualisation

This is the Course Blog for Time based visualisation. Use the links on the side to navigate to students blogs within the course.

This elective will align process based design techniques with time based 3D digital environments. It extends digital visualisation skills by introducing sequencing and storyboards to digital environments.