#shortprojects

THE DIGITAL PATH & SHORT PROJECTS

FE202A  // Wed, 7-10 // A108

Instructor: Kirsten Lepore // [email protected]

Office Hours: Wednesday by appointment only

Class website: http://shortprojects.tumblr.com/

COURSE GOALS & EXPECTATIONS

Course will prepare students for making finished work using digital tools. Class covers digital film management, production, workflow, and output.  Students are expected to put these digital filmmaking tools into practice by producing and completing a short project over the course of the year.  Students are also expected to complete all additional assignments and prepare for class presentations on time.

ATTENDANCE

Class attendance is mandatory.  Students who miss 3 classes or more will receive an NP (No Pass) in the course. Arriving to class more than 15 minutes late will count as an absence. If you must miss class for reasons outside of your control, please notify me in advance by email.

GRADING

Grading will be based on completed assignments, class preparedness, attendance, and class participation.

FINAL PROJECTS

All students are expected to complete their short projects by the end of the spring semester.  Any students without finished projects will receive an NP (No Pass).

 WEEK 1 (9-11) STUDENTS SCREEN WORK // INTRODUCTIONS

Introductions. Students screen work.  Walk-through of facilities & course coverage.  Gauge where students are at with software. Start thinking about final short project ideas now.

 WEEK 2 (9-18) SHORT FILMS // AFTER EFFECTS

Show collection of short films and discuss brevity in short-filmmaking.  After Effects overview lesson. 10 second film project assigned.

 WEEK 3 (9-25) ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE // BOARDING & ANIMATICS

Screen 10 second shorts.  Cover boarding/animatic assembly. Show examples & discuss pitch process.  After Effects & Premiere covered. Film/animatic assignment with stills (no moving footage) 30 secs – 1 min.

 WEEK 4 (10-2) DRAGONFRAME & CANON DSLRs

Review assignment progress.  Set up Dragonframe and Canon DSLRs for shooting. DSLR cameras/lenses in depth.  Achieving proper exposure. Discussion of aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, white balance, etc. Using the light meter.  Intro to multi-plane shooting.

Students test out on equipment during demo.

 WEEK 5 (10-9) ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE // VISITING ARTIST

Review and critique of assignments with visiting artist. Screen relevant work. Discussion of short projects & pitch/treatment process. Assign pitch dates.

 WEEK 6 (10-16) VIDEO FORMATS

Overview of formats (SD/HD) and framerates.   Discussion on other topics such as audio sync, color space, and compression.

 WEEK 7 (10-23) PROJECT PITCHES (GROUP A) // FILE MANAGEMENT

Group A pitches projects. File Management & Storage discussed.

 WEEK 8 (10-30) PROJECT PITCHES (GROUP B) // PREMIERE EDITING

Group B pitches projects.  Premiere editing lesson.

 WEEK 9 (11-6) COMPOSITING

Manipulating imagery within After Effects.  Includes tutorials on layering, masking, time-remapping, motion tracking, roto, track mattes, and animating.

 WEEK 10 (11-13) ANIMATIC PRESENTATION (GROUP A)

Group A presents animatics.  Critique. Discussion of technical hurdles.

 WEEK 11 (11-20) ANIMATIC PRESENTATION (GROUP B)

Group B presents animatics.  Critique. Discussion of technical hurdles.

Discussion of production schedule.  Students must submit schedules the following week.

WEEK 12 (11-27) TIMELINES/SCHEDULES DUE // INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS

 WEEK 13 (12-4) OUTPUTTING

Exporting for web, tape, Bluray, & DVD

 WEEK 14 (12-11) REVIEW STUDENT PROGRESS // FINAL CRITIQUE