ART 3760
STORY & VISUALIZATION
SPRING 2017
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
LOS ANGELES
Professor JIM OVELMEN
jim@jimovelmen.com
Jim.Ovelmen@calstatela.edu
Meeting Time MONDAYS 4pm-8:40pm
Office FA 227
Office Hours (SEE SYLLABI PAGE)
Phone Ext. 3-4033
Class Location Rm. FA 225, Art Department
*if you would like to meet with me during my Office Hours,
Please make an Appointment in the Art Office
NO MOBILE DEVICE USE in class! misuse of class time will directly effect your participation points and grade
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Introduction to visual storytelling and content visualization in preparation for animation projects. This course involves the creation of story artwork, sketchbooks, and visual imagination development projects that build creative preparation for narrative based projects.
This course develops the imagination and creative planning of an fictional story and visual content. Animation, in general, is often a long series of processes that results in a story or visual expression. It is essential that artists begin with the research, sketching and planning resources before embarking on production. Students will learn the planning and discipline while developing their creativity and visual story telling skills.
· Overview of storytelling methods, creation
of fictional characters, back stories and production of assets and content.
· Creation of artwork that relates to visual storytelling, involving
both dramatic elements of cinematography, and artistic elements of composition.
· Examination of color, texture and visual properties that contribute
to the emotion and visual communication of an animation.
· Development of critical and creative techniques in expressing
in expressing animated content in a static form: Planning of animation
in stills, concept art, and “animatics”.
· Research of various films, artwork, animations and interactive
artwork that provides a variety of perceptions of how drama, and content
is built.
· Creation of resource libraries and cataloging artwork and visual
research that builds the imagination of the artist. Visual information
will be gathered including mixed media, and diverse research techniques
that strengthen the organized visual thinker.
EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES
· Demonstrate a diverse and imaginative
array of visual techniques for building a creative short story.
· Posses a command of different visual content creation methods
that fosters a creative approach to thinking about animation.
· Become an organized and disciplined visual thinker, necessary
to future animation endeavors.
· Appreciate and demonstrate an understanding of story drama, anticipation,
cinematic elements of suspense, surprise, and artistic development.
· Resist the urge to succumb to visual clichés, unthinking
and cheap devices to animation planning. Students will build a sophisticated
approach to thinking about animation.
· Develop their general artistic skills, like drawing, painting,
composition, and see how it relates to good visualization in animation.
PREREQUISITES
ART 3780 Art & Motion
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS
Class lectures, in-class assignments, and project related demonstrations will be provided from original or researched content. Supplemental homework assignments, specific tutorials from published sources will be given. Many of these assignments are, of course, to be done exclusively outside the hours of class time.
The expectation is 3 to 6 hours per week working outside of class on project assignments and homework. Lab hours will be posted. There are numerous books and online tutorials on the class subject. I have listed recommendations of texts and URLs for further study. I may also distribute, handouts, images, and other reference materials to supplement your studies.
STUDENT RESOURCES
Gelbas, Francis. Directing the Story: Professional Storytelling and Storyboarding Techniques for Live Action and Animation Focal Press, 2008.
Bacher, Hans. Dream Worlds: Production Design
for Animation, Focal Press, 2007
Chistiano, Giuseppe, Storyboard Design Course: Principles, Practice,
and
Techniques Barron's Educational Series, 2007
Hart, John. The Art of the Storyboard: Storyboarding
for Film, TV, and Animation
Focal Press, 1999.
Wells, Paul. Basics Animation: Scriptwriting, Ava Publishing
2007
Sullivan, Karen Ideas for the Animated Short:
Finding and Building Stories
Focal Press 2008.
Ghertner, Ed Layout and Composition for Animation Focal Press, 2010
Wellins, Mike. Storytelling through Animation
Charles River Media, 2005
Arnold, Brian, and Eddie Brendan. Exploring
Visual Storytelling (Exploring
(Delmar)) Delmar Cengage Learning, 2007
Osgood, Ronald J. Cengage Advantage Books: Visual Storytelling: Videography
and Post Production in the Digital Age (with DVD), Wadsworth Publishing,
2008
White, Tony Animation from Pencils to Pixels:
Classical Techniques for
the Digital Animator Focal Press, 2006
Tumminelo, Wendy. Exploring Storyboarding
(Design Exploration)
Delmar Cengage Learning, 2004
Harryhausen, Ray and Tony Dalton A Century of Stop-Motion Animation: From Melies to Aardman, Watson-Guptill 2008
Curtis, Brian Drawing from Observation: An
Introduction to Perceptual Drawing
McGraw-Hill,2nd edition, 2009
Stewart, Mary Launching the Imagination
McGraw-Hill,4 edition, 2011
REQUIRED SUPPLIES
at STUDENT BOOKSTORE or Office-Max/Staples/Office-Depot
5x8 Blank Index Cards, 100-pk (about $6 each) (2-packs)
small mirror
at DICK BLICK 44 South Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 795-4985
14"x17" Strathmoore 100-st Sketchpad (about $12)
9"x12" Canson Field Sketchbook (about $13)
Prismacolor box of 12 colored pencils ($12)
Pencil Sharpener (container type) ($2-3)
Micron Tech Pens (set of 3, Various sizes Black) (about $7)
Non-Photo Blue Pencils, 2-pk (about $5)
Expo Dry Erase Markers, 4pk Assorted
LINKS:
Jim's List Animated Visualizations
Visualization Gallery (the SENSE of SENSE)
production
flowchartMONDAY Jan 23
CLASS INTRODUCTION PROFESSOR INTRODUCTION SYLLABUS DISCUSS ART SUPPLIES GRADING index cards |
In-class Assignment:
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HOMEWORK: PROJECT #1 Make Up a Story
Story Development: HISTORY
REQUIRED READING:
History of Story, cave paintings, Oral traditions (play Grapevine),
MONDAY Jan 30
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #1 Make Up a Story
Story Development: HISTORY (continued)
REQUIRED VIEWING:
fable, myth, legend, urban legend,
Theater, written word, radio, music, Film (back to the cave), Television, Video games, stand-up performance, novels
HOMEWORK: PROJECT #2 Video Game Fable
Downloading a Video from YouTube
MONDAY Feb 6
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #2 Video Game Fable
Story Development: GENRE
What is GENRE?, Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure, Experimental, Short-subject Narrative, Diaristic Narrative, Music Video:(take on me, crazy), Abstract, Interactive, Sensory, Fine Art, documentary(?)
Marshal MacLuhan is known for coining the phrase, "The medium is the message" in his work Understanding Media. This phrase simply means that the technology that delivers the information has far more impact than the information itself. Can you give an example of a movie, game, art piece, animation, etc. that communicates clearly BY its particular media? unlike life
Story Development: BUILDING STORY
REQUIRED READING
Concept, Springboard, Setting, Context, Back story, Premise, Synopsis or Treatment, Theme
scene cards ,2, film treatment pic, screenplay/script pic, outline,shotlist
Back-story without a Story???
We may split the class in half and work on opposite sides of the white board.
SPRINGBOARD WORSHOP (in-class)
HOMEWORK: PROJECT #3 Hybrid Genre Trailer
MONDAY Feb 13
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #3 Hybrid Genre Trailer
STRUCTURE
traditional structure
The 3-Act play, The Hero's Journey, Episodic, Steps of A Hero's Journey
experimental structure
cyclical, musical, interactive, experimental, exploratory, non-linear
Scene Development: SITUATION
PLOT TOOLS:
A/B story, incitation, foreshadowing, conflict, goals, MacGuffin, Ticking Clock MarClay the Clock, The idea of time, Deus Ex Machina, cliffhangers, clichés,..etc.
STORY VERSUS PLOT
Plot is NOT Story, Plot Points, Plot Twists, The Butterfly Effect
HOMEWORK: PROJECT #4 -Backstories Across Time
MONDAY Feb 20
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #4 Backstories Across Time
ANIMATION TENURE TRACK CANDIDATE PRESENTATION 4-5pm
CLIMAX and RESOLUTION
Final battle, most intense action, In the 3-act structure it is the final 25-30 pages. in the heroes journey, it is the ordeal through the resurrection. In a game, it is the final moves that lead to victory or defeat. Climax gives way to this resolution.
Conveying Information
animation in film, TV and games:cinematics, animatics, Cut-scenes, trigger events, customizations
How Events Unfold
Plot, consequences, engagement and interactivity, collaboration, repetition, consistency, flow, non-linearity
Emotional Content
Experiential Storytelling, Creating Emotion
HOMEWORK: PROJECT #5 -Experiential Storytelling
MONDAY Feb 27
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #5 Experiential Storytelling
Scene Development: ENVIRONMENT (1)
world building, resume of forces, color-metrics, natural environment, natural props, man-made props, breakdowns, art direction of environment.
HOMEWORK: PROJECT #6 -Exterior Worlds
Scene Development: ENVIRONMENT (2)
research and natural observation, field exploration, (if time permits)
NOTE ABOUT PRESENTATION
There will be many times when presenting that you will be asked a creative question, that you have not planned an answer. Also, many times that you will have planned explanations, that you will be asked to rethink on the spot. This is all part of a healthy creative development. IMPROVISATIONAL techniques, in acting and theater can actually help. It's not that you are "making it up" more than you are remaining open-minded and flexible. This is a mindset that is great to be when you are in the early stages of brainstorming and development. Humor is a great way to simply exercise in flexibility, and resisting defensiveness is creative presentation.
Whose Line is it Anyway: out of a hat, props, props, narrative,party quirks, party quirks, sports caster
MONDAY March 6
CONTINUE WORKING ON PROJECT #6, Exterior Worlds
weekly reminder:
or
MONDAY March 13
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #6 Exterior Worlds
HOMEWORK: PROJECT #7 -INTERIORS WORLDS
MONDAY March 20
CONTINUE WORKING ON PROJECT #7, Interior Worlds
Previsialization Techniques:
Color-metrics
-3D layout using Maya
-layout using warped grid drawings
-using various software
REMINDER:
or
MONDAY March 27, SPRING BREAK
MONDAY April 3
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #7 Interior Worlds
HOMEWORK: PROJECT #8, Character Identity
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Please research all of these archetypes and more on your own. They are very well documented and easy to find definitions of the Internet. Try to determine what is more credible or useful to your particular idea for a story.
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MONDAY April 10
CONTINUE WORKING ON PROJECT #8, Character Identity
IN CLASS PROJECT: GROUP CHARACTER FACTORY (PAINT PAPER)
Students will use a cooperative system to create characters through creative automatic stream. (by collective abstraction) Beginning with a Rorschach like image, each student assembles part of the character and passed down the line. When 15-20 characters pass through this factory, they are declared "finished". We then will rank the top 8-9 to put into archetypes. From archetypes we will create story on the fly, without any preconceived ideas for story or plot, using archetype cues alone.
Character Development INTEREST
Back story
compelling characters, character back story, character physiology, character psychology, character sociology
Development
Internal Conflict, Finding Conflict, Turning Up the Heat, Compassion, ancillary characters, consistency, character growth, character arc
can you come up with more of your own?
ARCHETYPES WITHOUT A STORY?
MONDAY April 17
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #8 Character Identity
HOMEWORK: PROJECT #9 Character Nuances
Story Development: Final Execution
Theme, Story, Genre, Environment, Setting, Character types, How Story Unfolds, How to tell it, Goals, The Voice of the Writer, (After Effects)
WHAT MAKES A CHARACTER COMPELLING?
variety+nuance+contrast/development+compelling story=compelling character
VARIETY=Work beyond your comfort zone to visualize a wider variety characters that look wildly different from one another. A character is not always compelling on their own; A character is compelling in relation to others in the story. this gives richness, and interest.
NUANCES=focus on the little differences that breaks from the otherwise stereotypes/archetypes/bio-types of the character.
Character Development IDENTITY
How would a character move..or walk?
angry walk, cool walk, depressed walk, dreamy walk, happy walk, macho walk, run, run_away, run_toward, skip, sneak, tip toe
MONDAY April 24
CONTINUE WORKING ON PROJECT #9, Character Nuances
Story Development: Final Execution
Theme, Story, Genre, Environment, Setting, Character types, How Story Unfolds, How to tell it, Goals, The Voice of the Writer, (After Effects)
IN CLASS PROJECT: GROUP CHARACTER FACTORY (SCULPT)
Students will use a cooperative system to create characters through creative automatic stream. (by collective abstraction) Beginning with clay and some very basic structure, each student assembles part of the character and passed down the line. When 15-20 characters pass through this factory, they are declared "finished". We will then put them into a single job/vocation, and craft a story on the fly with love interests, conflicts, politics and job-drama.
MONDAY May 1
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #9 Character Nuances
HOMEWORK: PROJECT #10 Final Animatic
Story Development: Final Execution
Theme, Story, Genre, Environment, Setting, Character types, How Story Unfolds, How to tell it, Goals, The Voice of the Writer, (After Effects)
First Person, Third Person
Monologue
Dialog
purposes of dialog, non-verbal dialog, internal dialog, writing dialog
Relationships
Dyad, Triangle
Point of View
First-Person, Third Person
We DO have a professional microphone in FA 307 now.
Character Development VOCALIZATION and ACTING
verbal performance can be an enormous part of an identity. Considering the one in a trillion uniqueness of our voices, but HOW we say something, at particular times tells everything about the acting performance
I have nothing to say_v1, I have nothing to say_v2, I have nothing to say_v3
video tape yourself acting out the ticks of your character.
Narration
MONDAY May 8
CONTINUE WORKING ON PROJECT #10, Final Animatic
Story Development: Final Execution
Theme, Story, Genre, Environment, Setting, Character types, How Story Unfolds, How to tell it, Goals, The Voice of the Writer, (After Effects)
FINALS DAY - MONDAY May 15
PRESENTATION DUE:
PROJECT #10 Final Animatic
also
present NOVEL REPORT or DREAM JOURNAL DUE
upload all to the OneDrive
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Homework assignments will be given points based on accurate completion of assigned readings, assignments and tutorials.
All Projects will be Graded with the following Criteria
* Appeal of Presentation
* Craftsmanship and/or Organization
* Creativity of the Story or Visualization.
* Followed Project Guidelines/Direction
Each given an equal weight of the point composition for each project.
It is, of course, the responsibility of each to ensure his/her work in completed an handed in on due dates (see below)
Critical review of your work will provide the source most assessments. Participation grade includes the extent and quality of the participation in the critiques, presentation of projects and positive interaction with classmates and professional approach toward the class. Students requiring any kind of special assistance should speak with the instructor at their earliest
GRADING
Attendance & Class Participation%15 (sample rubric)
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th Project %20 [4-pts. each] (sample rubric)
6th, 7th, 8th, 9th Project %45 [11.25-pts. each] (sample rubric)
Project#10 (Animatic) %15 (sample rubric)
Novel Report or Dream Journal %5 (sample rubric)
Extra Credit: (see below)
GRADE SCALE: A 90%-100%B 80%-89%C 70%-79%D 60%-69%F Below 60%
Extra Credit:
Other opportunities for extra credit are possible involving visiting related exhibits, films, museums, art galleries, specific research, attending relevant shows or conferences, or related study, etc. Such points are limited and per the instructor's discretion and official acceptance policies are TBA.
POLICIES
Missing 3 classes, consecutively or not) is an AUTOMATIC FAILURE for the class.
Expect to spend from three to six hours a week on your working outside of class. Lab hours will be available and posted by the end of the first week.
Students are responsible for any material missed due to tardiness or absence. Readings, and assignments, and projects are expected at the beginning of class on their due dates.
Late submissions will be lowered one grade per class late.