MAT 150 - Animation + Interactivity

Dear Students

I love this class. I hope you will love it too. I’m here to support you, especially if that love fades because you have questions, are having technical problems, or your life’s circumstances are making things difficult. If these things happen, let’s talk. I’m here for you. I’m literally paid to help you and it’s what I love to do.

This class can be hard. You may get frustrated at times. But, that’s true of many things worth doing that you try for the first time. Stick with it. Embrace the chaos that comes with learning something new. I promise you, the learning will come. You will be surprised by how much you have learned and by what you can make by the end of this class. Trust me. The class is manageable. You can do it. Just take it one week at a time and try not to get behind. Reserve time for the class each week and try not to skip any of the tutorials provided. They will help you.

The information that follows provides the academic and technical details about the class. Read it over so you know what to expect. But also know that what I am most concerned with is your own learning. I don’t want to limit your creativity and I want you to be able to pursue your own passions. So, if you find something in the class you’d like to do differently or if you have any questions or problems, reach out to me. I’m reasonable.

Cheers, Karl

Course Description

This course introduces students to 2D animation and interactive media design techniques and tools. Students learn to integrate animation, text, graphics, audio, and video to create rich, interactive user experiences. The course emphasizes design principles for time-based media and effective user interface and interaction design. Students produce animation projects and interactive applications for delivery on the Web and other platforms.

Student Learning Outcomes and Core Competencies

Institutional Core Competencies are broad general education outcomes that demonstrate real-world skills that students should gain while progressing toward the completion of a degree, certificate, or educational goal. The core competencies emphasized in this course include Intellectual and Practical Skills including inquiry, analysis and independent thinking, critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving, information literacy, and integration of knowledge.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) describe what students should be able to do upon successful completion of this course and apply directly to the high-level skills you are expected to possess in the workforce. You are expected to achieve competency in the following course-level Student Learning Outcomes, each of which help you achieve one or more of the above core competencies:

Conceptualize, design, and produce animations for screen output or web delivery.
Design and develop rich user interface and/or experiences that integrate media, animation, and interactivity.
Examine, analyze, and evaluate interactive media products and processes.

Course Objectives

Students will learn principles and practices of animation, motion graphics, and designing for interactivity using Adobe Animate CC for multimedia applications and the web. The course will provide “hands on” experience with the tools and techniques used by designers to create effective animations, interfaces, and sophisticated interactive web and multimedia products. Students will learn to:

Examine, analyze, and critique interactive media products and processes
Assess and identify appropriate media delivery techniques for various information types
Conceptualize and storyboard animation sequences for screen output or Web delivery
Develop and produce animations
Create and optimize graphics, audio, and video for multimedia applications and the Web
Implement design principles into user interface designs
Develop rich user experiences, including integrating animation, text, graphics, audio, and video
Design for interactivity
Define and apply project programming techniques.

Design skills, design process, personal expression, content development, project management and trends in visual communication as they relate to interactive media will be emphasized along with the learning of tools and techniques.

Video Tutorials, Reading, and Software

Software

Adobe Animate CC. Optional software includes Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe AfterEffects, Audacity (and potentially others). If you do not own this software already, as a student you can purchase the entire Adobe suite at an educational discount through CollegeBuys.org. See the class FAQs for more information.

Video Lectures

Instructor created instructional videos (on the class website)

Grading and Evaluation

Your final grade is based on your performance on exercises, projects, and class participation including blog postings and discussions on the Canvas site.

Total Possible Points = 1,000

Exercises: 300 points (30%)
Project 1: 200 points (20%)
Project 2: 200 points (20%)
Final Project: 200 points (20%)
Class Participation, Discussions, & The Blog: 100 points (10%)

Project grades are based on the quality of your work in the following areas: content/concept, form, function, and technique. For information on the specific grading considerations related to each of these areas, see Making the Grade.

Exercises

Exercises will be assigned to provide hands-on experience with key concepts from course lectures and demonstrations. Exercises are technical and/or creative explorations that typically don’t require an intensive amount of production time.

Projects

You will conceive, design, and produce (using Animate CC) two mini-projects and a final project that will require more substantive production time. Depending upon the project, you will be encouraged to include imagery, animation, sound, interactivity, text, video, and/or other media elements as appropriate to your concept.

Full project details, descriptions, and requirements will be available on the assignments page.

For the final project, you will conceive and design a new animation and/or interactive project around a new theme/idea of your choice or extend one of the first two projects to create a robust and refined final project. A list of possible projects and specific project requirements will be presented.

Project grades are based on the quality of your work in the following areas: content/concept, form, function, and technique. For information on the specific grading considerations related to each of these areas, see Making the Grade.

Class Participation

Class participation credit will be granted through participation in class activities, discussions (Q&A and critiques), and blog postings and/or presentations. Class discussions will be facilitated by the instructor in class and/or by the use of the Canvas learning management system. Canvas will provide the forum for class conversations, questions and answers, and blogging. The forums will also be used for critiques of class projects and for you to solicit feedback from your fellow students' on your work in development. Your participation in the Forum Discussions and Critiques on Canvas count towards your class "participation" grade in the class.

Explorations and the Blog

In this class you will survey, research, and explore compelling and cutting-edge examples of animation and interactive media arts, the studios and artists involved in the production of such work, and other issues related to the design of multimedia products and/or experiences. A collaborative class blog hosted within the discussion forums on Canvas will provide an opportunity to share and discuss your findings. Your research will focus on two of four possible areas of exploration:

Studio/Artist Exploration: An in-depth look into a design studio or individual multimedia artist or animator and their work.
Design Exploration: An in-depth exploration of interactive media design and/or animation, reviewing design principles/techniques and how they operate and/or are put into action to create effective multimedia products or experiences.
New Media Exploration: An exploration of issues and practices related to interactive media arts, such as technology use; creative, developmental, and/or business processes; and critical/theoretical analysis.
Resources Exploration: An exploration of resources available online (such as tools, instructional tutorials, and/or sites of inspiration) that are of value to the animator, media designer, or developer.

Your research will culminate in two blog postings to the class blog and one short oral presentation/demonstration of your findings (on one of the exploration areas) to the class. For detailed information on the Blog postings, see the Projects page.

Administrative

Grading Guidelines

A (90 - 100%) – Outstanding achievement; only for the highest accomplishment.
B (80 - 89%) – Praiseworthy performance; definitely above average.
C (70 - 79%) – Average; awarded for satisfactory performance.
D (60 - 69%) – Minimally passing; less than average achievement.
F (0 - 59%) – Failing.

Incomplete grades are not generally issued and will only be granted in extreme, extenuating circumstances, whereupon a contract of completion is drawn up and signed by the instructor, the department chair, and the student.

Class Participation
Participation in class will be considered as part of your course grade. Students are expected to frequently check the class website for new lecture material, meet project and exercise deadlines and join class conversations (discussions and other online activities) on the Canvas site. The instructor has the right to drop students from the class who fail to participate before census or in excess of two weeks. However, if you intend to drop the course, you must officially withdraw through SURF or the Admissions & Records office or risk receiving an “F” in the class.

Due Dates + Late Work
All work is expected to be submitted by the end of the day on the day that it is due. Late work is accepted but may be lowered by one letter grade for each week that it is late. However, I offer one ‘freebie’ and will not penalize students for missing a deadline provided it does not become habitual. The final project, however, will not be accepted late.

Prerequisites/Advisories
MAT 120 and considerable computer and desktop experience (and/or CSIT 100 and 105) are recommended.

College Support Services
The college offers a wide variety of support services of which I encourage you to take advantage. These include health services and personal counseling, academic and career counseling, EOPS, veterans’ services, and more. See miracosta.edu/student-services/ for links and phone numbers.

MAT Tutoring
The Tutoring and Academic Support Center (TASC) and Writing Center (WC) assist students by providing free tutoring and appointments. For tutoring options and the drop-in tutoring schedule, see: mat.miracosta.edu/tutoring.

MAT Club
Join the media arts community at MiraCosta and your fellow students in the MAT Club for access to social and professional opportunities and events. Follow the club on Instragram @miracostamatclub.

Open Lab Hours
Computer lab hours are available to students in the Media Arts Hub (28103 or 28104):

Mon + Wed, 1:00– 4:00 p.m.
Tues + Thurs, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Tues + Thurs, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Additional hours are available in the Campus Library and Learning Commons, which is generally open:

Mon – Thurs, 8 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Class Conduct + Culture
In this class, it is expected that we treat each other with professionalism and respect, are mindful and kind in our interactions, keep our community open and constructive, and foster a culture of support and guidance.

All students are expected to follow the rules and standards of conduct detailed in the college catalog. Students are expected to produce original work and not use pre-packaged templates or copy web designs or code that is not their own. Plagiarism may result in a failing grade and other consequences. A student may not use or copy by any means another's work (or portions of it) and represent it as their own. Quotations, photographs, or other artwork used by a student should be given appropriate credit or reference.

MiraCosta College - Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Statement
MiraCosta College is committed to providing a strong, supportive, and authentic environment where difference is valued, respected, encouraged, and honored; where all faculty, staff, and students experience a sense of belonging and the freedom to express themselves; and where their experiences are recognized and valued. For more information visit: miracosta.edu/dei/

Academic Accommodations
If you have a disability or medical condition impacting learning and have not yet been authorized to receive academic accommodations, you’re encouraged to contact the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) office (formerly known as Disabled Students Programs and Services or DSPS). The SAS office can be reached at (760) 795-6658, or sas@miracosta.edu. The SAS office will help you determine what accommodations are available for you. If you’re requesting my assistance utilizing any authorized accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.

Accessibilty Statement
If you encounter any accessibility-related difficulties with required or optional course materials, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can investigate the matter further and provide effective alternatives, if needed.

LGBTQIA+ Resources
MiraCosta College has an expressed commitment to equity and inclusion for students, faculty, and staff who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual. For information about LGBTQIA+ campus resources and services, visit: miracosta.edu/lgbt.

Instructor Contact
Regular effective contact and interaction with the instructor will be maintained through weekly instructor-prepared electronic lectures and updates to the class website, weekly email announcements, active online discussion and question and answer forums, weekly office hours, web conferencing or screen‐sharing sessions, instructor feedback on student work, and through responding to student emails, phone calls, and/or other questions or postings in a timely manner. Students can reasonably expect to hear back from the instructor within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) for most inquiries. If the instructor expects to be absent and unable to post materials and/or respond to email or discussion forums in excess of three or four days, he will notify the class and make other accommodations. If you have concerns about instructor contact or any other regard, please refer to the section on Students Rights in the MiraCosta College catalog.

Administrative Dates

2/3 : Add and Drop deadline. Last day to add a class or drop a class without a “W” and to receive a full refund

2/5 : Class Census (non-participating students will be dropped)

3/17 - 3/22 : Spring Break.

4/24 : Withdraw deadline. Last day to drop the class and still receive a “W” on transcript

5/23 : Last day to switch to
“Pass/No Pass” grading option

5/20 – 5/23 : Finals Week

MAT 150 - Animation and Interactivity

Class SYLLABUS