Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

1. Identify common workflows for previsualization in motion graphics and animation using industry-standard and open-source digital tools.
2. Identify design principles, such as scale, layout, lighting, atmospherics, and color theory in animation.
3. Prepare story visualizations as storyboards, animatics, and concept art.
4. Apply compositing/transparency methods incorporating vector and raster images.

Give students a sense of being grounded in the expansive field of digital arts.

Course material will be presented in a lecture format. This course is designed to maximize learning through the use of outcome-based instruction strategies, collaborative learning, contextual application, and performance-based assessment.

• Assessment will be based upon a combination of in-class work, reflections, examinations, and skills demonstrated in assigned projects. Determination of problem-solving skills, and communication skills may also be included.
• Assessment will be made based on students marking and identifying elements of cinematography and graphic design in stills and video from media of their choice using digital marking tools, and presenting those findings to the class.
• Assessment will be made based on a combination of students' self evaluations and my evaluation of their ability to identify the elements of common workflows for the tools utilized in their assignments.
• Assessment will be made based on a combination of students self evaluations and my evaluation of their use of layer based image manipulation techniques in their assignments as it relates to the common workflows for the tools utilized
• Assessment will be made based on my and peer evaluation of  student storyboards and animatics created using shot direction from real screenplays, and the successful inclusion of the elements described in the screenplay.

• Previsualization, Cinematography, Ways of Seeing
• Aspect Ratio, Proximity, Composition, Focus
• Concept art critique, beginning shot list worksheet from chosen scene and concept art
• Framing / Shot Types

• Focal Element, Leading Lines, Contrast, Geometric Shapes, Figures and Faces, Variations in Saturation, Camera Focus, Motion

• Highlights, Midtones, Shadows, Foreground, Midground, Background, Backlight to create outlines, Compositing, Gel Lighting, Changing Angles, Color Temperatures as Depth, Side and Back light, Short/Broad side of the subject

• Keyframe, Timing, Spacing