ClassInfo

ANI 481 Sound Design for Animation

Matthew Marsden

Fall 2014-2015
Class number: 17048
Section number: 701
W 5:45PM - 9:00PM
CDM 00527 Loop Campus

Summary

ANI 315-701
Sound for Animation Fall 2014 Wednesday 5:45-9:00 pm|
Instructor: Matt Marsden
mmarsd@saic.edu

Course Description As a course devoted to the creation and interrelation of sound and image in animation the aesthetics, techniques, equipment and programs required to create, manipulate, edit and sync multi track audio to a potentially broad range of animation media will be thoroughly covered. Beginning with the study of audio fundamentals and culminating in a multi track, sound synced animated final project, students will learn various methods for the conception, generation and ultimate combination of sound and animation through weekly assignments, lectures, demonstrations, critiques and screenings of relevant films. Much of the material covered will not be required in assignments but students will be encouraged to use and/or experiment with them. Non-lecture/screening time will be spent on editing, manipulating and logging of audio in the lab, as well as the creation of animation art, digital or otherwise.
Attendance Is mandatory as many of these animation techniques build upon one another. Three or more absences will result in a significant grade reduction.

Tardiness may also result in a significant grade reduction. Tardiness is defined as not in the classroom when attendance is called or departing before the class has been dismissed by the instructor. Tardiness that exceeds thirty minutes will be counted as an absence.

Class Work This class will require much work on the computer using a potentially wide array of programs including: Audition, Photoshop, Flash, After Effects, Maya and Toonboom.
In order to complete all of the digital art production and animation students will have to allot a considerable amount of non class time to lab work



Texts

Bibliography Will be provided as PDF
Suggested reading: Designing Sound for Animation by Robin Beauchamp .




Grading

20% Attendance and participation in class
60% Weekly Animation Projects
20% Final project and Final Critique

A = 100-93, A- = 92-90, B+ = 89-88, B = 87-83, B- = 82-80, C+ = 79-78, C = 77-73, C- = 72-70, D+ = 69-68, D = 67-63, D- = 62-60, F = 59-0.


Weekly Schedule





Schedule

Week 1
DISCUSS: AESTHETICS OF FILM SOUND. THE THREE STEMS. SOUND EFFECTS. POTENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SOUND EFFECTS AND THE MOVING IMAGE. LITERAL TRANSLATIONS, COMEDIC IDIOSYNCRATIC TRANSLATIONS. PRE AND POST SYNC. THE ART OF FOLEY. THE SOUND EFFECTS TRACK. PACE, RHYTHM AND METER IN SOUND EFFECTS USAGE. INTRODUCTION TO TOONBOOM . THE CINTIQ AND TABLET. INTRODUCTION TO AUDIO SCRUBBING. REVIEW FUNDAMENTALS OF ANIMATION: EASE IN ? OUT, MOTION PATHS, STRETCH AND SQUASH, CYCLES, HOLDS AND CREATING EFFECTIVE TIMING.
SCREENING: JUMPING -- OSAMU TEZUKA

ASSIGNMENT: CREATE A (NO LESS THAN) 4 SECOND ANIMATED SEQUENCE FOR FUTURE FOLEY OF SYNCED AND NON-SYNCED SOUND EFFECTS. DUE NEXT WEEK.



Week 2
DISCUSS: AMBIENT SOUND. GENERATING MOOD USING SOUND EFFECTS AND AMBIENT SOUND. USING SILENCE. AUDIO IN AFTER EFFECTS.
SCREENING: BALANCE -- CHRISTOPH AND WOLFGANG LAUENSTEIN

ASSIGNMENT: FIND BOTH ON AND OFF SCREEN SOUND EFFECTS. CREATE FOLEY TRACK AND COMPOSITE WITH ANIMATION. DUE NEXT WEEK.





Week 3
DISCUSS THE SCIENCE AND ART OF RECORDING SOUND. THE WIDE WORLD OF MICROPHONES. DIGITAL RECORDERS: MARANTZ AND SOUND DEVICE. RECORDING THE HUMAN VOICE. DIALOGUE. INTRODUCTION TO LOGGING AUDIO AND THE EXPOSURE SHEET. THE CADENCE OF SPEECH. LIP SYNC: EXPRESSIONS AND BASIC LIP SHAPES FOR VARIOUS SOUNDS AND LETTERS. ACTING FOR LIP SYNC. READING DIALOGUE SOUND FILES AND SCRUBBING THE SOUND TRACK. FINDING AND ANIMATING TO VERBAL ACCENTS. EXPOSURE SHEETING FOR LIP SYNC.
SCREENING: EXCERPTS FROM: THE SECRET OF NIMH -- DON BLUTH

ASSIGNMENT: RECORD A DIALOGUE TRACK OF NO LESS THAN 4 SECONDS AND BEGIN LOGGING TRACK FOR LIP SYNC. DUE NEXT WEEK. BEGIN CONCEPT CONSIDERATIONS FOR FINAL PROJECT.





Week 4

DISCUSS: MORE ON LIP SYNC: LAUGHING, SHOUTING, CRYING, MUMBLING. FILMIC SOUND AND THE UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS OF ANIMATION AUDIO. EXAGGERATION IN ANIMATED AUDIO. SELECTIVE NATURE OF AUDIO AND IMAGE PERCEPTION.
SCREENING: EXCERPTS FROM: THE JUNGLE BOOK -- JOHNSTON, THOMAS, DISNEY

ASSIGNMENT: COMPLETE LOG AND CREATE SIMPLE (IN DEGREE OF DETAIL NOT IN ACTING!) LOOSE, SYNCED ANIMATION TO DIALOGUE TRACK. DUE NEXT WEEK. BEGIN GENERATING SOLID IDEAS FOR THE FINAL PROJECT.


.

Week 5 DISCUSS: THE POWER OF MUSIC IN LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED FILMMAKING. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND IMAGE. SETTING AND AFFECTING TONE AND MOOD. MUSIC AND RHYTHM DRIVEN ANIMATION. ?MICKEY MOUSING? AND ANIMATING TO A BEAT. USING SOUND EFFECTS AS SURROGATE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. CREATING THUMBNAIL SKETCHES USING EXPOSURE SHEET FOR EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE SHOT/SCENE SYNC SOUND LAYOUT. METER, TIMING AND THE REQUIRED KEY POSES FOR THE 4/4 WALK CYCLE. ANIMATED DANCING! SOME BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR RECORDING MUSIC. EQUALIZATION AND BASIC MIXING. LOGGING AND SCRUBBING RHYTHMIC MUSIC AND THE EXPOSURE SHEET.
SCREENING: SEQUENCES FROM FANTASIA.

ASSIGNMENT: CREATE/RECORD A SHORT MUSIC TRACK WITH A BEAT AND BEGIN LOGGING FOR SYNCED ANIMATION. DUE NEXT WEEK. BEGIN CONSIDERATIONS FOR AUDIO FOR THE FINAL. BEGIN VISUAL RESEARCH AND/OR PREPRODUCTION/CONCEPT ARTWORK FOR THE FINAL PROJECT.



Week 6
DISCUSS: THE TRANSLATION OF THUMBNAIL SKETCHES INTO ARTICULATED, SYNCED KEYFRAMES FOR EFFECTIVE TIMING AND BELIEVABLE ACTING. EXAGGERATION IN KEY POSES. THE NEED FOR ACTING OUT POSE TO POSE MOVEMENT AND/OR LIVE ACTION RESEARCH
SCREENING: COW ON THE MOON -- DUSAN VUKOTIC

ASSIGNMENT: COMPLETE LOG AND/OR BEGIN ANIMATION OF A DANCE SYNCED TO A BEAT. DUE NEXT WEEK. BEGIN REALIZING CONCRETE LIST OF AUDIO REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL (MOST IMPORTANT BEING AUDIO REQUIRING SYNCED ANIMATION).




Week 7
DISCUSS: THE STORYBOARD AND COMMUNICATING GRAPHICALLY.
BASIC FILM CONSTRUCTION: SHOT SIZE, CUTS, FADES, DISSOLVES, ZOOMS,
PANS ETC. THE ANIMATIC AND ITS USEFULNESS IN REFINING AUDIO IMAGE UNION. CONSIDERING OVERALL SHOT TO SHOT, SCENE TO SCENE FILMIC PACE AND RHYTHM. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FINAL PROJECT.
SCREENING: HARPYA -- RAOUL SERVAIS

ASSIGNMENT: CREATE A SET OF STORY BOARDS THAT CLEARLY ILLUSTRATES YOUR FINAL PROJECT FOR USE IN ANIMATIC. CREATE/RECORDPRIMARY OR DRIVING AUDIO TRACK FOR SHORT FINAL PROJECT. DUE NEXT WEEK.



Week 8
DISCUSS: EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES TO AUDIO FOR ANIMATION.
VERY DENSE VS. VERY SPARE. MICRO EDITING AND LAYERED NOISE. PROCESS ORIENTED AUDIO/ANIMATION CONTENT. CONSIDERED AND COHESIVE INTEGRATION OF EFFECTS, DIALOGUE AND MUSIC TRACKS. BASIC MULTI TRACK AUDIO MIXING FOR ANIMATION.
SCREENING: FRANK FILM -- FRANK MOURIS
ASSIGNMENT: BEGIN ANIMATION FOR SHORT FINAL PROJECT.




Week 9
DISCUSS: THE ?ERSATZ BURP? AND ENJOYING THE TRUE FREEDOM OF FOLEY FOR ANIMATION.
SCREENING: RUBBER STAMP FILM -- JOANNA PRIESTLEY
ASSIGNMENT: ANIMATION AND AUDIO FOR SHORT FINAL PROJECT.




Week 10 DISCUSS: APPROPRIATING AUDIO: WHEN, WHY, FOR WHAT AND HOW MUCH. INDIVIDUAL REVIEW OF FINAL PROJECT.
SCREENING: IMMER ZU -- JANIE GEISER
ASSIGNMENT: IN LAB WORK ON FINAL AND/OR EXPORT/RENDERING OF FINAL.




Final Critique




as above.

School policies:

Changes to Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.

Online Course Evaluations

Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation. Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.

All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.

Academic Policies

All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.

Students with Disabilities

Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296