Computer Science 112
The Art & Science of Computer Graphics

Spring 2013, The College of Saint Rose

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Procedure and Requirements

Your model need not be especially complex. You should create at least one brand new object (ideally to be made available as a shared model), but you are also encouraged to make use of objects from your previous labs, from class examples, and from the shared model repository (all with appropriate citation, of course).

You will need to follow these steps:

1. Construct a new Mead model in the standard way, following a good model hierarchy, using good names, and with appropriate documentation. In designing your model, be sure to keep in mind your ultimate goal: change. Your model may have features that change position or shape, or materials may change over time.
2. Think about the key points in your animation, where the dynamic behavior is discontinuous. For example, if you are modeling the motion of a billiard ball, the ball changes direction when it bounces off the edge of the table. The pictures of the model at these key points are called key frames.
3. Determine which objects change during each segment between the key frames. These objects will be the subject of an adjustment function you will write for each segment of your film. Next, determine how each object changes during the segment. Are these changes relative or absolute?
4. Write the adjustment function for each segment of your film. The values you need to determine the intermediate states of each dynamic object will become parameters to your adjustment function. Determine the start and stop values for each parameter. The film message you send to the camera will morph from the start values to the stop values.
5. Determine how long each segment should run, in steps, keeping in mind that the frame rate is 25 frames per second. At this point you have everything you need for your camera's film message.
6. Set your environment and image variables appropriately and shoot your film.

Submission

1. for your model (the scheme file, which should always be saved with a .scm extension) and your best images (which should always be saved in PNG format and using a .png extension) and movies (which should be in .mpg format) as attachments to terescoj AT strose.edu. Please include a meaningful subject line (something like "CSC 112 Studio/Lab 9 Submission"). Make sure your name is included in a comment in your model code, and that you have comments throughout the source code to make it easier to understand.
2. Rename your best images to include your name, then upload it to the wiki. For example, if you generate an image of a scene from Toy Story 4 and your name is John Lasseter, you might call one of your images "JohnLasseterTS4Scene.png".
3. Upload your best video clip or clips to a site like YouTube.
4. Add a section to your wiki page named "Animation" that includes a link to your images and a description of your model that generated the images. Also include a link to your YouTube video(s).

Grading

Your submitted model and image will be graded out of 20 points. Your grade will be based on how well the model meets the requirements, documentation, and presentation on your Wiki page. Documentation (comments) in your submitted Mead model should include your name, the assignment (Studio/Lab 9: Animation) and a brief description of the model at the top, and descriptions of sections of the model that might not be clear to someone trying to understand it. Your model code should always be nicely formatted. You can always select "Reindent All" from the "Scheme" menu in DrScheme to have the system format your code nicely. This will help with readability. Since it's so easy to do, there's no excuse for turning in poorly-formatted models.

A Reminder About Rendering Times

And finally, a quick reminder: animations can be very expensive to render. Please plan ahead! You might consider using a lower image quality when developing your models, increasing it only when you wish to generate final images and animations.