Syllabus - SCAD Employee Web Space - Savannah College of Art ...

Course SyllabusSCAD Attendance Policy: There are no excused absences. The accumulation of more than fourabsences will result in the student’s failure for the class. Missing more than fifteen minutes of class isconsidered an absence.Additional information: noneSchedule of Classes: Key events including assignments, projects due dates/exam dates:Class 1: Tuesday, 9/16: Discussion of assessment criteria and the web based portfolio. Reviewof Mel documentation, how to source Mel files; Mel commands, flags and data types.Mel modeling I assignment given (due class 2).Class 2: Thursday, 9/18: Using groups, duplicates and instances. Getting and settingattributes, creating custom procedures. Mel modeling II assignment given (due class3).Class 3: Tuesday, 9/23: Animation with Mel – use of keyframes and expressions. Mel animationassignment given (due class 5).Class 4: Thursday, 9/25: Studio session devoted to the mel animation assignment.Class 5: Tuesday, 9/30: Scripting RenderMan Artist Tools with Mel. Mel/RenderMan animationassignment (due class 6).Class 6: Thursday, 10/2: Studio session devoted to the mel/RenderMan assignment.Class 7: Tuesday, 10/7: Introduction to TCL. Evoking a script from the command line.Introduction to the rules of string substitution and the basics of handling TCL lists.Text handling assignment given (due class 8).Class 8: Thursday, 10/9: Reading, writing and filtering text files with TCL. File filteringassignment given (due class 10).Class 9: Tuesday, 10/14: Advanced text handling using regular expressions. Regularexpression assignment given (due class 11).Class 10: Thursday, 10/16: Studio session devoted to developing solutions to the regularexpression assignment.Class 11: Tuesday, 10/21: Introduction to the basic concepts of scripting Slim tcl/rib boxes.Polymesh replacement assignment given (due class 14).Class 12: Thursday, 10/23: Studio session devoted to developing solutions to the polymeshreplacement assignment.Class 13: Tuesday, 10/28: Studio session devoted to developing solutions to the polymeshreplacement assignment.Class 14: Thursday, 10/30: Begin developing individual student projects.Class 15: Tuesday, 11/4: Studio session devoted to individual projects.Class 16: Thursday, 11/6: Studio session devoted to individual projects.Class 17: Tuesday, 11/11: Studio session devoted to individual projects.Class 18: Thursday, 11/13: Studio session devoted to individual projects.Class 19: Tuesday, 11/18: Students will make individual presentations of the solutions theydeveloped for their final project.Class 20: Thursday, 11/20: Discussion, feedback and transfer of work to the (dvd) dropbox forthe end-of-quarter visual effects show.Revised November 2007 2

Course SyllabusGrading Opportunities:Your overall course grade will be computed according to the following breakdown:AssignmentMel modeling I projectMel modeling II projectMel animation projectPolymesh projectIndividual projectWeb portfolioWeight10 percent10 percent15 percent20 percent25 percent20 percent.Grading StandardsRangeLetter grade: A = excellent 90 –100%Letter grade: B = good 80 – 89%Letter grade: C = * 70 – 79%Letter grade: D = * 60 – 69%Letter grade: F = failing 0 – 59%*Refer to the student handbooks and departmental standards for minimal acceptance for passinggrade.Field Trip (s): Field trips will be scheduled outside of the regular class hours; these willbe announced as the quarter progresses.Extra Help Session (s): These will be scheduled on a weekly basis outside of regular class hours.Conference (s): Each student enrolled in the course will have a midterm conference scheduled outsideof class time with the professor. Students are expected to keep this appointment.Academic Integrity: Under all circumstances, students are expected to be honest in their dealingswith faculty, administrative staff, and fellow students. In speaking with members of the collegecommunity, students must give an accurate representation of the facts at hand. In class assignments,students must submit work that fairly and accurately reflects their level of accomplishment. Any workthat is not a product of the student’s own effort is considered dishonest. Students may not submit thesame work for more than one class. A student may be suspended or expelled for academic dishonesty.Please refer to the Student Handbook for additional information regarding the policy on academicintegrity.Incomplete: A grade of incomplete may be granted to students who have suffered serious personalillness or critical, emergency circumstances during the academic term, preventing the student fromcompleting all assignments by the end of the quarter. The appropriate school dean must approve agrade of incomplete before the end of the quarter. Students with more than four total absences are noteligible for an incomplete. Please refer to the college catalog for additional information.Learning Support Resources and Academic and Safety Polices: Information about SCAD learningsupport resources and academic and safety policies, including the Learning Assistance Center, the JenLibrary, the Writing Center, SCAD Helpdesk, the Visual Resources Center, and Student Counseling andDisabilities Services can be found in the menu area of the Blackboard web site for this course.Revised November 2007 3