Section 01 - Schedule

FEB 01: 01 - introduction - First Memory

  • introduction, syllabus, etc
  • review/intro to GarageBand
  • in class exercise - share first memories with your partner

FEB 08: 02 - Re-thinking Narrative

  • lecture about narrative forms
  • continue with GarageBand, digitizing, effects, enhancing audio quality
  • critique "retell" assignment

read:
- "Chapter 2: The Vocabulary of Comics" from Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

DUE:
"retell" - In class you will partner with a classmate and share your first distinct memory. Using the GarageBand software "retell" the story in a 1-3 minute audio piece. Your project should be based on this memory, but you are not required to retell the story exactly as it was told to you - you have creative license to embellish, exagerate, extrapolate, interpolate the story to generate a compelling narrative. That said, you should try to respect the original story (and the person who told it) so as not to misrepresent them.

FEB 15: NO CLASSES

FEB 22: 03 - introduction - Setting the Stage

  • tour of the Flash authoring environment
  • using text - static, broken, dynamic
  • the Stage - movie properties

read:
- tba

DUE:
"remix" - assignment description will be handed out in class

MAR 01: 04 - drawing a Tween - remix culture

  • The Timeline - layers, framerate, keyframes
  • Shapes - properties, grouping, ungrouping breaking apart
  • Tweens - shape, motion [position, scale, color, alpha]

read:
- "Chapter 4: Time Frames" from Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

DUE:
"t e x t" - assignment description will be handed out in class

MAR 08: 05 - creating a Mask - Thinking about Time

  • importing artwork from illustrator/photoshop
  • creating masks
  • using motion paths and guides

read:
- "Generation Flash" by Lev Manovich

DUE:
"Little Black Boxes" - assignment description will be handed out in class

MAR 15: 06 - incorporating Sound

  • Finding sounds online
  • Importing sound, recording sound in the classroom
  • Event sound, streaming sound

DUE:
"re-re-mix"- assignment description will be handed out in class

MAR 22: SPRING BREAK

MAR 29: 07 - animation Tricks

  • Animation techniques: easing, blur, gravity
  • Working with MovieClips

DUE:
"My Life" - Animate your life story in 30 seconds or less (bunnies optional). Have a storyboard and at least 10 seconds of animation. [Draft due Mar 29th]

APR 05: 08 - the Loop - Generation Flash

  • nested MovieClips
  • making animated loops
  • programming loops

DUE:
"My Life, take 2" - final draft of My Life.

APR 12: NO CLASSES - ADVISEMENT DAY

APR 19: 09 - make it Interactive

  • Creating buttons
  • Using Behaviors

DUE:
"How To": Develop an interactive Flash movie that illustrates/teaches your audience how to do something. This could be anything from how to make a PB&J sandwich to how to knit to how to make a Flash movie. It must have at least 5 different scenes; at least 1 voiceover and it must utilize buttons for your audience to interact with. Have a sitemap and at least 2 of the 5 scenes. [Final piece due April 26th]

APR 26: 10 - make it even more Interactive

  • Approaches to navigation

DUE:
Final draft of "How To".

MAY 03: 11 - incorporating video

MAY 10: 12 - Open Lab

  • Work on your final project in class

MAY 17: 13 - Final Class

  • In class critique of final projects and wrap-up