Fall, 2006.
Introduction to Media Production
MM 113
Tuesday 9-10:30 am (lecture, both sections) GCC 216
Tuesday noon-1:15 & 1:30-2:45 (section 02 lab) GCC 205
Thursday noon-1:15 & 1:30-2:45 (section 01 lab) GCC 205
Instructor:
Edward Lee Lamoureux
E-Mail address: ell@bradley.edu
CGCC 315 (309-677-2378)
309-677-4260 (209, monitor station)
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday: 11am-12 noon
Text: There is no required traditional textbook. There are, however, numerous required tutorials as designated from Lynda.com as well as a couple of locally authored/held tutorials covering lab and server issues. There is a list of required supplies for purchase (see “Supplies” below). Most of the Lynda materials can be accessed locally from the tutorials link at <http://gcc.bradley.edu/labs/>. Five tutorials (Digital Photography, Final Cut Pro, GarageBand, Typographic Principles, and Color) are accessed directly from Lynda.com; you’ll get the url after you follow the emailed directions for subscribing.
Course Goals: We will achieve a basic understanding of the components of digital media: text, photographs, illustrations, sound, and video. We will investigate the creation, digitizing, and manipulation of these media. We will learn to incorporate these components into web sites, a desktop publishing layout, a video, multiple-track sound files, and a multimedia presentation.
Attendance and Commitment: Many Bradley students find multimedia instruction, and therefore class attendance, very helpful. Students will complete some of the MM media production work during class time. All assignments must be completed on or before due dates: Late work faces a letter grade reduction in value the moment it is late with additional reductions of a letter grade per 24 hours thereafter. The progress of classes, and the students who attend them, will not be impeded by reviewing material already covered. Although students may review and complete tutorials outside of class time, attendance at classes is expected. If you miss a class, you must take yourself through the material covered and/or assigned, via the learning materials, before the next class meeting. 113 requires substantial out of class time for completing study and project assignments. Allocate at least 6 hours per week, outside of class. Much of that time will be spent online viewing software instruction movies via Lynda.com. All software instruction is derived from Lynda.com materials and takes place outside class time. Class time is spent learning principles and aesthetics for work in/with media and multimedia. Your grades/scores will be posted on the BU Blackboard site; there is a class email alias:
[mm11301-fa@bumail.bradley.edu; mm11302-fa@bumail.bradley.edu] ; you are responsible for checking your Bradley email account regularly and for all notices that I send to the class via that account.
Schedule (subject to change with notice)
Policy Regarding Student Absence Due to an Illness:
When missing classes and related assignments due to an illness, it is the student's responsibility to provide a document issued by a medical authority to verify the student's absence due to illness, unless the Office of the Associate Provost for Student Affairs informs an instructor of the basis for the student's absence. Instructors will not call the Health Center or any other source to verify the student's reason for absence. Acceptance of absences as excuse for missed class or work remains the instructor’s decision and should be negotiated with the teacher before the class session if possible (or as soon thereafter as is practical).
Policy Regarding Communication about Grades:
As a matter of Multimedia Program policies for protecting student privacy and in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, questions and concerns regarding grades must be presented in person or in a written letter. Instructors will not respond to questions and concerns communicated through e-mail or telephone calls regarding grades.
Lab Use: CGCC 205 and 213 are specially configured for use by Multimedia students. 205 contains decks for capturing video. 201 has the same software configuration, but is largely “booked” with Art/Graphic Design courses and doesn't have capture stations. 207 & 211 do not share the MM resources. A lab schedule and complete rules and procedures will be presented. You must enter your unique password in order to have access to the lab and its resources. You may not use another student's password, nor may you allow others to access the lab using your password. Printing is charged on your QuickCash card. Violations of specified lab policies will result in your loss of access to the computer labs. There are also 5 iMacs in the library that are configured with the MM software (but do not have capture stations). You will have access to CGCC 205 & 213 24/7 via your Quick Card, provided you are in the building before it closes. You have remote access to our servers and the learning materials from any networked computer.
GCC Building and Lab Hours
Labs in GCC 201,205,213 Have 24 hour access if you are in by 10pm
General Admission is 8am - 10pm during the week
Weekend Hours are 12-3pm
Service Bureau Equipment Checkout Hours M-TH 8am - 10pm, FRI/8am - 5pm/SAT 12-3pm/SUN 12-3pm/
Students will be added to the swipe card lists automatically. However, security and other custodial staff are not receiving lists, so students may get questioned once they are in the GCC space after 10pm.
Printing Charges: You will be charged for any printing you send to CGCC printers. You will be able to pick up your prints from the service bureau (210) when there is a monitor present; the prints will be charged to your Bradley student account (you will need your QuickCard). The printers available in the CGCC are already configured on the lab machines; printing fromGCC207 and GCC211 have 8.5x11 laser printers for the COM writing classes. All other labs are configured to print for pick up in GCC210. You will now need to go to the service bureau to pickup and pay for your prints. Only quick cash is accepted, no cash please!
-$.10 - B/W Letter [GCC209_HP815]; $.20 - B/W Tabloid; A Xerox Phaser 790 is also available in GCC209.
- $1.00 - Color Letter [GCC209_Xerox790]; $2.00 - Color Tabloid Large format inkjet prints are also available to CFA students. See additional instructions for printing to the Large Format InkJet.
- $3.00 (per linear foot) for 24" wide Matte on the large format InkJet
- $4.00 (per linear foot) for 36" wide Glossy on the large format InkJet
For information about printing, wifi, and other such questions (esp. as they pertain to the labs and the servers and to adding printers to your laptops, etc.) see http://gcc.bradley.edu/labs/ especially the faq.
Assignments: There will be one major project in this course and a series of media assignments. These assignments each have due dates, detailed elsewhere in this syllabus. Note that assignments require that rough drafts be turned in as application tutorials. These drafts must be completed, turned in, evaluated, returned, and adjusted (when authoring the assignment) before the assignment will be accepted. The final project will not be accepted unless all tutorials and assignments are completed. Late work faces a letter grade reduction in value the moment it is late with additional reductions of a letter grade per 24 hours thereafter. Late assessments for tutorial drafts are made against the score given the associated assignments. Exceptions can only be made in cases negotiated with the teacher prior to the due date. Each subsequent assignment requires completion of all prior assignments.
All assignments will contain only your own media production/intellectual property. You may not utilize any media items that you've not made (with one exception . . . you may use the royalty-free sound effect files provided via the labs website).
Example of Final Project from Spring, 2006
Exampe of Final Project from Summer, 2006
Grading: The semester grade will be based upon your completed major project (40%), 9 quizzes covering the language and the practical aspects of the media-manipulation computer programs we'll be using (20%), the various preliminary media assignments (40%) and written design element plans for each of the media assignments. IN (incomplete) grades will NOT be given based on unfinished final projects. There is no extra credit available in this course. Please make careful note of the final exam schedule as attendance is mandatory; if you don't attend the final, you receive a 0 on your final project. Final section 01: Dec. 11, 9-11 am; section 02: Dec. 12, 9-11 am
Project [400], Quizes [200], Assignments [400] [for a variety of reasons, the semester's total # of points does not always equal exactly 1,000. In all cases, your grade is figured as a percentage of the total number of points over the course of the semester as indicated on Blackboard].
A: 100%-88.5 B: 88.4-78.5 C: 78.4-68.5 D: 68.4-58.5 F: > 58.5
Work will be graded based on its adherence to the specific assignment’s criteria as well as its aesthetic and effectiveness components. Do not merely rush through learning materials and assignments in order to finish them; take care with each. You will use ALL of the techniques you learn, and some of the materials that you produce (for assignments), in your final project. The better/more careful job you do along the way, the more effective will be your final project.
Supplies: Students need to acquire/purchase the following supplies:
Storage media: there are options for which kind of storage media to purchase. THE RECOMMENDED route is a 1 Gig compact flash card and a flash card reader. If you are using the flash card as your primary storage device, you’ll need both the card and reader. If you are using the card ONLY for photography (and are buying flash drives or firewire drives for primary storage), flash card readers can be checked out from the monitor’s station, GCC 210.
- Compact flash cards (these work like usb drives when combined with readers, but also work in our Digital Rebel cameras). For example:
1Gig - $69
512MB - $44
256MB - $25
With a $8 reader, the flashcard could be used instead of a USB drive.
- Three months subscription to Lynda.com to cover some items MM/CFA doesn’t provide. The subscription is at a special rate ($10.00 per month) and provides full online access to all learning materials (but not exercises…we will provide those in class). We’ll use 5 different part via this subscription - - - but the subscription will give you online access to all the learning materials in addition access provided by the course. If you subscribed to Lynda.com on your own, the cost would be $25.00 per month.
- Firewire and Flash drives / USB drives/ and CD+RW are all options for storage media. You may burn CDs at the stations. You will need 500 MB to 1 GB of storage space total and you must dedicate it to MM 113. Do not rely on the storage space in the labs, you MUST maintain your own files. If you purchase photo cards and reader, you will not need firewire or usb/flash drives (though you may want to acquire the extra capacity).
- Two DVD-R (your turn in your movie on these disks)
- One mini-DV tape—we will NOT input other video formats.
- Camera/camcorder check-out procedures will be handed out, day two.You will sign a contract concerning liability for equipment under your care.
© Ed Lamoureux
