KNB226 Visual Storytelling: Animation Pre-Production

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This unit expands on story development, design and pre-visualisation techniques for productions. As such, it consolidates your exposure to concept development, production design and pre-production knowledge, and the skills introduced in KNB136 Visual Storytelling: Production Design and KNB216 Visual Storytelling: Cinematic Pre-Visualisation. The unit focuses on equipping students with the design and planning skills necessary for cinematic preproduction. These range from concept development through to design and storyboarding to production-ready documentation. As part of this unit you will develop, design, direct, pitch, produce a production bible and an animatic for an animated short. You will be required to draw and therefore be expected to build on illustration skills.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Communicate and pitch ideas and proposals with an emphasis on professionalism, design, efficiency and context.
2. Produce project management documents such as scripts, storyboards, models, environment, colour roughs, animatics, design iterations, character backgrounds, time budgets, character rigs.
3. Understand the principles of narrative and cinematic exposition, specific to the field of animation and situate your own practice within this field.
4. Formulate and apply an independent perspective on your work through reflection and by acting on the informed critique of others.

Content

Learning Approaches

The teaching and learning approaches of this unit combine theory and practice. They incorporate lectures, tutorials, mentoring and peer critique. Instruction is structured around a simulated production culture. Reflection and critique will be an essential part of your work.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Formative and summative feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:

• a range of formative exercises will be discussed in class and you will receive verbal feedback on your progress in this unit during tutorials throughout the semester
• criteria sheet grading
• generic comments back to the cohort via QUT Learning Management System.

Assessment

Overview

For this unit you will demonstrate the trajectory of an emerging animated short, from concept to screen.

Faculty Assessment Information
To access complete Faculty Assessment Information please refer to the Canvas site for this unit.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Concept Art

You are required to produce a design proposal document for a project by articulating the concept, context and its proposed development.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Production Design

You will produce and pitch a storyboard, animatic and production bible. This aims to exemplify cinematic best practice. It should demonstrate the exploration of ideas, the processes and the practices required for realisation of the production.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Requirements to Study

Requirements

All students and staff who access campus buildings and facilities are required to complete the Tier 1 General Health and Safety Induction. This must be completed online.

Resources

Resource Materials

Recommended text(s)

Bancroft, T. 2006, Creating characters with personality, Watson-Guptill, New York.

Barber, Barrington (2004) The complete book of drawing: essential skills for every artist. London: Arcturus.

Fischer, L. 2015, Art direction and production design, I.B. Tauris, London.

Glebas, F. 2009; 2012; 2008, Directing the story: professional storytelling and storyboarding techniques for live action and animation, Elsevier/Focal Press, Amsterdam; Boston.

Halligan, F. 2013, Production design, Focal Press, Burlington, MA.

Han, R.P. & Gnomon Workshop (Firm) 2008, Character design for production: concept techniques with Peter Han, Gnomon Workshop, Hollywood, Calif.

Katz, S.D.1. 1991, Film directing shot by shot: visualizing from concept to screen, Michael Wiese Productions in conjunction with Focal Press, Studio City, CA.

Mascelli, J.V. 1965, The five c’s of cinematography: motion picture filming techniques simplified, Cine/Grafic Publications, Hollywood.

Mattesi, Mike (2006) Force: Life Drawing for Animators [electronic source]. Burlington: Elsevier.

Mattesi, Mike (2008) Force: Character Design from Life Drawing [electronic resource]. Burlington: Elsevier.

Micklewright, Keith (2005) Drawing: mastering the language of visual expression. London: Laurence King Publishing.

Paez, S. & Jew, A. 2013; 2012, Professional storyboarding: rules of thumb, Focal Press, New York.

Rousseau, D.H. & Phillips, B.R. 2013, Storyboarding essentials: how to translate your story to the screen for film, TV, and other media, First edn, Watson-Guptill Publishers, New York.

Selby, Andrew (01/01/2013). “Storyboarding” in Animation (1-78067-097-4, 978-1-78067-097-3).

Shorter, G. 2012, Designing for screen: production design and art direction explained, Crowood, Ramsbury.

St. Aubyn, Jacklyn (2006) Drawing Basics. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qut/detail.action?docID=1876152

Software

The unit requires a digital stylus for Cintiq tablets, animation software subscription and traditional art materials. Alternative arrangements may be available for students experiencing financial hardship. Refer to the unit Canvas site for more information.

Risk Assessment Statement

For risks associated with using campus buildings or facilities, refer to the Tier 1 General Health and Safety Induction. This must be completed online.

There are no out of the ordinary risks for this unit.

Course Learning Outcomes

KK34 Bachelor of Fine Arts

1. Identify and demonstrate knowledge of the techniques and concepts underpinning your field of creative practice.
   Relates to: ULO3
2. Demonstrate technical proficiency in at least one area of your field of creative practice.
   Relates to: ULO2
3. Communicate independent learning clearly and coherently in diverse modes relevant to your field of creative practice.
   Relates to: ULO1
4. Formulate and apply an independent perspective through reflection and by acting on the informed critique of others.
   Relates to: ULO4