The Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design is offering a new course for winter quarter called Studying the Creative Process of CG Filmmaking with Dreamworks Animation.
Maria Palazzi, director of the computing center, said the course, listed as Arts College 761, is an opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of disciplines to study with professional artists and scientists that make computer-generated feature films at Dreamworks Animation.
“Making a film requires a multidisciplinary team of creative people from the arts and sciences with knowledge in areas ranging from choreography, to storytelling, to acting, to lighting and natural phenomena, which makes this course perfect for Ohio State students from a variety of disciplines and interests,” Palazzi said.
The course will include screenings of films and current readings and analysis of the creative process of making animated films, Palazzi said.
The course is a breakdown of the creative process of computer graphics filmmaking based on the production pipeline used to produce a computer-generated animated film, Palazzi said.
“This will include but is not limited to story and visual development, designing characters and environments, creating expressive movement in characters, implementing special effects like water, fire, rain and designing lighting to communicate the mood of the story,” Palazzi said.
The class will meet with seven production experts over the quarter, Palazzi said. They will each spend one week at OSU to discuss their contribution to the production pipeline of making a film.
“The artists and scientists include Nick Foster, a highly respected researcher in the simulation of natural phenomena; Jeff Hayes, an artist who has built characters for ‘Antz’, ‘Shrek’ and ‘Shrek 2;’ Bert Poole, a lighting designer for many of Dreamworks’ animated features; and Frank Gladstone, who has a long history in animation with Disney and now Dreamworks,” Palazzi said. “Frank (Gladstone) will start off the course with a discussion on how stories come to be films at Dreamworks,” Palazzi said.
The class size is limited to 100 students and will be offered from 9:30 a.m. to 11:18 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the Wexner Film Video Theater, Palazzi said. There are no prerequisites for the class.
Dreamworks is also leading a master class with Dreamworks Animation SKG, listed as Arts College 753, for 15 selected graduate students, Palazzi said.
“This is a lab-based course where students will study advanced techniques in computer animation at the computing center,” Palazzi said.
The master class will be limited to graduate students who already have taken courses at the computing center in computer graphics, Palazzi said.
Students can find more information at accad.osu.edu/courses/winter.htm.
