Course Description

ART310 is a studio/performance oriented course. It is a continued exploration of Interactive Media, Software and Programming with emphasis on the creative and experimental use of available tools. Interactive time based media will be the focus of the class,

We will use the HTML5 canvas object, Javascript, KineticJS and Three.js . Also the Mozilla developers site focusing on the canvas object / Flash and Actionscript to define interactivity, and the basics of advanced programming, as well as experiment with digital time based tools.

Process and Strategy

The class will be divided into two distinct areas.The first area will be devoted to exploring and understanding the logic of programming using Javascript with specific visual and experimental results in the canvas object. The second one will be devoted to understanding Interactivity, Computing, non-linear thinking, non-linear narration, story-boarding and pre-production of interactive media with specific projects geared towards dynamic web design and Interactive Animation.

Readings / assignments / requirements

We will be using the following tutorials in our class

reference / HTML5

html5canvastutorials.com / diveintohtml5.info/canvas.html

html5examples.info

Mozilla Developers Site

Safari canvas reference

MSN canvas reference

Interactive canvas

WebGL - 3D for the web

w3schools.com -> HTML5 + Javascript + JQuery + JSON

processingjs.org

http://notepad-plus-plus.org/ || TextWrangler for MAC // BOTH KomodoEdit

html to download / canvas code to copy / canvas function

//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// DECLARE requestAnimFrame 
window.requestAnimFrame = ( function(){      
return  window.requestAnimationFrame       ||    
        window.webkitRequestAnimationFrame ||    
        window.mozRequestAnimationFrame    ||     
        window.oRequestAnimationFrame      ||    
        window.msRequestAnimationFrame     ||    
        function( callback ){   
          window.setTimeout(callback, 1000 / 60);   
};      })();

//////////////////////////////////////////////////    

///// MOUSE COORDINATES 

function mousePos(event) { 
  
  stage = canvas.getBoundingClientRect();
  // stage.left is in case you position canvas using css
  mouseX = event.clientX - stage.left; 

  mouseY = event.clientY - stage.top;

}

////////////////////////////////
      
      

HTML5 is constantly growing. All the information we will use is available online from diverse and informative sites. The readings are recommended, but the class is intended to teach you how to use information and examples available on the web.

You will be required to post the code, the project itself, screen shots and QT grabs of your dynamic projects -for archival purposes - in your own blogs/sites. You will be provided with a server space so you can upload your projects. This space is only for this class, any other material will be deleted.

Make sure you check and empty your ut webmail account regularly. We will use Blackboard permanently to post the grades and to communicate.

Short readings will be distributed throughout the semester. Most of the information will be provided by the professor or will be found freely online. Critiques will frequently be initiated from various topics covered in the readings. In order to participate effectively you will need to have read the required texts and be able to articulate your responses to them within the context of class discussion and critique. We will watch plenty of excerpts from movies and documentaries during the class that will also be considered as part of the material for the class.

Use your own portable hard-drives or USB drives to store your work. Do not rely on the CASS LAB student server, it is not secure and you might lose your data. Do not test processor intensive movies off the student server, you might crash your machine. Save all the files on the desktop and at the end of the class copy them to your archiving media.

Grading 

There will be several projects throughout the course, including assignments, quizes and others. Each one of them will be a part of the final 100% of the grade with weights according to the difficulty of the project. You will find these weights on Blackboard. If necessary I will do some pop quizes, depending on the students' participation and motivation, and depending on how certain classes work, I might add an extra work not listed in the syllabus or even skip an assignment. The grades posted on BlackBoard may not reflect the final grade on SpartanWeb.

Possible last-minute changes

Although unlikely, it is possible that last-minute changes might be made to the dates for all assignments or class meetings, excepting only the final exam. In this unlikely event, I'll make all possible efforts to inform students with sufficient lead-time.

I reserve the right to modify this syllabus for any reason at any time.