New Dimensions for Planetarium

Adjust this in "Composition > Composition Settings"

Size: Custom

1024x1024 Pixels

30 fps

And the newly-sized ping of the circular "porthole" is here:

https://app.box.com/s/jhg0oes22ypkxlxw6nqt

After Effects Resources

The tutorials that I am basing this assignment on are here:

http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/AE_Working-in-3D_Part-1/1

http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/AE_Working-in-3D_Part-2/1

http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/AE_Working-in-3D_Part-3/1

http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/AE_Working-in-3D_Part-4/1

Click here to download the psd file you can use as a mask or screen to see what will show up on the planetarium dome:

https://www.box.com/s/2dfe9750e2d5a4ae464e

And here are a few tips, for easier reference:

Settings for the project:
1920x1080 pixels (remember, only a center circle of 1050 pixels will be projected)
Open AE, select "New Composition," make sure it's set to HDTV 1080 29.97

Making a layer a 3D layer:
Clicking the cube in the layer allows it to be 3d

Opening the Position, Orientation and Rotation  parameters:
Select the layer you want to adjust, and –
Hit "P" to get Position, and
SHIFT + R to get Orientation and Rotation

Setting keyframes:
open up the layers with the triangle - to set keyframes, click on the stopwatch. You'll get a keyframe setter between the two arrows on the left of the layer.


Looping a video clip:
Select in properties window, then File / Interpret Footage / Main will give you access to a looping parameter

Particle system - the system used in the tutorial is under:
Effects and presets
Simulation
CC particle world

Layer > New > solid

Creating a camera:
Layer > New > camera

Create a null object:
Layer > New > Null Object

To right of camera layer, select "Null 1" where "None" is displayed, to "parent: the null object."

To copy and paste properties:
Shift or command select the properties in the layer, then command-c to copy - click the layer where you wish to paste the properties, and command-v. By giving the null object the position properties of your layers, you can direct the camera to point directly at those layers.

What I want to collect Thursday (12/14)

Here are the projects so far – I want to collect them on thursday on my external drive.

1. Public Domain Art Collage

01_lastname_publicdomain.jpg
(I have these on SNCFA's flickr, so if you've lost your copy, don't worry)

2. Photoshop mixing brush painting

02_lastname_mixingbrush.tif

3 & 4. App Icons (iOS6 and iOS7)

03_lastname_ios6.jpg
04_lastname_ios7.jpg

5. Infographic

05_lastname_infographic.jpg

The six page story adaptation (the InDesign project) isn't due until after break, so it won't be part of your midterm grade.

Specs for InDesign Project

To set up your InDesign project, do the following:

Create new:
Document

Click on "more options" so you can set a bleed

Number of pages: 6
Start page #2

Size: 8.5"x8.5" (21.59cm x 21.59cm)

Set custom page size (call it Lulu 8.5 Square):

51p X 51p
(1 inch = 6 picas)

Columns: optional (depends on your visual ideas)
Margins: optional (ditto)

Bleed: .125 in

Tuesday homework

We'll start on our "book illustration" project next class. For this project, you'll have six pages in a book (set us as three two-page spreads), in which to lay out and illustrate a short story or a poem.

WHAT'S IMMEDIATELY DUE TUESDAY:
1. Pick your story or poem (see below for more details)
2. Bring in a page from a magazine, newspaper, or picture book that you think balances the imagery and text very effectively. I want you to bring the book/page into class, to show to the class as an example of a good text/image balance.

For the story/poem, you have the choice of:

1. Choosing something you've written, or that a friend of your has written (as long as the friend gives you permission)
2. Choosing something written by an SNC student who has submitted the story for this purpose (see link below)
3. Choosing something in the public domain

Since we are more or less "publishing" this story through lulu.com, I want to the content (and the images) to be legit – no pilfering copyrighted material.

In terms of illustrating the story, you are free to use drawings you make, photographs you take, or any stock imagery you are able to download for free or pay for.

By Tuesday's class, I want you to have a story or poem chosen, with some ideas of how you'll illustrate it. I want you to be adventurous in your layout, but legibility of the content itself will be key.

I also want you to talk about a layout strategy you like in one of the books I provided for the class to look through – and also, I want you to bring in a book or magazine that has some interesting layout strategies, for you to present to the class on Tuesday. I just want us to pool our resources so that we have a lot of approaches/strategies to riff on.

Here are links to a variety of public domain resources. If the story you'd like will take longer than six pages to tell, feel free to use an excerpt of the story.

Philip K. Dick stories (science fiction from the 50s and 60s)
Classic Short Stories
Short Stories from the Internet Archive
Literary Stories
Horror stories:
H. P. Lovecraft
Algernon Blackwood
Edgar Allen Poe
Public Domain Poetry


Just make sure you claim it in the comments to this blog post, so we don't have a bunch of people illustrating the same story. In fact, ONCE YOU'VE CHOSEN THE STORY YOU WANT TO ILLUSTRATE, WRITE THE NAME OF THE STORY IN THE COMMENTS TO THIS BLOG POST, checking that no one else has taken it first, so that we don't have any repeats in terms of story/poem selections.

Due Thurs, 2/13

Two things are due this Thursday. The first is your app icon - 2 versions, one in iOS6 style and one in iOS7 style. This is due at the beginning of class. Please format them using the template linked in the below blog post, and flatten a jpeg version to turn in.

The other thing due is: DATA.

For our next project, we're making an infographic. I want your infographic to be data-driven - meaning, it should be built from actual numbers. It could take, as its subject, something as trivial as the number of swear words in Hollywood blockbusters over time, or something as serious as locations and scope of genocides in the past decade. But whatever you're making the infographic about, it should map to some actual, verifiable numbers. So part two of your homework is to bring the data (or a link to the data) you'll be illustrating.

Here are a few infographic resource links, if you're looking for some inspiration/ideas to riff on:

50 Great Examples of Infographics

Vision in the 3rd World

Use this template for your final versions

Here's the template you'll need:

http://appicontemplate.com/ios7#

Just make the largest size, and the two iPhone sizes (in the black box).