Projects

You will complete three major projects. Directions for each project are detailed on separate pages. I will update the summary of requirements and directions for each project as details are finalized. The links below will take you to these separate pages:

General Format and Requirements

I reserve the right to change the due date of any assignment at any time by giving appropriate notification. You are responsible for all information presented on this syllabus, in class, and through email. Major assignments submitted after their specified date will be lowered one letter grade per class period. Please keep up with the deadlines listed on our Schedule.

Projects must be submitted in the assigned format at the beginning of class on the scheduled due date. Projects that fail to conform to this and other basic requirements will be returned for revision; the lateness penalty will apply.

Grading Criteria

More specific directions for each project are presented on the subpages linked from the navigation bar on the left. This section presents general directions and expectations for all projects.

All projects will be judged based on a three-criteria scale. Some of the questions in my mind as I'm assigning criteria grades are as follows.

Professionalism

Does the project conform to all the directions presented for the project's directions page? Are its opening and closing credits complete and clearly presented? Does it fully cite and credit all original work by others used in its creation? Are its format, length, and contents appropriate?

Craft

Does the project demonstrate technical accomplishment and mastery of tools? Does it execute its intentions in a skilled and polished way? Are time-based elements effectively synchronized? Are there unexpected gaps, drop outs, or unintentional jump cuts? Are all words correctly spelled?

Creativity

Does the project make effective use of visual, temporal, and sonic aesthetics? Is it thematically unified? Does it make effective use of balance and contrast in its color and compositional choices? Does it demonstrate a unique, individual aesthetic? Does it avoid visual, generic, and other clichés? Is it original, i.e. distinct from the work completed by other students and from examples shown in class?

Email Etiquette

You will need an email account to communicate with me and with other members of the class. Please note that you will be responsible for information that I or other members of the class send to your CSU account. If you prefer another email address, make sure that your CSU account is set up to bounce messages to your preferred address.

You also should be aware that email is not a secure medium. A good rule of thumb: don't write anything in an email message that you wouldn't also write on a postcard.

As email becomes a more important part of our professional lives, it becomes more important to ensure that our  messages are efficient, accurate, and effective. You should get in the habit, now, of organizing and saving important messages that you send or receive as a student or as an employee.

Every message that you write for  this class should include a concise and accurate subject line that indicates the topic of the message. Every message should, at minimum, include your name at the bottom of the message. (Most email programs have a signature feature that will add a standard footer to all your messages.)  In general, each message should deal with only one subject or piece of information.

In addition, please mention this class, preferably in the message's subject line.