OATdb Archive

2014 - 2015

Art BFA (Computer Animation)

Goal
Development Of Core Animation Concepts And Techniques
Students will develop skills and learn principles necessary to produce professional animated films and videos.

Objective
Students Will Demonstrate An Understanding Of The Principles Of Animation
Students in the Computer Animation Program will demonstrate their ability to apply the Principles of Animation to create animations with character and believable movement.


Indicator
Annual Faculty Review Of Student Work From ARTS 2343
At the end of each academic year, faculty in the Computer Animation Program meet to review and assess the work produced in the Computer Animation Program. During the meeting, a minimum of 2 faculty members from the Computer Animation Program will evaluate students who have completed ARTS 2343 Animation Concepts and Techniques in this assessment.

 A rubric that includes the ability to use Squash and Stretch, Timing and Motion, Anticipation, Staging, Follow Through and Overlapping Action and Secondary Action will be used with possible scores of 0-10. The attached rubric will be used for the evaluation.


Criterion
Student Scores Will Average At Least 70%
Computer Animation students will score an average of at least 70% in the combined areas of evaluation. 


Finding
General Improvements Needed
Only 68% of the students evaluated received an average score of at least 70%. Though the outcome was not successful, it was noted that the students with an average score below 70% received low scores in each area, rather than a specific one. One general area of weakness, however, was in Anticipation, which has been an concern in past cycles.

Action
Continue To Emphasize Animation Principles
The faculty in the Computer Animation Program will continue to administer lectures and coursework that focus on proficiencies in the Principles of Animation. Faculty teaching ARTS 2343 Animation Concepts and Techniques will continue to place more emphasis on using the principle of Anticipation to enhance animated storytelling, and movement. Students in this course will also be required to submit revisions of projects after critiques, which will serve to improve their overall performance in each of the Animation Principles. 


Objective
Students Will Demonstrate An Understanding Of The Post Production Process
Students in the Computer Animation program will demonstrate their ability to produce a completed short animated film that includes an editing process, titles, credits, and sound.


Indicator
Annual Faculty Review Of Computer Animation Program Student Work From ARTS 2343
At the end of each academic year, faculty in the Computer Animation program meet to review and assess student work produced in the Computer Animation Program. During this meeting, a minimum of 2 faculty members from the Computer Animation Program will evaluate students who have completed ARTS 2343 Animation Concepts and Techniques in this assessment. 

A rubric that includes the effective use of: titles and credits, editing, use of sound to enhance action, and use of soundtracks will be used with possible scores of 0-10. The attached rubric will be used for the evaluation 


Criterion
Average Score Of At Least 70%
Computer Animation students will score an average of at least 70% in the combined areas of evaluation.

Finding
Close To Successful Outcome
For this assessment, 93% scored above 70%. Though the objective was not met in full, only 1 out of 15 students scored below 70%. The weakest area was Effective Editing of Multiple Animations.  Since this is new objective, we will continue with the same criterion with the hopes of a successful outcome in the next cycle. 


Action
Continue To Emphasize The Post Production Process Within Animation
The faculty in the Computer Animation Program will continue to administer lectures and coursework that focus on post production process. Faculty teaching ARTS 2343 Animation Concepts and Techniques will place additional emphasis on the editing process to improve student performance in this aspect of the post production process.


Goal
Professional Practices In Animation
At the completion of the BFA program, Computer Animation students will be prepared for employment in the Animation industry and graduate programs in Animation.

Objective
Students Will Produce An Effective Professional Portfolio Of Their Work
Computer Animation students will produce a portfolio of professional-quality work in the form of a demo-reel that is suitable for presentation at interviews for employment in the Animation industry and to graduate programs in Animation.

Indicator
Annual Faculty Review Of Computer Animation Program Student Work From ARTS 4358
At the end of each academic year, faculty in the Computer Animation program meet to review and assess student work produced in the Computer Animation Program. During this meeting, a minimum of 2 faculty members from the Computer Animation Program will evaluate student demo-reels completed in ARTS 4358 Animation Portfolio.

The demo-reels will be evaluated  using a rubric to assess the students'
• ability to edit effectively
• ability create effective titles
• effective demonstration of skills
• use of soundtracks
• overall quality of work



Criterion
Student Average Score Of At Least 70%
Computer Animation students will score an average of at least 70% in the combined areas of evaluation.


Finding
Significant Improvements Needed
Only 50% of the students evaluated scored over 70%. The results showed needed improvements in Effective Use of Titles and Credits, Effective Editing, and Effective Demonstration of Skills. The faculty observed that that the quality of the demo-reels did not reflect the overall quality of the student work produced in the program.


Action
Implement A More Focused Approach To The Creation Of Student Demo Reels
Computer Animation faculty that teach ARTS 4358 will set more specific benchmarks, along with a review process, to evaluate progress of the demo-reel throughout the semester. This will allow for more opportunities for revisions prior to the end of the semester review. 



Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement

The goal from the previous cycle “Professional Preparedness” has been renamed “Professional Practices In Animation.” The indicator for this goal has also been revised. In the previous cycle, faculty had intended to have students create end-of-the-semester demo reels in 4 different courses. The implementation of this, however, would have shifted focus away from the core learning objectives of each course. For the 2014-2015 cycle, demo-reels from the senior capstone course, ARTS 4358 Animation Portfolio, were reviewed.

The goal from the previous cycle “Effective Soundtracks And Audio Components In Animation” also had an indicator connected to the end-of-the-semester demo reels in 4 different courses. Due to the challenges of implementing this requirement in our courses, we have opted to transfer the elements from this goal’s rubric into other goals and objectives. This will allow for a continued review process of student use of sound in the animations they create.

Faculty in the Computer Animation Program enhanced and created new lectures, exercises, and projects that focused on the Principles of Animation. During the 2014-2015 cycle, course revisions were centered on developing Squash and Stretch, Timing and Motion, and Staging. A new project was also added, which emphasized Secondary/Overlapping Action.


 


Plan for continuous improvement The faculty in the Computer Animation Program will continue to administer lectures and coursework that focus on proficiencies in the Principles of Animation, and the post production process. Faculty teaching ARTS 2343 Animation Concepts and Techniques will develop new exercises and projects that emphasize animation principle Anticipation, and the post production editing process.

In order to improve the demo reels produced in ARTS 4358 Animation Portfolio, faculty that teach this course will schedule a more rigorous review process during the production phase. This will give students more detailed feedback over the duration of the semester, and provide more opportunities for the student to improve their final demo reel prior to graduation.