DRAMA 1210 COMPUTER AIDED RENDERING FOR THE STAGE
SPRING 2010, MON/WED 9:00AM – NOON, RM 112
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Franklin-White. OFFICE: Rm. DRAMU 260, 486.1631,
Required Text Book: Elein Weinmann, Peter Lourekas Photoshop CS4
Peachpit Press, Berkley CA. IBSN: 10:321-56365-4
Recommended: Peter Bargh, Photoshop CS The Essential Visual Reference Guide, Oxford, MA: Focal Press, 2004. IBSN: 0-240-51957-4
The computer can be used to create a vast range of visual model and images, which make it an excellent tool to create theatrical models of intended designs for the stage. As well as CAD programs for drafting and the creation of 3-D models of form, programs such as 3-D Studio Max, Accurender—for raytracing models into JPEG forms—Adobe Illustrator and Adobe PhotoShop are used to create images for the stage including the theatrical rendering. What can be achieved by hand can, for the most part, be achieved on the computer, but the computer can add additional features such as the inclusion of photographic media in conjunction with “painted” form.
Set Designers, Costumers and Lighting Designers can provide directors and the rest of the production team with renderings of intended “looks” on stage of the form with lighting, effects and atmosphere. Laura Crow has incorporated PhotoShop into her renderings for some time. It’s handy to be able to crate a rendering of various moments in a play for a director, and to respond quickly to the need for alternate looks as needed. Multiple versions and reworked versions are much easier to do in PhotoShop than by hand, so it is now easier to keep up with the demand for changes in today’s theatrical design processes. Mike Billings and Chad Lefebvre create superb renderings of their designs on the computer, and we will look at some of their work as well as mine.
We will start the class learning the basics and various tricks of PhotoShop in stages creating a variety of exercises, some with a more theatrical focus and end the semester with renderings for the stage utilizing hand and PhotoShop techniques. However, one of the charges for this course is that you, the designer, take control of the medium and so that it is something you are expressing, rather than the default settings of the software. It’s possible to end up with a painting that is flat and boring rather than a rendering that is visually exciting due to lighting qualities and atmosphere and the latter is what we are looking for. It’s important to control, and even limit, the myriad of painting and editing processes in PhotoShop, but also to harness the possibilities for visual effects.
Most of the time, I generate the design—the initial drawing—by hand, then scan it into PhotoShop to work on it on the computer. But I also generate the virtual 3-D model in AutoCAD, raytrace it for PhotoShop and paint it and insert images with effects to create exciting renderings in the computer. All without having to collect paintbrushes, color and water and without having to deal with warping paper or boards!
Grading will be based on:
Punctuality and attendance – we will work together in class
Participation and work in class.
Focus of work in class.
Completeness of exercises and final projects.
Progress through to the end of the semester.
Course Accommodations:
If there is any student who has special needs because of medical or learning disabilities, please see me as soon as possible.
Counseling and Mental Heath services: 484705 (24 hours)
Alcohol and Other Drugs Services: 486.9431
Dean of Students Office: 486.9431
This is important:
When you submit projects to me it is essential that the media you use have only the relevant project on it, and no other files. We should establish a common title for each project in class and you must use that name.
Hand in you work in on CDs. Collect a suitable number or CDRs for class, or use CDRWs. These are a part of your class supplies, and it is your responsibility to make sure that your CD can be opened by another machine. Test it on an another computer before you submit the work. Discs that will not open are considered as late. Also, place your disc into an approved jewel case; I will show you what those are in class. Discs may not be wrapped in paper taken from the CAD Lab.
You have until the beginning of the class after the due date to hand in work without penalty. Work containing erroneous files or misnames files that are handed back for correction may be considered as late.
Most classes deal with a new topic. I will start the class at 9:05am with a small lecture/demonstration; it is required that you attend this lecture and that you are on time.
These are work sessions. Normal conversation is fine, loud is not. Regrettably, headphones are not allowed as they make communication impossible. Low volume music from one of the machines is fine. There is no food or drink allowed in the computer lab.
GRADING SYSTEM:
A4.0Excellent
A-3.7
B+3.3Very Good
B3.0
B-2.7
C+2.3Average
C2.0
C-1.7Fair
D+1.3Poor
D1.0
D-0.7Merely Passing
Materials and backup procedures for the class:
You will need a few materials from DA 1209 for this class as well. Paper, pencils, erasers, etc for drawings for generating sketches suitable for scanning into PhotoShop. The bed size of the scanner is about 11” x 14”. You will also be able to use the scanner to import other images into your work.
You will need a collection of CDs or CDRs and approved jewel cases.
It’s a great idea to have a flash drive so that you can transport your work, images and other files to and from class. You can only print from one machine in the lab, and of course, the scanner is on another machine, so you will need a way to transport data. Remember to import the files that you are working on into the hard drive of the computer, rather than from a flash or zip drive. Everybody uses these machines, so you should back up your important files in case someone else deletes or corrupts your file. Protect yourself—you are still responsible for your work no matter what happens to your computer in the lab.
You will store your work in the D drive of your computer. (Not the C drive and definitely not the desk top, which consumes valuable RAM for you processing) Create a folder in the D drive with your name and perhaps two sub folders: photowork and acadwork to separate the two classes.
The login for the computer is your net id & password. The computer connected to the printer is: dda and Rose15.(I think) You cannot use the teaching computer.
Printing Paper:
Regular 8 ½ ” x 11” and 11’ x 17” paper is available in the lab, but you will need to provide Photo Quality Inkjet paper for printing projects for presentation at your end of year reviews. You will need 81/2” x 11” and 11’ x 17” paper and students often group together to get their supplies as you will not necessarily need a complete 11” x 17” box. You may need 15 – 20 sheets of the 8 ½ x 11” sheets. The Co-op should now have the paper.
Schedule:
Wed Jan 20Color Management / Workspaces (P2/P61) the workspace of Adobe PhotoShop CS4. Settings, calibration, working space, dropdown menus/the menu, image window, pallets, short-cut keys, options bar, brushes—right click (brushes) menu, tools, opacity vs. flow, reset tools, background/foreground color, color pickers/swatches, eyedropper action, memory issues, page set up, navigation, zoom & hand tools, channels, history, layers, paths, styles, saving snapshots, save a copy, adjustment layers, masks and quick masks. Experiment with selections and selection edges.
Mon Jan 25Digital Basics (P 97) Pixels vs. vectors, image modes & channels – RGB, etc., blending modes, color management: levels, hue-saturation-value, color picker options, color & light, modes, Experiment with paint and blending modes.
File formats, compression/lossy files, resolution (dpi/ppi) scanning images, file sizes for images and renderings, (P 34) anti-aliasing, re-sampling, interpolation, changing an image’s dimensions and resolution, Experiment with selection of figures from complex background, de-saturation tools.
Wed Jan 27Acquire, Create, Save / Colors & Blending Modes(P19/191) Document Presets, Place, Status Bar. Experiment with theatre sketch. (Blending modes / brush selection)
Mon Feb 1Bridge. (P 33) Management of file collections, setting up bridge, custom panel display, cache files, bridge activities, downloading Images, handling files in Bridge.Continue Theatre Sketch, if time.
Wed Feb 3Capture & Enhance (P 55) Camera & scanner captures, cropping tool w/ guides, tonal adjustments, color adjustments, cleaning (healing brush), sharpening & the unsharp mask, saving files & modes, trim command, and rotate command, fit image, canvas size.Experiment with resizing an image using the unsharp filter vs resizing & resampling.Finish theatre sketch.
Mon Feb 8Selection Tools (P 123) Marquee tools, lasso tools, magic wand, magnetic lasso, border selection, cut and copy selections, moving selections, customizing: adding to and subtracting from selections, inverse selections, transforming selections, vignettes, feather & anti-alias, de-fringing, quick mask, color range, channel making, pen & path selection, extract filter. Exercises: Selections of furniture and figures placed on white backgrounds. (Save as JPEGS: Furniture 1-4; Figures 1 & 2)
Wed Feb 10Layer & Channels. (P 109) The concept of layers and why we use them. Layer palette interface: right click commands, (cut / copy) duplicate layers, (copy of background) hide / show, flip, managing the order, layer sets, locking, linking layers, dragging layers from the palette, merging, flattening to reduce file size, hidden layers, layer styles, blending modes Exercises: create a picture in layers, then another by cutting / copying from layers into a new file. Create a shape, apply effects and adjust the opacity and fill independently. (Save as psd files: Layer Picture 1 & 2; Effects 1 & 2)
Mon Feb 15Layer & Channels & Masks ( P 204) Layer Masks, layer types, quick masks, layer effects, clipping masks, transformation tools. Layer Effects: Drop shadows, inner glow, bevels and emboss, right click options, revise layer effects and opacity / fill. Color modes, channel types & alpha channels, addition and subtraction, quick masks, paste into a selection, Exercise: Select and save multiple channels on a complex drawing. Work on Puzzle Set.
Wed Feb 17Tonal Adjustments (P 175) Adjustment Layers, layer masks, brightness-contrast, dodging & burning. Work on Puzzle Set.
Mon Feb 22Layer BlendsMore manipulation with layers: opacity & dissolve, darkening, lightening, overlay, tinting & toning, saturation, luminosity, difference & exclusion blends. Exercise paint a drawing or two using layers.
Wed Feb 24Color Adjustment(P 204) Filling a layer with color or effects, filling or stroking a selection, adjusting color: hue/saturation, color balance, saturation and de-saturation tools, grayscale conversion and selective re-color, levels and curves. Exercise: Thistle painting.
Mon Mar 1Painting Tools.The brush tool, brush palette, (right click option) airbrush option, blending modes, smudge tool, bucket tool, grayscale tints, erase tool, magic eraser. Exercise: Shoreham painting.
Wed Mar 3Gradients(P 369)Filling a layer with a gradient, gradient tool, editing a gradient, multiple gradients. Exercise: Gradients (Save a Jpegs: Landscape or seascape 1 & 2)Discuss Grogan Sketch for Monday.
Spring Break
Mon Mar 15Exercise: Grogan sketch. (Furlough Day)
Wed Mar 17Digital Printing (P 406)) Review of printing processes for our printers in 112. Reminder to start obtaining your printing paper! Work on Grogan sketch.
Mon Mar 22Paths & pens: Paths, pen tool, magnetic freeform pen, editing paths, saving work paths into paths, convert paths to a selection, vector masks, editing vector masks, type to masks, vector shapes. Exercise: Theatre Sketch
Wed Mar 24Filters. (P 333) Smart filters, Gallery: third party filters, extract filter, liquefy filter, vanishing point filter, artistic filters, brush stroke filters, blur filters, distort filters, noise filters, pixilation filters, render filters, sharpen filters, stylize filters, sketchfilters, texture filters, video filters, other filters (P 200) Experiment with a selection of filters on an image. Save as Jpegs or psd files: Filter exercises. Label each image with filters used in type on image. Exercise: Our Lady of Carmilla Rendering.
Mon Mar 29Type. (P 352) Making type, anti-aliasing, paragraph type, editing type, kerning type, sketching type, styling type, spelling. Work on Our Lady of Carmilla Rendering. (Finish Grogan Sketch)
Wed Mar 31Raw Data (P 233) Preferences, tools, retouching, photos, workflow, basic, tone curve, grayscale, detail, settings, adjustment brush, synchronizing, open & saving, smart objects. Finish: Our Lady of Carmilla Rendering.
(USITT)
Mon Apr 5Retouching (P 280) Match color, cloning, replace color, blur filter, healing brush, spot healing, patch tool, red eye tool. Exercise: TBA
Wed Apr 7Start Music Project.
Mon Apr 12Continue Music Project.
Wed Apr 14Continue Music Project.
Mon Apr 19Rendering Projects.
Wed Apr 21Rendering Projects.
Mon Apr 26Rendering Projects.
Wed Apr 28Rendering Projects.
Exam - Final Projects Due: TBA