DAS Production Studio 4
Spring, 2003

Announcements


Apr 24 at 22:49

For those of you interested in game programming, the VEGE (Virtual Environment/Game Engine) project will be continuing this summer. If you are interested, send me e-mail.

I will be on campus tomorrow (Friday) afternoon from 2-4pm and will be able to tell you your final grade and answer any questions. I'll submit grades Friday evening, so you should be able to see them on ISIS. Please do not ask me to email your grade.

Apr 15 at 23:13
Gang,

This message has three parts.  All are important.


Part I 
------ 

To facilitate the presentation process, please PRE-LOAD and TEST your
presentation on the computer identified below.  All projects must be
pre-loaded and tested no later than 2pm on Thursday.  Avoid the rush!
Preload early :)

Trung, Jason, Scott, Chirag, Stephen, Alexis+Samir+Dereck S., Carolyn, Nic, 
Jared, & Ron:

    Go to E413 (The NAVE) and (to quote Andy Quay)
       "Copy all the student data to the machine called PC7 (?) hooked up 
       to the large Plasma screen. Use the local directory c:\dps4 so 
       that everyone can have access -- might want to verify that this 
       is true."  

    Put your files in a subdirectory of c:\dps4 whose name uses the 
    format YourlastnameYourfirstname (e.g., mine would be SmallDave)

    Be sure the machine has all necessary codecs, etc. you will need!

Adam+Pat:

    Go to E413 and set it up for the sound system you'll need.

Billy+George, Dawn, David, Derek J., Jeff, Pooja, Beth, Joey H., Micah, 
Bodhi, John, Jesse, Eric, Andy, & Joey C.:

    Go to E413--if all goes well, I will bring a PC and have it set
    up on the long table early Wednesday afternoon.

    Put your files in a subdirectory of c:\dps4 whose name uses the 
    format YourlastnameYourfirstname (e.g., mine would be SmallDave)

    Be sure the machine has all necessary codecs, etc. you will need!
    If they aren't there, install them.


Part II
-------

EVERYONE is required to be in E413(The NAVE) at 3pm sharp!

Bring a tested and labeled copy of your project and website burned
onto a CD or DVD for archival purposes.

Part III
--------

Presentations will be given in the following locations:

Thu 2-3pm:  E413 - Trung, Jason, Scott, Chirag
Thu 3-4pm:  E413 - Stephen, Alexis+Samir+Dereck S.
Thu 4-5pm:  E413 - Carolyn, Nic, Jared, Ron
Thu 5-6pm:  E413 - Adam+Pat
            E404 - Billy+George
Thu 6-7pm:  E404 - Dawn, David, Derek J., Jeff
Fri 12-1pm: E404 - Pooja, Beth, Joey H., Micah
Fri 1-2pm:  E404 - Bodhi, John, Jesse, Eric
Fri 2-3pm:  E404 - Andy, Joey C.

Remember, you must attend at LEAST three hours of the crits.  The
hours do not need to be contiguous.  Be prepared to give constructive
feedback.

That's all for now.

Take care!

Dave
Feb 17 at 10:41
Here's the links to project sites page. If you haven't sent you link, you have until midnight this Thursday (2/20).
Feb 5 at 11:02
Arturo would like you to take a look at http://proce55ing.net/ He writes, "The site was set up by a couple of Maeda students and has evolved into something quite exciting and definitely apropos. [...] Are you familiar with Design by Numbers by Maeda?. At http://dbn.media.mit.edu/ a neat little program can be donloaded to introduce basic programming concepts to artists. The book is excellent and builds up very nicely with lots of great examples. There is also a courseware http://dbn.media.mit.edu/courseware.html that you migh be interested in checking out."
Jan 31 at 09:10

Today's (Fri 1/31) proposals will be presented in the CSE E404 conference room.

Jan 28 at 07:07

Everyone is expected to come to class Thursday with two hard copies of their proposal (one for Arturo, one for Dave) and be prepared to present. At the start of the class we will solicit volunteers to make their presentations on Friday.

Jan 27 at 11:19

This Thursday and Friday (Jan 30-31) Arturo and Dave will be listening to and video taping your formal project proposal presentations. We will be asking for half the class to volunteer to make their presentations on Friday--this is so that each of you will have 10 minutes for your presentation and associated Q&A. Note: I have a hunch that several of you still do not have have approved pitches--if that describes you, you need to get your idea OKed ASAP!

Arturo has prepared a PDF entitled DPS4 Project Structure and Methodology: How to Do It. The section on the Discovery Phase should describe the work you are doing to prepare your proposal.

 

The syllabus defines the formal proposal as

a researched project proposal detailing exactly what is to be done and the resources/technologies that will be used. It shall include a contract defining milestones and associate them with concrete due dates.
The paper document shall include the following sections
  • Title page: include the project's working title, names of all persons who are working on the project, and an abstract--recall that an abstract is a brief one or two paragraph summary.
  • Table of Contents page
  • Introduction: discuss the project's scope and objective(s)
  • Inspirations and Antecedents: cite and discuss the project's inspirational sources and related work/research both you and others have done.
  • Justification: explain why this project is appropriate for this course (be sure to identify the CS-FA synergies!) how it will further your educational and professional objectives.
  • Primary Plan: devise a realistic plan by which you can fulfill the project objectives--clearly define each milestone
  • Contengency Plan: devise a realistic, alternate plan by which you can fulfill the project objectives--clearly define each milestone--should the primary plan prove infeasible.
  • Required Resources (and Budget): identify the resources you will need to complete the project. If money is involved, create a budget.
  • Contract: create some psuedo-legal contract that contains a list of dates and the milestones, and a promise to complete each of the milestones by the date specified.
  • Bibliography: references used in developing the proposal.
If you are working in a group, the group should submit an overall proposal; however, each memeber must also submit a complete proposal focusing on and specific to their individual role.

Jan 22 at 09:38
Our next class meeting is scheduled for Thu 1/30--which is when proposals are due (a more descriptive requirements document will be available soon). FYI: Arturo is trying to setup teleconferencing from Miami--hopefully we'll have some good news on that front soon too.
Jan 18 at 11:18
A couple reminders:
  • One of the requirements of the class is that you keep a daily logbook detailing your project related activities and that you bring it with you to all meetings.
  • The next class meeting will be on Thu 1/30, at which time proposals will be due.
  • A more detailed description of the proposal requirements will be forthcoming; in the meantime see the syllabus for an overview of its contents.
  • If your pitch has been approved, you should be working on your proposal--e.g., doing background research.
  • If your pitch was not approved, get one approved ASAP!
  • Questions/issues intended for the entire class should be directed to the class mailing list.
  • Questions/issues that are between you and the course instructors should be mailed to both Arturo and Dave.
  • Dave will be available to meet in person on T 1/21, R 1/23, and T 1/28 during his office hours (7-10:15am) as well as on a first requested, first scheduled appointment basis--the first appointment will start at 3pm--on those same days. Please include an estimate of the time you expect to need.
Jan 12 at 17:21
Arturo prepared a file to inspire you. There are two versions (both are pdfs): the large 72MB and the small 5.5MB version.
Jan 9 at 07:33
Another source of inspiration, suggested by Arturo, is John Maeda's site. Here's what Scott Kim has to say about Maeda.
Jan 8 at 14:00

Another project possibility: for those of you interested in gaming, I have an ongoing project--called VEGE: short for Virtual Environment/Game Engine--that you could contribute to, either by working on the engine itself or by developing content (e.g., a game) for the engine. If this is something that would interest you, please let me know ASAP, as I am organizing the team right now. Here's a brief overview of the project:

The project has been on-going since Spring, 2002 and at the end of the fall semester, we had a running demonstration of the engine's second iteration. The overall project goal is to develop an object-oriented framework--implemented with Java technologies--upon which networked, multiuser VEs (Virtual Environments) and 3D Games are built. I do not claim any particular expertise in engine design--I'm learning about it along with you.

The subsystems on which we have been working include: physics, particle dynamics, kinematics, collision detection, logical world representation, networking, and control. These and other subsystems--such as AI, world construction from configuration files, etc.--are possible areas for further work. We will implement small games to identify the strengths and weakness of our work and use that knowledge to refine/re-engineer the existing subsystems and expand into new domains.

Relevant background (e.g., graphics, mathematics, physics, AI, networking, robotics, etc., etc.) and experience is a plus, but NOT a requirement. However, participants ARE EXPECTED to be reliable, motivated, hard-working, self-starting, inquisitive, and able to work well in a team. We want only those willing to make a FIRM COMMITMENT to the team.

Jan 8 at 11:02

If you'd like to meet with me the afternoon of Thu 1/9 or Tue 1/14, please send me e-mail no later than 10am of that day (so I'll have a chance to write you back) and I'll schedule you an appointment. Appointments will start at 3pm and be handled on a "first request, earliest appointment" basis. If you include a guesstimate of how much time you'd like to meet, that will help me with the scheduling.


If you'd like to learn more about Arturo, check out his introductory letter and vitae (both in pdf format.


For project ideas, you may want to draw inspiration from some career possibilities and organizations that bring together the arts and sciences. Also, Dr. Fishwick has kindly provided four project ideas oriented toward CS skills:

(3.1) Algorithmic Art: Write Software to produce Algorithmic Visual Art

 http://web.genarts.com/karl/
 http://www.verostko.com/algorithm.html
 http://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/
 http://www.solo.com/studio/algorists.html
 http://www2.parc.com/csl/members/bern/algoart.html
 http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~har/GeneticArt.html
 http://odur.let.rug.nl/~kleiweg/genart/

(3.2) Algorithmic Music: Write Software to compose Algorithmic Music

 http://arts.ucsc.edu/faculty/cope/history.html
 http://algoart.com/
 http://www.lycos.co.uk/dir/Music_and_MP3/Computer_Music/Algorithmic_and_Fractal_Music/
 http://hamp.hampshire.edu/~adaF92/algocomp/algocomp95.html
 http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/thevoice.html

(3.3) Aesthetic Computing: Build a physical or digital model of 
        a mathematical artifact from mathematics or computing

 http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~fishwick/aescomputing

(3.4) Plugin Technology: Design and write a Software Plugin for a
      Commercial Modeling Package such as Blender, Maya, or
      3DstudioMax
Jan 5 at 10:37

Welcome to DAS Production Studio 4! You should check this site regularly for the latest announcements. Remember, to reload/refresh the page for each viewing to ensure that you really are seeing the latest version and not an older one sitting in the web browser's cache.



This website is an original work, Copyright © 2003 by Dave Small. All rights reserved.