MCOM 418 - Interactive Multimedia Design




MWF, 2:00 - 2:50, Jonas 207 · Fall 2013
Instructor: Paul Kopco
Office: Jonas 108C
Office Hours:
  • M - Th: 10:00 - 10:50
Phone: 642-6503
email:

Text:

  • Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5 Classroom In A Book by Adobe Creative Team

Supplies:

  • USB flash drive with at least 4GB capacity
  • CD-RW (rewritable CD) or DVD-RW (rewritable DVD)

    Students will be responsible for maintaining current backup copies of all work. Loss of your data due to erasure by others from your working lab computer will not be an acceptable excuse for projects being turned in late or not at all.

Goals:

  • To work with Flash Catalyst CS5 to create interactive multimedia design projects from concept to completion.

Grading Policies:

The following will determine the final grade:

Midterm exam - 20%
Final exam - 30%
Midterm project - 20%
Final project - 30%

As you can see, the midterm exam and project together are worth 40% of your final grade; the final exam and project together are worth 60%. This is based on the idea that you should know more at the end of the course than in the middle.

The midterm and final exams will be based on the chapter review questions which are accessible from the "lesson review" tab at the top of this page. The chapters to be covered for the midterm and final exams are designated on the chapter review page. Each exam will consist of a web-based component and a hands-on project component, which will be averaged together for a composite exam grade. The exams are graded starting at 100%, the normal maximum if you answer all the questions correctly.

Participation in class is essential to success in this course. Students will be asked to discuss their own work as well as to critique the work of others.

Grading Scale: 10-point scale.
A=100-90, B=89-80, C=79-70, D=69-60, F=59-0

The class projects will be graded on:

  • The aesthetic considerations and quality of the project.
  • The amount of effort put forth on the project.
  • The daily participation in working on the project and understanding of the computer.

Two major multimedia projects will be completed during the course for grading purposes. If you strictly follow the instructions and meet the requirements for the projects as stated below, as well as demonstrate acquired graphic design principles, you will receive a grade of A, but the lowest A (90%). The grade will decrease from there for every instruction not followed or requirement not met.

  • The first project, due the Monday after the midterm exam, is to produce a Flash Catalyst project called "All About Me." It will:
    • have a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels
    • incorporate images, text, and animation
    • use separate pages for each topic section below
    It will have seven sections altogether. The subjects for the first four sections are:
    • Birthplace (where you were born)
    • Home (where you live now and have lived before)
    • Education (where you have gone to school)
    • Interests (what you like to do/your hobbies)
    The subjects of the last three sections will be chosen by the student. Suggestions are:
    • Family
    • Pets
    • Music (favorite music/bands/artists)
    • Sports (favorite sports team/s)
    • Work
    • Pet peeves
    • Future plans
    This project will become a component of the final project.

  • The second project, due the Friday of finals week at 4 pm, is to produce an interactive multimedia portfolio presentation with user-selectable navigational elements. It will:
    • have a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels
    • incorporate images, text, animation, and sound (music track, sound effects, narration, etc.)
    • use separate pages for each topic section below
    It will have a main menu consisting of 4 buttons. The first 3 buttons will lead to examples of the student's creative college work in at least 3 of the subjects below; the fourth button, an "All About Me" button, will lead to the midterm project as a component. All artwork must be optimized. The final project will contain examples of the student's creative college work in at least 3 of the following areas, depending on the student's academic program:
    • art/drawing (images)
    • photography (images)
    • computer graphics (images)
    • journalism (text and/or photographs)
    • broadcasting (text and/or photographs and/or sound/video)

    Projects will be due on announced dates. Five points will be deducted from the project grade for every class day late. It will be the student's responsibility to bring missed assignments to me on the day of return.

    Course Schedule:

    The focus of the class will be on learning and using Flash Catalyst CS5; and the development and acquisition of multimedia components including text, graphics, animation, music, sounds, and video. The lesson schedule must be followed closely to enable learning all required content in the time allotted for the semester.

    Students using the Mac lab at BHSU must follow these rules:

    • If you are unsure of something, ask!
    • You may not move any hardware or change the setup of the lab in any way.
    • To conserve consumables such as paper and toner, please print only when absolutely necessary.

    Reasonable accommodations, as arranged through the Disabilities Services Coordinator, will be provided students with documented disabilities. Contact the BHSU Disabilities Services Coordinator, Mike McNeil, at 605-642-6099, (Woodburn 134), fax number 605-642-6095, or via email at Mike.McNeil@bhsu.edu for more information. Additional information can also be found at http://bit.ly/ATu91.

    Under Board of Regents and University policy student academic performance may be evaluated solely on an academic basis, not on opinions or conduct in matters unrelated to academic standards. Students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion, but they are responsible for learning the content of any course of study for which they are enrolled. Students who believe that an academic evaluation reflects prejudiced or capricious consideration of student opinions or conduct unrelated to academic standards should contact the chair of the department in which the course is being taught to initiate a review of the evaluation.

    In this course you are expected to perform to the utmost of your abilities in an honest and sincere manner. Cheating & plagiarism will not be tolerated. Academic misconduct will be dealt with per SD Board of Regents regulations.

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