• Syllabus
• Schedule
• Downloads
• Midterm Project ↓
• • Project Description
  • Project Requirements
  • Milestone Dates
  • Grading Criteria
  • Grading Sheet
  • Written Summary
• Final Project

Motion Graphics and Animation: Flash (GRCP 213)

Midterm Project - The Flash Ad Banner

Project Due: Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Project Description

You have been hired to produce an effective online promotional piece for a company (a hypothetical or real business). This animated, ad banner will be designed for a target audience and marketed on the web for one of these purposes:

• To promote the company's brand (corporate identity)
• To help promote a product or service (advertisement)
• To be an effective web "portal" which brings the user to a specific website

You will use Flash as your primary tool to create the vector type and graphics. You can also create graphics in Illustrator, save as .ai or .eps, and import into Flash. Raster graphics (i.e. scanned images or Photoshop graphics) may be imported into Flash as well, but keep in mind that raster graphics will not maintain their quality when enlarged.

Successful completion of this project will increase your understanding of animation principles and techniques, motion graphics and Flash-based animation.

The experience will fulfill some of the student learning objectives as outlined in the syllabus, relative to the Information Technology and Communication abilities.

Project Requirements

This project has three phases in its development process:

Phase 1: The Design Phase

• Research on the web for ad banners, or see the showcase for student projects
• State the objective or purpose of your ad banner
• Create and submit thumbnails/storyboards for your animation frames
• You will use Flash (or Illustrator) to create original images/objects
• The ad banner size is 300 pixels wide x 250 pixels high @ 72 ppi (pixels per inch)
• You will apply the Principles of Animation (squash/stretch, timing, anticipation...)
• You will create appropriate motion graphics to communicate your message

Phase 2: The Production Phase

• Use Flash to create frame-by-frame animations or to apply tweening techniques (motion or shape tween, motion guide)
• To create an illusion of motion, weight, anticipation, emotion…you can use effects, transitions, timing, masks, delays, and looping.
• Apply design and animation principles for effective visual solutions
• Identify technical problems, and develop and document resolutions
• Publish the final (.swf) Flash animation file and provide the Flash source files for review (.fla).

Phase 3: The Promotion Phase

• Research the Internet to locate three URLs where your ad banner would be placed. These URLs should be sites where your target audience would most likely visit, and see your ad! (Target Marketing)
• Write a one-page, written project summary (see Written Summary)
• Present your animated, Flash ad banner to the class for peer critique, and seek/respond to feedback

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Milestone Dates

The following are due dates for each portion of the project up to completion:

Thursday, April 22, 2010	Storyboards due beginning of class for instructor review
Thursday, April 29, 2010	Initial instructor check-in
Thursday, May 6, 2010	Final instructor check-in
Tuesday, May 11, 2010	Midterm due beginning of class for class critique

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Grading Criteria

Your project will be graded based on the following criteria:

Quality and Complexity of Graphics	35%
Effectiveness of Animation	35%
Effectiveness of Ad Banner Messaging	20%
Written Summary	10%
Minus % for submitting late project, report, or files	- ?
Possible % Points X 25% weight of this project = % points toward overall course grade	100%

Grading Sheet

Click here to see an example of the project grading sheet that the criteria will be based on.

Written Summary

Click here to see an example of the written summary you will be expected to turn in.

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