MAS.110 Fundamentals of Computational Media Design
Fall Term 2007
TR3, 56-114
V. Michael Bove, Jr., E15-368B, x3-0334, vmb@media.mit.edu
Glorianna Davenport, E15-368C, x3-2870, gid@media.mit.edu
Henry Holtzman, E15-312, x3-0319, holtzman@media.mit.edu
Barry Vercoe, E15-494, x3-0618, bv@media.mit.edu
Writing tutor: Nora Jackson, norajack@mit.edu
*********************************************************************************************
Class Wiki: http://wiki.media.mit.edu/view/MAS110/WebHome
*********************************************************************************************
Books (available at The Coop):
The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting, Darren Wershler-Henry
Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 4th ed., Carter, Day, and Meggs
Modern Art, David Britt, ed.
Learning Python, Lutz and Ascher (you may prefer to use some of the on-line Python references listed below instead of this book)
*********************************************************************************************
Python / pygame / pippy code samples:
Our example code should be
installed on your XO by 10/30 class using the following instructions:
alt-0 to access the developer console, select the terminal tab and type,
[olpc@xo-00-00-00 ~]$ wget https://courses.media.mit.edu/2007fall/mas110/mas110pippy.tar
[olpc@xo-00-00-00 ~]$ su
bash-3.2# tar xpvPf mas110pippy.tar
bash-3.2# exit
[olpc@xo-00-00-00 ~]$
alt-0 will bring you back to sugar
*********************************************************************************************
More information on resources, class policies, etc. appears below the schedule
*********************************************************************************************
Note that this syllabus is a "work-in-progress." Please check back often for changes.
*********************************************************************************************
Sept 6 Introduction. Paper and making marks on it.
Sept 11 More about typography, technology, and perception
Sept 13 Discussion. Reading assignment due today: Carter, Chapter 7
Sept 18 Looking at type, on hard- and softcopy. In-class exercise, "making letters." Reading assignment due today: Carter, Chapter 1. Please bring Carter to class today.
Sept 20 ESSAY 1 DUE (and discussed in class): 6-8 double-spaced pages describing a technological artifact with which you have a "relationship" (with or without quotation marks). Reading assignment due today: Wershler-Henry, Chapters 1-14
Sept 25 Continued discussion of type. Reading assignment due today: Carter, Chapters 2-4.
Sept 27 Continued discussion of essay 1.
Oct 2 How electronic displays work and why we care.
Oct 4 EXERCISE 1 DUE (and discussed in class): Use type/letters to convey some concept or message such that the arrangement of the letterforms visually represents/interprets/reinforces/the message. Reading assignment due today: Wershler-Henry, Chapters 16-25 (feel free to read the rest of the book if you like!)
Oct 9 NO CLASS -- Columbus Day break
Oct 10 (Wednesday!) Film Screening, Helvetica, Broad Institute audiorium (7 Cambridge Center, intersection of Ames and Main Sts.) 7pm
Oct 11 NO CLASS because of last night's movie
Oct 16 Guest lecture: Walter Bender (President, software and content, OLPC)
Oct 18 Color -- physics and psychophysics. Reading assignment due today: Britt, Chapter 1; explore Apple's color pages at http://www.apple.com/pro/color/.
Oct 23 Modern art. Reading assignment due today: Britt, Chapters 2-3.
Oct 25 Discussion of the OLPC XO machine's design.
Oct 30 Discussion of first Python/Pygame example programs. Reading assignment due today: Britt, Chapters 4-5 (feel free to read further if you wish).
Nov 1 Discussion of sound under Python on the XO.
Nov 6 Continued discussion of sound on the XO. EXERCISE 2 DUE: Playing with Python/Pygame on the XO.
Nov 8 ESSAY 2 DUE (and discussed in class): 6-8 double-spaced pages describing a painting at the Boston MFA in one of the styles discussed in Britt. Look up an image of the painting on the MFA Web site and discuss the difference in its appearance from that of the actual painting. Discuss also the difference in your personal experience of viewing the painting at the MFA with that of looking at a picture on the computer screen. http://www.mfa.org
Nov 13 More discussion of sound on the XO. More student presentations.
Nov 15 Modern art, continued.
Nov 20 Temporal and Sequential Art
Nov 22 NO CLASS -- Thanksgiving break
Nov 27 EXERCISE 3 DUE: Playing with Python/Pygame/CsoundXO on the XO, part II. Handout
Nov 29 3-D movies with Cary Kornfeld, E15-209 (Wiesner Room, Media Lab).
Dec 4 EXERCISE 4/ESSAY 3 DUE: Use any technological method/apparatus to create a visual image in the style of one of the art movements discussed in Britt. Write a 6-8 page essay on what you were trying to do and on the process by which you did it (and how you discovered/developed the process). FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL (one page, text and or sketch) DUE.
Dec 6 "Final project clinic"
Dec 11 Presentation of student work
*********************************************************************************************
Some More On-Line Resources:
Type:
International Typeface Corporation
OLPC:
Pygame.org (documentation, tutorials, etc.)
Python for the Inexperienced (a super-quick tutorial)
*********************************************************************************************
Grading:
Class participation will count for 20% of the grade. The papers will collectively
count for 30%, the exercises collectively for 30%, and the final project will
count for 20%. Papers that are late will be penalized by one-half of a letter
grade for each day late. If you need an extension, please tell the instructor
at least one week ahead of time. You will select one paper for revision and
resubmission, and the grade for the resubmitted paper will replace the grade
for the original.
Class Participation:
You are expected to participate in class discussion throughout the semester.
Participation includes informal class discussion of the readings, and in-class
presentations/critiques of your work. Attendance is obviously a prerequisite
for class participation. If you must miss a class, you should notify the instructor
in advance. More than two unexcused absences will seriously jeopardize your
class participation grade. Your own work will be regularly critiqued by your
peers without emphasis on issues of formal qualities, but rather on issues of
how well you have explored the areas of thought you might select. Thus your
ability to express yourself visually (i.e. being a good illustrator and so forth)
will not be as important as compared to how well you demonstrate the ability
to clearly identify and define a particular idea. Developing your ability to
orally defend yourself in the context of a critique will be the primary intent
of these regular in-class exercises that occur in tandem with your writing assignments;
the assessment of your oral communication component will depend upon your ability
to navigate the defense of your own ideas.
Plagiarism Policy:
When writing a paper or creating any expressive work, you must identify the
nature and extent of your intellectual indebtedness to the authors, artists,
and designers whom you have read or to anyone else from whom you have gotten
ideas (e.g., classmates, invited lecturers, etc.). You can do so through footnotes,
a bibliography, or some other kind of scholarly device. Failure to disclose
your reliance on the research or thinking of others is PLAGIARISM, which is
considered to be the most serious academic offense and will be treated as such.
If you have any questions about how you should document the sources of your
ideas, please ask your instructors before you submit your written work. MIT's
academic policy can be found at the following link: http://web.mit.edu/policies/10.0.html.