MAS.110 Fundamentals of Computational Media Design
Fall Term 2008
TR3, 56-114
V. Michael Bove, Jr., E15-368B, x3-0334, vmb@media.mit.edu
Henry Holtzman, E15-312, x3-0319, holtzman@media.mit.edu
David Small, E15-305B, dsmall@media.mit.edu
Barry Vercoe, E15-494, x3-0618, bv@media.mit.edu
Writing tutor: Nora Jackson, 14N-432, norajack@mit.edu
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Class Wiki: http://wiki.media.mit.edu/view/MAS110/WebHome
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Books (available at The Coop):
The Victorian Internet, Tom Standage
Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 4th ed., Carter, Day, and Meggs
Modern Art, David Britt, ed.
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More information on resources, class policies, etc. appears below the schedule
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Note that this syllabus is a "work-in-progress." Please check back often for changes.
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Sept 4 Introduction.
Sept 9 Paper and making marks on it. Typography, technology, and perception. Reading assignment due today: Carter, Chapter 7
Sept 11 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 16 Video screening: Helvetica by Gary Hustwit.
Sept 18 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: Standage, Chapters 1-5
Sept 23 Continued discussion of type. Reading assignment due today: Carter, Chapters 2-4 (please feel free to read further).
Sept 25 Continued discussion of essay 1.
Sept 30 Temporal and sequential media.
Oct 2 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 (as an example, see Carter Chapter 6 for inspiration). Reading assignment due today: Standage, Chapter 6 through Epilogue
Oct 7 Guest lecturer, Walter Bender. Color -- physics, psychophysics, and aesthetics. Reading assignment due today: Britt, Chapter 1; reading assignment from Walter: http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/sj/353/sectiond/jacobson.html; explore Apple's color pages at http://www.apple.com/pro/color/.
Oct 9 How electronic displays work and why we care.
Oct 14 Guest lecturer, Walter Bender. Color, continued, and discussion of the OLPC XO hardware and the Sugar environment.
Oct 16 Discussion of OLPC XO machine design.
Oct 21 Hand out XOs. Discussion of first Python/Pygame example programs.
Oct 23 Modern art. Reading assignment due today: Britt, Chapters 2-3.
Oct 28 EXERCISE 2 DUE: Playing with Python/Pygame on the XO. Take one of the example programs provided and modify it to be more "interesting".
Oct 30 More modern art. Reading assignment due today: Britt, Chapters 4-5 (feel free to read further if you wish).
Nov 4 Discussion of sound on the XO. CsoundXO manual and software package linked here.
Nov 6 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 11 NO CLASS -- Veterans' day holiday
Nov 13 Continued discussion of essay 2.
Nov 18 EXERCISE 3 DUE: Playing with Python/Pygame/CsoundXO on the XO, part II.
Nov 20 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).
Nov 25 Continued discussion of essay 3. FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL (one page, text and/or sketch) DUE.
Nov 27 NO CLASS -- Thanksgiving break
Dec 2 "Final project clinic"
Dec 4 (to be announced)
Dec 9 Presentation of student work, Media Lab Lower Atrium (invite your friends!)
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Some More On-Line Resources:
Type:
International Typeface Corporation
OLPC:
Pygame.org (documentation, tutorials, etc.)
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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 and unexcused in advance 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.
A Note on Writing Assignments: Essays are submitted as exercises in development and expression of your thoughts. It's not a good use of the instructor's time to have to mark up simple grammar and spelling errors; if you are in need of guidance in matters of grammar or style please meet with the writing tutor or visit the Writing Center in 12-132.
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.