(02-04-2024) The course has ended for the 2023-24 academic year. The website will be active again for academic year 2024-25 in due time.
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(02-04-2024) The course has ended for the 2023-24 academic year. The website will be active again for academic year 2024-25 in due time.
The course Computer Animation is given as part of the GMT Master programme at Utrecht University. The course consists of a number of lectures, as well as presentations by participants. Next to an introduction to basic animation techniques such as interpolation, blending, skeleton animation, facial animation, kinematics and motion synthesis, we will focus on a selection of relevant animation-oriented research papers. As part of the course, participants will make a short animation movie or write a program for 3D skeletal animation.
| Week | Date | Time | Room | Lecture | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 46 | 13th Nov | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 214 | Introduction & Animation Basics | Zerrin Yumak |
| Week 46 | 15th Nov | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 209 | Interpolation & Blending | Zerrin Yumak |
| Week 47 | 20th Nov | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 214 | Skinning & Facial Animation | Zerrin Yumak |
| Week 47 | 22nd Nov | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 209 | Deep Learning Introduction | Zerrin Yumak |
| Week 48 | 27th Nov | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 214 | Motion Capture Lab Tutorial | Kazi I. Haque & Fabian C. Barros |
| Week 48 | 29th Nov | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 209 | Advanced Facial Animation and Deep Learning Tutorial | Kazi I. Haque |
| Week 49 | 4th Dec | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 214 | Paper 1,2; Project Intermediary Deadline (until 23:59) | |
| Week 49 | 6th Dec | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 209 | Paper 3,4 | |
| Week 50 | 11th Dec | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 214 | Paper 5,6 | |
| Week 50 | 13th Dec | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 209 | Paper 7,8 | |
| Week 51 | 18th Dec | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 214 | Paper 9,10 | |
| Week 51 | 20th Dec | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 209 | Paper 11,12 | |
| Week 52 & 1 | No lecture (Christmas & New Year Holidays) | ||||
| Week 2 | 8th Jan | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 214 | Paper 13,14 | |
| Week 2 | 10th Jan | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 209 | Paper 15,16 | |
| Week 3 | 15th Jan | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 214 | Paper 17,18 | |
| Week 3 | 17th Jan | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 209 | Paper 19,20 | |
| Week 4 | 22nd Jan | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 214 | Paper 21,22 | |
| Week 4 | 24th Jan | 09:00-10:45 | BBG- 209 | Paper 23,24 | |
| Week 5 | 31st Jan | 09:00-12:45 | BBG- 214 | Project Festival; Project Submission Deadline (until 23:59) | |
| Week 5 | 2nd Feb | Essay Submission Deadline (until 23:59) |
Introduction and Animation Basics
Supplementary Material on Linear Algebra
Interpolation and Blending
Skinning
Facial Animation
Motion Capture System
Deep Learning Introduction
Advanced Facial Animation and Deep Learning
During the course, you will read research papers and give a presentation in teams of three. You will also produce a short animation movie or develop a program for skeletal animation and skinning, in teams of five. Roughly halfway the course, you will send an intermediary planning report for your preferred project assignment. The final animation movies and demos of the programs will be shown at the last session. You will also write an essay on a topic within the animation research area.
You will get a grade for the research papers (R), project (P) and essay (E). R includes the paper presentation and the 6 paper reviews. You will get a grade for your presentation and this will be counted complete only if all 6 paper reviews are also delivered. Paper reviews and essay are to be done individually. Presentation and project are group assignments.
The final grade is then calculated as 0.3 * R + 0.3 * P + 0.4 * E. In order to complete the course, there is an additional restriction that E >= 5.
Retake essay: If you didn't get a sufficiently high grade, you may do a retake essay to still complete the course. Exactly the same rules as the regular essay apply. The grade you get for the retake essay will replace the (missing) grade of the regular essay. You may improve the essay you originally handed in, taking into account the feedback from the teacher, and hand in as the retake essay, or choose a new topic and write an essay about that. Note that you can only qualify for a retake essay if you have done all the parts of the course (give a presentation and deliver paper reviews, do project assignment, hand in the essay) and have a final grade of at least 4.
Attendance overall is not mandatory. However, you are required to attend the paper presentations for the papers that you write a summary.
