Syllabus

General

This is the course specific syllabus for the Spring 2025 class of AVT 411: Motion Design (3 credits). The instructor is Michael McDermott, he can be reached by email at mmcderm8 at gmu dot edu and can be met with at his virtual office hours on Monday to Wednesday from 1:15–2:45pm and 8–9pm or by appointment.

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Delivery and Timing

We will meet once a week in person on Thursdays from 1:30 to 4:10 in room 1021 in the Art and Design Building. The classes are required and during our sessions we will discuss work, complete demos, and further our motion design knowledge. The class is scheduled to run for 15 weeks and you can expect to work for 6 hours outside of class each week.

Prerequisites

AVT 217: Intro to Web Design and AVT 311: Graphic Design Principles and Methods

Course Description

Motion Design introduces the theories, techniques and practices of motion design and the integration of design, image, sound, video, and animation.

Overview

This is not a software training course. Although there will be occasional in-class software demos, a majority of the software skills will need to be self taught. Through the exercises, in-class workshops, projects, and critiques the students will learn the fundamental principles of time-based design grounded in traditional design principles.

Participants should finish the course with a working knowledge of motion design principles and methods as well as a better understanding of the production side of the medium.

Objectives

• Improve general design skills
• Understand the process of planning for motion
• Understand the technical aspects of motion design
• Analyze how motion can enhance a narrative
• Understand how static design principles apply to a motion-based medium

Required Software

• Adobe CC, specifically After Effects
• Tinkercad (free and web based)

Other Software/Accounts

• Vimeo Account
• Zoom

Content

This course consists of many shorter exercises, a few longer projects, weekly prompts, and in class discussions. The exercises are to begin to familiarize students with specific concepts and ideas and the projects are a synthesis of the concepts and ideas we will cover. Weekly prompts will encourage you to critically engage with motion design you encounter outside of class.

Projects

project 1: moving poster

Posters are traditionally a static medium but with more and more poster displays going digital and AR becoming a more widely available tool, posters can come alive. You will design a moving poster for a future event that uses AR to transform the printed version into motion.

project 2: obstructions

Obstructions in design can seem like a burden but being able to use them as a creative starting point is key. You will create a short video and then create the same video two more times. Each new video will be created using a series of obstructions chosen in class.

project 3: something in motion

Project three will give you the option of coming up with your own project or choosing from one of the projects I have listed. The project will be a culmination of the skills and concepts you have learned throughout this course.

Discussion of Work

You will need to take an active role in both the presentation and discussion of your work. We will review projects in a variety of ways and you are expected to be able to talk and write about your own work and give feedback to your peers about their work. The ability to discuss your work and other student’s work is a very important part of your education at Mason. Use this class to improve on those skills.

Communication

Your ability to communicate with me is of prime importance in this course. If you are going to be absent, late, or not have your work, it will be your best interest in communicating those things to me in advance. I do not need to know your reasons for being absent, late, or not having your work but I do need to know. A simple, short email will be fine.

The same goes for if you are struggling in this class or having other issues that are hindering your ability to complete work in this class. The more you keep me in the loop the more I can help you and adjust as needed.

Attendance

Your attendance is tied to your engagement grade. Each class you miss will lower your engagement grade by 25 points unless you let me know you won’t be in class and make an effort to cover what you missed in class. Each class you are late to will lower your engagement grade by 10 points unless you let me know. If you miss four or more classes you will automatically fail the class unless you have communicated with me prior to the fourth absence.

Engagement

This course has an engagement policy instead of an attendance policy. Your engagement will affect your final grade (and, by extension, the quality of your work) for this course. You are expected to actively and passionately take part in this course in the following ways.

• Attend class meetings and be on time
• Create things and be prepared to show them on time.
• Make things thoughtfully, intentionally, and with intensity.
• Meet all deadlines for handing in work and process.
• Actively participate in critiques both in class and out of class.
• Be curious about making things and the things your classmates make.
• Care about yourself & your work, your classmates & their work, and this class

Grading

Grades will be based on engagement (25%), exercises (25%), and projects (50%).

engagement (25%)

This percentage will be based on your engagement in the class which is explained on above. Attend class and be engaged in this course and its content throughout the semester and this should be an easy 25%.

exercises (25%)

The exercises are meant to be quicker, skill building tasks that improve your projects and design knowledge.

projects (50%)

Each project will generate two different grades. One grade will be based on your week to week process and the second grade will be based on the final submission. At the end of the semester you will have 6 total project grades that are all weighted equally for this 50%.

Late Work

Late work will be accepted for three weeks after a deadline with the exception of the final project which will be due at the end of the semester. There is a section on the rubrics showing how late work is factored into the assignment grade.

rubrics

Rubrics are used to grade exercises, projects, and checkpoints. The rubrics are at the end of this syllabus and tied to each submission on Canvas. The rubrics are here to allow you to understand how work is graded and to reference while working to self-evaluate.

Weekly Schedule

Class is on Thursdays from 1:30–4:10. Most days we will meet for the entire time but some weeks we will have individual meetings or end early. Some classes will be work days so make sure to bring things to work on each class. Unless otherwise specified, all work is due at the beginning of class.

A note—Time management is an important skill to master and should be worked on all your classes. Staying up all night working is not a badge of honor, it typically means you didn’t budget your time correctly. Staying up all night isn’t healthy and making sure you are keeping yourself healthy is your first priority.

Semester Schedule

The schedule on this site is an outline of what we will be covering this fall. It is subject to additions, subtractions, and shifts.