Potential Problems

Of course there is no way to know what problems will come up. But if I were to guess I would say that time will be an issue. I have a lot to do, some things like 3-D animation that I haven't even done before. I've modeled and textured but I've never rigged and animated. That kind of is time and skill that I need to develop.

I don't think any of the resources will be a problem other  then potentially having the program crash and having the files get corrupted.

Budget shouldn't be a problem, I will need a small amount to make some DVD's of my animation. I do want to try to get the guitar I design custom made but we will see based on the amount that may cost.

I don't really foresee any team problems but they could arise. Another problem could be my ambition to go too far and having to cut back. I want a really awesome project but I don't know if it is really in my ability to make it quite how I want it.

Secondary Mentor

I think a secondary mentor is a great idea. Especially for me who has numerous aspects to my project.

The role of the secondary mentor could very greatly. For instance, my mentor is Clint Koch, however, for more of the design of the instruments I could use someone who is more into design such as Steve Mannheimer. They could help me with the art before I 3-D model them.

In addition, I could use someone from the music department to help me with the composition where I may need feedback from someone directly related to music.

I am not sure who would not be good....

Sort of as I mentioned, Steve Mannheimer would be a good potential second mentor for me, his interview can  be found on my other post.  In addition I am thinking someone from the school of music, I may consider John Alvarado who is a guitarist. Or I may try to find someone who works with drums as I am not a drummer at ALL....and I'll have drums in my project, so I may want a drummer.

From what I can find on John,

John's area of expertise is in Classical Guitar.

He would probably expect a lot of communication and a lot of practice/experimenting to get what sort of music composition you like that is full and appropriately timed ect.

He would probably not be interested in working on a project outside of music at all.

I think he would like the idea of being a secondary mentor for my project.

Capstone Mentor Profile

My capstone idea is to create an animation of musical instruments that look like they play themselves. I will compose my own music for this piece and I will create 3-D models for all instruments, light the scene, texture the instruments, and animate the whole thing.

The key components I am searching for in a mentor are:
         Knowledge of programs I will be using so they can help me if I get stuck or screw something up.
         I want them to share an interest in my idea, to encourage me and motivate me.
         I want them to be strict with me, to critique me, as well as making sure I hit deadlines
         Finally, I want them to push my abilities and help me grow in my skills.

The three potential from the MAS faculty would be: Clint Koch, Albert Williams, and Steve Mannheimer.

I think Clint and Albert would both be able to help me with Maya and the 3-D modeling, lighting, texturing, and animating. I'm not sure what all Steve does but I think he might be able to help me design the instruments in a way that makes them stand out from instruments we are used to.   I'd be interested in working with Clint and Albert because I know I will need a lot of help with Maya especially with the animation as I have done hardly any.

Steve has an expertise in the area of "concept development" he is more on the side of developing ideas and getting them to expand in numerous ways and in more detail. He said he is not probably going to be very good with the actual creation of the project though.

He expects steady communication as well as a lot of independent work. And he wants you to have a willingness to evolve your ideas to the fullest potential.

He likes the idea of having a secondary adviser on board. a second mind so its not a one sided opinion.

Clint has an area of expertise in 3-D production.

From what I know of Clint he expects a good looking work be the time it is done. He is always willing to help if I have an issue and wants to see a good project in the end. He wants some good communication as well as a lot of pre-planning to be done.

Clint is my mentor for next semester already.

I think Clint would like the idea of a second adviser, someone who could help me with the music side where he won't be able to help me very much on.

I should hopefully be meeting with Albert tomorrow morning to get his interview.

Capstone Group

I am in the 3-D animation group.

The other members of my group are:
Saviss Mahmoudi
Alyse McMiller
Brandon Rash
Jacob (Chewie) Ritter
Gregory Stahlhut
Beth Tankersley
Samantha Tarkington

Class discussion.

I liked the class discussion although it didn't pertain to me too much. I have been thinking about capstones since I started my career at IUPUI and have gone from idea to idea to say, the Animusic is what I myself will enjoy most. (plus my other idea would have taken numerous years to complete by myself and if I had a team it would need to be a LARGE team)

I did figure out from the discussion that I would like to get more mentors working with me on my project. I could use a music mentor and possibly a video mentor.

Beyond that I more of listened to the discussion which I believed helped others more then me but was a good discussion to get a lot of questions and concerns out of the way.

Capstone a Definition by Philip

To me, a capstone is a way to show a small piece of work that you are capable of. I think a capstone should be the best work you have created throughout your college career. It is a time to show off what you've learned over the past 4 or so years.

I am taking a lot of pride in my capstone. Being a New Media major with a Music minor I wanted to encompass the music in my project. I fell in love with Animusic when I saw it and it is a corporation I would enjoy working for so I decided, why not aim to appeal to that corporation?

I do NOT see the capstone just as a hoop to jump through to graduate, that is what I'd call the math and English classes I had to take....I consider capstones to be a privilege, a chance to show off your work to mass numbers of people, to be proud of what you have accomplished. I also see it as a way to appeal to employers, not only does it give them a chance to see your work, but also get to talk to you and see how you interact with other people and how personable you are as well as how much knowledge you have on your project and software you used.

That is my view of capstones.

My Capstone Idea

I a few years back saw the very end of Animusic on PBS and fell in love with what I saw. I later looked up more videos and knew that that was something I wanted to do.

This being my capstone idea I have flushed it out a little bit.

1. I was thinking of a water theme, where water drops will fall off something and they will land on drums to play the drums. Also, I may use the same general idea on the xylophone. A guitar will be the center of the piece and will be placed atop a fountain.

2. A different idea along the Animusic line would be to take little chunks of their creations and recreate them, such as the ball animation where things to add would be stray balls on the floor to show that it isn't a perfect machine every time. The animation I love the most is the Resonant Chamber. I would love to create some sort  of crazy looking instrument that is a mix of a few but we'll see if it is in my limits later.

3. My third idea for this project was going to be a simple piano only piece. The piano would be a grand piano with the top up so you can see the inside. I would just have the keys be "ghost" played but it would be interesting to animate the string vibration and even get shots of the hammers.


My inspirations are three Animusic pieces.

1. First I ever saw, "Harmonic Voltage" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGCTLJDoMGw

2. My favorite animation "Resonant Chamber" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toXNVbvFXyk&feature=relmfu

3. My favorite overall "Future Retro" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ahoqR6OGdM&feature=related