General Information and Submission Guidelines

Students are responsible for knowing and adhering to SCAD academic policy. Students are allowed to discuss exercises and/or projects with each other or help each other find errors in their code. However, you are not to do anyone else's work for them.

Every assignment in this course is to be done as an individual. You must turn in your own work for all exercises, projects, exams, and quizzes.

In particular you may not:

• Copy another person's work in part or whole and submit it as your own — this includes online tutorials
• Allow someone else to copy your work and submit it as their own
• Allow someone else to do all or part of the work for you
• Submit the work of a group as your own
• Share any of your work (assignments, code, etc.) with any other student, including by posting it online or sending it via email

The dropbox is not for personal storage and is not to be used as a working directory. Only copies of the files you hand in for exercises and projects should go into the dropbox.

The MATERIALS or CLASS_SHARE folders will be used to share class materials as well as other students' work this quarter. If you have something that would benefit others' understanding of Houdini, let me know — drop it in your dropbox and it will be copied to the MATERIALS or CLASS_SHARE folder.

Naming conventions save time. I should be able to see at a glance — from the top level of the dropbox — whether a final version has been submitted. All folders and files must follow these conventions exactly.

Exercise Submissions

Create a directory named Quarter_Class_EN_LastnameFirstname_Title/ containing:

• .hip file — Quarter_Class_EN_LastnameFirstname_Title.hipnc
• .jpg file — Quarter_Class_EN_LastnameFirstname_Title.jpg (NO .tif images; .png is acceptable)
• .mp4 file — Quarter_Class_EN_LastnameFirstname_Title.mp4 — H.264 compression, no file over 1GB unless approved. Resolution: 1920×1080 (720×405 if rendering during the last two weeks of quarter). Typically a minimum of 10 seconds of animation is required.
• .pdf file — Quarter_Class_EN_LastnameFirstname_Title.pdf — a breakdown of your project as you would describe it to a fellow Houdini user. Particularly important for projects.

Project Submissions

Similar to exercise submissions, using directory Quarter_Class_PN_LastnameFirstname_Title/ containing the hip / jpg / mp4 / pdf. In addition, include Quarter_Class_PN_LastnameFirstname_Compare.jpg showing your reference and result side by side.

Final Render Submissions

Please follow the naming conventions as specified. It is your duty to check that your work is in the dropbox and properly labeled. Failure to comply will affect your assignment grade and participation grade.

Rubrics are posted on the class website. Blackboard is used for grades; feedback is provided via Slack or in person.

Students are expected to hand in exercises and projects on time — at the start of class. Late assignments are not fair to the students who worked hard to meet the deadline.

Any late assignments accepted under extenuating circumstances may incur a penalty of up to 50%, if accepted at all.

As with any studio, you will be expected to present your work in progress during dailies (when time permits). Projects will require a presentation. The purpose of critiquing is to give you feedback so that your work can be improved.

For projects, you will be given the opportunity to submit an improved version the following class period. The final grade may be the average of the grade given at the due date and the grade given for the improved version. This is not an opportunity for an extension — it is an opportunity to improve your work.

You are always welcome to seek input on your progress at any stage of a project or exercise.

This policy gives you an opportunity to integrate changes based on constructive critiques. This is an extremely important step in studio production — your work must be ready to present on the due date and in dailies.

The grading breakdown is detailed on the syllabus. Part of your grade is for participation, which includes:

• Being prepared for dailies
• Handing work in on time
• Taking part in classroom discussions
• Communicating and asking questions when appropriate
• Working on in-class exercises
• Showing respect for others in the class
• Participating in critiques when required

For all student presentations, please refrain from working during presentations, be courteous, and pay attention. This is expected and counts toward your professionalism grade.