Computer Science 39a
Introduction to Computer Animation

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Overview

Welcome to the Home Page for the CS39a, the centralized place for information pertaining to the seminar Introduction to Computer Animation taught the Fall of 1997. We are affiliated with the Computer Science Division at the University of California, Berkeley. Without the great support from the people at EECS Instruction, much of the technology that drives this seminar wouldn't be possible.

This seminar will be a hands-on and gentle, top-level introduction to the field of computer animation. We will discuss geometric modeling, explicit motion specification, forward and inverse kinematics, spline interpolation, morphing and dynamics, and implement a subset of these topics. Guest speakers will be provided to present their research. Students will be provided with tools to create their own animations easily, with little to no programming. No prior knowledge of programming or mathematics is assumed. The seminar is limited to 20 freshmen and sophomores.

Lecture: Wed. 1-2pm in 306 Soda & Fri. 1-2pm in 405 Soda
Lab: 111 Cory, 24/7 a kool-aid smile.
Course Control# = 24564

Teaching staff

Instructor : Brian A. Barsky (barsky@cs.berkeley.edu): 785 Soda, x2-9838 (Office hours Tu/Th 5:00pm - 6:00pm)
Teaching Assistant : Dan Garcia (ddgarcia@cs.berkeley.edu): 535 Soda, x2-9716 (Office hours We/Fr 2:00pm - 2:30pm)

Other available information

UCB EECS Instruction

Ongoing UNIX help sessions

A Beginner's Guide to HTML (Useful for writing a homepage)

Plugs

ACM Siggraph (here's our local chapter): SIGGRAPH is the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics. They sponsor the premiere Graphics conference in the world. Very worth attending if you have any interests at all in Computer Graphics, either from the user or programmer side.
Watch Reboot on Saturday mornings 9:30am (yawn) on ABC (ch. 7): This show contains a full half-hour of pure computer-generated 3-D animation. Wow. Does anyone know of another television show which contains that much animation?
See Toy Story in theatres or on video.: Set in a world where toys have a life of their own when people are not present, "Toy Story" is a sophisticated and delightfully irreverent comedy-adventure that represents the first full-length feature ever to be created entirely through the use of computer animation. Viewed mostly through the eyes of two rival toys -- Woody (voice of Tom Hanks), a pull-string talking cowboy and Buzz Lightyear (voice of Tim Allen), a superhero space action-figure -- "Toy Story" takes moviegoers on a fun-filled journey in which the comically mismatched duo eventually learn to put aside their differences when circumstances separate them from their owner Andy and they discover that the only way to survive is to form an uneasy alliance. Combining the skills of traditionally-trained character animators with an appealing story and innovative state-of-the-art technology, "Toy Story" is directed by 1988 Academy Award-winner John Lasseter ("Tin Toy") and represents an ambitious and exciting creative collaboration between Disney and Pixar, a pioneering force in computer animation. Randy Newman provides three memorable new songs as well as the score. (from the Toy Story site)