Business Plan

Animation projects are defined by the scope and duration of the production. They generally involve more than one production resource and production time of more than a few days.

Software applications for projects include Flash, Maya, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, smoke, 3ds, and other applications and plugins as required. Maya will be the featured application for most projects.

Animation projects should impact all areas of media production, including outreach presentations, interactive course materials and training. Our goal is to provide a full-range of animation services to the campus and campus community. Examples of animation applications include.

To continue building business, we will promote our services and increase awareness by building departmental and community awareness of the possible applications of animation and 3-D models. Including within Mediaworks, as animation projects often come wrapped inside other projects, like video and slide presentations, and instructional course materials. It will enhance out ability to provide assistance in choosing the appropriate medium to best communicate a concept or event.

Increasing awareness is possible through demonstration and education. We will create events, like open-houses and workshops, and solicit for attendees through email lists of current and potential clients. SIGs for Maya, Flash and After Effects will be established at Mediaworks and network with any student-interest groups.

Promoting services will be done by creating a promotional reel, or gallery additions to the current website, and through presentations to department and community groups.

In the beginning, we searched for "partner" projects, or projects where we work partially "on spec" with clients to create samples and develop our expertise. After partnerships are established, we can begin working as a resource for curriculum builders on campus. Some of the most directly understood applications will be in the fields of biology, cellular, animal, molecular and genetic. Also some medical, physical and chemical subject areas are good candidates to develop instructional materials.

The required resources include software, hardware, training and expertise. Software requirements include Maya, After Effects and Flash and appropriate hardware to run the more cpu-intensive applications, like Maya. Training in all areas of Maya will be required, including DVD tutorials and local experts. Contract and freelance expertise will need to be hired on a per project basis until we have resident experts in all areas, including NURBS and poly modeling, texturing, character rigging, traditional and procedural animation, dynamics and MEL scripting.

Because animation incorporates many different disciplines, it will be necessary to seek involvement from the programming and graphics groups.

Over the next calendar year, we will build our expertise through training and partner projects, and servicing existing clients and projects.

1. Offer services to the campus community that include:
   • 3-D model creation using NURBS and polygon construction
   • animation of objects, characters, particles, lights, volumes, etc.
   • high-end animation for broadcast quality video production
   • MEL scripting and programming for interface design and "game-like" interactive instruction.
2. Offer consultation services for modeling and animation that include:
   • 3-D web-based languages and delivery, VRML and 3DML
   • Flash animation and art
   • After Effects animation
   • Maya modeling and animation
3. Broker services with outside experts when needed

Historically, animation services have been offered for many years as part of our general media services. However, recent developments in 3-D applications have made the high-end desktop animation and modeling a reality. Breakthrough applications like 3ds and Maya have allowed media development and design companies to incorporate it as a cost-effective service. In addition, the scientific and medical communities have developed specialized needs for simulations and models to assist in the instructional and communication process.

The incorporation of scripting languages in the applications now leverages the expertise of computer programmers in the creation of animation and models. There has been a keen interest among designers, editors, artists and programmers in our group to learn applications like Maya.

Currently, the department has seen more requests for animation in the form of interactive learning and training. There has also been an increase for high-end animation effects and titling in broadcast quality video production. As the high-end video production increases, so does the need for sophisticated animation and graphics. There is also a growing awareness among the staff of programmers and artists for using the animation medium as a solution to previously unanticipated needs. For instance, the idea that a 3-D model can replace a 2-D drawing because the creation time for 3-D art has been reduced with the application of software like Maya. A 3-D model affords the client more flexibility and reusability, and thereby providing a more economical solution.

1. Strengths
   • large range of scientific and medical topics for visualization and instructional animations
   • large range of need for scientific models and virtual reality studies
2. Weaknesses
   • wide range of client experience levels
   • low budget-minded clients
3. Opportunities
   • instructional materials for the medical and veterinary market
   • community projects that use broadcast quality productions to communicate and entertain
   • instructional materials with more "game-like" interfaces and online programs
4. Threats
   • clients that do not understand the benefits and are satisfied with current services
   • project opportunites that are missed due to worries that animation and 3-D modeling services will take jobs away from traditional services

The first year, 6/05 - 6/06, will be the startup period for business development. We will concentrate on identifying markets and opportunities, and develop our level of expertise. In the second year (6/06 - 6/07), the budget will be split 25% recharge and 75% instructional funds.

Services for animation production will include:

• 3-D modeling using polygons, subdivisions and NURBS (organic) in Maya from source images or objects in various forms of output, including:
  1. native 3-D formats for applications like 3ds (.max) and Lightwave (.lwo, .lws)
  2. popular game formats like .w3d (Shockwave)
  3. virtual reality formats, .vrml, .wrl
  4. 3-D interchange formats, .dxf, .obj
  5. other formats as the plugins become available

• Animation Maya, After Effects, Flash, Director
  1. keyframe attributes and tracks of keyframe attributes
  2. character and facial animation (bones, skeletons and blend shapes)
  3. procedural animation (using scripts and equations)

• Particles and dynamics for simulations and special effects (Maya)

• Compositing (After Effects)

• Flash animation for interactive instructional materials

• Rendering (Mental Ray): Offer rendering capabilities for other campus users.

Key milestones

Roles and responsibilities:

• Supervise activities, plan production and training: Bob Burnett
• Design, produce and direct projects: Bob Burnett, Jeremy Cooke, Armando Arbizo
• Production services: Bob Burnett, Jeremy Cooke, Armando Arbizo
• Ad hoc resources for scripting and programming: Earl Schellhous
• Ad hoc resources for illustration and model sources: Steve Dana, Steve Oerding
• Ad hoc resources for rendering: Shriver

  ---

Specific, measurable results:

• Business Plan
• Marketing Plan
• Marketing Calendar
• Reel or Gallery
• Production Management Plan
• Partner project
• Percentage of billable time

Depending on the course and outcome of the Sakai project, resources in the animation group could be compromised. This would be especially true if there is a sudden need for course material production, as most of that production has been suspended in anticipation of a new LMS (Sakai).