Claudia Herbst
Associate Professor
Pratt Institute
Department of Digital Arts
Your thesis project is an animation/video and you are planning to graduate this semester?
This page is for you! What follows is a list of what you are required to turn in.
Hand in two copies of your paper, printed on archival paper (check here for specifics regarding the paper).
Do not bind the paper, staple the paper, or attach a clip, etc.
Place each copy of the paper in an envelope that is labeled properly (of course, no hand-written labels).
Example of label:
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Pratt Institute DDA MFA Thesis November 15, 2008
Nina Simone "My Baby Just Cares For Me"
3D animation, 2:00 minutes, NTSC
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Before your paper is ready for final printing:
Make sure to consult the Graduate Theses section on the Pratt Institute Libraries website for details:
http://library.pratt.edu/theses.html
Be advised that your thesis paper will likely require several revisions before it can be considered "final".
Be aware that this process takes time. Also, always turn in your previous draft (which includes my comments)
along with the new draft. On average, I will take between 5 and 7 days to return a draft to you.
Please note that I will review your paper but not correct grammar issues. Make sure to have your paper reviewed by
someone in the Writing Center before you hand it to me. You can reach them at (718.636.4461); they're located in
North Hall 101. Do not consider your paper "finalized" until I tell you the go-ahead to print on archival paper.
Preparing Animation and Video Files for Graduate Thesis Projects
Do not consider your work "finalized" (e.g., render "final" frames) unless I give you the go-ahead.
The following info you should be familiar with from the Thesis Guidelines document:
2D and 3D animations should be rendered as 720x480 TIF or TGA files with a pixel aspect ratio of 0.9 and a
frame rate of 29.97 fps.These frames can be edited into DV movies using Final Cut Pro, After Effects, or Premiere.
Brightness Levels and Color:
Be certain that you view your video on a properly calibrated NTSC video monitor, and not only on a computer monitor.
Calibration is accomplished by adjusting the brightness and color controls on a video monitor while color bars are
displayed.
You will need to hand in one DVD tape of your project. Place your project at the beginning of a NEW DV tape in
the following order:
20 seconds of color bars or black
10 seconds of black
completed Thesis project (including title & credits -- click here for a credit template)
5 seconds of black
Audio Codecs and Levels:
The DV video format requires uncompressed audio. WAV, AIFF and SD-II are uncompressed formats.
Compressed formats, such as MP3, are significantly lower in quality and are not acceptable.
The loudest sounds in your projects should peak between –5 and –1 dB as indicated on the audio level meters
within Final Cut Pro or Premiere. Adjust the audio levels within the video editing software if your audio peaks
above or below these levels.
Do not place text close to any edge of the video frame because it will be cut off when it is projected.
Turn on the “title safe/action safe” indicators in your video editing software to show the safe areas.
When Exporting a Quicktime movie for delivery on data DVD, students must use these settings:
resolution: 720 x 480
frame rate: 29.97 fps
codec: None
pixel aspect ratio: 0.9
interlacing: lower-field first
audio: 48 Khz sampling rate, 16 bit stereo, uncompressed audio
It is important that the Codec option in the Export options box is set to “None”.
Using no Codec creates an uncompressed Quicktime file. Uncompressed Quicktime files tend to be large,
however, most projects will fit onto a single DVD. For longer movies that produce a file that is too large for a
single DVD, students are required to split the Quicktimemovie file into two files and to submit two, clearly
labeled DVDs.
DVDs you will need to turn in:
Two self-running DVDs (one for the department, one for the library). Do not include any interactive menus.
The DVD should start playing when inserted into a DVD player.
Two data DVDs (one for the department, one for your advisor). Include uncompressed (see description above)
copies of your project in Quicktime format.
Each DVD must be labeled properly (see example above). Make sure that all copies of your work
include color bars, titles & credits. In summary, you are required to turn in:
2 copies of your paper, each in its own labeled envelope
1 mini DVD tape, properly labeled
2 self-running DVDs, properly labeled
2 sets of data DVDs, properly labeled
All of your materials must be submitted in a larger envelope or box. This envelope/box -- you guessed it --
must alsobe properly labeled ...
Do not underestimate the time it takes to finalize and prepare your materials for submission!
