CS6682
Computation for Content Creation

Instructor: Abe Davis _{^{(Email: abedavis [at] cornell [dot] edu)}}

Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2:55pm-4:10pm EST
Location: Cornell University, Hollister Hall 366.

Note: Some of this structure might change if enrollment is substantially higher than previous years

In this course we will look at a broad range of topics from computer vision, graphics, geometry, human-computer interaction (HCI), and audio processing related to the creation and manipulation of digital content. As content creation tools are rapidly shifting, much of this course will focus more on the representations we use for different types of content and how important dimensions of creative control map to these representations.

Types of Course Content:

• Theory related to representing and manipulating different types of media.
• Practical experience with computational tools for editing media. This means assignments where you will be expected to use creative software to actually create things… It also means some lectures will be tutorials on how to use such software, with extra commentary connecting features to the aforementioned theory you will learn.
• Practical research skills

Assignments & Grading

Work for this course will include:

• A final project, which will be the single biggest part of your grade
• Programming assignments deadline with image, audio, and video processing
• Artistic assignments, where you will be asked to create content with various software tools. Students who make it past the first programming assignment will receive temporary Adobe Creative Cloud licenses for the semester to complete some of these assignments
• Depending on enrollment and time constraints, you may be asked to present on a topic during the semester. This will likely be related to a paper discussion.

You are also expected to attend and participate in class.

Apparently it is encouraged to include a section on academic integrity on course websites. This is a small grad course, so I really hope everyone will know better at this point, but for good measure....

Basics: You are expected to abide by the Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity. More generally: I will assume that any work you present as your own is, in fact, your own. You are welcome to read or watch whatever material is helpful, but always build your own implementation of solutions to assignments. You will be allowed to use third party code in some situations for projects, but should always report this in your writeup.

Collaboration: Group policies may vary from assignment to assignment. In general, I am happy for you to discuss assignments with each other, but do not share code unless it is explicitly stated that this is ok, e.g.,:

• if you are in a group for a group assignment.
• if you are given permission by me, in which case I may ask you to post said code in a forum where the whole calss has access to it.

If you feel you can’t complete the work on your own, come talk to me and/or your advisor and we can help you figure out what to do. Think before you hand in! Clear-cut cases of dishonesty will result in failing the course.