Oxford Preparatory Academy Digital Media
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Oxford Preparatory Academy

Digital Media

Find what you need. Make something real.

01 / Courses

Your class work

Digital Media Course Hub.

Open your class for project guides and lesson slides. Turn in assignments and check grades and deadlines in Canvas.

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Hand-drawn illustration of a student standing in a kitchen
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01.1 / Exploratory Digital Media

Exploratory Digital Media

Course resources.

Today’s lesson slides and every earlier lesson this class has covered — open a day below if you missed it.

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Lesson slides

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01.2 / Intro to Digital Media

Intro to Digital Media

Course resources.

Today’s lesson slides and every earlier lesson this class has covered — open a day below if you missed it.

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Lesson slides

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01.3 / Advanced Digital Media

Advanced Digital Media

Course resources.

Open your project to see your next steps and weekly posts. Find today’s lesson slides and earlier lessons below.

Project tracker

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Lesson slides

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02 / Tutorials / Resources

How do I do this?

Tutorials / Resources

Find tutorials, animation tools, and design guides to help you make your next project.

Complete Workflow: From Floor Plan to 3D Visualization

SketchUp for Schools → Twinmotion

Follow these three videos in order. Pause each video to try the steps on your own design before moving on.

  1. Step 1: Design Your Floor Plan

    Learn to create a 2D architectural floor plan in SketchUp for Schools using accurate measurements.

    Watch on YouTube

  2. Step 2: Build Your 3D Model

    Convert your floor plan into a 3D building by adding walls, doors, windows, and architectural details.

    Watch on YouTube

  3. Step 3: Import into Twinmotion

    Import your completed SketchUp model into Twinmotion to add realistic materials, lighting, environments, and cinematic camera movements.

    Watch on YouTube

Premiere Pro · Beginner audio lesson

Audio basics in Premiere Pro

Start with Adobe's short video on reading audio waveforms, matching clip loudness with Essential Sound, and fitting music to your edit with Remix.

Watch Adobe's tutorial

Blender · Beginner tutorial

Blender 2D animation basics

Learn the basics of drawing and animating with Grease Pencil in this guide from PolyPaint.

Watch on YouTube

Blender · Import and animation

Mixamo to Blender

Download a character and animation from Mixamo, import them into Blender, and combine animation clips in this guide from MediaWay.

Watch on YouTube

Blender · Grease Pencil and Mixamo

2D animation with Mixamo

Use a 3D model and Mixamo motion to build a 2D animation with Grease Pencil in this guide from PolyPaint.

Watch on YouTube

Blender · Fog and atmosphere

Create fog in Blender

Add fog to a Blender scene in this tutorial from Ryan King Art.

Watch on YouTube

Blender · Beginner tutorial

Make a snowman in Blender

Follow Grant Abbitt's beginner tutorial to make a snowman in Blender.

Watch on YouTube

Premiere Pro · Audio levels guide

Check your sound mixing levels

Use Adobe's Audio Meters guide to check your mix as it plays. Keep voices easy to hear, lower music when someone speaks, and turn down audio that peaks into the red.

Need to change a clip's volume? See Adobe's quick audio controls in the Properties panel.

Read the levels guide

Filmmaking · Beginner framing guide

Film framing basics

Learn how to arrange a shot with this short illustrated guide from the British Film Institute on FutureLearn. Try the rule of thirds, keep your shot level, and check the edges of the frame before recording.

Read the framing guide

3D animation · Browser tool

Mesh2Motion

Add a skeleton and animations to your 3D model, then export it for your project.

Open Mesh2Motion

Design guides

Use color and typography to make your message clear.

Color Typography
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02.1 / Class Apps

Tutorials / Resources / Class Apps

Download. Open. Make.

Download only the app your teacher assigns.

Ready / Mac

Color Companion

Sample colors, build palettes, and check contrast.

Download ↓ Version 0.2.0 · macOS 13+

Teacher testing

Adobe Cache Cleaner

Closes Adobe tools, then clears temporary cache files.

Coming soon A signed classroom release is required before student use.

Teacher testing

Sage Downloader

Save approved video or audio for class projects.

Coming soon Use only media you made, have permission to use, or your teacher approved.

Install on a classroom Mac

Three steps.

  1. Download and open the ZIP.
  2. Move the app to Applications.
  3. Control-click the app and choose Open the first time.
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02.2 / Color

Design Guides / Color

Color makes meaning.

Use color to create mood, organize information, guide attention, and make the message easier to understand.

01

Three controls

Hue. Saturation. Value.

Hue

The color family: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or violet.

Saturation

How intense or muted the color feels.

Value

How light or dark the color is. Value creates readable contrast.

02

Color relationships

Build a palette with a reason.

Monochromatic

One hue changed through tints, shades, or saturation.

Analogous

Neighboring hues. Related, calm, and easy to unify.

Complementary

Opposite hues. Strong contrast—choose one color to lead.

Triadic

Three evenly spaced hues. Energetic, so control the saturation.

03

Color roles

Give every color a job.

A 60 / 30 / 10 split is a useful starting point, not a rule.

Dominant / 60% Sets the overall mood and fills the largest areas.

Support / 30% Separates sections and strengthens the system.

Accent / 10% Pulls attention toward the most important action.

04

Before you finish

Check the palette.

Limit it. Start with three to five colors.

Check value. Make sure important elements still separate in grayscale.

Read it. Text and background need strong contrast.

Do not rely on color alone. Add labels, icons, shapes, or patterns.

Repeat roles. Use the same color for the same job throughout the work.

Color Lab

Move it. See it.

Start with one color. Then test what changing its hue, saturation, and value actually does.

Build your color
Working color #2D7EAD

Blue

Palette relationship

Pick a structure.

Neighboring hues feel related and easy to unify.

Readability

Can you read it?

Student work Read this first.

Important information needs contrast.

Free class tool / macOS

Meet Color Companion.

Sample any color on your screen, build useful palettes, check accessible pairs, and carry colors into other Mac apps.

Sample Build Check Copy
Download for Mac

Version 0.2.0 · macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon + Intel · 4.1 MB ZIP

Ryan as a curly-haired landscape painter holding a palette and paintbrush

Install

Three steps on a Mac.

  1. Download the ZIP and open it.
  2. Move Color Companion to Applications.
  3. First launch: Control-click the app, then choose Open.

This is a direct classroom build, so macOS may ask for approval the first time. If needed, use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

Practice

Build a four-color palette.

  1. Choose one base hue that fits the message.
  2. Choose a color relationship.
  3. Create a dominant, support, accent, and neutral color.
  4. Test readability and value contrast.
  5. Explain each color choice in one sentence.
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02.3 / Typography

Design Guides / Typography

Type makes the order clear.

Typography tells people what to notice first, what supports it, and what they need to read all the way through.

01

Three jobs

Choose. Organize. Space.

01

Choose

Pick a typeface that matches the message. Two families are usually enough.

02

Organize

Use size, weight, and position to show what matters first.

03

Space

Give letters, lines, and blocks room to breathe so the work can be read.

Interactive practice

Type Lab

Change one decision at a time. Watch the slide, then read what changed.

Live slide 16:9 presentation
OPA Digital Media / Student Showcase

COACH BARTON
IS COOL!

But not as cool as Coach Alex.

Poster system / 2026

Voice

Color

Practice

Build a three-level type system.

  1. Write one message in six words or fewer.
  2. Make the headline noticeably more important than the support copy.
  3. Use spacing to separate the three levels.
  4. Ask a classmate what they notice first, second, and third.
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04 / Student Work

Curated examples

See what students made.

Selected projects show strong choices, useful process, and finished work. Nothing is published without permission and context.

Featured project presentation

Project Presentation

Madeline De la O / Polar Bear Animation / 2025-26

Every project includes a presentation that makes the thinking visible: purpose, process evidence, response to a challenge, the current finished version, and what the student learned next.

Slide 1 of 11 from Madeline De la O's Polar Bear Animation project presentation

01 / 11

A hand-drawn white polar bear attempts a cartwheel inside live-action classroom footage.
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05 / Portfolios

Student portfolios

Explore our students’ work.

Start with a student’s personal logo, then explore the projects, creative choices, and reflections in their portfolio.

Explore student portfolios
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06 / Get Inspired

Look outward

Notice how creative work communicates.

Explore artists, designers, studios, champion profiles, and other references worth studying—not copying.

New inspiration will appear here.

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07 / OPA TV

Made by students

Lights, camera, classroom.

OPA TV is our student-run show. Crews plan it, shoot it, and edit it themselves. Season 2 just kicked off, so grab a seat.

OPA TV title card with the eagle mascot in a school hallway 2026–27 / Season 2 Watch OPA TV Season 2. Open Season 2 → Watch Season 1 episodes 🔒 Open OPA TV Production 🔒 Return to the map