| Project | Focus | Techniques | |---------|-------|-------------| | 1 | Ray casting | Sphere intersection, phong shading, shadows | | 2 | Transformations & instancing | Scene graph, hierarchical models, perspective | | 3 | Rasterization & Z-buffer | Triangle scan conversion, depth buffer, texture mapping | | 4 | Path tracer | Monte Carlo integration, BVH, environment lighting | | 5 | Real-time renderer (OpenGL) | Shaders, deferred shading, normal mapping |

Start by explaining that computer graphics isn't just about video games or movies. It’s about simulating the physical world through light and geometry. Mention that 6.4400 is the "bread and butter" introductory course at MIT for anyone wanting to understand how images are actually built from scratch. 2. The Core Pillars of the Course

Rasterization: This is the backbone of real-time graphics, such as video games. It works by projecting 3D triangles onto a 2D plane and determining which pixels they cover. It is incredibly fast and optimized for modern GPUs.

6.4400 Full Title: Computer Graphics University: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Level: Undergraduate (typically Junior/Senior)