Final Product

My final product, the animated educational video depicting the hazards and protective methods against tsunamis including my partner's inclusion of the formation of tsunamis, has been completed.
After competing the product in this year's Technology Student Association Stats Conference against five other schools in the state, this video placed second.
Here is the video, from Youtube:

Formal Progress Update

How to Construct a Wave on 3DS Max

This tutorial will accurately instruct how to create a wave on a plane using Autodesk 3D Studio Max. I chose to use a plane instead of a 3D object so that the space underneath the surface of the water may be visible. I would suggest at least basic familiarity with the program before attempting this process.

Note: Save your progress after each step.

Step 1: Create a plane

Click the ‘plane’ option from the command panel. Click and drag on the viewport to create a plane. Be sure to make the plane long and narrow. Making the object large is usually better because you can more easily work with little details, but not too large or else the program will crash.

Step 2: Editing your plane

Right click on the object and at the bottom of the panel, choose ‘convert to editable poly’ and then in the control panel choose the option ‘view points’ which appears as a graphic of three points.

Step 3: Begin Animating

Under the time bar at the bottom, click on ‘Auto Key.’ This will automatically set times of change on the object in the time bar.

Step 4: Move the end points

Select the end points on the plane and, using the move tool (QWRTY key W), move the points up the Y axis 2 or 3 unites up.

Step 5: Move the inner points

Select the next set of points on the inner side of the plane and, using the move tool again, move the points up to half a unit lower than the first set of units.

Step 6: Create a slope

Continue moving the columns up, each one slightly lower than the one before it, until you reach the desired steepness of the wave.

Step 7: Create the wave

 

Once the steepness is achieved, lower the first column of points, and continue to create a hump. Playback the animation to make sure the wave is smoothly rolling and no sections are moving when they shouldn’t be.

Step 8: Roll on

Continue moving the points on the inner side of the plane up and the points on the outer end down. The Auto Key will automatically set the times of change and animate your wave. To make the wave curve smoother, apply the modifier Turbosmooth.

Continue this process until your wave reaches the end of the plane. You can gradually make the wave larger by moving the points higher as you continue to construct your wave.

 Step 9: Making the surface look like water

 

First, select the object. Then, select the material modifier at the top of the menu.

 

The window above will open. On the left, scroll down and select "Autodesk Water."

To see the surface of the object better, select the text in the top left corner of the perspective viewport. On the list that appears, unclick "Edged Surface" and click "Realistic."