Looking back over my blog and the website we've made, I must admit that this module has been very unique compared to the others in terms of the final product and documentation style along the way.
I've never attempted to make a website or use a blog and have found both actually quite enjoyable once you get into the swing of things. I mean the blog is literally an electronic diary of this project to fill in after each day, well nearly each day as it does slip my mind sometimes when busy! But being able to simply type and upload what we've been working on instead of all the printing, cutting out, sticking in etc. that comes with sketchbooks has been a pleasant break and quite possibly something I will think of doing with future projects.
However, in terms of MEDI 116 this is the last blog entry I will enter for this project as I shall be handing in my work tomorrow and starting to finish MEDI 117 ready for the exhibition.
This module has been an overall enjoyable, if not stressful at times (in particular the last week before Easter!) experience and working with websites and using my blog is something I most likely will want to work with again.
So thanks for reading and if you want to, check back now and then for any new stuff I might upload and document during my time here at Plymouth Uni and otherwise.
Take care,
Joe.
Wednesday 21 April 2010
Tuesday 20 April 2010
MEDI 116 Presentation Feedback and Evaluation
As a group we felt the presentation went really well and received some positive feedback and only one minor negative point.
Starting with the positives, our group dynamic of systematically working through each stage of development showed really well throughout the presentation so I'm guessing we showed this side of the process effectively.
The use of stop-motion for the map opening worked well to draw in the viewer apparently and was a good starting point and centre for the website.
These comments were really encouraging and alongside the negative will work as great evaluation points.
The negative comment on the other hand was just about how the background (a montage of photos of the market in washout and faded effect) didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the website and the sketchy hand drawn style we were going for.
On the plus side, at least it was noticed that the sketchy theme is consistent throughout each page and so being evident in all areas of the website must successfully link each piece together.
But also with regards to the background perhaps if we'd had more time we could of fixed up a better layout. We tried the wood effect so it looked like the whole website was on a desk like the map, but this didn't work so perhaps if we worked on this again we could redesign a background.
Also I've noticed that the titles are a bit too sketch like and seem quite scruffy as the camera with which we took the photos was not very high quality.
A final note for improvement is that most of the websites we saw had themed transitions from one area to the next which made us wonder whether if we'd had time could we have done something better than the standard "your on one page, click, your on the next" effect.
Looking at Tom Summer's groups website, the use of stop-motion to show the character running was very effective and in connection with the map animation may have worked well as an evaluation point. It also carried their story along very well so perhaps if we'd had more time we could of built up more of a personal guided tour feel where a man guides you around the market to each page.
For example, when on the home page map, click on stall and then it cuts to an stop-motion animation of someone walking to that store then the actual page fades in perhaps? It's a bit late to be thinking about this all now as we've finished the website but still for future projects more attention should be paid to the transitions an flow of the website from one area to the next.
Alongside getting feedback for our own website, it also gave us a great chance to look at what everyone else had made.
I particularly like the websites by Simon Will's and Joe Stutter's group where a "Google maps" style 360 camera effect was used to great success. How this would even be possible I can't quite understand at the moment but perhaps in the future I will learn this technique as it looks very professional when it was put up on their websites.
Overall, the presentation went well and I'm pleased with our own presentation and the website we have produced.
That's all for tonight/this morning, I've also included a link to Amy's Flickr page where you can some of the photos we used in the website.
I've also finished my evaluation and sent it off for Andy to have a look over so check back tomorrow night where I shall talk through the whole experience, my evaluation and bring this blog on MEDI 116 to a conclusion.
That's all for now, take care,
Joe.
The link to Amy's flickr for some of the photos we used in our website:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fish_eye_fish_pie/sets/72157623723495717/
Starting with the positives, our group dynamic of systematically working through each stage of development showed really well throughout the presentation so I'm guessing we showed this side of the process effectively.
The use of stop-motion for the map opening worked well to draw in the viewer apparently and was a good starting point and centre for the website.
These comments were really encouraging and alongside the negative will work as great evaluation points.
The negative comment on the other hand was just about how the background (a montage of photos of the market in washout and faded effect) didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the website and the sketchy hand drawn style we were going for.
On the plus side, at least it was noticed that the sketchy theme is consistent throughout each page and so being evident in all areas of the website must successfully link each piece together.
But also with regards to the background perhaps if we'd had more time we could of fixed up a better layout. We tried the wood effect so it looked like the whole website was on a desk like the map, but this didn't work so perhaps if we worked on this again we could redesign a background.
Also I've noticed that the titles are a bit too sketch like and seem quite scruffy as the camera with which we took the photos was not very high quality.
A final note for improvement is that most of the websites we saw had themed transitions from one area to the next which made us wonder whether if we'd had time could we have done something better than the standard "your on one page, click, your on the next" effect.
Looking at Tom Summer's groups website, the use of stop-motion to show the character running was very effective and in connection with the map animation may have worked well as an evaluation point. It also carried their story along very well so perhaps if we'd had more time we could of built up more of a personal guided tour feel where a man guides you around the market to each page.
For example, when on the home page map, click on stall and then it cuts to an stop-motion animation of someone walking to that store then the actual page fades in perhaps? It's a bit late to be thinking about this all now as we've finished the website but still for future projects more attention should be paid to the transitions an flow of the website from one area to the next.
Alongside getting feedback for our own website, it also gave us a great chance to look at what everyone else had made.
I particularly like the websites by Simon Will's and Joe Stutter's group where a "Google maps" style 360 camera effect was used to great success. How this would even be possible I can't quite understand at the moment but perhaps in the future I will learn this technique as it looks very professional when it was put up on their websites.
Overall, the presentation went well and I'm pleased with our own presentation and the website we have produced.
That's all for tonight/this morning, I've also included a link to Amy's Flickr page where you can some of the photos we used in the website.
I've also finished my evaluation and sent it off for Andy to have a look over so check back tomorrow night where I shall talk through the whole experience, my evaluation and bring this blog on MEDI 116 to a conclusion.
That's all for now, take care,
Joe.
The link to Amy's flickr for some of the photos we used in our website:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fish_eye_fish_pie/sets/72157623723495717/
Monday 19 April 2010
P.S Our Script for the Presentation
Here as well before I sign off for the night and focus on 117, is our script for you to read in it's current state. No doubt after we meet up tomorrow before the presentation it will have been altered again but here it is so far:
MEDI 116 PRESENTATION SCRIPT
1ST SLIDE TITLE
Amy: With our website we started off researching many of the websites from the module brief and from other sources to see what type of website we wanted to create.
From each of these websites we looked at the good and bad qualities and found aspects of some websites, such as Gorillaz.com’s interactivity on the “Plastic Beach” game or the ability in the Folk Songs for the Five Points website to make your own unique music using their sound clips, very inspiring towards how we wanted our own to develop to the viewer.
With this research we were then able to have a clear idea of what we wanted the website to look like, leaving us with the question now of what area we wanted to express. Here are the links to some of the websites we looked at.
Jeff:
We began by spider diagramming for places around Plymouth, a place we could all access easily, for ideas on where we could base our website.
Our initial ideas consisted of main tourist areas such as the Bus Station for example, which is a large focal point of the city, but these areas seemed too obvious and simplistic so we tried to make the area the website expressed more abstract and interesting.
From here we used the Bus Station as the subject and tried to think of ways to express the area using objects and unusual mediums.
Ideas stemmed from using a chest of drawers where each separate draw held different information or an area of the bus station, to a sink where sounds of water and the gushing taps could be used to melt one area into another.
We certainly got the abstract aspect right, but trying to explain and link the two aspects e.g. why a chest of drawers would be connected to a bus station and so on proved more hassle than it was worth and so we opted for a different subject and approach.
Anastasija: We tried a different tactic and as we liked the chest of drawers idea, we started thinking of where we could find such an object and so fell upon our chosen subject of Plymouth’s Indoor City Market.
With the Market, we had a wide range of areas with which to incorporate and express into each drawer.
We eventually decided to drop the idea of using a chest of drawers as we did not see the need for it when the market has so much we could express already, but this does not mean we just listed what each stall had to sell.
Instead we wanted to go a step further and create a more personal experience for the viewer to explore.
Joe: Whilst me and Jeff worked on actually making the website using flash, Amy and Anastasija went out to the market to collect photos and information on the market such as the history, layout and so on.
However to take the website a step further, they gathered interviews with the stall owners and shoppers so that alongside the photos of the market, the viewer could get a more realistic feel and understanding of what the market is like, through the real opinions of those who work and shop there.
On the link are the interviews Amy and Anastasija collected and some of the photos we used on the website.
Amy: Although we worked efficiently and to the best of our abilities as a group, there were inevitably going to be a few problems we encountered.
The first of these was that the original website was quite standard and boring at first which led us to want a hand drawn map of the area to emphasise an overall more personal feel.
The original idea was to have a flash of the markets doors opening and then a film of someone unscrumpling the map and laying it flat. We tried filming this but found many problems in trying to get the right effect and so in the end opted for stop-motion animation of the map ball unfolding by itself.
This worked much better and for added effect we added sounds of the paper being scrunched up.
We also were going to add the sound of a pencil scratching as it drew a circle for when certain stalls on the map were highlighted but found from our research that websites became very irritating when repetitive sounds were used so we opted for a more simplistic approach so as not to annoy the viewer.
Jeff: The main problem with this project was that we found the first interview recordings we collected were far too quiet to be heard and so new interviews had to be collected.
This was quite a big setback but whilst Amy and Anastasija did this me and Joe again worked on the website so when they returned we were ready to add the interviews straight away and make up for lost time.
Anastasija: We also realised that this website should be accessible to everyone and since our interviews are audio files, we have included the scripts for each interview.
This aspect of the pages did make them text heavy but we want all people to be able to understand and enjoy the content so by having both audio and visual content for the viewer, those with hearing or vision impairments for example can still enjoy our website to the full extent.
Joe: With the website itself and using flash, there were no major problems and all ran smoothly in making the website, however when we came to publish and open the website in firefox there was an error and it could not be opened.
At first we tried changing all names of the files into lower case as for some strange reason using capitals can affect the website working? But eventually we came to understand that it was because we were using an old version of Firefox and so once firefox had been upgraded it worked fine.
Amy: Overall, the website worked really well to give the personal and modern feel to the market that we wanted to express.
For example using our own scrunched up effect of the hand drawn map instead of Plymouth Councils actual map of the area and sketchy style titles coupled with quality audio and visual content worked well to portray a more human feel to the website which we feel helps the viewer interact with the site more and get a better taste of the friendly levels on which Plymouth Market operates and the unique shopping experience it has to offer.
Check back tomorrow for how the presentation went, take care,
Joe.
MEDI 116 PRESENTATION SCRIPT
1ST SLIDE TITLE
Amy: With our website we started off researching many of the websites from the module brief and from other sources to see what type of website we wanted to create.
From each of these websites we looked at the good and bad qualities and found aspects of some websites, such as Gorillaz.com’s interactivity on the “Plastic Beach” game or the ability in the Folk Songs for the Five Points website to make your own unique music using their sound clips, very inspiring towards how we wanted our own to develop to the viewer.
With this research we were then able to have a clear idea of what we wanted the website to look like, leaving us with the question now of what area we wanted to express. Here are the links to some of the websites we looked at.
Jeff:
We began by spider diagramming for places around Plymouth, a place we could all access easily, for ideas on where we could base our website.
Our initial ideas consisted of main tourist areas such as the Bus Station for example, which is a large focal point of the city, but these areas seemed too obvious and simplistic so we tried to make the area the website expressed more abstract and interesting.
From here we used the Bus Station as the subject and tried to think of ways to express the area using objects and unusual mediums.
Ideas stemmed from using a chest of drawers where each separate draw held different information or an area of the bus station, to a sink where sounds of water and the gushing taps could be used to melt one area into another.
We certainly got the abstract aspect right, but trying to explain and link the two aspects e.g. why a chest of drawers would be connected to a bus station and so on proved more hassle than it was worth and so we opted for a different subject and approach.
Anastasija: We tried a different tactic and as we liked the chest of drawers idea, we started thinking of where we could find such an object and so fell upon our chosen subject of Plymouth’s Indoor City Market.
With the Market, we had a wide range of areas with which to incorporate and express into each drawer.
We eventually decided to drop the idea of using a chest of drawers as we did not see the need for it when the market has so much we could express already, but this does not mean we just listed what each stall had to sell.
Instead we wanted to go a step further and create a more personal experience for the viewer to explore.
Joe: Whilst me and Jeff worked on actually making the website using flash, Amy and Anastasija went out to the market to collect photos and information on the market such as the history, layout and so on.
However to take the website a step further, they gathered interviews with the stall owners and shoppers so that alongside the photos of the market, the viewer could get a more realistic feel and understanding of what the market is like, through the real opinions of those who work and shop there.
On the link are the interviews Amy and Anastasija collected and some of the photos we used on the website.
Amy: Although we worked efficiently and to the best of our abilities as a group, there were inevitably going to be a few problems we encountered.
The first of these was that the original website was quite standard and boring at first which led us to want a hand drawn map of the area to emphasise an overall more personal feel.
The original idea was to have a flash of the markets doors opening and then a film of someone unscrumpling the map and laying it flat. We tried filming this but found many problems in trying to get the right effect and so in the end opted for stop-motion animation of the map ball unfolding by itself.
This worked much better and for added effect we added sounds of the paper being scrunched up.
We also were going to add the sound of a pencil scratching as it drew a circle for when certain stalls on the map were highlighted but found from our research that websites became very irritating when repetitive sounds were used so we opted for a more simplistic approach so as not to annoy the viewer.
Jeff: The main problem with this project was that we found the first interview recordings we collected were far too quiet to be heard and so new interviews had to be collected.
This was quite a big setback but whilst Amy and Anastasija did this me and Joe again worked on the website so when they returned we were ready to add the interviews straight away and make up for lost time.
Anastasija: We also realised that this website should be accessible to everyone and since our interviews are audio files, we have included the scripts for each interview.
This aspect of the pages did make them text heavy but we want all people to be able to understand and enjoy the content so by having both audio and visual content for the viewer, those with hearing or vision impairments for example can still enjoy our website to the full extent.
Joe: With the website itself and using flash, there were no major problems and all ran smoothly in making the website, however when we came to publish and open the website in firefox there was an error and it could not be opened.
At first we tried changing all names of the files into lower case as for some strange reason using capitals can affect the website working? But eventually we came to understand that it was because we were using an old version of Firefox and so once firefox had been upgraded it worked fine.
Amy: Overall, the website worked really well to give the personal and modern feel to the market that we wanted to express.
For example using our own scrunched up effect of the hand drawn map instead of Plymouth Councils actual map of the area and sketchy style titles coupled with quality audio and visual content worked well to portray a more human feel to the website which we feel helps the viewer interact with the site more and get a better taste of the friendly levels on which Plymouth Market operates and the unique shopping experience it has to offer.
Check back tomorrow for how the presentation went, take care,
Joe.
Presentation is done and ready!
Having finished the script for the presentation last night, instead I went in to Scott yesterday to meet my group and together we made the powerpoint to go along with it. This was a much better idea than just me making the presentation as together we made the powerpoint and then readjusted the script to fit in with the main points we as a group had established as the most important focal points.
Now I feel we have a stronger and more interesting presentation with samples of our influences and research plus Amy's flickr account showing the photos we took and this link:www.soundcloud.com/arixonmedi116 which has all the interviews sound clips Amy and Anastasija recorded and now those who view this blog can hear them as well.
Addressing the whole project together to make this presentation has really helped to evaluate the good and bad points we've encountered so that our critical evaluations can be much more in depth and expressive of the whole creative process with this module.
For example, some of the problems we encountered such as firefox being unable to open the website until it was upgraded to a better model had slipped my mind and so know I can put these things into blog (as i've just done) and explain how i felt about this problem and other aspects of making this project in my evaluation.
I've also realised I haven't uploaded all the sketches and plans we've done so here is the storyboard we made for how the website could play out:
That's all for now but after the presentation tomorrow I shall blog about how it went and how I felt about it etc. etc. then begin writing my critical evaluation from what i've learnt with the feedback.
Take care,
Joe.
Sunday 18 April 2010
Presentation Update
Hello back in Plymouth now and have just finalised the script for the presentation and realised a few more things to include for this blog.
I started writing the script a couple of days ago but thought it best to talk about it on the blog now it's finished.
The first thing I noticed I hadn't explained about is how we added a history part to the website and how we were worried this was too text based. We wanted to stay away from text based areas as much as possible (except the script for the interviews which was necessary as i'll explain in a minute) as they're can get very boring, very quickly.
But with the history of Plymouth Market we thought it had to be included on a website about it! And in actual fact this led to the interviews, in particular one about how Sainsbury's, Tesco's and other large supermarkets and how there is a lack of personal one on one shopping in these shops, gaining more depth and understanding for the viewer (if they so choose to find out more by clicking the history area) into why Plymouth market is so friendly and a unique shopping experience. The fact that this area was also an additional part of the website gave the viewer the option to look at all this text and factual information rather than force it upon them and so once again emphasises the friendly, personal approach we wanted the website to have from the hand drawn map down to the interviews and choices the viewer is given.
The second point I noticed is that with the interviews, those who are hearing impaired cannot hear the audio clips and so despite being text heavy, we included scripts for all the interviews so all viewers have more chance and opportunities to enjoy and understand the content. Again this gave across a friendly feel as we tailor for those who have impairments instead of only leaving the audio or visual sides of our website, thus eliminating the possibility of discriminating against those who are impaired in some way.
The script itself is solid if I do say so myself in that it addresses all the main points of our website and so hopefully will get this across at the presentation successfully.
However to accompany and make this presentation interesting, I'm now going to make the powerpoint slides including examples of our work etc. etc.
In fact, now I think of it, this presentation is pretty much a condensed version of this blog but in person as a group so this blog has been very helpful in making sure we explain every aspect we want to.
I'm now going to crack on with the visual/audio side of the presentation and shall report back tomorrow/after the presentation on Tuesday so watch this space and take care,
Joe.
I started writing the script a couple of days ago but thought it best to talk about it on the blog now it's finished.
The first thing I noticed I hadn't explained about is how we added a history part to the website and how we were worried this was too text based. We wanted to stay away from text based areas as much as possible (except the script for the interviews which was necessary as i'll explain in a minute) as they're can get very boring, very quickly.
But with the history of Plymouth Market we thought it had to be included on a website about it! And in actual fact this led to the interviews, in particular one about how Sainsbury's, Tesco's and other large supermarkets and how there is a lack of personal one on one shopping in these shops, gaining more depth and understanding for the viewer (if they so choose to find out more by clicking the history area) into why Plymouth market is so friendly and a unique shopping experience. The fact that this area was also an additional part of the website gave the viewer the option to look at all this text and factual information rather than force it upon them and so once again emphasises the friendly, personal approach we wanted the website to have from the hand drawn map down to the interviews and choices the viewer is given.
The second point I noticed is that with the interviews, those who are hearing impaired cannot hear the audio clips and so despite being text heavy, we included scripts for all the interviews so all viewers have more chance and opportunities to enjoy and understand the content. Again this gave across a friendly feel as we tailor for those who have impairments instead of only leaving the audio or visual sides of our website, thus eliminating the possibility of discriminating against those who are impaired in some way.
The script itself is solid if I do say so myself in that it addresses all the main points of our website and so hopefully will get this across at the presentation successfully.
However to accompany and make this presentation interesting, I'm now going to make the powerpoint slides including examples of our work etc. etc.
In fact, now I think of it, this presentation is pretty much a condensed version of this blog but in person as a group so this blog has been very helpful in making sure we explain every aspect we want to.
I'm now going to crack on with the visual/audio side of the presentation and shall report back tomorrow/after the presentation on Tuesday so watch this space and take care,
Joe.
Wednesday 7 April 2010
The Last Week of Term
By thursday the website was looking much better than before and I am now very proud of what we have created.
I forgot to mention in my previous blog that Amy and Anastasija's original interviews didn't work and so we were able to have a group discussion before they went out again. It was during this discussion that we settled on going for a more personal theme of one on one interaction with the viewer and the market's feel, resulting in the questions the stall owners were asked being more about the overall experience of being in the market.
This in my opinion is where we really started to get involved with the project, what with 119 being completed etc. we were ready to get personal with it as well and get the whole thing up and running before everyone disappeared for Easter.
I mentioned earlier what we created along the way and so for this blog I will add some photos Amy has taken of the market which we shall use for the individual stall pages, and some photos of the avenues between the shops, where new content is going so the website isn't all based on the stalls and stall owners.
By Friday of the last week we were pretty much done. Wednesday and Thursday were the days where the real slog was on as we outlined the website then filled it in with the detail, including a new section on the history of the market to show it's background and strong link to the customers, and so by friday we were pretty much done and after testing the website to see if it worked (which it did), we were ready to call it a day and export it to disk.
Here we ran into some strange trouble with the website uploading when capital letters were in file names so after a painful half an hour going through all the titles of the files in the 116 folder on my desktop and changing them all to lower case, we exported the website and work to disc and are ready to create the presentation.
The original plan was that if we didn't finish the website in time, Jeff, Amy and Anastasija were able to access Dreamweaver and still work on it, which left me with the job of creating the powerpoint presentation for our group.
Even though the website works, I'm still taking on this responsibility and so now that the website is finished I shall explain the process of making the presentation and why I will include certain points and facts about making this website.
That's all for now as I'm now going to focus on MEDI 117 for a while so stay tuned and after the weekend I will update again about the presentation progress.
Take care,
Joe
Blog Update, Sorry for the Delay!
Sorry for the long delay in getting stuff up on the blog, it's been pretty hectic the last couple of weeks what with working madly to get the website done (which might I add I can now confirm IS FINISHED and up and running thank goodness!) before we left Uni and settling in back home for Easter etc. so finally now i'll upload some of our photos, drawings, scanned work and so on:
Starting with the background we were originally going to use, this turned out to for some reason crash Dreamweaver whenever it was opened and so we scrapped it for a new idea which was to show a desk as a background.
Our new layout for the website is to start with the same ideas of the front doors, then full view of the market and then show a select few stores and have interviews about the market and information about it as a whole, not just the stores themselves, but with a few new exciting extras.
For example, with the map/bird's eye view idea we decided that a sketched, rough and personal style of map would work well, rolling in from a scrunched up ball into the map you see and interact with.
So the next photo here is the map i traced then redid in my own sketchy style so the viewer feels that the market is, as the interviews say, a more personal shopping experience than standard supermarkets.
Whilst I was doing this, Amy and Anastasija went down the market and collected interviews and photos ready for Jeff to put into Dreamweaver as a Flash website, which we all decided by the way would be the best way to present our website.
Once these were all collected, Anastasija ordered them all into seperate folders per stall and Jeff began putting them into the website, whilst Amy worked on the scripts from the interviews and I worked on making the titles for each stall in the same sketchy style as the map.
By this stage in creating the website I believe it was wed/thurs of the last week of term and things were looking really good. The next thing we worked on was Perfecting the transitions from area to area on the website and this included me creating an animation with Jeff showing the map roll in and unfold for the viewer to see.
This was pretty easy to knock together but to make it even better I went off to record sound to go along with the animation and map whilst the others worked on various bits of arranging and making the content ready for the website e.g. Taking it in turns to write up the script, arranging photos, converting the interviews into MP3, cropping them etc.
Along with recording the crumple sound for the map, I also recorded some circles being drawn with a pencil to go along with when the stalls on the map are highlighted but these seemed too o.t.t and so was left out, as in all honesty, noises on websites are so irritating in my opinion and distract me from wanting to look at the websites content.
I'm not sure if it will work but i've uploaded the animation as well for you to view to get a taste of how the website will unfold, literally!
Finally for tonight I will upload the pics of the titles to show you the sketchy, personal style we're going for. Not the most exciting upload but still is a vital part of the overall feel of the website haha!
Well that's all for tonight but tomorrow, and I mean tomorrow I won't forget haha! I'll carry on explaining where we were on the last week of term and the overall final processes of the website finally being completed.
So good night for now and take care,
Joe
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