Identities: Client Identity Package 001

So we have just been given a brief for our next project, which is quite interesting. We [as individuals] have to produce a Client Identity Package for either E4 Music, Trent Media or NTU's Multimedia Course.

Interesting...

I shall have to ponder this idea over the christmas holidays, I did however think of creating a website for Trent Media, but we shall see.

SPP1: Interactive Narrative 003

So, after a lot of thinking and piecing together I finally completed my piece for the Interactive Narrative part of the SPP module.
We were given a brief to produce an Interactive Narrative of our favourite place in Nottingham, seen as I hadn't been in Nottingham for long I had to think of things a little closer to 'home'. I ended up choosing the room in which I currently had been calling home since October. I wanted to create something that not only was my favourite place in Nottingham, but has my favourite things aswell [pictures of friends etc]. After taking some initial photographs I realised that this idea wouldn't work due to the image size and the amount of cropping that had to be done, I then came up with the idea to create a 'story' in which the user could choose the list of events, with various consequences. I had seen previous students' work and liked the style of how they built their narrative.
For my chosen idea I decided to think of the concept and go out and take as many photos as possible, so that I could create many story lines if, for some reason, one failed or I missed out some images. I took various photographs of the subject in the story in different locations, doing different things. I took more then one photo of each scene so I had a selection to choose from.
I only encountered minor problems when piecing everything together and forgetting what order the pictures went in and getting image names and their designated links mixed up, which was slightly confusing. I also used the same picture twice, which made it even more so confusing when it came to putting it together.
I think my story worked well, although it was very simple, it was my first time using Javascipt and Dreamweaver. If I was to do something like this again in the future Id like to create something with more options and a longer story or possibly something more like my initial idea which didn't work.
My project can be found here

Pinhole Camera Workshop

After learning about Pinhole Camera's through childs tv programme SMart, I found this series of workshops to be rather appealing. To be able to create an image with a beer can [or in some cases a wheelie bin] and a bit of paper is amazing. After getting the camera set up with the photographic paper I set about choosing an area around me to shoot. Baring in mind I was currently situated within the Waverley building this provided some nice angles.

Photo 001 | Photo 002 | Photo 003

I particulary enjoyed Photo 002 as if gives the building a ghostly feel and the angle in which I shot from was a really good choice. The problem with the above photos is that the 'safe' light used in the darkroom wasn't safe enough and caused the images to become slightly exposed before developing. Unfortunately the images I took on the second didnt come out very well, according to other students there was a problem with the chemicals used. I did however create one image that I was rather happy with. I put another pin hole in the bottom of the can and use this one instead. I placed the can on the grass looking towards the building and the type of shot produced was amazing. Although I didnt manage to get much of the building in. More photos soon. I might also take some over christmas.

Narratives: Short Film 006

Here is the report I wrote on my piece of Narrative A Day In The Life. Enjoy.

Introduction

The first assignment given for the narratives module of the course was to produce a short film that was no more then two minutes in length. We were given no other specification so it was 'up to us' what we produced (whether it was moving image, still image or animation). After been assigned into different groups we set about gathering each others ideas. Through a number of group meetings we discussed our thoughts and feelings for the narrative and decided that it shouldn't be complex, as we only had a two minute time scale, but it should still have a relatively good storyline to keep the audience interested.

Development

When we first came up with our initial idea we discussed what we thought would and wouldn't work and decided to develop the structure so that it wasn't too complicated to follow, but still gave the desired effect¹. We decided to go with the idea of producing a film that started at the end, in a non-linear narrative structure. Examples of similar styles can be found in films, such as 'Fight Club' (David Fincher, 1999)² and 'Memento' (Christopher Nolan, 2000)³. We wrote the list of shots that we would produce and posted them on the VLP for future reference⁴. We only used the VLP a few times for this piece of work because in most cases we were together when we needed things to be discussed and it was a lot easier getting touch with other group members through text messaging. I think that this method was a great downside to the group as when it came to discussing the changed ideas some of the group didn’t know which idea/thought was the most recent, and this got complicated. If I was to do this project again this is one of the main aspects I would change, more use of the online forums for discussion.

When it came to presenting our idea to prospective 'clients', we (as a group) were fairly confident that we had a stable idea that the clients would approve, or so we thought. After much discussion and debate after the presentation with the clients we realised how much you have to know at that stage in development in order to make the presentation successful in the real world. We came to terms with the flaws in our idea and our presentation skills themselves that we were unable to see. Afterwards we took all comments into consideration and discussed what we thought we should change with the idea.

This stage was the hardest of all of the stages that we encountered, in my opinion. As we were given a very open ended task it was very easy to slip into an idea that wouldn't have much thought behind it. Trying to come up with the initial idea with a group of people who all had different views and opinions proved to be quite difficult at times, but due to the correct teamwork we were able to incorporate everyone's thoughts, no matter how small, into the idea.

Production

At the production stage of this module we had to establish roles that each member of the group would take. We discussed the option that even though everyone had given roles anyone could take upon any of the roles if the specific member of the group couldn't make it. This seemed reasonable as each member got to take part in each aspect of the filming process. We decided a specific order in which to produce the shots due to availability of location and/or characters. We encountered a few minor problems during filming, which shortened the amount of time we had to edit the shots together, but we decided to start the editing without finishing the filming. This was a good idea as we were able to re-shoot any of the shots that didn't work or that we had forgotten, and to also see if we had enough shots to fit the time scale.

After filming we set about a schedule of when the editing should take place. Emily was the main editor as she had previous experience but we didn't feel it was fair to let her do everything, so we arranged to meet up at specific times to help and to share our ideas on what style would work best. Owais was in charge of collecting the music to be used in the film. He produced two unique tracks each with different beats that complimented each other very well and could be faded in and out of each other easily. We decided to use just two tracks as it was only a short film and it only really had two moods, which both of the tracks were designed around.

Up until the editing process our idea was still the same idea that we presented to the client, but after gathering our footage and placing into Adobe Premier for editing we realised that some the order and types of shots we initially had discussed wouldn't have had a great impact. We removed the idea of having still images and changed the order of the flashbacks, and only quick scenes towards the end (climax) of the film, we thought that this idea worked better then if we stuck with the original.

I really enjoyed this stage as it involved a lot more hand's on approach in the filming and editing process. Although we met problems with missing scenes and deciding our idea wouldn't work as well as we hoped we overcame this by re-editing and creating more shots.

Conclusion

I believe that as a group we were very happy with the end result. Although we encountered many unforeseen problems during the filming and editing processes, we found alternative routes round them in order to complete the task set correctly. This should that we could work as a team in order to overcome the slightest mishap. If I was given the chance to produce this film again I would organise both the group and time more efficiently. This was our first piece of group work and yes, we completed the task thoroughly, but there was still problems concerning how much time we had to film and edit, especially after realising we had wasted a large proportion deciding how and when we were going to produce the film. Our main problem as well was trying to find time when everyone was free in order to film, but using myself and a close friend as the only characters in the film is was very easy getting hold of 'the cast'.

Throughout the Narrative module I have learned how to work in a team that you have never met before in order to complete a specific brief in a relatively short space of time. I have used equipment and programs that I have had no experience or very little experience with before and learned a few ‘tricks of the trades’ as a shortcut round a few challenges. I enjoyed every aspect of this module even if there were a few disagreements along the way, which were discussed and resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

Narratives: Short Film 006

As promised, I've uploaded our groups video onto YouTube. It took multiple attempts after converting the file to get it on there, then i resorted to using 207's computers and did it in 30 seconds. Ahem. Cheers Andy. Anyway, Enjoy!

School Excursion: Space Centre

Today saw 30 or so of us Multimedia folk departing Nottingham and heading towards Leicester's Space Centre. With the fact this day had educational value behind i decided to pay the fee and for once get up early on a Wednesday...

Upon arrival we were given pieces of paper with a variety of questions [there was me thinking it was a non-educational visit!], these, along with the answers, are as follows;

Choose an interactive display that you found exciting and engaging at the Space Centre.
The Sim: A flight simulator located within the 'Tranquility Base' of the centre. Aimed at providing a real experience (or as real as you can get in a museum!) of a space exploration to Europa.

Descibe the elements (AV, animations, design, interaction etc.) in the display and say why you found it exciting and engaging?
I have always been a big kid when it comes to simulators, I like the fact that you can 'be there' but without the danger that comes with space exploration. This display has no user interaction which could be a downfall but it is quite easily the best part of the centre [for me]. Its uses complex animations which are linked to the module and they both work together to make you think you are actually there!

What interactive elements were used? (touch screen, buttons etc)
There were no interactive elements to this specific display. However there was a pre-flight film shown before you could enter the simulator, which seemed pretty informative, although non of it was actually real, and was purely aimed at children.

How successful were these interactive multimedia elements?
I thought that this display worked very well, and the students I encountered the mission with liked it also. However, this is aimed at children the two children that viewed the video [accompanied by their parents] didn't dare to experience the flight.

Do you think the interactive elements helped you to engage with the information in a new way?
Granted,the video beforehand explained everything that was needed to know, but actually feeling like you're there adds to the effect it has on you.

Now choose an interactive display that you find is not engaging at the Space Centre.
The Weather Report: Yes, it was good way of teaching children how weather reports are made, but, it didn't work.

Why do you think it does not work? How would you improve it?
One minute the blue screen didnt display the image of englad and/or you couldn't hear any audio after you finished 'filming'. Plus when it did come out correctly it was of a poor quality. Yes i think its a good idea, I don't think I could improve it, maybe to use equipment that actually works.


Overall the whole point of visiting the Space Centre was to look at the interactivity of all the elements, but most of them didn't work. I like the fact that there was different zones , which were colour co-ordinated. But I couldn't help but think the children would get rather confused as there seems to be a lot crammed into such a small space, and yes, the centre is aimed towards children. Which brings me to some of the displays, half of them have lots of dialogue and/or text and I found it hard to keep interested. However I really enjoyed the simulator and the film 'Astronaut' especially as it was shown on a 360degree dome.