Visual Aesthetics

The objects value to me
OK now I know this object looks pretty dull and boring but to me this is something really special to me and the thought of losing is unimaginable. I received this ring for my 18th birthday from my grandparents. I've had it for nearly two years now

however it already has a great deal of sentimental value to me. To me this ring represents my grandparents showing how proud they are of me not to mention how much they care.

Function

I feel that the main function of this ring is to make your hand/finger look elegant. Another way to describe the ring is that it decorates the hands giving out the impression that the finger is longer and thinner.


Aesthetics

When someone first looks at the ring, the sparkle in the diamond is what catches the

audience eye. The diamonds on the base of the ring is what give the ring its beauty and glamour. When it is next to a light it shows off the smooth texture the the white gold has, this also adds a shine to the ring. There is a slight thinning around the bottom of the ring which can give a worn effect but this is covered by the finger.

Visually when someone looks at it close up, the detail within the base of the ring is minimal but it also doesn't take the attention away from the diamonds that are meant to show off the beauty of the ring.

I tried to show the glamour within the ring by using some back lighting how it is not as strong as I wanted it to be however the image on the left does show how it makes a finger look elegant, slimmer and also creates a false impression of the size of the finger.

Reflection on Interactive Narrative

For our third and final project we were given the task to create an interactive narrative.We were given the same main objectives as the other two project (stated in my other two evaluations)however we were also given a brief with certain objectives. These objectives were:

1 - Produce an interactive narrative using still images positioned onto the timeline in Flash CS3.
2 - This interactive narrative should utilise a branching structure that forces the user to make a number of decisions as they progress through the narrative piece.
3 - Narrative should be the primary concern.

I feel that I completed two of the briefs points however I didn't properly complete the second point. When I first started using Flash CS3 I found it very hard to

understand especially the Actionscript. I have a strong idea in my mind that I thought would work however trying to show this on Flash was not so easy. Every time I tried to create a button an error code would appear and I could not find where the problem was. This was one of the things that I found most difficult and it is definately something that I would like to improve on.


I am really pleased that I actually completed the narravtive because of all of the difficulties I had when trying to create the narrative, however I was really happy about the positive feedback that I received from users. They all said that there was a strong narrative that was easy to understand and they liked the fact that the user was guided to the end outcome.

If I had the chance to this project again then I think that I would definately input some branches into the narrative because even though the users liked the outcome I thought that it would get repetitive because there is only one storyline, but as I was really struggling with Flash I wanted to go with the safe option and start off with something simple yet effective which I think I have achieved.


What I really liked about this project is that it was an individual project. This was the first one that I did and as I result to this I was able to make all the decisions and choose what I wanted to do, which I really liked, even though I liked working in a group it was nice to make the choices.

Spatial Awareness
I have used the whole space in the frame with my photographic image partially because I wanted the viewer to have the impression that they were the person in the kitchen, however the downfall for this was that in some of the frames it was hard to see the text so there are a few slides that have different colour fonts whic looks a bit untidy, other then the text I feel that I used the spatial awareness well.

Media/text
I inputted text to give the viewer instructions that forced them to choose a certain object, this made the whole narrative alot clearly and alot more user friendly. I think that font was bold enough for people to see and I used the correct colours that contrasted well with the background.

Stills and Audio
My whole narrative was made up with stills keeping to the same theme which I feel was a conscious decision because it kept the narrative going. I wanted to add audio without lyrics becuase I thought that it would distract the audience however I am starting to try and create my own music because I cannot keep using other peoples work/music.

Audience Interaction
My main aim was to make sure I had audience interaction so I feel I completed this quite by asking the user to help 'make a sandwich', without the user that sandwich would not be made.

Like I said above my main improvement on this project is to gain more experience in the Flash CS3 software as I feel I could really benefit from this piece of software over the next few years.

Final Edited version!!!

I have tried and tried to download my interactive narrative but nothing seems to work, I've tried exporting the work, publishing, using quicktime but nothing will let me I will continue to try until I run out of time :(

Some Flash ActionScript 3.0

Since I've been working on Flash and found it very difficult especially the actionscript I thought that it would be a good idea to put some of the phrases and different tools from flash on my blog for me to remember and to show what I have learnt on Flash.

gotoAndStop () : when a user clicks to go to another frame. The frame would be stated in the brackets.
MouseEvent: This action is the certain event that the user wants the mouse to do, they have a number of different choices.
CLICK - The simply clicks on the button when clicked.
Roll-over - Changes appearance when user rolls over button
Basic button - Has the same content in the 'up, down and over' keyframes, does not change appearnce during user interaction.

I still need to add more but I will add them gradually as I learn how it all works.

Leo Burnett

Whilst working on my interactive narrative I remembered back to my interview for this project and, the website that I presented and didn't realise until now just how relevant it is to the narrative I'm doing now.
The website is advertising the work of a graphic designer called 'Leo Burnett' Looking back now I realise that it was the audience interaction that caught my attention. As soon as you open the site you are greeted by a sketching pencil to which you have the option to do any sketch you. Not only that but the audience can decide where they want to go and what they want to see.



When I look at this site at a whole it is exactly the same as any other website that I have analsyed however when I look at this site it gives me the impression of being more flexible, it has a more easy flowing structure, some of the effects even look as though they have been used in flash (mouse rollover).
This is the type of website that I want to create and is another reason why I wanted to share it on my blog. To look at this site then the website is:

www.leoburnett.com

Interactive Narrative storyboard

Right I've now taken my shots for my narrative so I decided to show you the basic layout of the narrative, my storyboard!! another reason why I did this was to remind me how I wanted the narrative to work, looking at the layout on the storyboard showed what worked, what didn't work and other ideas that I could add. Initially I did not plan to have so many images of the kitchen but after looking at the storyboard it came to my senses that in order for the viewers to select the fridge or an ingredient then they would need a kitchen view to be able to choose where to go. I also input a plate image because my initial storyboard skipped from the sandwich being cut to the sandwich on a plate.

One small thing that I have noticed is that there are some pictures that have certain appliances and some images are missing those appliances i.e. the ham is not in the fridge. I have already put my images onto flash but if I get time (or if the ham hasn't been eaten) then I will try to change this.

My aim is to complete this narrative by Saturday, I have already edited it on flash so my my aim in my next seminar is to learn how to export it correctly, maybe even input sound audio? who knows...well until my next blog.

Flash CS3, eek!

Ok so I've tried working on flash cs3 and I have to say that this is one of the most complicated pieces of software that I've seen!! if I had to describe I would say that its photoshop and premiere put together. It has the basic toolbox and timeline which I understand.


I do like that it has the layers tool, this makes it easier to separate different pieces i.e. the buttons, text, background etc however, what I find very confusing is the coding that enables the buttons to work, the actionscript. When I was shown in the example I thought that it looked complicated but with the help of the software tutorial I would be able to cope. Below is what the actionscript looks like:



From the tutorials online I gathered that the blue types were to signify a function that actionscript recognised. I think that the grey type siginfy what the user has created i.e. simplebutton yesbtn0 but this part I found very confusing and I will need to look into this further. For this project though I have used the template provided for us but I have tried creating my buttons but whenever I tested the movie it would run like a film so I need to work on that.

Other features that I felt helped me was the properties/filters box.



This box was quite helpful in a way that it showed me exactly what my buttons were called (this was important when applying button names in actionscript) everytime I looked at each frame in my timeline I was able to check that each button was assigned to its right frame. That was the properties section, the filter section reminded of Photoshop however the filter tab in flash helped me edited my text, this helped me in a way so the audience could clearly see the text over the background.


As a whole if you know how to use flash CS3 then I think that this program would be great. I am going to continue to work on this piece of software for practice in order to use it because from what I have seen from other examples the software look really interesting. What I have written above is some of the things that I started to learn, but I know that there is so much more I could do if I just try. I do know that I am in the same boat as everyone else, not many people have used this program and are finding it hard to work with as well.
I think that my next plan of action is to keep practicing, I have taking my images and I plan to show a few examples on my blog shortly, I need to input text onto my images so I may do that once I've got my images in the order that they are needed.

My plan for my interactive narrative

Right, I've decided to go with the 'How to make a sandwich' narrative. Reason for this was because from when I thought about the idea I had a clear idea what images I wanted to take and the steps in which the user would be lead too. I also thought that this would interact with the user very well because each step in the narrative will be asking the user to guide them to the next step.

This is a rough outline in which order my interactive narrative might go.

View of kitchen > close up of chopping board > image of loaf of bread > bread on chopping board > view of kitchen > image of butter > butter being spread > kitchen view > image of fridge > inside of fridge > image of tomato > tomato on bread slices > view of kitchen > select inside of fridge > pick lettuce > lettuce on sandwich > view of kitchen > select ham > ham on sandwich > finish sandwich > cut sandwich > sandwich on plate > end


This is a basic lay out of what I intend to do. I like this idea because its a simple idea to work with and as this is my first time working on flash then its a good project to start with. By the time I do my next blog I would hope to have used the flash program.

Interactive Narratives

We had an introduction to flash CS3 on Friday and all I can say is WHERE DO I START!! I've never been on flash before so think that this is going to be a big task for me however with the help of the online tutorials I shall complete.

As I have never used flash before I aim to create a simple yet creative narrative that I know will interact with the user. I have viewed a few different interactive narratives and have decided that my narrative will involve users helping my actors in my narrative create something or do something.

These are a few of my ideas that I have come up with:

How do I make a sandwich?

This interactive narrative is basically what the title says 'How to make a sandwich?' The user will interact with the narratives by guiding the actors around the kitchen, however I want to give the impression that the users are the ones choosing where to go but I will input questions/quotes that will direct the users where to go. For example one of the quotes maybe 'I need to go to the fridge to get my ingredients' This will tell the user that they need to go to the fridge so, they will click on it.

Some of the shots that I could include could be an image of the inside of the fridge, kitchen utensils, prep table (where the sandwich is to be made)the complete sandwich/the gradual process of the making of the sandwich. Its a simple idea yet creative.

How do I tidy my room?

This interactive narrative has the same layout as the first narrative however it will be set in a bedroom. The process of this story is that the user gradually helps clear up the room by following the instructions/questions provided. I would set the bedroom up in a way that its easy to see where things have go i.e. clothes in the wardrobe. I like this idea however I'm not to sure how much things can do to keep this narrative going.

A guide to...

This idea hasn't been finalised but it would involve the user finding there way to a certain destination. They would start off at my place and I will give them a destination that they have to find. They will have certain choices in where they would like to go but if they make the wrong choice it will direct them either back to the beginning or, back to previous steps. It will give out the impression that they are going around in circles and will carrying on going around in circles until they reach the right destination.

These are a few of my main ideas but I just have to work out which shots will go in which numbered frame which I think will be the most difficult part however if I practice using flash I will gradually get the hang of this new piece of software.