Interactive Narratives - The Muppets movie

The muppets
http://muppets.go.com

The final interactive narrative that I have found is the muppets website. I decided to do this one because of how much information I saw when I entered the site.

Even though it appears that the designers have used the whole page I actually noticed that they haven’t they have framed the main body of the site into a smaller frame and have used bright bold colours on the outside. I feel that for the target audience aimed at I think that the colours used were a good choice. I also like the framing used because to me, it gives out less impact.

Browsing through that site I realised that they have tried to use minimal text which is a good decision because of the younger target audience, the media text that has been used however is bold and the designers have used a good range of colours to make the text stand out.

Out of all three sites that I have anaylsed I feel that this site has the most use of animation. The main one that I noticed is that Kermit makes an appearance when the user clicks on a link and interacts with the audience. As you also navigate through the site there a number of different animations/videos that the user can watch and also interact with (some games) the different videos include advertising the muppets shows which I think maybe lose the interest of some viewers but a conscious decision because it is the official site.



There are a few still images throughout the site which show stories of the muppets themselves but in my opinion I feel that the animation is much stronger then the stills.

There is a range of different sound effects and music as you navigate through the sight. I like the audio because it changes every time you move to a different part of the site giving each page a different impression/atmosphere which the other two sites do not have.

The piece of criteria that mostly observed was the audience interaction, you can have the basic interaction but on this site the user can choose which part they want to go with the use of a map, showing them different areas with different themes. At first I found it hard to find the map which could be identified better but once found its very user friendly and fun for all ages I feel.

I have to say that this sit was the most entertaining because it had the user interacting most of the time, the only fault I could think of is that because there is such a large amount of imagery then the user is unsure on what they can and cannot select. They have to hover the cursor over the selected areas to realise that they can click on it.

http://muppets.go.com

Interactive Narratives - The Hejz

www.hejz.com
www.hejz.com

The second piece of interactive media that I found was a graphic designers own personal website called Peter Jaworowski otherwise known as ‘The Hejz’. The reason why I chose this website was because when I opened the site I was immediately greeted by an interactive spider diagram.

This immediately shows that the designers thought about the audience interaction with the site. What I liked about it was that the user does not have to click on anything to move the diagram around, the cursor guides the diagram around to how the user wants it, the Hejz work are the pieces shown on the diagram.

Looking through the site I have noticed that there are no videos but there is a strong amount of graphic work shown throughout the site however the user does have to select the pieces of work that they wish to view. Even though I liked the layout and imagery used I was a little confused with the media-text.

When I first opened the site I was really impressed but when I tried to navigate myself around the site I was confused where to go. There were no signs that clearly showed where you had to click to send the user to another page. The only way I could find where to go was to hover the cursor over the different pieces of font in hope to find something. However I thought the text used was slick and worked well with the designers work. All of the information was basic yet to the point. It stated the things that needed to be shown, some more information may have been useful but it may have lost the slickness that the site has.



When I look at the website as a whole I feel that the designers took spatial awareness into consideration. The whole layout looks well structured and spaced out evenly the only piece that doesn’t follow this is the spider diagram which I feel is a key point to the website so perhaps the designer could have worked in the same layout.

The audio on the site is basic with some simple pholie effects added but what I do like (like the terminators website) is that the audience gets the choice to have the music on or off.

The audience interaction is basic with the simple clicking, and reading however what I noticed on this page is that in the top left corner they show simple instructions on how to use the site with arrows, so this give the audience the choice between using the cursor or the keyboard which I like.

I think that this website advertises the graphic designers work well with the slick look but I do feel that the lack of direction lets the website down.
www.hejz.com

Interactive Narratives - Transformers

www.Transformers.com
www.transformersmovie.com

The first piece of interactive media that I found interesting was the web site for the Transformers movie. When I first opened the page it was clear to me that the web site was designed for a younger target audience. As soon as the page is opened you are greeted by a range of strong graphics that advertise the movie.

The designers have kept to the movie’s choice of text and has incorporated it into the website information, keeping the same theme throughout the whole site giving it a more professional look yet keeping the target audience attention. However I do feel that the text could maybe be kept to one colour because when looking through the site I got confused finding the different links because the fonts on some pages were different colours and I couldn’t work out which were links and which were not.

In my opinion I felt that the animations, videos and stills made this website complete. Each link takes the viewer to a different page (good and evil) with the choice to view each terminator. The website also provides a video trailer of the film which will be good for viewers who have not yet seen the film. I really like the effects used when the links changed, it relates to how the transformers change. What I feel makes all the still, videos and animation work is the audio.




Throughout the website the designers have use an electronic pholie. I feel that this keeps to the theme of the movie (robots, electrical etc). Not only is there pholie added to this site but, the user is given the option to listen to the soundtrack of the film, which I think is a good example of audience interaction.

This site lets the users interact as soon as the site opens by either choosing to ‘Protect’ or ‘Destroy’, once they have made their decision they are directed to the chosen site. Like I said above they have the choice of either having the sound track, other interactions would include the basic i.e. clicking, watching, listening etc.

There is a good use of spatial awareness with the page always full with different stills and animation. I also feel that the colours used were a conscious decision because they are simple and bold yet do not overpower the main focal point.

I feel that this is a well designed website and gives the audience what they want, keeps to the theme of movie and is finished to a high and professional standard.

www.transformersmovie.com

Evaluation of One shot film

For our second project we worked around the subject of audiovisual. We were given objectives to complete for the project. These were the objectives:

1) Produce a basic presentation involving recorded sound and vision.
2) Understand the basic aesthetics of elements of a multimedia object.
3) Begin to understand the mechanisms by which people interact with media.

Looking at the three objectives I feel that we successfully completed the objectives given. Not only were we given objectives but we had to follow some rules outlining what we could with the film, these rules were:

- films should be between one and two minutes long.
- must use a tripod and can only move the camera once.
- during film edit you may not 'cut' the film image.
- must document process upon online journal.

I also feel that we successfully completed these rules.

Looking back at our project now I think that I am most pleased the editing. The reason for this was because in my first project this was one of my weaknesses however in this project it was my strength. I have been working on 'premierepro' to finish my film. I especially like the music, it was by another music act but I was the one who recorded the voice over. I feel that the voice over created the scene, it gives the film a plot rather then just being silent. If you also look at our unedited version you can see that the sounding is very unprofessional and doesn't reflect our genre of film.

Even though I like the sound effects I'm not so keen on the camera. Looking back at the film now I think that it would have been a better idea to have the camera shot zoomed in. Even though the viewers can see the body language of the actors however they cannot clearly see the expressions on their faces and I feel that that would have added more feeling to the film.

I feel that I could have put more effort into this project than I really did. I did get involved in every stage of the project and organise all of the camera bookings but I just felt that I wasn't getting as involved as I should have, I think this is because its something new and I wasn't to sure on what to do so if I was to do this project again but with something different to film then I will be more motivated.

On a positive note again we did work well in a group, making sure that everyone got their opinions taken into consideration. I feel that we were quite lucky with the lighting that we had. Its quite risky working with natural lighting however I think that we had just the right light, we even managed to incorporate it within our shot. If you look at the film you notice that Woody (Antony) walks into the light, we did this to try and reflect the signs between good and evil. We had planned to do this at night time however there were complications i.e. lighting and access to location.

Like I said above I was not happy with the camera shots, this was also some negative feedback that I received from viewers however the sounding made it work. I feel that this was a successful first one shot film because I learnt all of the basic information that I needed to know, and if do create a new film I will have a more open mind.

Final Edited version!!!

YAY!!! its finally here the edited version of my work. Here's my version of the one shot film that our group made, enjoy.



As this was my first time doing a one shot film I am pleased of the outcome, however next time I would make a one shot film I have some others ideas.

One shot film (unedited)

Right we have filmed the one shot film (HOORAY!!) This is our short film:



As you can see it looks nothing like our plans for the film that I intentionally wrote in previous blogs however, like I said before this is an unedited film. My plan of action when I edit this film is to create a black and white scene (maybe fog?) I want music that is not to slow that can create a loving yet mysterious atmosphere. I feel that having a script would ruin the whole scene but Danny has come up with the idea of whispering which I think will work really well because viewers will be able to understand whats going on yet having only whispers may direct the viewers attention to the actual film.

Storyboard and script

These are my storyboard designs that I sketched for our one shot film. At the moment I feel that my storyboard sketches are not very strong so I have just started with the basics and drawn simple human figures. The arrows on the images are to show people the movement in which the figures are about to move.



As you can see the sketches are very basic however I feel that they show the basic outline of how the film well.



Hopefully when we film the film is shot it will look something like my storyboard that I have sketched out.
Danny in our group also wrote up a script that we may use but, as we're trying to create a film noire this may not be used:



This is an image of the original script but as its quite hard to see this is what it said:

Mack: how have you been?
Delilah: I've been fine, how about you?
Mack: Does he know?
Delilah: (stutters)_ I don't know
Mack: Does he suspect anything
Delilah: I DON'T KNOW!
Mack: We can leave tonight, we can catch the last train to anywhere, me and you?
Delilah: Stop it, you know we can't afford to, we don't have the money ...
Mack: In this bag is £15 thousand, I know its not much but it's something, and a small price to pay for freedom.
Delilah: (begins to cry)
Mack: (hugs Delilah) It's ok, we're gonna be ok
Delilah: (shoots Mack as he falls to the floor she takes the bag and leaves the scene, while the camera keeps on Mack lying on the floor)


This is a basic script that Danny came up with but whether we shall use it is another question that we are still not sure about.

When we shoot the film we want the film to look like its been filmed secretly, we have all agreed that it would look more effective if it was black and white, doing this adds the effect of mystery. We want to set the camera at an angle that would only show 'Macks' face and viewers would only get small glimpses of 'Delilahs' face (would leave mystery as to who the murderer is)

Group Members Tasks

Right I feel that our group have all different qualities that make us work well as a group, in my opinion these are the roles and the certain tasks that we all take whilst we work on this project:

Danny: Danny came up with the whole idea, so he's the one that will know exactly what to expect. His task was to create a plot for the film, however he also took on board the script and suggested shots that we could potentially use.

Woody: Woody also came up with an idea for our project, but in this film Woody is acting for us. His task was to create the atmosphere within the film with our other actress.

Hitz: Hitz I find is the one who works with the camera more so i'm guessing that he will be filming the shot however, Hitz also comes up with good suggestions to improve the film i.e. shows where the actors should stand in the film frame.

Me: I would say that my main role is to organise the equipment and arrange the place where we need to shoot. As Hitz and Danny work with the camera i'm tryin to design the storyboards for the film.

Because we all live in different places in nottingham we have mainly be contacting each other via mobiles and the internet, we also talk after our lectures briefly to keep everyone updated on what each member of the group are doing.

Something funny

Right this film might not be to every ones taste but when I came across it I just loved the voice over, It gave the film humour. I viewed the film twice one with sound and one without and when you look at it with no sound it just looks like a man running to his bike and riding away but with the sound it creates a story. It explains to the viewers why he's running so fast, why he falls off his bike and what the person at the beginning was doing, take a look for yourself and see what you think.



Looking at this film has shown me that maybe sound could change the impression of how the film is portrayed. Our group were trying to create a film noire but, maybe sound with give the film atmosphere, who knows we shall see how the film comes out.

The One Shot Process

Ok I haven't been on here for a while and apologies to Deborah for the late blog but I've finally got it all together. I think thats what my biggest weakness is (everyone will gradually notice this) I have to be organised before I can create something.

Right, in the time that we had for this project our group thought of a number of different ideas that we could use. Our two main ideas in brief were between showing viewers the effects of drug use, and a secret meeting between two lovers (in a film noire style). After discussing it we decided to go with the secret meeting.

The Plot

Mack and Delilah have been having an affair, when it comes close to Delilah's husband finding out, they decide to run away however Delilah has doubts on where her true feelings lie. In desperation Mack tries to persuade Delilah with a secret package (money for their future) however, in receipt to this package Delilah has different plans and kills Mack taking the money with her leaving Mack.

The location



These are a few photos of the location where we plan to shoot our film. When thinking on where to shoot we originally planned outside of a church or, shoot in the night however we all agreed that the lighting would be very poor as we cannot control natural lighting, and we thought that filming someone getting killed in front of a church would not be very appropriate (well thats my opinion). This is when we came up with the idea of a graveyard, to me it sets the scene for a secret meeting and fits well to the ending.

The photo on the right shows the camera angle for our final film. Our aim of this angle was to show viewers strong shadows, using this also balanced out the good and evil in the short film. The small tower would be the background of our film.

One shot film

On our first seminar, for our second project Deborah set us the task to create a simple one shot film between one and two minutes long working with the titles 'irritation' or 'meeting'. The rules however were that we had to shoot the film in one shot (NO EDITING), we had to work in teams and the camera had to be on a tripod.

Our first idea we had worked with the title called 'meeting'. A couple would meet to either pass on a message or a letter however when thinking about this we thought that it was too serious and wanted to have some fun so we tried irritation. This film involved two students (me and Chase) trying to study and another more irritating student (Danny). As you can see in the film below Danny does every small irritating thing that someone could whilst the students were trying to study.

Harold was filming the one shot film, at first we thought using an angle shot would look more effective however Deborah suggested that we took the shot straight on, this way the viewers could easily see what was going on in the film.



If we had to do it again I think that I would make the film a bit shorter because when the audience were watching our film I got the impression that they thought it was getting a bit repetitive. I also think that working with lighting would have made the shot stronger but as we did not know how to work with the lights that was something that we were not able to do.

We have now finished shooting our final film so I will be shortly posting the film and all our supporting work on my blog.

Light and Studio safety

Safety
In our seminar on Friday we were shown how to use studio lighting in a safe and sensible manner. One of the main priorities that we talked about was the safety in the studios.

One of the main things to think about when handling lighting is that the lights get can very hot so whenever people handle the lights they must always wear protective

gloves, with no holes or rips in them if you do find gloves with a rip then the gloves should be disposed of immediately in order to prevent them from being used by someine else.

With quite alot of lights being used within a studio means that there will be alot of wires lying around, having this could a bad accident i.e. tripping over the wires, to

prevent this people can tape the wire down to the floor however always throw away the used tape to prevent any mess. Also, covering the wires with a mat (preferably

rubber) will clearly show people where to walk and, cover the wires. When using the wires ALWAYS uncoil the wires, failing to do this is a hazard and very dangerous. It can cause an electric fire.

With the lights being very hot safety equipment on the lights is essential. If there is broken glass from the bulb then someone can easily cut themselves thats why a 'scrim' (a wire frame) needs to be in place in front of the light.Not only do you have to check for broken glass but the people using the light must ensure that the light is securely on the stand.

Reflection on Stop motion film

At the beginning of the animation project the objectives that were set were as followed:
- Produce a basic presentation involving sound and vision.
- Understand the basic aesthetics of elements of a multimedia object.
- Begin to understand the mechanisms by which people interact with media.
- Take an active part in teamwork.
- Assist in the production of multimedia material.

Looking at those objectives I feel that our group completed them, however improvements could have been made.

I am most pleased with what our groups outcome was because our work was very unique in comparison with everyone else. I feel this because we came up with the idea of not only just involving the group (the hands) but also including objects (play dough
man/tetris) each of these ideas were brought to the group by each member. If we had

more time though I think that we could have come up with more creative/unusual ideas. I feel that each group member took part with the use of the camera material, however if we were to do this project again then I think I would try and get more involved with the camera equipment because in my opinion that plays an important part in multimedia. Even though I wanted to get more involved in the equipment I researched into video production independently so I could get a stronger idea about the world of camera equipment and production, this is something that I intend to do in the future to give myself more information on the different areas of multimedia.

As a group we managed to create a short film/presentation however I myself found editing the piece was a weakness. I struggled batching the images however this was mainly due to technical problems, but it took me longer than intended to input audio

and upload the piece onto facebook. This is an area that I need to experiment with further in order for me to understand it in greater detail. I still also need to gain more experience in compressing my work in order to successfully download work onto 'youtube' which was one of our set tasks. I feel that the only way to work on these weaknesses is to keep on practicing and ask for more advice.

However I feel that completing the piece was a success and strong involvement from the group was a positive point because working in groups in the past was a weakness for me.

As a group we have decided to work together again because we all work well and contribute work to the set project but in the future I think that we all intend to try and be more outgoing and creative.

Animation final!

Well its taken me around about five weeks to do this but I can proudly present my final piece!! yay!! I may tweak around with before I hand it in but I happy about it, for now.

Single-camera video production

Looking at Deborah's reading list I noticed that this seemed to be the main book that she wanted us to read and having briefly scanned through it i'm glad that I did.



'single-camera video production' written by Robert B. Musburger gives us the basic introduction about how single camera video production works. From the start of the book Musburger explains in detail the different effects that could effect a production, however these are not about the camera in any but about we ourselves. Musburger explains how our senses are more powerful then the equipments sources. The other basic information that is included for example is the frequency, measuring sound/video and amplitude. All these help us to understand what we have to take into consideration in order to make a successful film.

Like other books I've read Musburger explains the different pieces of equipment needed, this to me would help the production team see what type of equipment they needed rather then just assuming they know.

However my favourite chapter is one of the shortest chapters but links to what I'm doing in my project and that is "The production process: Preproduction". In this chapter everything is explained from what planning stages are used (proposal, treatment, script etc)Before I read this book I did not realise that there was so many different types of scripts. The chapter also shows information that was not mentioned in our seminars i.e. location scouting/plotting and shows a strong example of a schedule.

The final chapters are about the involvement in the production itself. This also includes the lighting effects (three point lighting) framing, cover shots and what found interesting the camera effects that the camera itself can make.

I have only read this book briefly however from what I have read has given me more information and has made me interested so I am going to take a look at this book in more detail to help me gain a stronger idea about the world of single-camera video production.

Audiovisual Seminar

On Friday we had our first seminar with Deborah on Audiovisual. We were also given our first task. Our task was to create a short single shot film (between 1 and 2 minutes). We were put into groups of four. I was with Harold, Danny and Chase. Deborah gave us two titles, 'irritation' and 'meeting', we started off with meeting however I did not feel comfortable with this so we changed it to irritation.

We came up with the idea of having two students studying and one student irritating the two students studying.

I felt that we did show irritation in a single shot film also adding humour, however if I was to do this film again I think that I would make it a bit shorter because I felt that we lost the audiences interest near the end.




An example of what we did is shown on a TV show called 'Trigger Happy TV'I have shown an example of this on this post just to give you an idea of what we did, but I am going to try and get our version because I would like people to see our first piece of AV.

Audiovisual Lecture

Deborah gave our group our first lecture on Audiovisual on Thursday. This involved looking at different examples of photos/images that would have a story behind them, however some of these photos could have a number of different stories, its how the viewer portrays the image.

We next moved onto single shot films where Deborah showed us examples of short films where the director used only a single shot to produced a film in ... a single shot.

To me this looks like a bit of a challenge, no cutting, no changing camera angles (except panning) just one shot eekk.


This is a single shot video designed by Geogre Barber. I tried to upload the film however it would not allow me but the image I show here is the the final outcome of the film.
A brief outline of the short film: A man unloads the contents of his van (cans of colourful paint) He gradually chucks each can of paint across the road leaving the passing cars to drive over the paint and create a bright/abstact image.

I like this film because its simple and also because of the strong camera angle. I feel that having the birds eye view of the film shows the viewer how strong the final outcome is and, I feel that having that camera angles makes the film successful.