Level One Work



communication & the community INT1035

unit brief

To explore and utilize a variety of communication methods, both active and passive, employed via the Internet (for example, email, “chat”, and discussion groups). To explore the Internet as a communication media, and as a means of building community through the production of a group web site. To introduce Dreamweaver, and other software appropriate for producing online interactive products. View Full Brief

proposal

To create a web site for Lincoln University, Hull Campus Students. This is due to the lack of current sites that facilitate to the needs of people in this area. Providing a site that has details about night clubs, restaurants and pubs that are in and around the city centre which are easily reachable by our target audience. Evaluating every place that we visit by assessing them against a variety of criteria. View Power point presentation

research

Looking across the internet at review sites for places of interest was where i started my research, as it wasn't the lack of reviews sites but the lack of a good one for our area. Taking note for what i felt made certain review sites good and others bad, how they could be improved and how important good overall design is.

planning

Through regular meetings and frequent communication over the internet we will equally share the work load so every individual plays a vital role in the progression and completion of the assignment. By assessing what tasks need to be carried out, our plan is to give everyone a target of visiting and evaluating 7 different pubs, clubs or restaurants so that the work load is not extensive but we all carry it out in a way that the information submitted in accurate and thorough. To see the work schedule that the group created, please see page two of full proposal. View Full Proposal

final piece

Launch the Stuffin-Ull web site.

review

I’m really proud of the work that we accomplished and it was a joy to work with most of the members of my group. View my individual Group Assessment for each group member.

information architecture WEB1001

unit brief

I was required to design and build a web site for a client, to create a well-developed working prototype, giving clear indication of the content, structure, navigation and interface design. The final site should contain a minimum of 10 pages, all of which should feature substantial and appropriate content. View Full Brief

proposal

To create a web site for Jeff's Journeys, a flash based animation series created my Ian Hedges and myself. The web site will consist of pages containing the series of episodes, background information about the series, who the creators are, and how the animation is created.

research

Before creating my web site i have looked at many different, already existing web sites that showcase flash animation series (included in report) Also I had to consider the certain design aspects that the client (Ian Hedges) needed.

planning

For my planning see My Report.

final piece

launch Jeff's Journeys web site.

review

Overall I am very proud of the outcome of this finished project. After looking at my original goals, I feel I have fulfilled each one to the best of my abilities. I think that after showcasing the completed web site to the client, they were very pleased with the final result. If I did have more time I might have tried to implement a guest book or shout box into the web site so that feedback could be left from viewers. Also I think I would have tried to add a visit counter to site to enable the view and client to see how many hits the site receives.

multimedia communication design INT1030

unit brief

To allow the exploration of basic techniques and effects when manipulating text and imagery in director. View Full Brief

proposal

For this I have decided to do a short video about the 2 words obesity and anorexia, I've decided on these words as i feel that the challenge of trying to convey the feelings and mind-frame of the people that suffer from these two illnesses an interesting one as the illnesses can be perceived very differently from person to person.

research

Before starting my director project I looked on the internet and took note of techniques used by previous students and also online tutorials, so that I would have the least difficulty in undertaking the project.

planning

I started my planning of the project by writing down a list of bullet points on a piece of paper. After making this list of all the aspects that I wanted in my actual director video and then arranged them in order, thought about images and sound effects that I would want to accompany the "story-line", followed by trawling the internet and taking some of my own photographs so that I had a library of images to use where needed.

final piece

Download: INT1030-oa.exe

review

I felt that this project was, on the whole very successful, it has given me the confidence to use and explore the many different features in director. Although my director had a serious theme i felt i managed to mix humour into it in a well balanced way, I understand its not a funny topic but also understand that sometimes a message can be conveyed better with a slight bit of humour added to the serious undertones. I main aim was to make people think and I feel that I have been successful in doing this.

online communication design INT1032

unit brief

This brief was about the exploration of a range of web sites across the internet, and to produce a brief evaluation of the chosen sites (5 or more) that all come under the same category. Each site should be given a rating for each criteria and this should all be presented on a simple web site. View Full Brief

proposal

I have decided that I will choose 8 news as theme of the web sites that I intend to evaluate, this is because news can be conveys in so many different ways and forms, ranging from a newspaper's online presence to a dedicated online computer-related news site. I will complete this brief by evaluating these sites against a list of criteria, giving marks out of 5 and then an overall mark out of 100%. Download Rating Information.

research

My main source of materials that I used was the internet, I researched first by looking at other student web sites that had already undertaken this brief, and the example on the university site on how it should be done. I have decided to use the following web sites for evaluation: BBC News, Sky News, The Register, Games Industry, My Way News, Tech Digest, Wakefield Express and Wired News.

planning

I will present the evaluations gathered on a simple web site, I will have thumbnails of the web sites which will link to the review/evaluation, adjacent to the thumbnail will be the name of the web site, a link to the site and a percentage rating.

final piece

Launch Review/Evaluation mini-site.

review

I feel that, although this brief went well that i could have produced better evaluations of my web sites, maybe by using a different form of rating system, or produced article-like reviews of the web sites in paragraph form instead of marking out of 5 and adding a small comment as to why it received that mark.

contextual practice INT1047

group unit brief

To learn how to successfully work together in a group, researching a topic of our choice ready to do a presentation about it. View Full Brief

group members

summary

We worked in a group of five to produce a presentation on MTV, focusing on a wide range of topics including its commerciality, the channels it broadcasts, its history and how it grew to become the worldwide company it is today.

final piece

Click here to download the Power Point Presentation that accompanied our verbal presentation.

individual unit brief

Relate your chosen topic to other visual examples (from games, films, the Internet etc)The text that you have been given from the book by Terry Barrett, ‘Criticizing Photographs’, will help you. You could use quotes from this text to discuss in relation to your topic, or, quotes from other sources that you are using. Please note that each topic is accompanied by handouts relating to the subject, given out by your tutor. View Full Brief

summary

I chose Cyborgs as the topic for my essay, relating it to films including "Terminator" and games such as "Quake 4".

final piece

Click here to download the word document containing my essay.

supplementary briefs

video unit brief

To allow the exploration of basic video shooting and editing techniques. View Full Brief

proposal

For this I have decided on the idea of "the life of a fly", this will have stereotypical things that fly's do including flying into windows. I think that this will be successful because it doesn't require a large budget as it can be filmed within the halls of residence, I'll be able to remove background sound and then add the "simplistic" thoughts of the fly during his time. I will be able to buy a fly from the joke shop (in plastic form).

research

Before shooting my video, I checked sites that are dedicated to one minute "shorts". Taking note of techniques that they had used and varying shot angles the shots were taken from to give differing atmospheres.

planning

I drew a series of story boards so that I could form a clear idea of how I want my one minute video to get from start to finish. Making note of the different shot types I wanted to include, props that I would need to acquire before hand and the cast that would need to be present.

final piece

Stream "The Fly" one minute short, or download it: Video-thefly.zip

review

Although I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to capture on video, I found actually getting it onto tape was a lot harder challenge than first expected. If I had the change to do it again I'd take the consideration of lighting into account far more greatly as I feel I may have overlooked it too much which has had slightly detrimental effect to the overall look of my film. Although this, I feel, at the same time, adds to the video giving off a very low budget and "tacky" dimension to the humour overall. Trying to make sure that there was a sense of humour was, the most enjoyable part of the brief, mainly because of recording the voice for the fly and editing the sound clips so that we became more fitting for the role.

photography unit brief

To allow the exploration of photographic portraiture utilising the variables involved in producing a photographic image. To take four photographs, 3 portraits of another media student and one of myself. View Full Brief

proposal

For this brief I decided that I would like to make some photographs that were not only stylish but make the view think twice about the feelings and thoughts captured within it. As the brief focus' on portraits I decided that my main feature of my photos would have to be the person, therefore I didn't want a busy background and the black backdrop of the studio would probably be the best place to take the photograph. Before tackling the brief I want to have a clear idea of the things I want to capture and how to capture them, so I plan to do good research to back my ideas up.

research

Before taking any photos I thought it would be a good idea if I looked at the learning resources on the newmedia web site, the site that interested me most was the "Weston Gallery", in particular the portraiture form the artist "Yousuf Karsh". He manages to capture immense strength of character in his photos and has great composition, using only black and white, I will try to use similar techniques on my own photographs. We also made a visit to the Ferens Art Gallery which has a special traveling show called "-ID-DENTITY" which contained some very interestingly composed portraits.

planning

I decided that my subject of study for my portraits would be fellow newmedia student Beth who is also currently in her first year of studying web design. I wanted to try and capture different moods of Beth using varied lighting, settings and viewpoints.

final piece

Launch My Portraits mini-site.

rational

When taking my photographs I decided that I wanted the whole of my subject in one, a close up and another that came between to give variation.


The first of my photographs was taken with a mixture of natural light from behind me (the windows) and also above from the strip lighting that the room contained. I wanted my subject to be facing out of the photograph but looking towards the lens so that the eye of the viewer didn't want to wonder out of the photograph. To give an old fashioned style I removed the colour, adjusting the levels in Photoshop to give more contrast and boldness... Download Complete Rationale

sound unit brief

To Produce and design 10 “noises” for a desktop sound scheme. Full Brief Unavailable

proposal

For this I have decided on the idea of "computer/machine integration", this will take the form of a computer "voice" telling the user what is actually taking place. I think that this will be successful because, to my knowledge there isn't already a sound set already available that does the same things.

research

Before shooting my video, I checked custom sounds sets already available on the internet and stereotypical sounds that a cyborg would make. I've already visited the hooper library building and rented out a microphone, desk stand, jack lead, and to reduce unwanted noise when recording the sounds, a pop shield.

planning

For the best effect and to be most informative the sounds will depict exactly what will be happening. the sounds that i will be recording will be (click to play):


final piece

Download all sound files here: sound-files.zip

review

With having a very clear idea of what I wanted to capture via my microphone, I found actually quite easy to record and manipulate my sounds. But if I had to change and do it again i would take the missed opportunity to use the sound studios available to me so that I could have got a more professional quality and had less background noise. This said, I do enjoy the slightly tacky feel that the sounds do have and add to the humour of the sound set, bring a smile or even a laugh to those that hear it.