Thursday, 29 March 2012

Week 29: Website Complete and Improvements Started

Last week I completed my website assignment and this week I aimed to start improving my past 2D Animation work. I had been given feedback on all of my 2D animation work and filled out an improvement plan to make these for resubmission. This week I aimed to start improving my pre-production documents.
The documents which I started to improve included reformatting of my bibliography, 2D animation history PowerPoint and soundtrack indication. These were the main improvements for my pre-production documents. The main improvement was my time line PowerPoint. I needed to link the design of this to my final animation design. I decided to redesign this with the similar layout of my animation with the film countdown image being the main design aspect. This therefore links in with the design of my final animation showing the history of animation. The other improvements such as the referencing in my bibliography I found an online referencing tool which helped me correctly reference my book resources. I have corrected this and my book resources are now correctly referenced. The other improvement completed was the soundtrack justification. I added this to my final idea justification document.
By the end of this week I have achieved the tasks I set out to complete. I have improved the pre-production documents from my feedback. I felt confident whilst completing the improvements because I was clear of what I had to exactly improve. Therefore a strength I had was the clear understanding of what I had to improve on the different documents.
Overall, I believe I have completed the tasks well and this is a skill I can repeat in future. This is a skill I will be using next week when I improve my production documents. I will be improving these the same as the pre-production documents this week. I am happy with the progress I have made so far on the improvements.

Thursday, 22 March 2012

Week 26 & Week 27: Creating Website & Uploading

This week and last week I aimed to continue creating my website within Dreamweaver and upload it to my webspace. Throughout this week I also aimed to complete my evaluation and sample viewing for my website.
Whilst carrying out these tasks this week I felt confident that I would meet the deadline (19th March). Over the past two weeks I have been creating the webpages for my website within Dreamweaver. I have been using all the skills learnt and documented in my skills audit to create my website. I felt confident whilst creating the different pages and I used both my skills audit and tutorials from YouTube to create the different elements for the website. The various elements included are is 3 animations, graphics, rollover effects and links. These are all original materials which I have created and are required for my website.
Some problems which I have come across in the last two weeks includes the issue of uploading process. The webspace which I originally signed up for on freewebspace.com did not allow me to upload using FTP. Therefore I signed up for new webspace and my new website URL is http://www.hannahmediaportfolio.bugs3.com/. I then used Cute FTP program to upload my files to this URL.
I also completed my evaluation and sample viewing within this week. I asked 5 people to complete a questionnaire for feedback on my website. I would have liked to of held a bigger sample viewing, but I was unable to because of time frames.
By Monday 19th March I should have uploaded my website and submitted the work. Although because of the issues I had with the uploading process I was unable to meet this deadline. This is a point I will remember for the future and I will ensure I manage my time well and set aside a day before the deadline to test and upload the website.
Overall, I am happy with my final website and I believe I will be able to add to this website with the work which I create in the future.

Thursday, 8 March 2012

Week 25: Production Documents- Mock-Ups & Organising Folders

This week I aimed to complete the original graphics and mock ups of my webpages for my portfolio website. The mock ups are the PSD layouts of my final webpages. This will allow me to design the main elements such as the menu panel and the logo/ graphics. I also aim to organise the Root folders for the various webpages to make it easy when I create my website in Dreamweaver.

Whilst carrying out these tasks this week I was able to use the skills learnt within Photoshop to create the different webpage layouts. I created the layout and design from the sketches and wireframes created last week. I had a clear vision of the design of the website and I was able to create this within Photoshop. I used the guidelines tool to section off all of the different elements within the various webpages. I used this process for all of the seven pages on my website. I then saved these using the web and devices setting. The PSD's will then save as a .hmtl document to open within Dreamweaver. Once imported to Dreamweaver I will be able to add content and links to this template. I have also organised the files required for the individual pages on the website. This is important for defining the website and editing the website. This allows me to easily access the images, text or videos required for the different pages. These are all seen within the 'Root' folder.

This week I completed all of the intended tasks. I managed to complete the mock ups and the final design of my website pages. I also tested these within Dreamwever, to ensure all settings were correct and I was able to edit the template. I felt confident when completing these tasks and feel as though I can now move forward and start to create my website within Dreamweaver. I also feel confident because I have organised all of the files needed for the website, so I can easily import them in Dreamweaver to the webpages. A strength which I believe I have had this week is in the form of organisation skills. This is vital for the building process of the website. I now feel confident when I start building the website that I have all the files required.

Next week I aim to complete the required animations for my website and also start to build my website within Dreamweaver. I will also be submitting my pre-production and production documents next week (12th March) which I have completed. Overall, this week I am happy with the progress I have made for this assignment.

Thursday, 1 March 2012

Week 24: Production Documents: Annotated Wireframes & Graphics

This week I aimed to complete my wireframes with annotations, sitemaps and graphic images to be included within my website. This would be the final production documentation for my website. It would clearly show the layout and contents within the different website pages. This will help me when I come to creating the website within Dreamweaver.

Last week I started creating the sketches and wireframes within Photoshop and this week I aimed to complete these. By creating these sketches I have a clear idea of how my webpages will appear. I have also included annotation to inform the client of the important elements within the different webpages. This also helps me when I start to create my website in Dreamweaver as I can use the wireframes as a guidance to ensure I am including all of the contents within the design of the website. I have created these wireframes from sketches and then created them within Photoshop with the annotations. I can then use these wireframes to create my mock up PSD’s of the website pages. This is a task I have set myself for next week. This week I also aimed to create the main graphics within my website. This is the face profile which will appear continuously on the webpages. I needed to create all of my own graphics within my website; therefore I used Illustrator and Photoshop to create these graphics. I created two different patterned face profiles for use, one containing a chequered pattern and the other a striped pattern.

This week I have completed all of the intended tasks which were annotated wireframes and started to create my original graphics. I felt confident while completing these different tasks and I now believe I will be able to build my website from the wireframes which I have completed as they are a strong guidance for my production. I am also happy with the graphics I have created and believe they show skills within different software programs. A strength which I believe I have had this week is creating the wireframes for my different webpages. I felt confident with the design and enjoyed creating and annotating these wireframes because of the guidance it will give me.

Next week I aim to complete all of my graphics, mock up PSD’s of the various web pages. I also aim to organise the different elements which are required for each individual page into folders. This includes elements such as page contents, logos, text and images. Overall, I am happy with the progress I have made within this production and believe I am managing my time well.