We have had feedback regarding the website that I have created for the media project. We both think that what we recieved will be very helpful in improving the work and getting the best grade that we can.
I will start to work on one of the points that we recieved. This was to add another section to the website about the Filmmakers. This will be relatively to do and will greatly enhance the website.
During the last lessons, and some previous lessons before that, I have been working on finishing up the ancillaries for our project. Both the website and the poster are at the stages where they can be finished soon. There are still somethings that I have to work on though, and these are:
Each of these things can be completed within a day and will not take too much time.
Also, I will have to also make some improvements/adjustments based upon the feedback that was received.
However, because the feedback that we received was for the old version of the poster, not all of it will be helpful when tweaking the poster. But we I will be able to use the feedback that was received about the colours used and the dominant image of the poster.
In the coming days, I will be creating the poster, using the initial drafts that have been made.
For this, I will be using Adobe InDesign as it is the easiest to use and the easiest to edit. Also, for things like this, InDesign is the most powerful pieces of software.
Both Michael and myself have agreed that we should cut out a part of the trailer, specifically the bit when Callum is speaking to the interviewer at the end. We both feel that this would almost be, if it were a real film, giving away the ending. This is something that should never be done in a trailer. I understand that this change will reduce the length of the final trailer, but I do also feel that we have more than enough footage to make our trailer the typical length as others.
As this is an ongoing production, there is always the possibility for more changes to be made to any of the products that we are construction, not just the trailer. If more changers are going to happen, I will post them in the Lesson Blog category so they can be documented as they occur.
Because we both want to create the best media products that we are capable of, Michael and I have changed roles within the production. Now, rather than me making the website, Michael making the poster and both of us doing the editing. We have decided to have me making both of the ancillaries, and Michael doing the editing of the trailer.
Because Michael has more experience with using iMovie, he will be able to make a good trailer, and because I have taken graphics, and enjoy design, I will be able to make a better website and poster.
Also, in regards to the filming of the trailer, we changed the character roles around. Now, rather than Ben having the main role, Callum will be the main character in the trailer because of various time constraints with us and with Ben. This is not a problem as both are great actors.
Michael and I have began to start work on our Trailer. Along with actor Callum Henn, we filmed the various scenes and parts that will happen in the forest section of the Trailer. Whilst there, we also took the various photos that we will use on our website and poster.
Because we actually took the photographs in the woods at night, we were able to make them look authentic and real, as though he had actually gone camping.
We still have to film some other parts of the trailer, as well as edit it. This will all be completed once we get back to school after the half-term. We will also need to complete the design and creation of both the website and the poster.
Today, and for the rest of the week, I will be designing and building the website for the A2 Media Coursework. Also, some of the days during the coming week, Michael and I will be filming the various scenes for the trailer that we will need to complete. But I’ll be able to work on the website at nights, after the filming has been wrapped up for the day. So working on the website will not hamper the progress of the trailer, nor will the trailer stop the work on the website.
The first step in building the website will be the Wireframing. This is where I work out the layout of the website, and how it will look in a browser. This stage will completed on paper, rather than on the computer.
The next stage will be creating the mock-ups of the website. This will be completed in InDesign. This is where the details of the website are added onto the layout that has previously been created, showing exactly what the website should look like when it has been completed.
The final stage of the creation process will be actually building the website. this will done in either Adobe Dreamweaver or Notepad++ (which I personally prefer, as Dreamweaver might be a bit over-kill for this website)
This is the stage that I will most enjoy out of all the work because I have been building websites for around two years, and enjoy writing the code for them.
Right now I am currently researching the fonts that are to be used in the trailer, on the website and on the poster. Picking the correct font is incredibly important, because although they are often considered as just fonts, they actually play a vital role in ‘setting the mood’ for a media product.
All fonts convey a different meaning or message to the person viewing them. For example, a bubbly or ‘goofy’ font like Comic Sans would show the viewer that the product that they are looking at is more than likely aimed at children. Keeping this in mind, we have to be careful what each of the fonts represents when choosing them for our media products.
Over the coming days, I will be posting a number of different pieces of work about the potential fonts we could use on our products. There will be a post showing the various fonts that we can choose from, and then another post showing the final fonts that we decided on.
During this lesson we have been looking into similar media texts that would help us get an understanding about what we should include in our products and how we should go about designing and creating them. We looked into what certain elements in media products symbolize, connotate and denotate, and what message the audience would get from them.
The next step that I will have to carry out is to create the production plan. This will basically be a ‘to-do’ list for when we shoot our trailer. This will help us when we make our final trailer for our media coursework.
Overall I am confident with the work that I have completed thus far, and think that we’ll be able to film the trailer and create the other products without too much trouble.
Have a nice day.
Sam Stroud 