Friday 7 May 2010

Looking Back On Your Preliminary Task, What Do You Feel You Have Learnt In Progression From It To The Full Product?

Looking Back On Your Preliminary Task, What Do You Feel You Have Learnt In Progression From It To The Full Product?


The preliminary website that i designed was a website based around a school. I designed two pages, a home page and a media department page. Within these two pages i included a variety of pictures that i gathered and a couple of hyper links, which linked to a website and another page on my website. On the preliminary website i used a range of different colours to bring the page to life. i used orange and brown for the school logo and colour, i used black ink which made the writing stand out. i had a washed yellow background which made the website plain, simple and not to overcrowded. i included a navigation bar which was conventional which made the website look professional. The pictures i used on the preliminary website were my own but a bit dull due to not knowing how to add light to the picture.


In the woofies website there was a major progress from the preliminary website. On the main website i used a wider range of different pages allowing people to explore the website in greater depth. This made the main website more interesting due to there being more to read about and see. On my main website i included hyperlinks linking pages to other pages and allowing readers to access a variety of different sites which were similar to ours. The other sites that people could visit were other charity websites such as rspca. The background i used in the main website included a variety of different colours and images. It allowed the website to come to life, adding excitement to the website. The background that i used was my own idea that i had progressed into a final product.

To conclude I feel that my ability to use I Web has improved a lot from are preliminary website to the main website for a variety of different reasons. I have been able to use a variety of different programs such as Adobe Photoshop to complete are website to a high quality. I have also improved in using the I Macs. I found that I could explore more things when creating my main website to the preliminary website due to a variety of skills improving. Overall I think that I have progressed a lot form beginning to end due to the fact that are main website turned out better than our preliminary website.

In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms and conventions of real media Products?

In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms and conventions of real media Products?


The genre of my website is a charity, but to be more specific its a dog charity. one convention of charity websites is to use certain words, to try and get the user to feel emotionally touched, and try and get them to do something about dogs. A convention for a website for ages 25 and overs, would be to have video's and little paragraphs, also by having pictures this would demonstrate what a charity website can do to make a change. The main convention that is familiar with websites is the three column structure to a page, by having links in the left and right column and the middle being the main part of the page. the reason why i chose this is so that it is easy for the user to use, but it does look more professional as well. i used emotive language to get the users to want to help the dogs and their owners. With most websites there logo is within the top left side of the page, i was fond of this so used it as it made my site look for professional, this is also a big convention not just for charity websites but for most websites. This also shows the user who you are and so they can notify the brand/logo around streets and on billboards etc. Another convention is the side bar or the bar at the top of the website, these are a well known convention which is liked as it is easy access for all users.


Which Kind Of Media Institute Might Distribute Your Product And Why?

Which Kind Of Media Institute Might Distribute Your Prod


The website that I am creating is based around a charity that focuses on Dogs and their carers . My website and charity targets all dog owners and pet lovers. Having an emotional charity allows the audience to get attached which makes our website attractive and therefore easy to distribute. Allowing distribution to distribute our website will help make people more aware of our charity and website.


Publishing a website takes a lot of time and research to help find the right kind of site to help you do this.

-The first step you have to do before publishing is to find out if there are any other websites with the same name. If there are websites with the same name as you this could result in you changing your name.

- You will also then have to consider the design and layout of your website. If the design is too complicated then it will be very hard to construct the final product.

- After coming up with the design you will then have to decide which tools to use to produce the final product. The tools you decide to use should be available on your hosting user.

-You then have to have all of the correct designs of each page which will enable a wed designer to publish the site. You then have to upload the content for your web pages for it is for your web server.

After completing these steps your website should then be able to be published.


After publishing your website you then have to distribute your website, which means to publicize it within the public. There are a variety of different ways to do this. You can publicize you website by:

- TV: this is a very good way of publicizing your website due to most people watching TV on a daily basis. As a result of this you can be near enough certain that your website will be heard of. However publicizing your website on the TV will be expensive but is one of the best choices.

- Radio: is also a good way to publicize your website due to the majority of people listen to the radio on a weekly basis. It doesn’t have the popularity that TV has but is much cheaper to advertise on than TV is to.

- Newspaper: this is very similar to advertising on the radio. It doesn’t have that much popularity but is much cheaper to advertise on.

- Internet: is a very useful way of advertising due to it getting used on a daily basis by people. You can advertise on other websites such as Google and yahoo. The only disadvantage is that the internet is very expensive to advertise on.

- Trade shows: this will allow you to publicize your website in public places. This can be expensive but is always in the public eye and therefore can be useful.

- Charities: other charities might allow you to advertise on there websites building up a relationship. This will show a good feeling within the public eye.


Overall the website will be published professionally which will ensure that a good website is produced. The distribution of the website will be very easy to publicize however there being alot of competition in this specific charity. Having a good distributor will enable a better success rate for the website and overall could affect the success rate of the charity.

What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product?

What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product?


The aim of the project that we have been set is to design and make a working website, based around a charity. The website that i had to make must be of a high and working standard. To achieve this I used a variety of different technologies to construct my website. I am going to explain the different programmes I used to achieve my goal.


Adobe Photoshop


One of the programmes that I have learnt about and how to use is Adobe Photo shop. i used this programme to enhance the pictures that i gathered, to make them of a better quality and make the picture have more colours, which will bring it to life. Photo shop provided me with a variety of different options that helped used enhance the photos. The main reason for using photo shop was to design the logo and part of the background for the website for the website. i scanned in the image that i drew and wanted to use, then added colour and brought the picture to life in photo shop. At the beginning of the project I had very little experience in using photo shop, but after completing the website I can now say that I have gathered the basics on how to use soft ware.


I Web


The main programme that we used to develop the main website and preliminary website is I Web. At the beginning of the project I had no knowledge of I Web. It took me a while to learn the basics after being shown by my teacher. Once I was shown how to use the programme my website got completed very quickly. I found I Web very simple to use after I got showed the basics. The thing I liked about I Web was that it didn’t over complicate things, due to it having very simple tool bars, which allowed you to create a variety finishes to your work to make it look professional. I Web also allow you to create your website to the way that you want it. The only down side to using I Web is that it restricts you on some areas. It wouldn’t be a good programme to use if u wanted to create a top quality, professional website.


Internet


I have used the internet within my project to do a variety of different things. i firstly used it to look at other websites and the way they have laid them out and how they attract there target audience. i also used the internet to gather some information.


Microsoft word/excel


The most familiar programmes that I have used in the production and evaluation of my website is Microsoft word and Excel. i used Microsoft word to get the majority of the bulk of the work done. I produced all of my analysis work and print screen work in word. The second Microsoft programme i used was Excel. I was familiar with Excel, so didn’t find it that hard to use. i used this software for a small period of time just to analyse are results from are surveys. i gathered the results and processed them into a pie chart which enabled us to read the results easier. Using a pie chart also makes the results look neater and easier to read. Due to me coming across these programmes before it allowed me to complete my work quickly.


Photographs


As well as taking a few pictures on the school cameras; i also used a simple mobile phone to take the majority of the animal photos. It is remarkable how highly pixelated mobile phone cameras have come in the modern time. The ‘Samsung Pixon’ has an 8 megapixel camera and its quality rivals any digital camera or professional camera. With a red-eye detector and flash, its high tech qualities are an asset to the website.


Apple Mac


Having a mac at home was a great help when starting this project as i was already familiar with navigating my way round and how to use it,however after this experience it has opened my eyes to other software on the computer and how to really use it to its full advantage.


How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups ?

How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups ?


Woofies is a charity based on dog owners which can’t afford the necessary health funds needed for their dog and to help dogs. The aim of the charity is to help owners and dogs. The audience that are website is aimed at is people who are willing to help dogs and their owners.


Colour


On my website i have used a few basic colours that create a calm feeling which enables easy use of the website. The colours used also make the website stand out, The use of three repetitive colours throughout the website creates a dramatic affect. The writing consists of two different colours, white and black. i have chosen these colours due to them standing out from the background.


Style of Language


The type of language used on my website is very sincere and appealing to the reader and entices an emotional response. i have chosen to use this approach of language because it begins to make the reader think about what they can do to help. The language draws the reader into different articles and could lead to them donating to the charity.


Content and style of the video


The video that i have used is the manager of woofies telling the viewer what woofies is all about and what they do to help there is also examples within the movie of how woofies has helped other dogs and their owners.


Layout and positioning of the page


I have included a variety of images on the website to draw the reader’s attention to important messages on our website. The pictures bring the facts to life.

I have included hyper links within the web pages which enables the reader to explore different pages of our website. The hyperlinks are positioned clearly around the page making them easy to find and access. Hyperlinks are a main convention and are mainly noticed on

other charity websites. The final item that I have included on the web pages is a logo. I created and designed the logo myself making it unique to woofies.

How Did You Attract/ Address Your Audience ?

How Did You Attract/ Address Your Audience ?


Before i began i had a rough idea of the audience that i wanted to attract. Before i started designing,

i looked at a variety of different websites to see how they attracted there target audience and what i could use to attract mine.

My target audience is dog owners and people who care about dogs.

Language

The language used within my website is very simple but straight to the point.

This means that people don’t loose then interest when reading about the charity and what it does.

i didn't include a lot of information on the pages due to it may put people off reading them, there is also alot of facts included.

Font

The font used on my website is simple to read. i didn’t want a fancy text due to it being difficult to read sometimes.

The size of the text is mostly the same size throughout the website apart from different headlines and titles.

Colour

The colour used on my website is kept simple but draws the reader’s attention to certain parts of my website.

The titles down the side of the page stand out from the background making them easy to read and knowing where you want to go next.

Positioning

The content on the website is positioned the same throughout, i wanted the pages of the website to be similar for this would resemble a

professional website. The donate option is place in the top left hand corner of the page.

The logo stays in the top left of the page for it is the first thing you see when you go on the website.

This attracts the audience for they are now made familiar to the webpage, and are now more likely to go on the website again.

Pictures

The pictures i used and gathered on my website were all taken from dogs that my friends or family owned.

The pictures bring the website to life. The pictures allow the audience to be interested in other aspects of the website than just text.

The pictures bring the facts of these dogs alive.

Who Would Be The Target Audience For Your Media product?

Who Would Be The Target Audience For Your Media product?


After gathering back my surveys from the public, i collected the results and analysed them. From the results i gathered a variety of different information about the audience interest in my website. The survey contained a variety of different questions which related to the aims and what my website wanted to achieve.

The target audience for my website is anyone who owns a pet or more specifically a dog, to help other dogs and their owners. The website reflects my target audience due to it being easy to use and provides a wide range of information about the charity. It allows the reader to make a difference by getting involved. The website contains a donate button which allows my audience to donate to the charity. The website has a warm feel to it attracting many people to read about the charity. The page isn’t complicated which therefore makes the website easy to use. Making the website easy to use means that a wider range of people of different ages can use the website. The main audience that i am trying to attract is people who are willing to help dogs and their owners.

Industry Research

Industry Research

Who hosts Websites?

The host of a website, is the person or organization who designed it for they are the main people who operated and use the website, but there are many occasions where the designers wish for another group or website to host it for it may be too much to manage, so the answer is really it could be anyone who is in direct contact with the company or organization behind it.

What is a domain name and how would you register one?

Domain names are a human friendly version of a website address. Without a Domain name, you would be stuck with a load of numbers. So we use Domain names to identify sites. When choosing your Domain name you should select a term people will use to search for your site. Most obviously, this could be your brand or personal name. A domain name makes up the address of your site and can end in .com, .net, and more. You can register your domain names with big name companies like Register.com and Network Solutions.com.

How much does it cost?

The cost of hosting a website can scale from nothing for you may be the only provider of the website, or if you have someone else to host it, it may scale from £10 – £100 per month for local hosting, very big companies you never really know for there is so much legal issues behind it.

Improved Website Brief

Improved Website Brief


The website that I am going to produce will be directly focused on a charity that I have chosen. The charity that I have chosen to base my website around is rspca. There are a variety of different reasons for this choice. One of the reasons is that rspca aimed to all people who own pets and are willing to help. A reason for my choice is that I believe in the principles of rspca, in that they care for the well being for the animals and their owners.

The audience that the rspca are targeting are pet owners who want to help. The audience that will try and target is very similar to the audience of rspca, due to me believing in the same morals as they do, however it is just based on dogs. The website will appeal to the target audience as it will contain a variety of relevant information concerning the charity. The website will contain content which will allow the public to get involved and donate. The website will include a page of how to get in contact with the charity and who they are actually helping.The audience will be determined to make a difference by fund raising and making donations towards the cause as that is what i aiming to do with the use of my pictures to draw an emotional response.

The website will appeal to the audience for it will contain a wide variety of relevant information concerning the charity. This information will contain, money raised and what has been done with the money that has already been fun raised. The information will also allow the readers to see what has been achieved by the charity.

Website Brief

Website Brief


The website that I am going to make will be directly focused on a charity that I have chosen. The charity that I have chosen to base my website around is rspca. There are a variety of different reasons for this choice. One of the reasons is that rspca is aimed personally to people and their pets. another reason for my choice is that I believe in the principles of the rspca, in that they care for the well being of animals and their owners.

The audience that rspca are targeting are people who also own pets and want to help others. The audience that i will try and target is very similar to the audience of rspca due to believing in the same morals. The website will appeal to the target audience for it will contain a variety of relevant information concerning the charity. The website will contain content which will allow the public to get involved and donate.

Media

When starting the course I quickly became familiar with what it was that we would be studying and had great interest in it and believe my skills i learnt from as film studies have helped me greatly. I had a brief idea of what we might come across in the course such as the study of films,magazines and newspapers. Also what goes on behind the scenes, the complexity of music, stunts, shots of the camera and the way the camera moves. The first piece of media we studied was Hollyoaks, this is an interest of mine and I felt I had a general good idea of how things were constructed in the series. Creating my storyboard was the most successful chapter of work but writing the assessment came across as more of a challenge and this is one piece of work that I would like to show more understanding in, take more time on or edit some parts of it. After watching parts of the DVD Casino Royale, I have understood the detail and effort that goes into completing a film and how complex the music and sound was for this film. Also how sound is sometimes diegetic and the actors can't always hear what the audience can hear. This is to make the scene have more emotion for us as an audience. Gone Fishing is also a short film which we also studied as a class. I was most impressed with the camera work and how such a simple film could become famous around the world considering how short it was.