I’ve graduated! Its all over! Shocking!
But what of my blog? My humble journal that has kept a (sometimes begrudging) record of my trials and tribulations of a 3 year Bachelor of Arts? Well I’m not entirely sure at the moment although my best guess would be that its going to be adapted in some form to become part of my portfolio page meaning the content will change significantly. All critical/media-esque work will now be headed to txt.stuffbytom.com. All these posts will be archived (I think) along with the a3 artefacts blog and the new version of this blog will be filled with material that a) Makes me seem clever b) Makes me seem interesting and c) Makes me highly employable.
Its been a long gruelling ride.
See you on the other side…
Tom
As the main purpose of this blog is to expand upon aspects of my Multimedia BA hons course at Nottingham Trent University. I have created a new outlet for my critical writing, all reviews will now be posted at:
txt.stuffbytom.com
The Escapist
Dir. Robert Wyatt
Cert: 15
Year: 2008
The ‘prison-escape’ film has not been well serviced of late. The triumphs of Darabont’s King adaptations, films that explored the nature of the phrase ‘institutionalized’ whilst tackling issues of hope and redemption seem to be a thing of the past with majority earnings from either juvenile comedies (ill advised The Longest Yard remake) or brain dead football ‘hard man’ films ala Green Street 2.
Rupert Wyatt’s debut then is one of those most wonderful of films, defiantly modern without shirking its genre’s classic roots. Continue reading ‘The Escapist Review’
Made these before the identity group meeting today. After viewing Camilla’s blog I had the idea for the theme ‘spectrum’, I knocked up a couple of logos so people could see what I was getting at.
More feedback (again positive)
I showed my interface design to my Theatre Design liaison Chole Smith and she was also pleased with the layout. She felt I made good use of colour and the blacks of the Theatre pathway worked well (this was what they requested so I’m glad they liked it) and effectively showcased work. I was pleased with this as, based on my previous meeting, the Theatre pathway people seemed most specific about their needs. After I pointed out some of the negative feedback regarding one of the fonts (the Pathway font) she felt it looked a bit too ‘confused’ and suggested changing it i will find a replacement for this. Preferably one that is more legible without sacrificing the ‘hand-made’ feel of the original choice.
Dave Allen, head of DFTV hadn’t seen my design but spoke very positively about the touch screen concept, he also liked the idea of the sensor that played a video when people walked past. I discussed this with him and he will incorporate the speakers and sensor into his design for the monitor ‘base’.
I am very happy with the feedback I have received so far. The main test will be what the Multimedia ‘Identities’ group think when i show them the designs during our meeting on Monday.
An interesting discussion today, what I thought was going to be a small meeting (me, Adam, our course rep and Simon) turned out to be an official staff meeting with heads of programmes and other student reps.
It was an interesting experiance and gave me the oppurtunity to see the general mindset of the people behind the exhibition.
It also helped me clarify which staff membr was responsible for what:
- Simon – Catalogue
- Andy – Exhibition itself
- David – IT, stain glass exhibit and touchscreen
- Peter – information Services
- Shane – Senior technician
The points I took that were most relevent to my topic (and my new to-do list):
- Course reps sent e-mail detailing course logo specification (request copy of this).
- Placeholder filming will take place soon for my coursework hand in. Official staff filming (for talking head sections of interface) will take place in April.
- Opening night is 4th June. This night will be industry people only (most important night!).
- Theatre exhibition name is ‘Make Believe’ DFTVs is ‘Exposure’. Multimedia’s will be cleared up on Monday.
- Dave Allen is in charge of building the plinth my touch screen monitor will be embedded in.
- DFTV are deciding on a logo, I saw a possible choice and liked it. Theatre are waiting to hear back from their graphic designers. I told both tutors to send me the logos as soon as they are finalised.
- I need to contact Rebecca so she can forward an e-mail detailing what information I need from students for my interface.
- I need to find out Rebecca’s second name…
Showed my design a couple more students today. One of whom was in the group responsible for the exhibition identity (they want to do ‘fusion’ I don’t like it) feedback was again positive:
Both students (Richard Parr and Camilla Insalaco) said it was an attractive design that didn’t detract from the student work itself.
Camilla suggested it would be a nice touch for the ‘slider’ on the student selection screen to be like an old cassette tape that plays when it is dragged. this would be a more visually suggestive ‘multimedia’ device. I like the idea very much although I have minor reservations regarding the clarity of its use and it will not fit in with the Theatre/Dftv pages. However, it will be a striking visual and I intend to look into this.
Both students commented negatively on the love hearts in the course title font, (this makes three now!). They like the font itself however. I will fix this.
I e-mailed Chloe Smith, my Theatre Design Exhibition Identity liaison, again requesting some dummy data to place into the Theatre Pathway Design before I show it to her for comment. I feel it is important to see how the Design will work in context before passing judgement.
Tomorrow I am attending a meeting between our course rep and Multimedia Programme Leader Simon Perkins. Any pertinent information will forthcoming.
(Published in //Newsletter 15th Mar 2009)
Watchmen
Dir. Zack Snyder
Year: 2009
Cert: 18
Moore and Gibbons’ Watchmen is one of the greatest comics in the medium. Its world an alternative 1980s time-line intricately realized, deliriously inventive and yet grounded and believable. Its characters broadly satirize comic archetypes whilst revealing themselves to be psychologically complex and memorable individuals in their own right. Its themes: a celebration of comic book cliché that belies an oft bleak dissection and erosion of the mediums weaknesses. A book that makes a wondrous alchemy of its many contradictions. It is undoubtedly a classic.
Continue reading ‘Watchmen Review’
I showed my latest designs to my end-user David Downes today. Feedback was very positive although there were some initial concerns about the way the design splits the viewers attention. My next task is to try and get some more feedback and begin creating a working prototype. I want this prototype to be completed in 2 weeks.
On my way out of the office I managed to collar Simon Perkins, the Multimedia Programme leader. His feedback was also very positive, citing improvments over last years system and praising the attractive visuals, function and especially the accessibility. Stating it avoided the pitfalls of the previous designs functional yet technical image and being something more ‘human’. However he also pointed out the lack of balance between the to parts on the screen in the student areas, but attributes this to the dummy data photos from last year. He suggested taking photos with my design in mind (ie more colourful) would better balance the image.
I also received positive feedback from three of my fellow students. I will now progress with refining this design and programming a version using Flash CS4 and Actionscript 3.
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