PDF - Websites

This year YCN have decided to have all of the enteries send in their work as a PDF, instead of on boards, therefore we are having to create a PDF, which demonstrates our understanding of the brief (which we have chosen), the overview of developed ideas, sketches and progress, Final project (maybe in a form of some screen shots of the relevant parts of my video), and how it would be used in an advertising environment.

Here are a few websites that I have used and looked through to get an idea of how to use grids for the layout:

http://www.welie.com/patterns/showPattern.php?patternID=grid-based-layout - Grid-Based Layout

http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/five-simple-steps-to-designing-grid-systems-part-1 - Five simple steps to designing grid systems - part 1.

Both of these I have found using
http://www.suebamforddesign.co.uk/vislang_yr1/week8/week8.htm which is a website that I was shown within my first year of doing Digital Media Design FDA.

They are both very helpful for me, because they help me understand how grips work, and what would work successfully for this PDF, that I have to create for my project, and for YCN.

Problems I have had & Comments from Crit

In the 'Crit' session, I had plenty of comments that I could use to make my video better. For example, I had overlapped 2 of my people, so that one finished the other's sentence, I did that twice. The first comment, was to add more of the overlapping people so that they are all telling one part of the story, at least, also so that it would make it a continuous event that happened throughout my video.
Another comment, was to add more of the stop motion animations to my video, so that they would look more consistant and make my video even more interesting.
The next comment was to get rid of the beginning part, because everyone didn't find it relevant to my video, and would take the attention away from what I was trying to do.
The last comment I had was I had to change the voice over of Julie Hall, because she was a different quality to the others, and it didn't sound good at all, therefore I had got my mother to redo some of the parts that Julie had said, this is so it wouldn't sound that bad.

Lastly, the lighting in Robert's interview was terrible, which then meant that the video was grainy and pixelated.
I therefore had to re-shoot his video, or not use him visually. Therefore, I had to contact him to see if he could do it in the time space that I had, and luckily he was free, and therefore I was able to re-shoot him. However, this time I decided to use a black background, which would make Robert stand out more, and I changed the lighting a bit, so that again he would stand out better.
Luckily, this time it worked. And therefore I changed the videos from the old ones to the new ones.

I was able to make all of the changes and more to then make my video to the best of my ability. I also got a comment from another lecturer, saying that I could have added more effects to make the video more visually interesting. I feel that if I had more time I could have done that, however, to due to the issues that I had with getting hold of people and getting people filmed, I ran out of time.

Programs Using and Used

I have used different programs to create the different elements for my video.

For the video itself, I am using Final Cut Pro.

Final Cut Pro allowed me to cut my videos up and place them into places that I would like them to be. However, because I have only got a PC at home I found it very difficult to carry on using Final Cut Pro, and therefore one of my Lecturers showed me a way to use Adobe After Effects in the same way.

I began using Adobe After Effects to create my stop motion animations, therefore I was very comfortable with using it, and I also had it at home, which then allowed me to work on it as much as I wanted. Creating the different stop motion animations ment that I had to use different features within After Effects, for example the In and Out points to cut up the different parts of the films.

Lastly, I used Adobe Illustrator to create some of the graphics, and to modify some of the images to make them lighter or darker.

Questions Used for Interviews

For the Four Children:

1. What is your name?


2. What school do you go to?


3. What do you think FairTrade means?


4. What have you done for the FairTrade Festival?


5. What do you think that Anthem is about?


6. What lines did you help create?


7. What do you think it means?


8. What did you enjoy most from this experience?

For Robert Eggleston:

1. What is your name?


2. What do you do for FairTrade (Job)?


3. What is a FairTrade Town?


4. When did Burgess Hill become a FairTrade Town?


5. How and Why did Burgess Hill become a FairTrade Town?


6. When was the first FairTrade Festival?


7. How long does the Festival run for?


8. What events are there at the Festival?


9. Do people volunteer or do you have to ask them?


10. What type of people volunteer?


11. Is there a commitee of people making the decisions about the festival?

For Julie Hall:

1. What is your name?


2. What do you do?


3. Do you do anything outside of Burgess Hill to promote FairTrade?


4. What are you doing for the FairTrade Festival?


5. Why are you involved in the Festival?


6. Are you more aware of FairTrade by doing the Festival?


7. Would you ever do the festival again?

Using these questions that I have come up with will allow me to create a story between all of the different people talking.

Progress of Brief

I have currently started creating my animations, from my sketches and storyboards that I have created, the first one I have created is a chocolate stop motion animation, which will co-inside with what Robert Eggleston has said, when he was explaining how fairtrade works.

I created my stop motion animation by firsting having to make sure that the camera was on a tri-pod so that the framing hardly moved. I then made sure that my positioning of my objects were in the frame, and that you could see the products.

For example in this test shot you cannot see the chocolate that well, therefore I decided to use a white sheet or something to make the chocolate stand out from the carpet.

For example in this photograph here, I have put a white sheet below the chocolate and therefore the chocolate stands out.

After showing my video to my tutors my video and the progress, they had said that I should include more stop motion animation. Therefore I had decided to go through my video to pick out the parts that I can animate.

I then used the idea of when Robert was explaining about the different events that will be at the Burgess Hill FairTrade Festival, I thought I could make 3 short animations to go with what he was saying.

Therefore I chose, 'an acoustic evening',

Classic,

And Rock.

I then thought about doing another small animation showing the different types of people who can get involved with Fairtrade, which again goes with what Robert says again.

Also there was a part that was said about how buying fairtrade items won't cost people 'more than a few extra pennies'.


Therefore I chose to do another even smaller animation just showing about 3 or 4 pennies disappearing from this group of pennies.

Also within my video Robert mentions about the different shops that sell FairTrade products as well as Fairly Traded product, and therefore I went around to each shop, asked their permission if I could take a photo of their products and their signs so I may put them into my video. And here are the shops.

I then added the products that had been mentioned. For example: Oranges, Sugar, Coffee, Chocolate and Bananas

Videos and Images taken for Brief

My answer to the brief that was set by Fairtrade, is to create a video that is based around a community, and with Burgess Hill (which is my home town) being a Fairtrade town, I wanted to base it on that. I chose this idea because I feel that it shows what people can do as a community, instead of individually.

I would like to interview different people, children as well. The only way I can film and include is by getting the school's permission and the parents permission. And I have got all of the permission slips for the interviews, and I am still waiting for the slips from the Choir. I have been thinking about, what would happen if there were children that did not have permission, I would make sure that they attend their choir session, however I would also make sure that they were not included in the film.

I have currently done most of my videos, which are:

• Robert Eggleston's interview (The Chairman of the FairTrade Association of Burgess Hill)
• The four children's interviews (The four children, from Birchwood Grove Primary School, involved with creating the Burgess Hill Community Anthem.)
• Julie Hall's interview (Is a performer who will be performing in the Burgess Hill FairTrade Festival).

I have also started on photographing the images that I would need to create my stop-motion animation.

I am currently waiting for an oppotunity to film the Birchwood Grove Choir singing the Anthem, I think that I may only use the music in the background, and then use the choir singing the chorus at the end.

Research for Fairtrade

This video I got from YouTube. This video I have chosen because it is a good way to explain how Fair Trade works. It has also been a good reference into what I could do for my video. However, this is mainly for people who haven't heard of Fair trade, and are not already ethically aware.


Again I found this video via YouTube. I like this video because it makes the inanimate objects, (the different fruit and vegatables)feel more personal, mainly because they each have their own story and jobs etc. Each of the fruits represent the different workers that help grow and harvest the fruit.


This video again I found on YouTube. This video is very explanitory about what Fair Trade is. There is a voice over, and the words from the voice over are displayed, but they are animated so that it makes the video look better and more ineteresting, then if they were just plonked on the screen in the middle.

Each of these video are very helpful because they show me what I may have to do to make my video stand out. However, there are a few things that I will be doing different to these videos. These videos are very informative about what FairTrade is, and I will not be touching on that subject so significantly, there will be a brief description, and then I will move onto different points, which is what I will come up with.

YCN trip and Final Decision

On the 13th January 2011 we went on a trip to London to visit the company YCN. YCN are the company who hosts the YCN Student Awards every year, which allows for Students and younger people to show what they can create for the briefs that are set.
The trip was very insightful into what the clients are really looking for. We also were shown past winners, and they made me think that I owuld have to think outside of the box to get noticed.

After looking again at the different briefs, I found that my shortlist had changed from 20th Century Fox, Sega and Fairtrade to Green and Black's and Fairtrade. I chose Green and Black's because I had come up with many different ideas.

However, we then had to pitch our ideas to the whole class, to see which idea they thought was the strongest. Some of the comments of my Green and Black's idea made me think, for example, one person said that they were looking for a viral campaign, and my idea wasn't really viral.

And therefore my final decision for my assignment is Fairtrade. This is because I feel that I had more ideas for Fairtrade, and I think that I will be able to match the Fairtrade Brief better then the Green and Black's Brief.

Videos for my 2 concepts

Fairtrade:





Green and Blacks:

Expanding on Short list

To begin with I am expanding on the briefs that I would like to do.


20th Century Fox:
This is the artwork that the company provided for us.


The 20th Century Fox brief states that I would have to create a campaign that would promote their new film, which is called Rise of the Apes. This film is a continuation of the film Planet of the Apes. (Rise of the Apes explains how the planet had become overrun with apes.)






Sega:

The artwork and everything is provided for us by the company.



In the Sega brief they want us to create a piece that would celebrate the 20th anniversary. This means that we would have to make something that would appeal to the older generation as well as the newer generation. They did not specify what type of media we had to create.

Fairtrade:
The artwork are provided by the company.

The Fairtrade brief states that we will have to create a 3 minute video, that communicates how people can do more for fairtrade, the target audience for this project is people who are already ethically aware.

My Short list

I have looked through each of the different briefs to decide which one I would like to do and which one I may do. I will then expand briefly on these to then allow me to make my decision on which 2 or 3 briefs I will expand further on.

The briefs I would like to do:

• 20th Century Fox
• Sega
• Fairtrade

The briefs I may want to do:

• Warp
• The Open University
• Thames Clippers
• P & O Ferries
• Green & Black's Organics
• British Music Experience

New Brief - YCN Award

YCN is a design agency which describes itself as 'Producing work across all media and representing the finest creative people for commissions and collaborations'.
YCN Student Awards shine a light on new creative talent, and centre on a collection of live creative briefs.
For this assignment we will choose from a list of YCN Award briefs.
The briefs we get to choose from are:

• Glayva Liqueur
• Tuborg
• The Big Issue
• Ted Baker London
• M & S
• Fedrigoni UK
• Direct Line
• Boost
• Warp
• The Open University
• Thames Clippers
• P&O Ferries
• Green & Black's Organic
• British Music Experience
• Sega
• Fairtrade
• 20th Century Fox

The Brief:
FdA Digital Media Design Year Two
AF205: Specialist Digital Media Design Practice
Assignment 1: 50% Weighting
Assignment title: YCN Award Briefs

YCN is a design agency which describes itself as ‘Producing work across all media and representing the finest creative people for commissions and collaborations’. They say of themselves that ‘YCN today produces advertising, design and other creative communications in all media; both for its own projects and ventures, and on behalf its various clients’. They are a ‘group of designers, art directors, developers, writers, illustrators and project managers work together at 72 Rivington Street in London’. (http://agency.ycnonline.com/) They also run an annual competition which offers students the chance to fulfill creative briefs from a range of high profile clients and enter that work in a competition. ‘The YCN Student Awards shine a light on new creative talent, and centre on a collection of live creative briefs’. (http://awards.ycnonline.com/)
Winning a competition such as this one often results the work being commissioned commercially is a good career starter.
For this assignment you will choose from a list of YCN Award briefs. The internal deadline for your degree assessment is in advance of the YCN submission deadline. It is recommended, but not compulsory, that you enter your work into the competition.
Deadline and Key Dates
On Monday 10th January, you will put forward proposals for two of the briefs for discussion and evaluation. This must include research, sketchbook and blog work for idea development and a concept you can pursue for two of the YCN briefs.
We will be visiting YCN to discuss the briefs and the competition on Thursday 13th January. This trip to London is a required part of this assignment, so make plans to be available and able to travel that day.
The crit is on Monday 7th February and the final deadline for submission is Thursday 10th February.
What you will produce
Your research, design and planning needs to be shown in a combination of sketchbook and blog. You will submit your finished digital products in suitable formats on a disc and on the submissions server.
To Pass you need to have research and idea development work in your blog and sketchbook (e.g. links to or embedded media for sources of inspiration, initial sketches, analysis of existing media that relate to the brief, information on the client etc) for at least two of the clients, then full design development for your chosen brief (e.g. further sketches, storyboards, animatics, mock-ups, flow diagrams etc). Your blog also needs to reflect your software techniques and problem solving, and a critique of your finished work.
To achieve a higher grade, you need to show thoughtful and useful research, inventive idea development, careful attention to detail in the refining of your ideas, appreciation of the needs and requirements of the client in developing your idea and product, the product you make in response to this brief is a creative solution, aesthetically pleasing and technically well executed and the work is exported in relevant formats.