PASSED MY FIRST YEAR

Never ever thought I'd see the day but passed my first year at NTU :)

First Year Over :)

Did my presentation today, went alrighttttt! After many tears & tantrums first year finally over

:) :)

Awhhhhhh Yeh!

I have just finished my visual essay after about 8 hours a day on it this week! think it looks pretty good although I could have done it totally wrong..

Can view it at: http://holliefergusonvisualessay.hostoi.com/HollieFerguson_VisualEssay/visualessayindex.html

screen shots of visual website:

I have also done my presentation which I am doing tomorrow at 16:00 but need to go into uni to make the dvds.

so happy & stress freeeeeeeeeee :)

Last Week Of The First Year..

& I have finished all 3 of my projects - my interactive I feel being the strongest, animation obviously the weakest.

I have finished my assessment presentation & will upload it on here soon!

My visual essay after so much time & research is nearly complete :)

One Week To Go..

until deadline for visual essay & presentation.

Have just uploaded my interactive media & evaluation to the dropbox - also made it live.

My visual essay and presentation are about halfway through, have just got an email saying Waverley is closed for 4 weeks from next week which is brilliant as I was hoping to edit my film & animation.

I am going to try and improve my animation now but my track record with it this plan may not go too well! also if I have time will do my own edit for film Herds.

Also need to make dvds today if Waverley is closed?!

Presentation

I'm presenting my dp2 presentation to Deb - would have prefered Shaun as I am doing the interactive pathway so my strength in the powerpoint would be this & not film but hopefully it'll be a ok :)

I'm doing a powerpoint & it seems pretty easy, 5 slides on each project - the design process of each one & how we think it could be improved, what's good & what's bad etc etc!

I now need to make my portfolio live - will try this tomorrow.
Finish visual essay & make this live.

Improve my ainamtion & film a little if time & finish presentation.

Quick Update

.. After another 2 weeks off.

I currently have 2 weeks left of interactive media & have no problem with the deadline as I am well underway with my online portfolio & really enjoying this part of the module.

I have started my visual essay & although I may not be doing it 100% correct I am pretty sure i'm on the right track and will finish it in plenty of time for the deadline - 27th May.

I need to start my end of term presentation which hopefully shouldn't take too long as I know what I am doing as I have already done one - saying this I do need to start asking peers for feedback & improving my animation which I keep putting off as I am dreading it!

Finally Started..

making my visual essay! :) I am using the same layout as my online portfolio with different colour theme & content.

Know I will finish before the deadline but a little worried that content of the essay may be wrong..

Visual Essay So Far..

I am struggling a little with this, I have a vague idea of what it should contain. I know my layout for my essay will be in web design, I have my 3 practitoners but am struggling to know what to include in it. I have no problem writing about it as in who I am using and why I am using them but expected to use at least 50 images and 3 videos & I don't really know how I am going to do this :(

Visual Essay

Now I have started the interative project I can recap on html etc & get started on my visual essay! :)

I pretty much know the content of what my essay will have I just need to actually now make a website for it!

:)

Practitioners..

I had 2 in mind who I wanted to use but have been really researching into web design this morning & now have a fair few practitioners I want to use so will be looking at all their work & deciding which ones are best to use!

Visual Essay

Over the last few weeks I have been concentrating on planning my visual essay. I know roughly what i'm doing & have begun creating the structure.

I am intending to choose the interactive pathway so am creating my essay in Dreamweaver. I feel this is a good way of showing my interest, enthusiasm and knowledge in the subject but through the project itself will also show where I want to be and how I want to improve.

My 3 practitioners will be the design company Un.Titled, which are a very good web and graphic designers. I know of them through the college i went to before joining NTU. One of their designers used to go to the same college as me and had designed the art and design prospectus for NTU from 2009. The other is Andrew Warwick from Warwicka, a local designer who has been submitted for many awards and worked with many high profile clients. The final is the company called Seismik who have once again been submitted for many awards and worked for many high profile clients, my personal favourite being the website for the small but eccentric shop called Le Chien Et Moi. Other references are Green sheep designer, JDR, Bubble and Kebler.

Visual Essay Lecture..

Last lecture of the term today about the visual essay.

Our essay needs to:

LO2 -Demonstrate awareness of critical evaluation and review
methods used for judging your own work and the work of
others.

LO3 -Demonstrate awareness of appropriate methods for
structuring design commentary.

LO4 -Explain the critical and contextual dimensions of your
Multimedia practice as informed by social, cultural and technical
issues.

At least 50 images should be used, 3 videos & about ten minutes long.

Need to demonstrate knowledge, understanding & reflection on development.

Lecture On Visual Essay..

Today we had a lecture in which 3 students from 2nd year each did either moving image, animation or interactive spoke to us about the assignments they do in the 2nd year and what helped them decide make to take the pathway they did.

I found it really helpful as I was stuck between interactive & film (although I am yet to do interative this term I really enjoyed it in the first) but after today have decided I will be taking the interactive pathway.

They had the task to create a website for an existing business which I liked the sound of.

Now I know what pathway I am doing I can start my visual essay which will be in the form in html.

Also going to look at 2nd years interactive online journals.

Blogs of 2nd years from todays lecture:

Chris Allwood (interactive) - http://www.allwoodmultimedia.com/
Charlotte Cochrane (moving image) - http://charlottecochrane.blogspot.com/
Callum Whitehead (animation) - http://doodlesd0main-ca11um.blogspot.com/

Their blogs are all pretty amazing & work is really good standard. Not only do they do uni projects but also out of uni projects for clients.

:)

Visual Essay

Been starting my visual essay today, swaying towards the interactive pathway although really enjoy moving image at the minute.

Going to research into a few practitioners & then try and have some design idea for the layout of the essay.

Also some photos of the location for our film on the group bloggggg!

Reflective Practice..

Lecture with Simon as Jools wasn't there, pretty boring about reflecting on our work to have continous learnin & the habit, structure or route about examining experience.

We do this on about journals & through rehearsal.

Convergence

I have siniusitis which is ultimate hell so going to doctors to get some antibiotics so won't be in for lecture today so looked at notes on the now.

Chambers dictionary definition of convergence:

- To move towards or meet at one point.
- Opinions that tend towards each other.

Looking At Visual Essays..

Today i've been looking at visual essays from other students - which is my assignment 2.

Interactive Media Pathway: http://cdja.co.uk/web%20design/visual%20essay.htm

I like this one in which I will probably choose this pathway and they haven't stuck to powerpoint but done it in html which is what interative media will be doing. I like the layout & how the title "visual essay" on the homepage leads to introduction, conclusion etc. The colour theme is also kept the same throughout which looks proffesional. Videos and shots of websites are included on the website.

There were 2 virtual environment examples ( animation ) & although I have NO ITENTION whatsoever of doing this pathway I had a look at the way the essay had been designed.

One was a fairly simple basic powerpoint, I say simple it had a beasty 59 slide to read. I found it hard to understand the 3 practioners & to navigate it. Html layout looked a lot better.

My computer wouldn't let me open the other animation or film example so will do this when on uni computers.

I think I will do mine in a html layout & i'm 99% sure I will be choosing interactive media as my pathway. I'm dreading the essay a little as i'm much better at writing & expressing my opinion that way than through images & artists :( On the wrong course but not alot I can do about that now. Don't want to leave it all last minute dot com so will start on it very soooon

Interactivity..

Had a lecture on interactivity for context with Jools today. We discussed it being a form of communication between an object & person e.g tv, radio, internet. It is a two way exchange. Also discussed user choice & user control & watched a 20 min video of Ted Talks which was quite interesting discussing how lots of choice in the modern world can now be seen as a negative thing & lead to more disappointment than if there was less choice.

Also watched this video:



Also some examples of visual essays are on the NOW so will have a look at them to get some idea of what I need to be doing.

Awhh Yehh :D

Got a B in my first assignment :D