The Importance of Research

To follow up with my idea of creating a book about loss, I decided to do some primary and secondary research. Primary research is where you gather information yourself, that is relevant to what you need, whether that be in articles or in questionnaire's, etc. Secondary research is different because other's have put it together, so, for instance, statistics and already made surveys, etc.

Research is really important because it helps you build and support ideas and/or projects. With research, you can tweak certain ideas so they become more successful, and it can help you relate your work to your audience, too. This includes market research, which usually means visiting a location or certain site that's relevant to what you're researching. This is important as you can see what other brands (etc) have used or applied, for instance, I visited a book store to help with research on book covers. This helped me to see whether the covers were important to what people were buying, etc.

For instance, if I wanted to write a romance novel I could create a survey asking what age groups read romance novels. I could use articles also to help me model my survey, and I could also search for other surveys that are similar. This would help me gain all the information I need for my book so I can write to a relevant audience.

I did create an online survey to help gather first hand research, and discovered a lot to help me with my project. For instance, I asked what genres were people's favourites. Over 50% said romance, action/adventure and fantasy. This helps me see what people like to read, and, possibly, what sections in bookstores they shop in. This helped towards my FMP as I can now consider adding some elements of romance into my chapter, to help draw in a larger audience.

I also asked about online reading on websites. The results weren't as I expected as I thought that not many people would use online websites for reading. However, as you can see, 50% don't use websites, however 50% do and over 45% of those use a website called Wattpad - one I have used before. This helps my FMP, as now I can think about publishing the chapter online to reach a wider audience.

As far as secondary research goes, I've done a lot of research in books and plays for my theme. This is to get a more grounded knowledge for my theme on loss, so my project is accurate and relevant. First, I found a quote from John Irving's book A Prayer to Owen Meany, 'When someone you love dies, and you’re not expecting it, you don’t lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time', which shows the time it takes to heal from loss, and this made me change my theme slightly to coping.

I've also done some research on author's websites to see what theme, colours, font, etc, they use. I looked at a couple on another blog here, but it really helped my project as it gave me an idea for my website. The sites are creative and have lots of links and interactive parts, so I have decided to try and include these in my own way.

Finally, I did some research on pricing and marketing. I need to see what my book would sell at and how much it would be to produce it. As I'm doing a chapter, I decided to price the whole 400 page novel as a pre-order, to make it easier. I looked online and many sites said to not go cheap as readers pay a good sum for their reading material, and cheap usually reflects on the book in a bad way. I found a great chart on this website which tells the average pricing of books. This really helped me decide on the pricing of my book and whether I wanted a huge profit or not, etc.

My Flowchart

I used Prezi to design a flowchart presentation for what I need to do for my FMP and flexible deadlines for these things. This helps me create a vague schedule of what I need to do for when, and helps me be a bit more organised.

I started with the development of the idea, and things we did last week like developing themes, etc. This is all stuff I have done, so things I have set for myself for the end of this week is to choose the idea I like best and to research it. This includes primary and secondary, and this is all to help me develop my project even further so I can tweak it to make it relevant to certain research. This will make my project more successful and more developed.

Next, I will design a pitch to 'sell' my idea, linking to all of the research I have made. I want to design this before we leave for holidays on the 31st, so I can focus on the pitch and the actual execution of my project after the holidays.

Idea for my FMP

I have thought about my FMP and possible themes, and I still like the idea of loss, however I have changed the idea I had for this theme. Before, I mentioned making a short film where people talk about their losses and it would be very moving. I also was thinking of having an underlying message for hope, etc. I still like this idea, however, at the weekend I thought about possibly doing a book. I wouldn't write the entire book, just maybe a snippet or so, but I could design a cover, have a website selling it, publish it on an online writing website, and even do an interview with the 'author' to continue my film idea, in a way. This sort of combines both of my ideas, just putting it in a book.

The reason I prefer this idea is because the old idea was great but I like writing and creative writing, so this adds something I love to my FMP, and I think I'll be more determined to complete it and do well if I love it. 

I made a mind map of the things I can do and how. I grouped them together as to what subjects they refer to (moving image, publishing and some interactive). Next, I just need to design a schedule for deadlines, and research some of the things I need to make this idea successful.

How am I doing all of this?

I've decided to use a website called InVision to make a prototype of the website selling it, with a biography of the author and links to the interview. I looked at a couple of examples, and found they were really polished and professional.

Anthony Horowitz' website used textures and creative ways to draw in the eye besides colours. There were links to more information about his work and himself, also.

Another example was J.K Rowling, and I loved her website. It was very interactive, with her signature opening the page itself. You also didn't scroll down, but across, like a book.

This gave me some ideas on themes for my website, for instance I like the lighter themes, but I'm sure it'll change on the look of my book cover.

I haven't thought much about the book itself just yet, as I am developing on the theme: loss. Soon, I will develop characters and an idea of the plot.

Audio Evaluation

My idea, when I started, was to create an infographic video about a certain campaign. I wanted the audio to be a narration of the highlighted facts, and some music, too. I didn't have the time to animate an infographic, but I did a presentation which still looked professional.

From this, I've gained experience with working closer with audio, and seeing how certain audio affects certain aspects of a video. I feel like I could've worked on my timing more, as I was more pressured towards the end of the deadline. However, from this, I am more confident with audio.

Overall, everything went almost the way I planned to, and even the parts that didn't I'm proud of. The only thing really being my organisation on this project. These are the videos below:

Finalising our Audio Pieces

For a while, I've been working on two Instagram videos for a campaign against animal testing. I used Prezi to create a presentation and screen recorded it. Then, I recorded my own audio with a script, as a voiceover for the video. Finally, to add a little something else, I added music from YouTube. There are some issues with copyrighting, and etc, so there is a helpful Creator Studio in your channel that you can download music, but sometimes you need to credit the music (depends on the song). This is really helpful, and helps to add a little extra to my audio.

Finalising my Webpages

I have finally completed and exported my webpages. I think, overall, my design is fairly good and helps to promote and sell the product. This is because the design is consistent and fairly good to look at, which always helps to sell a product when it looks nice. Also, I didn't just shoot images of the product, but people with the mug and the mug surrounded by cakes and treats, which helps to make the images look a bit more cosy.

Also, I have integrated moustaches throughout the webpages to link to the product which helps it highlight it. I did this with subtle moustache icons, and tea and moustache puns. This helps to help people remember the website a little more, if it has some more individual features.

I've also linked my pages, including hover states, to Invision, which helps you to build a prototype website. It really helps to see how my website would look, and work with all the links and hover states working. It looks really professional and polished, and I'm really please with the outcome. Below, you can see the main homepage and product page for both desktop and mobile. (Please excuse the quality of the mobile pages.)

Our brief

This week, we received our briefs for our FMP (final major project). In this brief it helps us to see what we really need to achieve to help get the best result we can.

For instance, the first thing the brief says is 'demonstrate and showcase all of your skills that you have developed'. This means that all the skills we've learned in the past year, that I have listed in an inventory already, need to be applied where appropriate in my FMP. This means that even though I'm working on a possible documentary styled short film/advert, I need to incorporate some publishing and research skills, too. So, I will have to think of supporting posters, etc, to support my FMP.

Additionally, the brief says 'you will critique and reflect'. This means I need to up my blogging game, and really start blogging everything I do that contributes to my FMP. This helps with my progress and gives evidence of this process. It also says we need to critique, and self-assessment is a skill we have practised before. This may mean I may have to re-submit things if I go over it and find a better way to do it. It also means when I am reflecting in blog posts, I need to comment about ways I could improve, even if I couldn't control it or if I am content with the outcome.

Finally, the brief lists some themes I can use for my FMP, or it says 'you are welcome to create your own'. This means I can be as creative as we want, and this can be the perfect chance to impress people with my work. I like the fact that I'm not limited to just a few themes already chosen, as this broadens the horizons a little and I can really do a project about something I love, feel passionate or strongly about.

Overall, I'm excited for this brief and FMP, and I want to meet all of the criteria given to us on the brief.

My Themes

As promised, I created a mind-map with all of my theme ideas, including some chosen for us also.

Firstly, I started with the ones given to us: hunger and grotesque. I chose hunger because it doesn't just mean hungry for food, but it could also mean hungry for change, or power, etc. It could either be positive or negative, and I thought this would make a good plot, if I could come up with one.

Grotesque interested me a little more, because I had the idea of people using masks to either portray something horrible, or to hide something horrible. I thought this could be a moving film and it led me to the idea of disguises. This could also link to people disguising mental illnesses, and this links to some of my old projects, too. However, I couldn't think of a real plot, and I thought of combining themes but then it gets complicated.

This made me move on and think of some of my own. I firstly thought of paths to success, where I film students working on their FMP as a motivational video. I thought of scenes where this person would be down but would succeed by the end. This is difficult, however, because the pressure will increase and if the person I am filming drops out, that's my idea down the drain.

So, I moved on to probably my favourite idea so far: loss or loneliness. I could make a plot or story for this, or I could use real people and their real stories to make a moving film.

I'll add to this soon.

Looking at my FMP

In class today, we received our briefs and FMP submission sheet. After reading through the brief, I made a mind map about the ideas for my project and so forth.

You can see this mind map here.

I started with some of the goals I wanted to achieve, which was to make a individual, creative film that helps to move people. There are other goals, such as to be on time with deadlines and to achieve a good grade, but I'm happy with these for now.

I also noted what I was excited about. I, so far, am really enjoying any pre-production work, for instance, script-writing and shot lists and character making, etc. I'm really excited to get stuck in with this again, and do some creative writing in script form. I also enjoy story boarding and plot designing so I can't wait to make the story itself.

I also am excited about working in a team. I'm quite used to working alone and independently, so I am excited to have the help of a crew to help with my ideas and film itself. It's nice to create something, but, with the help of peers and a crew, I can really help improve and critique it as I go along.

Additionally, I'm excited about the end result, and having something that I've really worked on, that's hopefully successful.

I have also noted some themes for my film that I am thinking about - and I am developing these in another mind map (don't worry, I'll go on about it to you soon). These ideas are either from the brief itself or some I have come up with on my own.

Finally, I have put some action points, which help me to achieve my goals, so for instance to think outside of the box, and to create something that relates to people. Also, with the organisation goals, I need to keep on top with a list of deadlines, and etc.

Construction Toy Advert

The next thing to do was to create a 30 second advert. I didn't know how to do this effectively so I looked at other toy adverts. I also wondered whether or not to complete the advert in Premier Pro or Flash, etc. I wanted to do Flash but I really struggle with the software.

I found a Lego advert that uses clever animation, on a level that I couldn't compete with. In this advert, the toys come to life and you can see a kid helping to control the toys to show it's his imagination, too. This helped me brainstorm a couple of ideas of what to create, or try to.

I had an idea of animating children building with the toy, and then the lights turing off and the night light switching on. This creates a sort of story, a bit like the lego advert. I also thought, to add my own twist, to make the children not human but shapes or something clever (a bit like the toothpaste family in the Colgate adverts). This would be more appealing to younger kids.


At first, I designed the characters as carrots because of the old saying 'carrots help you see in the dark'. However, it was too clear why carrots were the characters in a toy advert, so I drew another concept. This concept was of bringing the tiles of the toy to life to help soothe a distressed child going to bed. I thought this would be sweet and help promote the toy for adults and children.

How to do this? An idea came to me to do a stop and start animation of drawings, rather than animating with Flash (software I'm not used to). However, I did want to attempt to animate this properly, so I looked at some tutorials and got to grips with other softwares.

I designed a clearer concept, and the computer I'm on right now only has a really old version of Flash (something I'm even less familiar with), so I decided to do some more pre-production.

I started to focus on audio, and whether or not I wanted a script in my advert. I decided on no dialogue but I made a list of sounds to create and add into the movie when I was finished, or if I had time. My audio list so far is to the left.

I will post the animation itself shortly.

Product Page Designs

We had to design product pages for our website (both desktop and mobile). I wanted to carry on my 'style' of a funny and simplistic page with the same colour theme. I started with typing out the descriptions which I'd add into a Google doc. This helped me organise how how space I'd need for certain things. I started with the desktop version last week, including using some sketches. Below, you can see what it looks like so far.

I still have small bits of tweaking to do, but it's mostly finished. I've also added some hover states to the desktop version, over the buttons like 'go to gallery' and 'buy', etc.

I added a 'go to gallery' option, rather than extra images, because I didn't want to crowd the page. If I have time I'd like to design this gallery page, too, but I'll work with what I need so far.




I also started editing the mobile version this week, but I've struggled a little with the size of the contents and certain things being big enough for touch. I feel like it looks too 'blocky' so far, so I will make the layout less stressed. i also have changed the footer as I realised the small print was unreadable and almost impossible to touch. I will continue tweaking as the day goes on and update.

Update:

I've changed the footer, again, but I prefer this layout. I've also tweaked the font size and give more room for the 'Buy' button. I'm happier with this outcome, because it flows a lot better and looks a lot nicer with my theme.