Exhibition website

For the web gallery and exhibition module I was in the web team, who were tasked with creating a website to advertise and provide more information about the exhibition we were creating.

The website can be found here: http://retroresolution.site90.com/

We decided to create a simple site design as the team did not have much experience in creating websites. The theme for the exhibition was retro so the graphics and icons used were chosen to fit with this theme. The graphics used on the site were provided by the graphics team and there were many changes before the design was settled on.

First I was tasked with creating a contact page for the website. I decided to create a form using php that can be used to send an email from the website. As I had never done this before so it needed a bit of research but in the end a fully functioning form was created. 

Next I worked on the gallery pages to add a lightbox to the page. As the three Polaroid images were saved as a single image, image maps were used to create the links. Fancybox (http://fancyapps.com/fancybox/) was used for the lightbox as it supported YouTube videos and links using the area tag, originally another lightbox plugin was being used but this didn't support videos (http://leandrovieira.com/projects/jquery/lightbox/). The setting were adjusted so the helper buttons were used as the left and right arrows wouldn't work with the YouTube content.

JQuery was also used to add smooth scrolling back to the top of the page as the pages were quite long, especially the gallery and students page.

This was my first time working on live website and I have learnt a lot from working on it.

Undergraduate Major Project

For the undergraduate major project I have to write a 10,000 word dissertation on a subject of my choice related to the course.

Mine is related to 3d animation. The hypothesis for my dissertation is: The use of body language plays a large role in creating a believable animated character.

I will model and rig a character to be used in this for this project. I will animate the character and use a questionnaire to see whether the use of body language in the animation helps to make it more believable and better portrays the emotion of the character.

Video production

The task in this module is to create a video on the subject of our choice. A treatment, script and storyboard will need to be created to plan the video before it can be shot.

Web gallery and exhibition

This module consists of creating a CV and business card, and to work as a group to create an exhibition to showcase our work. The class is split into three teams web, exhibition and graphics and each is assigned different tasks.

A blog for this module can be found here: http://abonnington-galleryandexhibition.blogspot.com/

3D Character Animation

For this module we are tasked with creating a villain to star in a new children's TV show for the 7-11 age group.

A blog for this module can be found here: abonnington-3dcharacter.blogspot.com

Advanced Sound Techniques

The task in this module is to create a 3 minute soundscape, I created mine on Antarctica. Logic pro was used in the creation and the soundscape was composed of midi as well as apple loops.

Virtual environments group project

The group project for this module involves creating an animation for the Guildhall in Finchingfield.

Virtual environments

In this module there were two tasks. The first one was to create a model of my head with the use of some video tutorials and the second was a group project to create an animation about a Guildhall in Finchingfield.

Back to uni

I am now going back to university to start on my final year and will add more posts when I have anything new to add.

Final year

The modules in the first semester of the final year are listed below.

Web design

The first task was creating a CSS style sheet so that the design of the website would match an image that had been provided without editing the html file. Notes about the widths and colours were provided to help in creating this. This part of the assignment was quite straightforward and was completed quite quickly.

Design Methods and Technology Project

This module involved redesigning a product or designing a new one. I decided to design a 7 day digital alarm clock that would allow 7 alarms to be set, one for each day.

3D Modelling and animation

This module involved using 3D Studio Max to create a 30 second animated trailer for a James Bond film of choice. I chose Casino Royale as I originally intended to base the trailer around the poker scene as this makes up most of the movie. I decided that this may not be a good choice as it would require lots of character animation that would not be good for my first time using the software. I also thought that it may be better to choose action packed scenes such as car chases and explosions as this is what is expected from a Bond movie so would be more likely included in a trailer.

Interaction and usability

This module involved redesigning a user interface and then creating a prototype using Adobe Flash. The goal of the project was to increase user satisfaction and experience for the person using the chosen system.

2D animation

This was the second 2d animation module and also involved using Adobe Flash. The subject for the animation was Czechoslovakia 1968. This was a time in Czechoslovakian history known as the Prague spring and was a short period of liberalisation in the country after years of oppression. The freedom was short lived as shortly afterwards Warsaw pact troops invaded the country.

Digital imaging

In this module we had to take photos for 6 photographic genres these were,

• Environmental portraiture
• Landscapes
• Movement
• Macro/Still life
• Studio portraiture
• Night experimental

Introduction to animation

This module consisted of creating an animation to illustrate how to make a DIY photographic item such as a light tent.

Design principals

This module involved working in a group to design a pet product. In the group we decided on a bee hive to encourage more people to keep bees. We thought that it would be unusual and with bees dying out it would be a good thing to get more people to own bees.

Learning and Skills Development for HE and Work

This module was to prepare students for university and later the world of work, learning necessary skills such as writing essays, referencing properly using the Harvard referencing system and making presentations.

Digital Imaging Software

The video part of the module included the entire process of creating a 3min video, coming up with the idea, planning and storyboarding, filming and then editing the footage. The task was completed working in a group of 5 in the last 6 weeks of the module. The first 6 weeks of the module consisted of learning techniques and creating a 1 min video to practice what we had learnt.