BCT 2015

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Frolian Travels Showreel

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Focusing on content creation now for all websites - going to be a busy last few weeks with Taylor Pringle #bestofcolab

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Revising the narrative

After revising the project, it seemed we needed a change in the overall purpose behind the story. Our original theme of discovery and appreciating your surroundings didn’t have a strong enough presence and felt like an afterthought. We knew something was missing and we had found the answer.

Creating in the physical world through a digital narrative became the new underlying theme and we felt it worked perfectly with our narrative. This also lead into the inclusion of makerspaces as it fit both with the underlying theme and the channels we had chosen. Hazel has an interest in makerspaces as she is a crafter and is eager to learn about upcoming technologies.

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The prints need slight adjustments

We collected our new evoloutions of Leif and had worries about whether the prints would work in the real world. The third evolution looked really cool however it was slightly wobbly when standing. I am probably most happy with this design. I love how he came out even though we were worried about the shape of his legs and arms. 

The fourth evolution is one that needs the most work, the legs are too close togther and are too in the center which means he doesnt stand properly. The legs are also uneven, which doesnt help with trying to get him how to stand. Im glad we were able to even out the small kinks now and have enough time to refine the to a place where we are happy with.

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Dem - Our first user testing Victim

We wanted to get our first user to test the instructions and find the weak points that needed attention. As Dem has shown an interest in Leif and happens to luckily sit close by, we sat him down with the Leif Felt Kit and let him have a play.

During the couple of hours of felt doll making, it provided a huge insight into how people react to instructions. I have always been a person to follow instructions when it comes to crafty things as I have learnt the hard way when you compare your creation to the images on the instructions and they look nothing alike. Dem however went on his own merry way to create his own Leif doll which is perfectly acceptable.

Dem also helped a lot with what adjustments are needed for the instructions. There needs to be more sewing instructions and the eyes need to be sewn on first rather than last. I guess I just followed my own instructions which made perfect sense to myself. It also needed more instructions in general to ensure people don’t get lost on the way.

All in all user testing is something essential when creating things like this. It shows how many possible ways something can be completed. 

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Frolian Info Card

We added in a Frolian Info Card into the felt kits as it provides an overview for anyone who doesnt know the story. We may look at turning it into a postcard however this is still being thrown around. 

The design is very basic as the card is quite text heavy. I wanted to ensure the audience knew who Leif was while reading his story. 

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Creating Instructions

As this project is one for learning as many things as possible before graduation, I wanted to explore Illustrator and feel more confident when using it. I have always been a Photoshop person and have stayed away from Illustrator as much as possible. I was taught Photoshop at high school as I was a photography student and never really drifted from it. I do now see how great of a software Illustrator is and what it can achieve. I decided to venture away from the safety blanket that is Photoshop and use this opportunity to gain more skills in Illustrator.

As I have previously had a little play with Illustrator, I roughly knew what I was doing. I decided to follow the instructions we had previously bought and to just input my own content. As my instructions where illustration based, this worked perfectly. 

The most time consuming portion of the instructions was creating each little stitch, ensuring they line up with the outline of the fabric. Once I had roughly created all of my basic shapes, I could copy and paste adding minor adjustments along the way.

I am pretty happy with how they turned out. The front could do with a bit more work and I may take a photo of a felt Leif to cover the front. I could easily follow the instructions we bought, so I stuck to using that as guide to ensure I had enough instructions but not going overboard.

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Revised Reports

After thinking over and over about the Leif website from last semester, it occurred to me why it was so I guess off is the best way to describe it. We struggled with the interaction and now I can tell exactly why. It was never setup to be a basic website, I guess I was so focused on creating websites that I kind of missed the bigger picture. Now I realise that the whole time this website was meant to be a blog. It seems fitting that it would be a blog style as the content is that of a blog. I think that now we have the overall concept sorted that the rest will slot into place.

We have decided as a group to no longer include the sound reports as they were always Mikhail’s portion of the project. Due to the lack of interest and required skills in sound development I think we would have struggled continuing this portion. We then had to rethink an interactive element that could be added to the narrative. We decided on these ‘reports’ that Leif creates that document important information he has gathered throughout his journey on earth. A small interactive element will be added to the reports to add audience participation. I believe these reports are coherent with the rest of the project however more interaction could be possibly added. It is hard to add interaction where it is not necessarily needed as it most of the time, looks forced. We want the interactive elements to be a part of the overall medium and not something that looks or feels half arsed and thought of last minute.

As always Ann Marie and I have deiced on an basic design but are creating different reports to then be brought together and analysed to see which one best suits. I feel this method is one that works for me and although it may seem like wasting time, I feel it allows both of our designs to be seen and discussed. 

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Plushies Plushies Plushies

At the start of the semester we wanted a semester filled with fun, it is our last one so why not? Making plushies has definitely added fun to the project, sometimes I feel as though it is almost a stress reliever as you can just plod along making whatever while thinking through problems in your head. 

I somehow was given the job of creating the felt plushies. I did want to learn how to create these however I do hope we get to share the work and possibly make one of each. I decided to print out the 3D model I had originally created and use that as a template. It does seem to work however I may experiment as Leif is a slightly odd shape due to the felt plushies not being entirely round.

Eventually this Leif doll will be turned into a kit that Hazel, our human companion, will sell to the audience so everyone can make and have their own Leif. So far I am testing shapes, sizes and colours to see which work better than others. The size is a key factor in this kit as we need to ensure enough felt can be fitted into the plastic bag and also that the dolls are not too small. I have created one about 4 cm wide and this seems like an okay size to begin with. I do think it will have to be bigger to ensure it its easy enough for kids to sew. Another factor relating to the size is time, the dolls are not a 5 minute project. Obviously with an increase in size, comes an increase in time. They already require a lengthly amount of time (1 - 2 hours roughly) and a kid can only hold their attention on one thing for so long. 

Colours is also important as I have learnt that different coloured fabrics are different thickness and qualities. We need to ensure that the chosen coloured fabric is thick enough not tear during the sewing process but is thin and pliable enough to be used.

Throughout the many tests to be completed over the next few days, I will figure out all the information needed to create a working kit for a class member to test.

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Ever evolving Leif

We decided to expand the story and add an additional evolution to Leif. This gave the story an underlying theme that both young and old can understand and relate to. As we are aiming towards children, we wanted a theme that was child-friendly and could provide a lesson for them. With the way the story was heading it seemed that we were leaning towards a story where Leif blends in with his surrounding in a bid to try and fit in. Although this is a perfectly find scenario, it is a not an ideal thing have as a possible lesson. 

Instead we re evaluated the story and decided that Leif still does evolve to fit in with he humans on Earth however his final form is a mixup of both Frolian and Human qualities. The more time Leif spends on Earth, the more he feels like an outsider and feels the need to fit in. This triggers his third evolution where all of his features are designed to be more human like. He grows in height and forms a head like shape separate but connected to his body. His legs extend and the small round bits on his side, extend to form arms with human like elbows

After this transformation, Leif becomes worried at how far he has strayed from the normal Frolian form and how the Frolians will react once they are informed of the drastic change. Eventually the Frolians find out and want Leif to abort the mission and come home. Afraid of their reactions, Leif goes into hiding until there is nothing left to do but return to Frolia. Upon his return, the Frolians are shocked at how much information and outside input Leif’s form was influenced by. After a short time of being home, Leif goes through his final transformation into a Frolian/human shaped hybrid. 

This fourth evolution is the first of its kind, as Frolians, until now, have only heard of three possible evolutions. This fourth stage shows just how much Leif has grown and how much more the Frolians have to learn. As this shows Leif level of knowledge of the world outside of Frolia, he is promoted to managing and guiding all expeditions out of Frolia.

In the end, we decided on the theme of being your own person and not becoming a sheep and following the horde. 

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Lack of blogging...again

I have again lost control of blogging and am falling far behind in my updates. Again I have put myself in a place which I despise, trying to mass update on everything that has happened recently. Here goes nothing...

So far we have completed quite a bit, perhaps not as much as I would have hoped but I feel we will speed up and get heaps done after the break. This always seems to happen, I start to panic about not completing enough and then we blast through and complete everything. 

We have refined the plushie and felt dolls and started creating Leif ones, following the 3D model we have already created (Post coming soon).

The website from Leif that explains Leif’s “reports” from Earth will be redeveloped into a blog style design. We have decided on customising a wordpress site as this seems like the most logical option with the time given (Post coming soon).

The human companion site will be following the same design specified last semester and we will begin coding that asap.

The human companion has a name, personality and characteristics. Hazel is her name and a post will be coming soon explaining her personality.

 So far I believe that is it however I can tell I have already missed something. Explanation posts will be coming soon....

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Creation of Woollen Plushes - A painful experience

One of our merch outputs are plushy, fabric dolls. The initially idea behind creating these was pretty much because we wanted to. In the end it seemed logical as two of our audience profiles enjoy these plushies.

I never knew the process behind these cute woollen creatures and only once Ann Marie showed me a DIY video, did I understand how they work. There is no sewing involved (Major Plus) and requires a felting needle and wool. Pretty much the entire process is made up of stabbing a ball of wool with the barbed needle, trying to not aim for your finger during this violent action. The barbed needle pulls the fibres together and kind of matts them to create shapes. The more you stab, the harder the object will be. Its the same with adding pieces to your object, just stab at the join and magically they will join. Taadaaa.

All in all this process is fun and creative however we have to keep in mind our age group and ensure we are not endangering small children.

We have decided to make Leif plushies using this type of crafting and will also create small Leif kits that could be sold to our audience. We are also throwing the idea around of creating DIY videos possibly in animation that will work with the kits we make. This idea is still in the unsure pile as we would like to create the videos however may be run out of time. This idea will not be thrown away however and will stay in our thoughts until the end of semester.

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Transmedia Update

It has been quite a while since my last blog and I hope to update it with everything that has happened so far. 

Its so difficult to decipher all that has happened recently without it all mushing into one update.

There has been a lot of worrying, planning, re-planning, discussing and evaluating going on since my last update. I know this is an important portion of the project however I feel it has taken us as a group and myself, a while to get moving and get creating. 

The idea was the easy part as it was partially thought out already however we needed to confirm our outputs and major focus points for the project. Frolian Travels is such a large project that there will always be more content to consider and more stuff to make. We have to narrow down our outputs and decide what we want to work on based on our goals for the semester. Our overall goal is to Be Qualified in Something or have enough skills to get a job in our chosen field. We have set out a variety of skills and programs we want to learn and explore before graduation which will hopefully increase our chances of employment. These are mainly focused around Web Design for me and UX/UI for Ann Marie. With this is mind we have devised a plan for what will be created in our project.

The brainstorm in red is what we are focusing on for this project. We each have portions that relate to our chosen careers as well as small fun projects to ensure our last semester is a good one. It also allows us to explore mediums that we may not be able outside of uni. 

We have created a sort of flow diagram that shows how the content we are creating works within the Frolian Travels narrative. 

Our Human Companion will be creating:

           - Merch (Soft toys, kits, 3D prints)            - 2nd website            - And possible DIY and animation videos

The Frolians are creating Leif’s website that reports his findings back home.

The book will be created outside the storyworld as it provides a complete overview of the entire narrative, characters and transmedia elements.

There is a lot more that needs to be covered and hopefully I shall remember it all

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The First Blog of The Final Semester

Already started off with a bang....by forgetting to blog hallelujah. 

It seems we are already struggling to gather momentum and are just avoiding confirming studio ideas. We need to just get a game plan ready and commit to it. We have decided to explore our existing Transmedia story of Frolian Travels and begin stage two of the narrative. Stage Two is where Leif comes in contact with a human. Leif begins to learn about the context behind all he has documented so far. This interaction between Leif and a human allows for more interaction and participation from the audience. 

Last semester Ann Marie made a Transmedia Bible exploring possible outlets and options for stage two of Frolian Travels. This has provided us with a basis to grow from and see whether our initial options are realistic and will actually provide something to the story. We are also following the feedback we received from Anna last semester to see where we need more work and any issues that need to be addressed before we begin. 

We feel that the main issue we need to begin fixing is the story. There are a few weak points in the story that need more work to create an overall stronger narrative. I think one of the biggest weak links between stage one and two are the websites. 

In stage one, there is a website that Leif uses to transmit all information he has gathered back to Frolia. There is no real interaction between the site and the user. Our main reasoning for this was that realistically, the site would be something probably hidden from humans to ensure they didn't accidentally find out about Frolia. 

Stage Two provides us with a website made by Leif’s human companion. This website gives us insight into his journey around earth and provides a more personal connection with Leif. It also provides more information regarding Frolia and who Leif is and why he is here. 

There is no real link between these two entities which is why it would be difficult for the audience to follow the entire story. We need a way to link both websites while following our storyline. However, this is only one of the many issues we need to fix before progressing to actually begin the creation of stage two. 

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Setup of Terraritopia for open studio

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Final Reflection

This semester has been one filled with many new things. New electives taken by different courses, new lecturers, a new form of writing in an exegesis... the list goes on. This seems to be perhaps the most difficult semester for not just myself but for a lot of students in the class. Maybe it was due to being one year old and perhaps maybe not one year wiser, I’m not sure. 

There were many obstacles standing in the way of final exhibition this semester in the form of an exegesis, differences in personalities and the horror of setting up the installation without Ann Marie. Although there were no major issues, lets hope, I still found it overly stressful to be I guess, in control of someones grade other than my own. I also had to put myself in Ann Marie’s shoes and try to think how she would display and create things as I knew this installation had to be a representation of both of our works.

The exegesis was also a brand new concept that was not able to be easily executed. I have always struggled with writing and trying to explain my ideas in a way that makes sense. I find it difficult to step back and make sure I explain every aspect possible as I forgot that all people don’t have the knowledge I do about the project. I also then tend to head in the opposite direction and over explain. This is one of the first times I have left something so large till the last minute even though I know it will be a struggle to complete. I am however proud of myself for getting through it and completing one I am happy to present. There are a few areas I would have liked to explore in more depth however I just got to a point where I just had to stop looking at it. 

All in all this semester has ended fairly well although I know I wouldn't have agreed a week ago. I am proud that I was able to ignore my ever growing stress levels and the obstacles that were constantly in the back of my mind.

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Installation Space

We have decided to use the Year One space again as this is going to be the light room. Last year Ann Marie was stuck in the dark space and was forced to bring in a source of light. This is an issue we wanted to avoid. We chose the space that Beau used last semester as it is a nice space hidden in the corner. Kenzie and Dion are next to us so I don’t think there will be much of an issue over space. 

We have decided to keep the layout fairly simple, only including necessary items. This was one, to stop any major issues from occurring as I am the only one setting up for assessment and too, to ensure there is enough room for people to freely move about without it being too cluttered. We will display the contextual website on an iMac on the left side of the table. On the other half will be the real terrarium, the iPad Mini on a stand, our exegeses and journals and a set of instructions. We will also put a cube under the desk for anyone that wants to sit when using the iMac.

Final set up for installation.