This week, things have become much more muddled for my job role. Due to acquiring the working knowledge of Adobe Fireworks, it has been mistaken that this is my role. I have been struggling to have the time to create graphics as well as work with Chris to transform the website.
Although I do not mind doing these graphics they actually take a lot of time and I haven't been able to take complete charge of my actual job, which is in relation to turning the website around in design. I also seem to keep getting pulled in other areas and I have had to speak to Charlotte, the editor, about these problems.
Having said that, to help contribute to the production team's new entertainment show, Good Afternoon Winchester, I happily accepted responsibility for the competition graphics. I am becoming a pro at looking for photos through Creative Commons, although it can be a little tedious if you can't find a photo that allows you to alter it before contacting the owner.
I designed a new strapline for news, as requested by Charlotte. Although I created the strapline as transparent, it appears on conversion into a JPEG file, the strapline became solid. It also gained a white area at the bottom, which wasn't there on the Fireworks image. I'm not too sure how to solve this problem and it's unlikely that I will get the time to sort it out, as Charlotte wants new graphics for news and sportsweek.
Also, for the production team I was in charge of the VT again, which I'm quite happy doing. This will be the last week of doing this as others need to learn how to do it too.
Like last week, the script was late in getting to us in the gallery, so it was difficult to type it up onto the autocue. Thankfully the bulletin did manage to get recorded at 3pm, but we had lacked sufficient time to rehearse - causing a few nerves for the presenters and stress for all gallery members.
In relation to the website, we had a few breakthroughs and a few mishaps. In trying to design a better front page for the site, I managed to show Chris an extension which puts articles on the front page into boxes. He was quite happy with this and asked that I download it. Unfortunately, it is not possible to use the computers at university to do this. After listening to what I had said, Chris found a component to add to the website, that has been designed to imitate the front page of CNN.
Chris installed the component, but it didn't seem to install correctly and sent WINOL website into a bit of a meltdown all day Wednesday! Chris will reinstall the component and is keen to relaunch the new website.
Monday 14 March 2011
Week 4
The bulletin was delayed this week by about 20 minutes because of the script being late. A story had to be re-written as the legality has changed, but it put the production team under considerable stress. Angus commented that the bulletin MUST go out at 3pm and there MUST be a rehearsal before hand. This puts the emphasis on the importance of making sure the script is written earlier in the day.
My role in the production team was VT - it was a good job I had had practise last, as we had no rehearsals this week.
The news appears much better prepared, although the links are still letting the bulletin down.
The use of the Skype interview was really well received, as this is something new for WINOL and also something else that is done by professional news teams.
Chris has installed the VTEM Drawer extension onto the website and it works really well - there have been plenty of comments with really good feedback.
I was asked to design graphics from Kieran's package and it was commented that these were really good graphics.
Also, rather last minute I was asked to design a new Sportsweek logo, but because it was impossible to find a photo off Creative Commons in time (that gave me permission to alter the work) it wasn't used. This was quite annoying as I could have used this time for something else.
Another graphic successfully designed on Fireworks is another features Barker, this time for Polly and the Billets Doux in the Big Interview. I also put the Barker up on the site, but Chris is using Dreamweaver to attach the link - hopefully I will be able to learn how to do this soon.
Although I have been enjoying creating these graphics, I feel like my role is becoming a little more blurred.
My role in the production team was VT - it was a good job I had had practise last, as we had no rehearsals this week.
The news appears much better prepared, although the links are still letting the bulletin down.
The use of the Skype interview was really well received, as this is something new for WINOL and also something else that is done by professional news teams.
Chris has installed the VTEM Drawer extension onto the website and it works really well - there have been plenty of comments with really good feedback.
I was asked to design graphics from Kieran's package and it was commented that these were really good graphics.
Also, rather last minute I was asked to design a new Sportsweek logo, but because it was impossible to find a photo off Creative Commons in time (that gave me permission to alter the work) it wasn't used. This was quite annoying as I could have used this time for something else.
Another graphic successfully designed on Fireworks is another features Barker, this time for Polly and the Billets Doux in the Big Interview. I also put the Barker up on the site, but Chris is using Dreamweaver to attach the link - hopefully I will be able to learn how to do this soon.
Although I have been enjoying creating these graphics, I feel like my role is becoming a little more blurred.
Week 3
This week, production worked really well and it looked much better. The news overall was rather weak with the sports dominating. Also grammar needs attention in the bulletin, as within the script it said 'off of', when it should only be 'off.
The headlines also need a bit of work as they are a little boring, and the links are short with no explaination. The OOV and UPSOT brought a professional look to the bulletin, as these are usual in proper news bulletins. Angus set the aim for 2/3 each week, and 20/30 secs each.
The firestation should have been ordered before the sport, so that it gave the news bulletin balance.
Also, when stories are produced, they need to be located geographically, so the audience knows exactly where it is in relation to them.
This week in the production I moved from working the cameras to VT in the gallery. We had a little trouble with the computer, but other than that it went well. We managed to set up the OB for the football as recommended by Angus the week before. This techically worked but unfortunately it was disliked because Jake, the presenter, was in front of a tree, when it would have looked better with a pitch in the background. Unfortunately we were limited by our equipment, as we have no battery packs to run the tricaster out in the middle of a field.
I also began work on finding new extentions for our Joomla site - these are the things that will help transform the site into something much more user friendly, as well as attractive. One particular extention to catch my eye has been the VTEM Drawer, which I would like to install for the features page. It relies heavily on a large picture in the article, so this will require feature writers to not only think of the words, but also finding good quality photos.
I have got a copy of Adobe Fireworks, a fantastic design tool, and with Chris we designed a new Barker for the front page. The Barker is a clickable picture that links directly to the article. This specific one was for The Big Interview for features on Jon Boden.
At the same time as doing my own things, I helped Kieran with filming at the university whilst he conducted an interview.
The headlines also need a bit of work as they are a little boring, and the links are short with no explaination. The OOV and UPSOT brought a professional look to the bulletin, as these are usual in proper news bulletins. Angus set the aim for 2/3 each week, and 20/30 secs each.
The firestation should have been ordered before the sport, so that it gave the news bulletin balance.
Also, when stories are produced, they need to be located geographically, so the audience knows exactly where it is in relation to them.
This week in the production I moved from working the cameras to VT in the gallery. We had a little trouble with the computer, but other than that it went well. We managed to set up the OB for the football as recommended by Angus the week before. This techically worked but unfortunately it was disliked because Jake, the presenter, was in front of a tree, when it would have looked better with a pitch in the background. Unfortunately we were limited by our equipment, as we have no battery packs to run the tricaster out in the middle of a field.
I also began work on finding new extentions for our Joomla site - these are the things that will help transform the site into something much more user friendly, as well as attractive. One particular extention to catch my eye has been the VTEM Drawer, which I would like to install for the features page. It relies heavily on a large picture in the article, so this will require feature writers to not only think of the words, but also finding good quality photos.
I have got a copy of Adobe Fireworks, a fantastic design tool, and with Chris we designed a new Barker for the front page. The Barker is a clickable picture that links directly to the article. This specific one was for The Big Interview for features on Jon Boden.
At the same time as doing my own things, I helped Kieran with filming at the university whilst he conducted an interview.
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