nmp project a - exoticcars online
Project A for first term Networked Media Production required me to curate an online exhibition. One that implemented some of the various attributes associated with networked media. The focal point of the online exhibition was to consider the best way to present my subject to the viewer and then to address the size of the collection, finding the available tools to assist in the creation and presentation of the collection. All content was to be licensed and attributed accordingly and appropriately.
To begin the project, it involved some research on effective web layout as well as exhibition design. I specifically focused on interactivity and the correct methods when designing for web. This would be something that had to engage visitors that are viewing the online gallery so it had to have some form of continued transition from one piece to the next.
Using the information obtained during the research, the concepts for the online exhibition involved the requirements of a suitable and effective web page size, format and the placement and dimensions of visual elements.
Two concepts were subsequently examined, including an all black and white fixture in square format and a full colour wide-screen. Overall I had decided to combine the two concepts by making it full colour but still in the square format. I also had to decide on how the online exhibition would be handled in terms of creation and the obvious choice that came to mind was to do it in Flash as most updated browsers now support Flash as standard but I did consider an entirely HTML based web page as well.
Once I had worked out the nature of the page layout I thought about what I wanted the exhibition to be about and settled on a catalogue of exotic cars, I chose to use cars because it is not something I had done before and I do have a genuine interest in cars. While the debate over the content was settled, I looked at collecting some imagery and I came across a very nice archive at NetCarShow.com that provided me with everything I needed from concept cars to unique full production cars.
As I finished collecting the content and making sure that a clear reference log was kept for each borrowed image, I began to design my Flash page, to say that it was straight forward would entail me telling a lie because it wasn’t, I had seen a site once before where the images would all line up neatly but were able to be separated individually to create a scatter effect which appealed to me because it reminded me of cars driving off in different directions, so creating something similar would be nice but alas came the coding, actionscript is not my strong point as I am still learning and I found myself writing numerous codes and to test the page only to find it wrong and frustrating. Making the site very similar proved to be a huge challenge so I browsed online and came across TiltViewer, a very pleasant and interactive web gallery interface that not only required you to input your own coding but it also introduced me to XML coding as well.
I found it difficult to follow the structure of XML at first but I soon learned that it was close in nature to HTML and also a great productive tool to control Flash content externally. Although I acknowledge that not all the coding for the site was done by me, I great deal was and I highly valued the opportunity to work in XML. To me that is partially what networked media is – discovering something and adapting to make it your own to redistribute to others.
The resulting web page is the culmination of TiltViewer and myself; I honestly like the implementation of TiltViewer because it gives the gallery substance by allowing the viewer to tilt, rotate and enlarge the images. My role is what makes the images show up in the gallery as well as the logo design and accompanying text when the images are rotated. The website was created using several tools notably TiltViewer and also Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash and 110mb.com.
To view the online exhibition please visit:
