Beena B

Peer Assesment

2008-12-18T15:14:00.006Z

After the entire filming editing and production of the documentary was completed.
We as a group had to sit down and agree on who got what mark out of 100 % depending on their responsibilities and their participation in the group assesment.

It was a rough journey deciding who got what mark as majority of us did the work but some of us were lacking that group participation, and those individuals found that doing their independant work was more important then this assignment.

Here is the footage shot on Atif's mobile of the discussion we had during the Peer Assesment marking.

Grim Reaper of Gedling (Documentary) COMPLETED!!

2008-12-18T13:19:00.032Z

An interesting journey were i learnt a hell of a lot about new individuals and the talents they can bring to a progressing group.
For me i found that being able to work with certain people that will participate is good as you have a mutual understanding and are able to share your work load.
I have also experienced the more difficult side of individuals were i found it harder to work with them or get them to participate in tasks that brought the entire group down.
There are a few regarets I had during this production piece, one of them being not taking conrol over certain situations at an earlier stage.

I admit i can be a control freak at times but when you have a deadline to meet, you will go to extreme extents to make sure its met, wather that be upsetting someone then apologising once its done or just being down right ruthless and kicking someone out of a production group.

I understand that being part of a team is a big responsibility but when someone or some people dopnt pull their weight, making sure they are not credited for things they didnt do, ill make sure that this situation is reconised.

On the other hand i would like to Thank:
GARY
ATIF
HAROLD
SANDRINE
AND ABDUL
for putting up with me during these last few hard months and taking my shit.
All in all here is our finished documentary and i will post more of the pre production work, research, photo's and raw footage once i get hold of it.
once again THANKS YOU GUYS X

Grim Reaper of Gedling (Documentary) 1:2

2008-12-12T12:42:00.004Z

As per Jool's critisim we decided as a group to re-shoot parts of the doc which we also found under-lit.
this was due to less natural light exposure as majority of the shoot was filmed indoor's int he evening.
The only part that was shoot during natural daylight was the introduction of Jim as he comes to the Club to perform.

Grim Reaper Of Gedling (Documentary)

2008-12-01T20:10:00.006Z

As part of our fiction documentary we had to come up with a idea that would work that would attract the audience's attention and make them want to watch our doc.

We formed a group of 5 people making sure that each and everyone of us had 1 or 2 roles to play to make this documentary a success.

1. Gary- Director

2.Beena (me)- Producer

3.Sandrine- Camera woman

4.Harrold- Editor

5.Atif-Lighting/Sound

Here are a few picture's of the day's we went to shoot at the Gedling Bowling Club in Carlton Nottingham.

During the 1st 2 shoots we did the lighting was not always what we expected.
when we showed our first set of footage to Jools he wasn't as positive towards the footage as we thought he might be.
His advice was to re-shoot parts of the documentary that was un-lit as this would make a big difference to the entire dinal finish.

Hunger (film by steve McQueen)2008

2008-11-13T10:50:00.004Z

The scene that struck me the most and made me feel connected to was the picture of the police officer sat alone thinking reminiscing about something that means alot to him or something that is important.

You can see the atmosphere around the charector is busy and you can imagine that it is very noisey.

But the scene only focus's upon the main charector to show you that he is able to block out the world and drift off into his own world as his problems are more then he can handle.

Movie Review: Hindi Welcome

2008-07-03T17:41:00.005+01:00

A strait-laced man has his work cut out for him when he falls in love with a girl whose two brothers are gangsters. Akshay Kumar is the man caught in the middle in this Indian comedy directed by Anees Bazmee.

Gangsters have been tackled in several ways in Hindi cinema, ranging from rank incompetents to dreaded killers. In the 1990s they were often the pivot, epitomising 'bad' to emphasise the 'good' of the hero who vanquished them. In the 2000s though, films like Satya and Company have attempted to show them as gritty and realistic if still glamorous.

Having exhausted those avenues, gangsters have lately become objects of mirth, bumbling idiots who do more harm to themselves than to others. In Welcome, Anees Bazmee, who last made 2005's biggest grosser No Entry, picks up on the inept thug theme, making the thugs fun guys the audience can laugh with, not at.

That Bazmee's gangsters have a sister, the beauteous Sanjana (Kaif) whom no 'decent' guy wants to marry because of her family, makes them human and earns them sympathy. When auctioneer Rajiv (Kumar), unaware of her antecedents, falls in love with her, he has no idea what he is getting into - and when he finds out, he doesn't really care. But his uncle balks at Rajiv's choice of partner and refuses to give his consent until the brothers adopt a cleaner way of life.

All this is, of course easier said than done and Rajiv has to convince the brothers without actually letting them know what is going on. The double and triple cross that follows ensures there are numerous harebrained plots for Bazmee to keep the ball rolling. Though this provides its share of laughs, it is often infantile and so slapstick that the joys of some of the more subtle gags are lost under an avalanche of juvenility. Toilet humour abounds but a fair sprinkling of running jokes keeps the film moving.

One of the plot devices used is to convince one brother (Patekar) that he has been discovered as an actor and signed to act in a film. This gives the usually boisterous Nana a chance to indulge in some OTT histrionics and the director an opportunity to make digs at Bollywood stars, another much-used ploy in comedy films.

The other brother (Kapoor) meanwhile, discovers his sensitive side and is busy painting canvases and wooing Ishika (Malika Sherawat), who's also playing Nana's heroine in his fake film. Nana is in love with her too. To complicate the already convoluted plot, Ishika throws a spoke in the Rajiv-Sanjana engagement by turning up as Rajiv's jilted fiancé. This makes for some brainless comedy, not always a bad thing but overdone in this case.

The cast of Welcome seem to be having a blast but unfortunately that doesn't always translate into audience enjoyment. There are several points at which the narrative flags and no amount of twists and turns help it rise above the level of mediocrity.

Verdict: The only way to enjoy Welcome is to go with the flow and not think too much about what is happening while it is happening. Akshay Kumar, who has matured into a fine comic actor, ensures your attention stays on the screen as long as he is around.

Director:Anees Bazmee

Release Date: November 23rd 2007

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda

2008-07-03T17:11:00.003+01:00

Animated comedy martial arts fable, with Jack Black voicing an overweight panda who becomes a warrior to protect the lands from a formidable foe.

In the Valley of Peace, Po the Panda (Jack Black) dreams of being a martial arts warrior. The prologue to Kung Fu Panda is a beautifully animated, stylised 2D dream sequence about Po - "Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose legendary skills were the stuff of legend".
Only Black could get away with such lines. In reality though, Po is seemingly destined to take over the noodle business run by his father (Hong), who insists, "We are noodle folk. Broth runs through our veins." Po's only connection with the real martial artists is a fanboy's encyclopaedic knowledge of their moves and deeds.

Everything changes when the venerable tortoise master Oogway (Kim) selects Po, seemingly by accident, to be the "Dragon Warrior", a fabled martial artist who can protect the Valley from the dreaded return of the fearsome Tai Lung (McShane). Oogway's protégé at the Jade Palace, Shifu (Hoffman) and his five highly skilled students - Tigress (Jolie), Monkey (Chan), Mantis (Rogen), Viper (Liu), and Crane (Cross), aka "the Furious Five" - are understandably bewildered, nay miffed at this decision. They resolve to humiliate Po into giving up and leaving the Palace. Po knows full well he's useless, but he's always wanted to be more than just "me", so good-humouredly persists. Meanwhile, Tai Lung has broken out of prison. He believes it's his destiny to be the Dragon Warrior, despite Oogway's decision to the contrary, so he heads back to wreak destruction and claim the mystical "Dragon Scroll".

There's not much in the way of Shrek-style knowing humour here, beyond a fond affection for the kind of mystical mumbo jumbo to be found in many old martial arts movies. Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, the writers who get the story credit here, previously played around with this kind of comedy homage in Bulletproof Monk, but this film is better realised, picking up on elements of Stephen Chow's comedy martial arts movies (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle).

Its storyline of a nobody given the chance to fulfil his impossible dreams is as hoary as it comes, but the whole endeavour is realised with a highly likeable verve. The cast of characters are like the CGI descendents of The Jungle Book's anthropomorphised animals; they're distinctive, well-rounded and doubtless destined for ranges of much-loved toys and games.

Black lifts Po out of the realm of cliché, while Dustin Hoffman and Ian McShane have a lot of fun bringing their characters to life - especially McShane, who is spot on as the aggrieved snow leopard who has some serious father issues. It's such fun, even the tackiness of the inevitable message about self-belief ("To make something special, you just have to believe that it's special") is made tolerable.

Verdict: Just what you need from a family film - Kung Fu Panda is visually striking, exciting, likeable and, most importantly, funny.

Director's:Directed by
Mark Osborne
John Stevenson

Release date: 4th July 2008

Movie Review:The Road To Guantánamo

2008-06-13T11:25:00.003+01:00

In this compelling docudrama by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, the 'Tipton Three' narrate their own experiences in America's controversial offshore detention camp
The Road To Guantánamo opens with archive footage of George W Bush, flanked by a stern-faced Tony Blair, declaring his certain knowledge that all the detainees held in Guantánamo are "bad people". Everything that follows is designed to turn these words inside out, as three young British Muslims tell the story of how they came to be in US custody at Guantánamo for over two years, and discuss the Kafkaesque horrors that awaited them there, until finally they were released without charge or apology.
The title may evoke the Bing Crosby and Bob Hope 'Road' movies of the 1940s, travel-themed musical comedies with a vaguely racist depiction of non-Americans, but the exotic journey embarked upon by the so-called 'Tipton Three' was to take them into areas that were politically incorrect in an altogether different way. About to get married in Pakistan, Birmingham lad Asif Iqbal (Usman) invites his friends Ruhal Ahmed (Harun) and Shafiq Rasul (Ahmed) to join him there for a holiday. Accompanied by another friend called Monir (Siddiqui) and Shafiq's cousin Zahid (Iqbal), they head into Afghanistan, hoping to offer humanitarian aid to their fellow Muslims and to see the place for themselves. After several weeks, they realise they've made a terrible mistake and try to head back to Pakistan, instead ending up under heavy bombardment near Kundun. Separated from Monir (who is never seen again), they become captives of the Northern Alliance in the notorious Sheberghan Prison. Once it is discovered that the three friends are English, they are at first relieved to find themselves handed over to American custody; but in fact their nightmare is only just beginning, as they are passed from Kandahar Airbase to Camp X-Ray, from Camp Delta to solitary confinement, facing mistreatment, injustice and endless, pointless interrogations.

In The Road To Guantánamo, the misadventures of Asif, Ruhel and Shafiq are vividly reconstructed by actors, while at the same time anchored to reality by the intercutting of extensive interviews with the real trio, as well as occasional barrages of archival news footage. The result is an utterly devastating, gripping portrayal of innocents abroad falling foul of both large-scale international events and a US policy that seems cruel, inhuman and willfully blind, with the three men's testimonies a stark reminder that the awful, often darkly surreal events unfolding on screen actually took place. 'Intelligence' comes out of this film looking almost comically stupid. The interrogators are entirely convinced of their captives' guilt, but seem less sure of (and indeed less interested in) easily verifiable details like who the detainees are, what language they speak, and whether they were actually in England (under well-documented police probation) at the time that the interrogators insist they were meeting Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
What the three actually have to say is rarely heeded, while manipulative lies, brutalisation, beatings, stress positions, and months of solitary confinement are regularly employed to persuade them of the interrogators' point of view. Of course such abuses will come as little surprise to anyone reading the newspapers, but to see them re-enacted (albeit with a certain restraint), and to hear the victims' personal accounts, has a much greater impact than the written word, putting paid to America's claims that the treatment of so-called 'enemy combatants' is, as Donald Rumsfeld puts it, "humane and appropriate and consistent with the Geneva Convention for the most part." It would be easy to criticise The Road to Guantánamo for being one-sided (it is), and for failing to contextualise the conduct of the US (there is not even a passing mention of 9/11), but such objections miss the point. Many times Bush, Blair and other politicians have used their considerable public platforms to present a similarly partisan, at times even subsequently discredited justification for different aspects of their 'War on Terror', including the unlimited detention without trial of men like the Tipton Three. The trio, and the more than 800 prisoners who remain at America's Cuban base, were not able to communicate their version of events to a lawyer or judge, let alone to the outside world. The Road To Guantánamo gives them their day in court, and the story these "bad people" tell is one that well deserves a hearing.

Verdict: Gripping, nightmarish, and at times bleakly funny, The Road To Guantánamo is far too important a personal testimony to go unheard.

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Release Date: 9 March 2006

Movie Review: Partner

2008-06-08T21:36:00.003+01:00

A successful 'love guru' struggles to get a hapless client hooked up with a national beauty in this lavish Bollywood comedy starring Salman Khan and Govinda.

Every now and then the complaint that Indian movie plots are 'inspired' by Hollywood stories (check out the similarities between, say, Kasoor and Jagged Edge or Main Azad Hoon and Meet John Doe) gets wheeled out and rapidly wheeled back in again.

For a start that would imply Hollywood is a source of originality; secondly, the name 'Bollywood' scarcely suggests a radical departure from the American way. Besides, how many US non-musicals ever stop the action for full-on dance extravaganzas?

Thus there's no real 'hitch' in surmising that the concept for Partner came from Will Smith's comedy smash Hitch. Salman Khan plays the smooth 'love guru' Prem, while co-star Govinda takes the role of the buffoonish Bhaskar, head-over-heels with out-of-his-league socialite beauty Priya (Kaif).

Not only does Prem have to strong-arm Bhaskar into romance, he finds his own allure failing to snare independent single mother, Lois Lane-style photojournalist Naina (Dutta).

Hitch was amiable if hardly groundbreaking entertainment and in this respect, Partner follows its lead. Comedy hitmaker David Dharwan decks his movie - and his stars - out in designer gladrags, revs up the catchy song-and-dance numbers and sits back with knowing satisfaction. The muscle-bound Khan, better known as Bollywood's bad boy, is no Will Smith in the charm department, coming over more as early period Sylvester Stallone, but his three co-stars all fulfill their designated roles, notably Govinda, who's given the lion's share of the one-liners.

Anyone hoping for an in-depth study of the morality of matchmaking will be disappointed; this is broad, brash escapism with the substance of candyfloss.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, particularly when you get, for example, a scene of a voice-activated rocket targeting a man on a jet-ski followed by a dance number straight out of 'Club Tropicana'-era Wham!

The dance numbers in general are colourful and high-energy, though a neat flamenco-esque pastiche works far better than a lame hip-hop rip-off.

So long as it hews close to the formula, Partner is at the very least inoffensive.

But a couple of brief moments mocking Thai people (on a Phuket jaunt) and some cliched homosexual gags don't sit well with the affable atmosphere.

And the unquestioning attitude that everything and everyone glamorous and wealthy is great makes you think the 1980s never ended. One shouldn't expect Satyajit Ray social commentary from every Indian film but if there's one Hollywood trend Bollywood doesn't need to ape, it's designer vacuousness.

Verdict: Exuberant, empty-headed entertainment cribbed from Hollywood but put through the Bollywood mixer to produce a crowd-pleasing blend for fans.

Director: David Dhawan
Release date: 20 July 2007

Movie Review: Khuda Ke Liya (In The Name Of God)

2008-06-08T21:08:00.005+01:00

There has always been an impression that Pakistani film industry churns out the most pathetic films ever on the face of this earth and I can`t blame anyone who thinks so.

It has been years since the Pakistani film industry has managed to produce even a single decent movie (let alone a good one).

However, things now seem to change with the arrival of a Pakistani movie called “Khuda Ke Liye: In the Name of God”.

This is the most big budget movie ever in the history of the Pakistani film industry and is a movie of international standards and quality, which consists of an excellent plot,excellent performances,great music and great camerawork.

The film is produced,directed and written by Shoaib Mansoor, who had been directing Pakistani TV serials before and this is his first attempt at film-making. The film stars Pakistan`s top film actor, Shan, Pakistan`s No.1 model Iman Ali along with Fawad Khan, Austin Sayre, Rasheed Naz, Simi Raheal and (in a guest appearance) Naseerudin Shah.

The movie is about the problems faced by the modern,educated and liberal Muslims in today`s times who are disliked by the fundamentalists in their own community because of their modern thinking and their western attire and at the same time they are viewed suspiciously by the western world too because of their Muslim names, post the 9/11 incident.The film tells the story about two brothers, Mansoor (Shan) and Sarmad (Fuwad Khan).

Both of them are musicians and belong to a well-to-do family in Lahore.

One day, Sarmad, through a religious friend of his, meets Maulana Taheri (Rasheed Naz), who tells him that music is har*am (prohibited) in Islam. He also asks him that as a Muslim it`s his duty that he should grow a beard and should not wear western clothes.

Due to Maulana Taheri`s brainwashing, Sarmad completely transforms himself into a mullah. He grows a beard,starts wearing shalwar kameez and gives up music.He even asks his mother to start wearing a burkha. On the other hand,there is Marie (Iman Ali), who lives in London with her Pakistani father.

Her mother had passed away years ago and currently,her father is in a live-in relationship with a British woman.

Marie has a British boyfriend called Dave, whom she intends to get married with. Marie`s father does not approve of this relationship as he feels that if his daughter will get married to a non-Muslim, it will be a disgrace to himself, within his Muslim community.

Therefore, he deceives Marie by asking her to go with him to Lahore and promises her that once they return to Londond,he will get her married to Dave. Marie believes her father and goes to Lahore.

Mansoor and Sarmad happen to be Marie`s cousins as they are her paternal uncle`s sons. Therefore, Mary and her father stay at their place. Marie`s father tries to convince Mansoor to marry his daughter but Mansoor refuses this proposal as he doesn`t want to cheat Marie.

As a result, Marie`s father asks Sarmad to marry his daughter and so they take Marie to Waziristan (a hilly area near the Pak-Afghan border), where they forcibly get Marie married to Sarmad.

On the other hand,Mansoor flies off to USA as he gets admission in a music school in USA. There,Mansoor meets Jenny (Austin Sayre) and both of them fall in love with each other. When the 9/11 incident takes place,Mansoor and Jenny get married to each other before things might get worse.

One night,when both of them are asleep the USA police authorities take Mansoor to a jail and arrest him, suspecting him to be a terrorist who played a part in the Twin Towers attack on 9/11.

So,now there is Marie,trapped in Waziristan and trying to escape from there and in USA, there is Mansoor who is being manhandled by the USA police authorities.

The strongest points of this movie are Shoaib Mansoor`s direction and the dialogues. Despite the serious and socio-political theme of the film it doesn`t bore the viewer at all. The film is very gripping and some of the best scenes of the movie are as follows:

-When Sarmad turns into a maulvi and tells his brother that he wouldn`t play music as it is haraam

-When Marie is taken to Waziristan and is forced by her father to get married to Sarmad.

-When Marie tries to escape from Waziristan and her husband chases her with help of his mullah friend

-When Mansoor is in the police station and writes ‘I LOVE USA’ on the wall but after sometime adds MA to USA making it ‘I LOVE USAMA’.

-The BEST scene of the movie is where Naseerudin Shah gives his speech in the courtroom.

That is the major highlight of the movie.
The dialogues of the movie are excellent and have a great impact on the audiences. For example the dialogue ‘deen main darhi hai,darhi main deen nahin’ (‘having beard is in the religion, the religion is not in beard’) and there are also some funny one liners such as ‘Maybe Osama Bin Laden is gay and he likes me’.

The dialogues in Naseerudin Shah`s speech in the courtroom are such that they make you sit up and think.

The film tries to answer some of the most important questions which every Muslim wants to ask; questions which interfere with the daily lives of millions of Muslims such as; is music har'am?

Is it necessary to have a beard?

Is it a sin to wear jeans,etc.?

Is it sinful for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man?

Does Islam encourage terrorism?

The film answers these questions in such a convincing manner that you can`t help but agree with everything.

The music of the movie is also really nice and my favourite songs are ‘Bandya’ and ‘Allah Hoo’.

The Verdict: Interesting movie that i would encourage film lovers and non-film lovers to take a look at, will change your thought's on Islam altogether.

Dicrector: Shoaib Mansoor
Release date: 2 November 2007

Movie Review: U, Me Aur Hum (You, Me and Us)

2008-06-08T18:42:00.006+01:00

An energetic, careening Bollywood story of love at first sight that embraces tragedy, comedy and everything in between.
All that can be said about U, Me Aur Hum is implicit in its truly barmy plotline that borrows from Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Dirty Dancing, and 50 First Dates. A distinguished looking man and his teenage son are in a restaurant when they strike up a dare to woo some women. The son picks his father's target and he endeavors to win her over by telling what at first appears to be a love story about a couple he used to know.

The film-within-a-film begins, the couple played by the same actors, but it will take some time, three hours to be precise, to discover the reason for this. Ajay (Devgan) and Piya (Kajol) meet on a cruise ship. She is a bar steward. He is a psychiatrist, and accompanied by two couples, one 'unhappily married' and one 'happily unmarried' we are told.

One drunken night in the cruise ship's pole dancing club, Ajay falls in love with Piya. She is unamused by Ajay's advances, so he sneaks into her room to leave flowers, and discovers her diary or 'Book of Possibilities' - a scrapbook of memories, hopes and dreams.

Ajay sets about putting this knowledge to good use, and manipulates Piya into falling for him over the course of several early morning salsa dancing lessons. Ajay is pressured by his friends to confess, and eventually does so, causing Piya to renounce him immediately.

Months later, Ajay has bought a Labrador (Piya's favourite breed) and an all-white apartment with a huge portrait painting of his true love hung on the wall. One day, Piya arrives on his doorstep professing her love.
They roll around on the off-white carpet, they walk around barefoot holding glasses of wine, they kiss on the balcony, and they get married. Piya becomes more and more forgetful, until Ajay finds her wandering outside their apartment, having blanked on their address, his number, and his name.
A doctor diagnoses the 27 year-old Piya with Alzheimer's disease. She's also pregnant. Her condition worsens with the progress of her pregnancy, and when the baby is born, she has a full-time carer. After a near-tragedy when the baby is left alone in the bath tub, Ajay decides Piya must go into a care home. He has a crisis, resolves this crisis, and decides to bring Piya home.

Every day he must make her fall in love with him all over again. Although the audience will guess the film's conclusion an hour or so in, it is still pleasing after all the highs, the lows, and the improbabilities.
"Colorful, noisy, and spanning the extremes of the emotional scale "

The song and dance numbers are few and far between, crow barred into the plot as it takes the downhill slide into depressing illness territory. Although Piya's Alzheimer's disease leans heavily on the frivolity of the first half of the film, this change of gear revives flagging interest and makes for a gripping finale. Bollywood movies are made to be watched with an excited and involved crowd, as an afternoon long outing, involving an interval in which the audience can brace itself for the twists and turns of the second half.

As such the convoluted and hyperbolic plot is not only fitting, but fundamental to the experience. U, Me Aur Hum celebrates the cinema experience, it's colorful, noisy, and spans the extremes of the emotional scale. It valiantly strives and succeeds to tirelessly entertain.

Verdict: A cliched rollercoaster that is no less enjoyable for being just that.

Director: Ajay Devgan
Release date: April 2008

Identities project 2:3

2008-05-30T14:38:00.002+01:00

As i have been doing my project 2 for a good few weeks here is the completed version that i handed in to my lecturer's.
This is the main page to the start of my Box/ show-case.

Identities Project 2:2

2008-05-17T18:55:00.004+01:00

When creatign my main page i changed it a good few time's as i wasnt entirely happy with the 1st idea, then the 2nd idea etc...
As i put my idea's together i thought why not just make one main page with everythign that represents me on it to show this is a story about me!!! so i did..

Identities Project 2:1

2008-05-17T16:39:00.002+01:00

I had to re-edit my Pixilation to import it to my flash work as the ending was not done correctly so i imported my pixilation work to premier pro and put the music behind it again and then edited some of the video too.

Identities Project 2

2008-05-17T15:36:00.005+01:00

I am currently working on my Project 2 which is being created on Flash.
Here is a screen shot to show the progress of my timeline and how much i have added too it.

Websites

2008-04-10T01:33:00.004+01:00

Website: Apple (http://www.apple.com/uk/)

It looks quite plain and ordinary, doesn't have much life or colour to it.
Its fairly easy to use but has too many objects all over the place, on a large scale.
The content displayed is quite relavent to the website since it is the main promotor of the products and services it offers to customers.
The design and contents is well organised but does somtimes get confusing when there involve many different areas.
The company is also a well established in its electronic market. The design of Apple is clearly shown by its logo.
The website reflects its philosophy quite well as it stands tall with its products and services. Expecially the new and current services the organisation offers.
Interaction of the elements shown are fairly operatable but don't seem to have much life to give it an interactive approach.

Websites

2008-04-10T01:10:00.004+01:00

Website: Sony ( http://www.sony.co.uk/)

It looks like a electronic catalogue offering services and products, similar to a hand held catalogue.
Simple, efficient and easy to use, expecially the products and services, one click and a whole list of pictures appear.
The contents on the websites are quite relavent to its created purpose and help display information to users.
Design is well created expcept the use of space could of been more productive and layout more affective in some places.
The design of the company reflects it is a establised company in the market but the design doesnt reflect its respectable name much.
It doesn't do much justice to its philosophy of the company but shows some level of knowledge and understanding of its products and services.
The interaction is pretty simple but some areas vary a little bit of difficultly.

Box-Showcase

2008-04-10T01:06:00.002+01:00

Unfortunatly i have been unable to access flash at home to create a Box-Showcase so what i have done as an alternative is created something that i can publish on my journal that show the idea's i have for my Avatar (project 2).
I have collected idea's, picture's and an A.V short film that i have created my self inmy own time outside of university that i felt represented myselfas a whole but also connect's with my Avatar (project 2)
Not only have i been collecting asian magazines that fit well with my representation and my culture, i have also been sketching idea's that i felt blended well with my assignment.
I have an idea from each part of my culture that would help me fulfil the showcase.

Black Henna

Indian style shoe's

Indian bridal outfit

Indian jewellery

Indian money

To me these things show my culture overall..
They not only show the wealth of a Asian family they also show that by asian females wearing these's garments they are well off, treated well, educated, treated like princesses.
As in my culture the girl/female is classed as the parents "amanat" this meaning "presious" when a daughter is born into a family she has to be treated well and if possible given what she wants at her parents house as when she is married she shouldn't feel the need to ask for anything as her family have given her everything.
Therfore this is why i feel that these objects represent myself and my culture, hense this is why i decided to use this as my project 2, as i am familiar with it.

Websites

2008-04-10T01:01:00.003+01:00

Website: The Favorite Wesbite Awards (http://www.thefwa.com/)

It looks more productive with all its services and products shown interactively in flash.
The simpliciety is very unique and simple to operate, it is all flash based and also not designed on a large base but has features of a large base production.
Its contents it hold is quite relavent to the website and shows great value to support the design and interactiveness.
The contents are designed and displayed quite well, the navigation through the website is quite good.
The identity of the company is well reflected and shown with the initial reaction on opening the website. Including once the task is completed the end reaction also holds the same value as the initial reaction.
The way it is created stands by its philosophy of the company it is well organised and has a great deal of respect.
The interaction is the best seen so far, with the flash animation and operative system, making it easier to use also more entertaining.

Websites

2008-04-10T00:40:00.006+01:00

Website: http://www.netdiver.net/

The website is more stylish and unique in the way it is design. It offers more on a larger scale.
It is quite difficult to use since it has too many areas and is designed on a large base. It is more designed for a professional person in computing then for anyone just accessing the website for information.
The content of the website is quite relavent, offering quite alot of areas in which the user can view and aquire information upon.
It isn't well organised, majority of its contents are scattered all over the space shown creating confusion, causing a late reaction time.
The companys identity is can be seen as a huge company with many services and products but displays a lack of ogranisation.
It has a strong philosophy displaying the companys brand name. The design has let the reputation of the name fall by diplaying too much when its not relavent at the time.
The interactions of the elements wasn't that successful since more time was required to view the correct sector which needed to be accessed.

Website's

2008-04-09T21:43:00.005+01:00

1) Website: http://www.ideo.com/ideo.asp
The website looks quite professional, offering a range of features to its viewers.
It has dark tones of grey and some media such as pictures of objects.
It is quite well organised to utilize its features.
The browser on the top of the webpage creates a navigational tool bar for users to browse easily and affectively.
Also a great feature is the search engine, if an item can't be seen it can easily be searched from the website.
It holds great relationships to the objects published including the media displayed.
The design created for this website has a relavent value as such it is easier to use and aquire materials that are required.
In order to retrieve information of products and services hyperlinks are shown to take the user to they desired destination.
The content is well labelled for the user to actually navigate themselves to it at a much efficient rate.
Key component of the website is its design.
The design itself reflects the company as being a professional based organisation and displays a respectable name in its field.
The operations on the website are targeted to display accurancy.
The website could have more design features to boost the interactiveness.
The philosophy of the companys brand is quite strong in some areas and gives a huge impact with the media and services it offers.
Tools used by the company are a great method of building a well established name in this sector.
The interaction design elements were a great success in carrying out its purpose.
The applications displayed played a great roll with the interaction, making it a successful outcome.

Project 2 Idea's 1:5

2008-04-09T20:35:00.002+01:00

Here is a Photograph taken during my sister's wedding i thought would be a great example to use for my project 2 idea's.
It is Black henna on the front and back of her hands, her feet and up her legs..
It is tradition to use this kind of body art during a Asian Wedding as it is classed to make the Bride look more beautiful.
I thought to use this in my project 2 on my Avatar or to use the patterns on the walls of the environment in the background.

Project 2 idea's 1:4

2008-04-08T11:40:00.003+01:00

Here is a Picture that has been taken from the Bollywood movie "Umrao jaan" it is a traditional movie...
it shows the traditional outfits the traditional jewllery that is worn and the background is a scene from the Mogual empire ruling..

Project 2 Idea's 1:3

2008-03-21T11:07:00.004Z

I have chosen to use this picture in part of my research idea's as the colour's and the layout is what i am looking for.
Not only does it consist of the traditional colours the patterns on the the rug and the pillars in the background are the traditional 18th century home set, this is what it looked like.
Not only was it used then it is also used now so even though it may seem old it is a cherished scene that even asian people today would have something of the sort in there home's this is where the traditional culture and my culture mix and come together....

Project 2 Idea's 1:2

2008-03-20T18:39:00.006Z

Here is another picture that represents the bollywood feel of my project 2.
The traditional outfits within the tradtional background.. The way the lighting and brightly lit room blend so well with the royal colours of the outfits and walls gives this picture a rich feel.
That is what i am aiming for with my Avatar, to give it a rich feel.

Project 2 Idea's 1

2008-03-20T18:34:00.004Z

Here is a picture that i have taken from a bollywood film to use as an idea for my Project 2.
The reason why i took this picture to use as an example was because of the dress and environmental background it has the traditional bollyowood feel too it..

Avatar in the making 1:2

2008-03-18T18:46:00.005Z

Here are 2 more images of my avatar in the making..
they show 2 different angles of which I have rotated the camera and took screen shots of the environment and profile shot of my avatar.
I gave the background scence the Bollywood/ moroccan feel as I thought this fitted well with the researched idea's that I had put together and am still working on in my doodle/scrap book.

Avatar in the making 1

2008-03-18T18:38:00.005Z

Here are 2 previews of my avatar int he making..
I spent a good few weeks on researching idea's that would fit in with my personality and to reflect and represent myself in my avatar..
Like before i said that i was quite into the Bollywood idea and because of the cultural background of bollywood it gave me the idea to use this in my avatar and for my final piece of work..

Identities 1:5

2008-03-11T11:44:00.005Z

This is the very first avatar i started to create, but didnt like the way that the whole shape was being made.
Like i said before i had a little bit of help and guidence to get me to create a proper body shape.
the first one i made was no were near like the one i have now.

Identities 1:4

2008-03-11T11:40:00.003Z

Here is a screen shot of my avatar's environment. This is showing that i have made the environment from scratch and i mapped on the background image to give it that Bollywood effect.

Identities1:3

2008-03-11T11:34:00.002Z

Here is a screen shot of my avatar in the making.
Took me a while to make but i finally got there.
created my avatar with some help didnt really dress her yet as i was unsure on how to create clothing.
But during my easter break i will give it a shot..

Identities 1:2

2008-03-11T10:44:00.004Z

Here is a print screen of my avatar in the process of being created and its environment.
Took me a good few weeks to get used to the software but eventually just by playing around with the software i finally got my work completed.

Lecture on Interactive Design

2008-03-09T11:41:00.002Z

On thursday 6th march we had a lecture that was to show us what interactivity design represents to us in our everyday life.
We were given a hand out to read on comment upon it on our journal.
So my notes are as follows:

Interactivity is all around us and is a deep part of our lives.
Complexity of information and human interaction makes the design task more challenging.

What is interaction design?

Designing of interactive products or services to support the way people communicate nd interact in there everyday lives.
(sharp, rogers & preece 2007)

who the users are?
what activities are being carried out?
where te interaction is taking place?

You need to explain what interactions are avalible, things the users can do with the environment that are in and around the types of activities avalible.

we were told to have a look at some soft-cinema by Lev Manovich and Andreas Kateky.

"The old computing is about what the computers can do! The new computing is about what people can do!"
-we are creating new worlds.
computer systms and software arethe new millenium.
"To connect the virtual and physical world by bringing the right information fromt he internet to the relevent place in physical space."

(www.semapida.org/community/learnmore)

Lecture on Work Experience.

2008-03-09T11:23:00.002Z

As the Easter Holidays ar approching us so quickly, we were given a lecture on finding ourself some work in the Media ield to get us some experience under our belts.

Here is a quick over view of the requirements that employ's are lookign for in a potential graduate employee.

Strong communication skills
Ability to think creatively (problem solver)
Ability to work well under pressure
Someone that use's there own inicitive
Someone with a strong understanding of the industry
Someone who has good people skills
Good IT skills
Good ustomer service skills
Good business skills

We was advised int he lecture that havign these skills above or havign the knowledge would help us to find the right job straight away after graduation, as finding a job in the multimedia industry as a graduate with no experience is very hard.

Here are a few of the website's given to us to have a look at relating to Multmedia.

www.workingames.co.uk - computer games
www.aidb.com -animation
www.luminova.net -3D modelling
www.ukwda.org -web design
www.uk.dk.com -education media
www.breakbeat.co.uk -mesic technology
www.careersdesign.com -graphics
www.skillset.org -film and tv
www.ipa.org -new media (internet consultanancies)

secondlife (week 5)

2008-03-07T12:02:00.002Z

I have been using 2nd life for a good few months now but it hasn't beenon a regular basis.
During this periodof time i have been able to navigate around and have madeit now to 3 different island.
I am currently on a island that i can get loads of freebe's with no cost..
I'm finding this quite exciting now as i am able to change my outfit's and shoe's and get my self new skins and jewellery.
Not only that again i am still meeting new people.
I do find the site to be a bit slow i dont no if thats due to millions of people accessing the same island that im on, but 2nd crash's on me.

Colour and Light 1:2

2008-03-05T14:10:00.004Z

Here is another one i took whilst away in Dubai April of last year. this is to show the colour and light during natural light.

Colour and Light 1

2008-03-05T14:01:00.005Z

Whilst i was away in Dubai last year April i got the chance to see the Burj Al Arab in its full effect during the night..
this photograph was taken as a memorobilia for myself.
As this course went on i was asked to produce a picture that represented colour and light.. this is where my artistic work came in handy to use on my blogger.

SecondLife (week 4)

2008-03-04T13:37:00.003Z

I have been using SecondLife for a good few weeks now and have made it to another island.

I have been able to get tutorials and loads of freebe's..
Not only have i been able to have some question's answered by a 2nd Life Mentor i have been able to get new colour's and clothe's and objects i can use to benefit me in 2nd life.
When i spoke to the mentor he said the whole purpose of this new island was for people to be able to build stuff for them selves to be able to sell on and earn them some $$$ to use in 2nd Life itself.
I have collected a good few thousand $$$ which i will be able to use later on.

Identities 1

2008-02-08T13:17:00.005Z

I am working on my assignment for project 1 to create an identity avatar.
I have been doing research on my chosen idea which is Bollywood.
Not only have i taken secondary ideas (magazines, internet, tv) pictures into account, i have also been able to draw picture's of the kind of avatar that i am looking at creating.

The picture that you see above is soemthing that i took off http://www.google.co.uk/ to give an example of what i am lookign to create with my avatar.
A traditionally dressed bollywood avatar in the asian/indian theamed background/ enviornment.

Secondlife (week 3)

2008-02-08T12:26:00.001Z

I have been working on secondlife for a couple a weeks and have found it to be pretty simple the only way you can prosper on secondlife is by spending some real money to buy land or Island etc.

but as i am only using it for educational purpose's im not too fussed on buying my own land or Islands i am happy just using the main Island to meet new peole of all age's, races and religions.
I have already made a few friends 1 guy is from Spain so thats kind of exciting that i have to use my school learnt Spanish once again.
I also made a female friend who is from Bristol some of the people i have met on secondlife are pretty polite but you also do get a few rude ones too.

Secondlife (week 2)

2008-02-08T12:19:00.001Z

I have been using secondlife for a few weeks now and i am kind of getting a hang of the way it works and what you are suppose to do.
When i first got to use it i was all confused on what i was doing where i was suppose to go and achieve things.
Gradually as time has gone on i am slightly more confident in using the Virtual program and that i am more stable on gettin my self around to different places.
I have been able to change my outfit colours and the way I look.

SecondLife (week 1)

2008-01-20T22:24:00.000Z

I have been advised to join up with the Virtual World of "SecondLife".
I didnt have a clue on what it was or how it worked, until i gave it a shot and signed up with the site.

All through the Christmas holidays i got a chance o sign up and have a play around with it.
You get to create your very own virtual person dress them to how you would want to be make them as thin or fat as you want them to be, make them as pretty or ugly as you want them to be..
I loved the idea of having a virtual ME!!!

http://secondlife.com/

One-Shot-Movie

2008-01-20T21:50:00.003Z

One shot Movie was the 1st piece of work i was given to do as part of my project.
In a group of 5 we researched and shot a short 30 sec clip film were we was only allowed to make one edit and no more.
I have got to say was a great experience working with 4 other brains that had some amazing ideas that made our one shot movie a hit between our selves.
Once i have got the movie clip back off my lecturer's i will publish it on here.

Pixilation

2007-11-18T19:26:00.000Z

Pixilation is something we have been given to work on for the past few weeks now.
split up ion to a group of 4 friends to create a master piece of work that we could call our first achievement of multimedia.
we were told that we had to create a 30 seconds to a 1 minute max photographic animation that consisted of 360 photo shots and we could mke the theme up of anythign we liked.
so me, ryan sonia and sanz decided to come up with 2 very interesting pixilation animations.
we completed one but dont know weather to use the other.
i will eventually upload our finished piece on blogger but it has a few finishing touches left to do to it.

Pin-Hole-Cameras

2007-11-04T22:05:00.000Z

Pin-Hole-Cameras.
This was the first ever time i had made one or used one in fact.
To be honest it was real good fun, again during induction week we got the chance to make our very own Pin-Hole-Camera's and to take a 10 second shot of anything we wanted and then to come back and to develop them in the dark room.
i haven't been in a dark room for over 2 years now and it brought back alot of college day memories.
Well to get the right exposure you have to keep tryng different angles or different places to take the photo, the more you do it the more you become a pro at it.
Here are the ones we did mine will be labled beena1 and beena 2.
take a look gimme a comment.

https://elearn.ntu.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.lab.constellations.co.nz/induction/07-08/pinhole/

White Board

2007-11-04T21:35:00.000Z

I'm a 1st year Multimedia student at the Nottingham Trent University.

During our first week inducation at uni we were given a task of creatign a white board animation which was real good fun.
There was about 70 of us which we were split up into groups of about 4 or 5.

we was given a basic idea of drawing a box and drawing a tree the box some how had to get over the tree so we let our imaginations go wild.

https://elearn.ntu.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7ugv-ZZ2jCU