Project Proposal

Project Proposal

By:

Eliana Hajicosta, Lawrence Hills-Walters and Arfa Shah

Site’s Purpose

This semester the task is to create an interactive website which is unique in content and utilizes different programmes in order to create an engaging and fun experience. We have decided to continue on from a site completed last semester by one of our group members because we feel that the foundation is there and all we have to do is improve it by including more interactive and engaging content. The aim of the website is to present a contemporary feel to a travel website. We have taken the basic model found in many travel blogs such as http://theworldwelivein.tumblr.com or http://tinywrld.com and looked at them carefully. We want allow users to feel a sense of togetherness with other users and to also allow the user to send in their own images to be displayed on the website so that travellers all over the world can relate to each other's experiences. The theory underpinning our website is Marshall McLuhan's suggestion that the world has become a "global village" and that because of advancements in technology, people are more aware of one another even if they live in different parts of the world and are able to interact with one another by a simple click of a button. We want our users to feel that they can experience different cultures and attractions just by logging onto our website.

Software, Equipment and Locations

We will mainly be filming in Kingston Town Centre and Kingston University. We will use a professional Canon camera, a tripod, a boom microphone to prevent unnecessary sound interference. The camera is the most vital piece of equipment as it will display the development of the project at all stages of production. We plan on using a variety of Media such as video animation, themes, images and hyperlinks. The most important software we will be using is WordPress. WordPress is not only a free web template hosting service; it is an open source for blogging. We decided to purchase a domain name so that we more creative control in regards to layout, content and colours. We will also use Adobe Photoshop to create our website logo and banner. During the post-production stage of our project, we will use Adobe Premiere Pro for editing our footage and also for creating our stop motion animation to make our home page more interactive and eye-catching. Adobe After Effects will be used for special effects such as “Masks”, “3D Effects” and “Shape Tools” after we have edited our videos using Adobe Premiere Pro.

Site Content & Demographic

We aim to present a stylish and youthful feeling website to audience of university goers. The age range we hope to reach should be between 18-30, however to narrow it down further 20-25 is where we see the majority of our audience coming from. The content of the site will consist of 3-4 (main) pages. We would to like create a welcome page that consists of a simple stop motion animation. We took inspiration from fashion houses such as Prada or Louis Vuitton who have previously done similar animation showcasing the season's highlights. We believe it is integral to keep the website light by giving users the option to simply browse. Pictures paint a thousand words so we will have a photo page. This may seem self-explanatory however keeping in tradition of the contemporary we wish to put our own flair on it. We would like to have a page for the people. On this page we wish to have surveys of top destinations for fields like (skiing, adventure, sun and fun). We also want to interview individuals and asking them to explain their best experiences abroad. We want to edit the videos to that they are stylish and relevant. The aim is to make our users submit their own interviews in hope that we upload them.

Project Timeline

Pre-Production:

This stage will include research of various travel sites in order to analyse the basic elements of a travel site and brainstorm the positives and negatives of these sites. We will also take the time to gather images of the locations we want to use, purchase a domain name, have the basic layout set up and a filming schedule. All of these stages will be found on our individual blogs. We aim to finish the pre-production by 18th February.

Production:

This stage will involve inputting the content onto the website, developing the logo and website banner, filming and creating the stop motion animation simultaneously. We aim to finish this stage by March 5th.

Post-Production:

At this stage we will be editing the footage and inputting it onto our website, adding the final pictures onto web pages and adding the final touches to the website. We will also present the website to our target audience and ask them to fill out a questionnaire. We aim to finish the website by 15th March.

Group roles:

Eliana: Creative Designer

Lawrence: Editor/Creative Designer

Arfa: Project Manager