Blog 12

Today we had to give our presentation to Clare who is in charge of the current design scheme in the cafe. We had to give the presentation at 2:30 so before that we finished of the presentation, practised giving it and if we had time worked on our folders.

I was in charge of the power point presentation and did almost all of it with a bit of help from Sam. A problem we had was that we couldn't print out the final design in colour because there was no ink in the printed. This meant we could only show Clare the photo shop version on the PowerPoint. Apart from that the power point went well.I didn't speak and was on the computer while James and Sam took turns in talking. The reason why I didn't talk was that we had to rush to get the practise presentation done (to the class and not to Clare). I was going to talk in the final presentation but we decided it was fine with just two people talking.

 There were twelve slides including the title and the 'Thanks for watching' at the end. What we did that was successful that no other groups did was showing the food photography test shots in detail. We showed the process from the first test shots up to the final photos. We also showed how we improved the photos using photo shop. We did this by showing a un-edited photo next to one we edited on photo shop. Other slides included the two drafts before we showed the final design, the questionnaire and also the brief. We didn't add much text onto the slides, we mainly just filled it up with a few pictures and improvised when we were talking about it. But I think this was good because its boring if you just read out what is already on the slide and also this is how proper presentations should be. What we could of done differently was add our opinions and first impressions of the cafe on the PowerPoint. We could of also shown some more of the drafts.

A Photo of the cafe from the front

Blog 11

Today we finished our design, started on a presentation and worked on our folders. To finish the final design we only needed to work on the back. We changed the google map to make it more clear, and added three photos that we took. The top two were photos of food from the restaurant (wrap and salad). I thought the pictures weren't very good because they were slightly blurry and two dark. We also couldn't touch them up on photo shop as much as I would of hoped. I think this was because they were so dark if we made them brighter on photo shop then the resolution became not very good. This wasn't a huge problem though because the pictures were quite small so you couldn't see the imperfections that much. Below these two pictures we put a photo of the cafe. We cropped it so that it was a long strip showing the cafe and the two shops on either side. The reason behind this was just that we needed along image so that it would use up the remaining space better. A nice effect we added to the picture was that we that we put the two shops on either side in black and white and kept the actual cafe colour. We did this so the cafe stands out.

I also printed out some photos of food off the computer to put in my folder. I started on a powerpoint presentation which we should use next week. On it we put some test shots and the process of editing them on photoshop. We also scanned the drafts we had drawn so we could put them on the computer. This was successful because they still looked crisp after they had been scanned. We put the first and second draft on the same page so you can compare them. We are planning to also put on the final design so we can show the three steps.   



Final design front







 



Final design back

Blog 10

Today we photographed the food we would use in the actual flyer. Before we took the photos for real we had to write a shoot plan and take some practise photos. For the practise shots we photographed cheese cake and lasagne with salad. We photographed them on either black or white paper. My favourite picture was one of lasagne and salad on a plate with the background half black and half white. This is because I though it looked more arty and interesting.

This is my favourite photo out of the test shots we took

We also worked on the final design which was done on photo shop. We couldn't replicate the white orange tree we drew on the final design so we had to get a photo of an orange tree. James drew around it in orange to give it a less realistic and more stylish feel to it. Other changes we made were we added a orange border and removed some of the text on the front so now it just says 'The Orange Tree Cafe', the street and street number. We haven't finished the back but so far it has some text and a map from google maps. We are going to add two pictures of food or one of food and one of the cafe. We are also going to add contact details and hopefully a watermark type/faded orange tree cafe logo in the background. This should be possible somehow because the cafe have already done this on their new menus.

After lunch we went to the cafe to photograph some food they had pre-prepared. The food we had to take photos of were wraps, cake, english breakfast, salad and coffee. I was annoyed that we had taken some really good crisp in focus photos of food in previous lessons when we were practising and then when we came to take the photos that we would actually use in the final flyer it was cloudy and the light was dimming so some of them where blurry. We also took some photos of the front of the cafe.

These were some of the photos we took of the cafes food.

Blog 9

Today we mainly worked in our groups. Before lunch we followed on from last week and continued working on draft versions for our flyer. On our previous design we just had a picture of a orange tree which was okay but a bit boring and un-unique. So we decided to do another draft which was similar but we would have a black background and a white, abstract orange tree. I thought this was a big improvement because it looked more arty and stylish. It also made the oranges stand out more against the back and white background. We still included the orange poking in on the right side on a branch with leaves. On the orange it said 'good home-cooked food at reasonable prices'. At the bottom it said opening times 8:30-5:00. We weren't as organised as we could have been, because we weren't sure whether we should colour the the background in with a black pen because we thought it would take too long. In the end I decided to colour in the background.. We did get it done but we were past the the dead line of lunch-time. I contributed to the draft flyer by drawing and colouring in the front. Me and James also had a go at drawing an orange tree on the computer. I did mine on paint and James did his on photo shop. The initial reason for doing this was that we thought that we wouldn't be able to colour in the drawn flyer effectively so we would try it out on the computer so we can mess around with the colours. It wasn't that successful because it was hard to draw trees on the computer since you have less control than you do if you drawing with your hand.

Our second draft was a big impovment on the first draft.

After lunch we did some market research it was hard asking people, who we have never seen before, questions on some pictures we drew. But we did get some good feed back from one person who seemed like he might have worked in advertising. He told us lots of improvements such as adding a map, adding a logo and putting the logo on the back, faded. This was useful information and I think we will act on the feedback especially by adding a map.

Blog 8

Today we started by doing some research either into other competition around Cambridge or into what people buy and how often they eat out. I found out the main competition around the area was the Carringtons Cafe in the Grafton centre. The reason for this is they have a fairly similar theme/style but Carringtons looks a little cheaper. Also their menus are very similar, they both sell paninis, salads jacket potatoes etc... The prices are fairly similar too. I would say Carringtons has a bigger advantage because it's been around longer and its better positioned because loads of people go to the Grafton centre.

Carringtons in the Grafton centre

Then after break and lunch we got into our groups and designed some possible layouts and designs. For the design on the front of the flyer we each drew one idea. On mine the basic design was the name of the cafe on two lines at the top. I did this because I thought the title/name of the cafe needed to be big and bold so its eye catching. The writing has shadow behind it to make it look more interesting and stand out more. The font colour I think should be either white or orange depending on if the background is white or black. I have kept with the colour scheme of the cafe  which is Black, white, orange and green. If think its to do this because If people see the flyer which is in completely different colours then they wont notice the cafe If they walk past it. The original colour scheme is also nice and bold. It's also unique. The main picture on the leaflet is of an orange tree. If we use the orange tree on the final design I would like to keep it cartoony because it matches the title and the simple theme. In the bottom right corner there is a picture of an orange and in it it says 'High quality home cooked food at low prices'. Apart from the title this is the only writing on the flyer so on the final design I think we should add more information, to fill  the gap in the middle. We haven't yet properly designed the back, but I think we should put photos of the cafe and its food, the location (possibly a map), prices and contact details.

Blog 7

Today we started by researching into food photography. I found some photos of of pictures of food I liked,  and one I thought didn't look as professional as the others . I analysed them and wrote about the techniques they used, such as getting a relatively clear background so it doesn't distract you from the food and adjusting the light to make the food look more appetising.

After break we got into our group and discussed what we were going to do for the leaflet. We didn't get a huge amount done but we made a practise flyer in note form showing where we might put the title, picture etc.. We also discussed whether the flyer would have a modern feel or rustic feel and decided to compromise between both since this was what the cafe felt like. We also started to design a flyer on photo-shop.

After lunch we photographed some food that another diploma class had prepared for use. The food was sausage rolls and mini quiches. It looked well presented because they garnished  it with tomato and parsley. In most of our photos we took some of the food off the tray and arranged it on a piece of A3 paper. We took about 15 shots most of them were close ups. The digital camera we used we found it could focus quite close up if you put it on the right settings. I found this exercise enjoyable and useful because we will almost certainly be be photographing food from the cafe in the future. When we got back we edited them on photo shop. Only one of them needed cropping but we adjusted the brightness and contrast a bit to make it look less dull. I thought our results we quite good for the first time we photographed food since they were all in focus and they looked professional. Next time we would experiment more and make the photos more interesting. An effect that another group did and one we talked about as a class, was where you have two objects and blur the one in the background. I saw this a lot when I was researching into food photography so this would be a good technique to use.

Blog 6



This picture is the old menu for the cafe.
Its going to be replaced by a white one to
save money on printing. 



Today, before lunch we did some more work on our research project. Then after lunch we found out we would be doing some work for a cafe called 'The Orange Tree Cafe' along Burleigh street opposite Primark. More precisely we had to make an A5 flier promotioning the cafe and telling people it was there. But before we got told what we had to do we went to see the cafe with clipboards to write down notes. I could see why they needed more advertising because even though its in the middle of town its not very obvious and no one in our class knew it was there before. From the outside it looks fairly expensive because its shiny and new compared to most of the other shops down the street. The color scheme is mainly black, white orange and green which you can see in the design of the name. When we went into the cafe thought it was a nice place to be because the orange lighting made it feel cosy. It had grey scale photos of Cambridge on the walls which made it feel arty and relevant to Cambridge. It also had a brick wall effect on the counter wall which matched the orange and white colour scheme. The menus were presented on Black boards like what they typically use in pubs. I thought this made it feel traditional despite the fact it was very new. The cafe is a mix of modern and traditional and very different to fast food cafes. 

After we had written down our notes we headed back to class where we found out the cafe used to be a greasy fast food cafe called Cafe 11 before it had be bought three months ago. We also found out that the target audience was mainly people who shop at primark and people who work in offices and would want to go there for lunch. We then got told the brief which was to design a A5 flier to go around town, telling people the cafe was there. I'm excited to be working for a real business because I think we will learn more about advertising.  I should also be more practical and we will get a taste of what its like to work in the real world.  

   

Blog 5

Today we presented our advertising campaign for a bag of photography equipment. We weren't finished so next time I think we should have worked more efficiently and quicker. What was good about our presentation was that we were the only group that sold the objects in two bundles. This is good because in the real world you would make more money by doing this and If you couldn't afford the more expensive package you could always buy the cheaper one. I am not a natural leader so I didn't take control of the group but I felt able to easily contribute ideas. The picture we put on the poster was of a camera which we edited on photoshop. I thought it looked alot better after we edited it. This was because we made it more bold and contrasting. We also used a tool where you can draw around the picture and move it around. This is sort of like copying and pasting but you can be more precise and its easy since the line locks onto what you are picking up.

After lunch we did some more work on our research project into advertsing. I compared Pepsi's logos and some of their adverts. The Pepsi adverts are quite good because they have to do something to outsell Coca Cola. After lunch we had to design a logo for 'Doggie Yum'. Doggie Yum is a dog food which is very low  quality, but we had to make it more appealing than the Tesco value type products which are very cheap, dull and boring. We had to make it fun, exciting and attractive to children and teenages. In our logo we used colour, font and design. We worked in a group of three but we very much did our own thing which worked quite well. I came up with two ways of writing the brand name (Doggie Yum). They were both in bubble writing and quite comical, because I thought this would look less dull and boring. It would also suit the target audience better, which was around 10-20 years old. I also made a logo which was a cartoon dog wearing a baseball cap backwards and shades. I though this would work because it was simple and easy to remember which is what you want in a logo. It was also funny and fitted the image of cool young kids.

Mr H comment

Some good reflection Liam - keep it up. try to work in more detail.

Last Thursday's session was based on advertising. We learnt that there are three types of advertising campaigns, raising awarness, starting a point of view and advertising a  product or service. We started by looking through a yellow pages book a deciding which pluming service we would use if we came home and the house had flooded. This helped me realise how complicated advertsing is even in the yellow pages. For example you have to pay alot more to put your advert in the top left hand corner because you read from the top and left to right. We then looked at some adverts on the internet to analyse. I liked the Caburys adverts because they are very different and it looks like alot of though has been put into it. My favourite ones are the Cadburys spots vs stripes advert and the Cadburys fair trade advert.


I liked there two adverts because they had good computer animation.

After lunch we got into groups and tried to sell a group of objects. I didn't see the connection between the group of objects we had to advertise and I wasn't sure why we didn't advertise them separately. It was my idea to take pictures of the objects behind a white piece of paper. We would have then  made them more contrating on photoshop so that the white paper was completely white. This would make it look more professional.

Blog 3

Today we went to Parkside School to do digital photography. We also processed the non-digital film we took last week. I was surprised at how complicated it is compared to digital photography, and that you have to do all of the prossessing in the dark. I think I would find it a lot easier if I were to do it again because I would be more confident that I wasn't doing it wrong. Although we only got one photo done, I think we got the amout of light exacty right and the photo was very crisp. I didn't find the dark room too hard to work in because there was more light than I though there would be. Although I still don't get the point of using old-fashioned cameras, when you could just use a digital camera, because on a digital camera its easier, you can't get it wrong and you can edit it on the computer. You can also check If the exposure is right and if its wrong you can always delete it and try again.

The photo we processed



These are the photos in negitive form



 After break we went out to take some still life pictures. We used a skull of some kind of animal in every picture. My favourite picture was the one were we took a pictue of a yellow sign saying 'danger of death', and then put the skull coming into the picture. I though this was successful because the colours worked well and the skull was at an angle so that it looked like it was a dinosaur or monster pearing in. We couldn't really find any other place that would make a really good picture so I took a picture of Liam and Gabriel sitting on a sofa looking strangely at the skull. It looked very weird, but I thought that made you laugh and think. We then edited it in photoshop. We didn't change much because the colour and contrast were already okay so we just cropped some of the photos to make them look better.      

 

  

Mr D's comment

Excellent posts, Liam.

Blog 2

Today, we made a remix style arrangement of our footage from last week. It was great because you can do a lot more than on windows movie maker and it's really fun speeding up and slowing down our voices. We added some funky music in the background so that without repeated voices it sounded a bit like a funny rap. Even though it was 15 seconds long, I was pleased with it because it was funny and my friends liked it. We achieved adding music, cropping it, adding words and speeding some parts up. We also edited some footage we didn't shoot, about a boy apologising to a girl about getting her in trouble. It was fairly good but I think the one we did together at the start was the best way of arranging it. And we couldn't completely copy what the demonstating was like. If I were to edit this footage again I would change it so it does go from a longshot to her hands straight away because I think it looked weird and confused the viewer. Instead I would put it so it changed from a long shot to a medium shot. I learnt how to edit footage in the best way. For example it is good to change the camera angle on a movement. I personally contributed to both of these in terms of what clips to use and what music.

After lunch we took some pictures with the cameras. I found this quite hard because, unlike on a digital camera you can't see the picture straight after you take it. You also can't delete them and you only have twenty four shots. Because of this you can't take lots of shots to make sure one is right. I'm not entirely confident they will all come out because it was hard to tell if it was in focus. Another thing I found frustrating was you can get the amount of time the shutter opens for right, but then if you put the camera very low to the ground and facing up it may have changed and you can't see it. This happened when I got down very low and tried to take a shot looking up the trunk of the tree. But all  of that said it was fun experimenting with the tips we learnt before. E.g the rule of thirds, leading lines and viewpoint.


P.S on Sunday when me and my family went to Southwold we happened to see a film crew filming a new ITV drama called Injustice. It was their first day of filming and we saw lots of vans with equipment in parking and we then saw them filming a shot where a man and his dog were walking along the beach. The writer of the drama who was there as well told us the actor in the scene was looking gloomy because in the drama the man  had just killed someone. It was interesting seeing how big a film crew they needed. Here are some pictures.

Blog 1

This session we had to work in groups of three and film each other in different scenes around the school. We chose by a tree and in front of a brick wall. We said our names and what we were looking forward to in the creative and media diploma. After filming by a tree I thought we should film in front of the brick wall because it contrasted with the previous leafy background. It didn't really work out that well because half way through filming the sun came out and made a shadow of the sound boom behind us. I found it hard to speak straight to the camera because I was distracted by people coming out of the door next to us. We managed to get ourselves about two thirds of the way to the side of the shot because it looks better. If I were to do it again I would sit down or lean against a tree or choose a different position, because standing is a bit boring and predictable. We took it in turns to record sound and use the camera. At the start I put together the sound boom.

 I thought we would be able to choose the groups, so I wasn't looking forward to it when I found out we couldn't choose who we worked with. But it worked out okay and I enjoyed working with the people in my group. I would've liked more time because I felt we didn't get that much done before we had to go in. We found it quite easy to get the exposure right without using the paper technique. I think this is because we filmed where it was either completely in the the sun or completely in the shade. I found recording the sound interesting because it's so much louder and clearer than on my phone or our digital camera. I also found it enjoyable because I had thought we would be using cheaper cameras and wouldn't be using all the equipment on the first day. I didn't really like talking to the camera because it is embarassing when you get it wrong.

I learnt a lot on the first day. I learnt what we would be doing this year in CRAM. I became fairly familiar with the equipment. I learn some techniques such as using a piece of white paper to get the exposure right on the camera. I learn some tips like you look better two thirds of the way across the camera, to leave head room in the shot and don't cut people off in the shot at their joints, instead half way through their thigh, arm, torso etc... I got to know some of the people on the course and became familiar with the school. I learnt some new words such as 'Dead cat', the cover which stops the sound of the wind being recorded. I understand that zooming in and out on the camera is unnatural and should not be used unless for an special effect.