The time line seems to working fine now with no lagging, I changed a couple of lines of code slightly and it seems to have done the trick. The problem with the buttons that were not working has also been resolved.
I have added the webcam part to the interactive portrait section, as yet it does not send the image to a database but I can now see how it fits in visually to the application
Today I had the house to myself so I have been able to tack the timeline, I found a tutorial that uses a slider to control frames within a movie clip, you can find the tutorial here:
http://www.gotoandlearnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=24015
The way it works in laymen’s terms is the code measures the length of a movie clip, in this case a slider bar, it then counts how many frames are in your movie clip and divides the length of the slider bar by the number of frames. It then links the position of the slider along the bar to the individual frames, so when the slider moves so far along the bar the movie moves to the next frame.
Firstly I stripped away the non relevant parts of the code, I then manipulated the code to control not only the frames within the movie clip but also frames on the main timeline and it seems to work but the slider is sticking a bit at first, once you get it moving it works fine.
On another note two of my navigational buttons are not working, I’m not sure why but I will investigate.
My client has asked me to change the main information font to a sans-serif font, as she thinks it will be easier for the users to read. I am still keeping the titles in Chaparral Pro to fit with the traditional theme of my application, Chaparral combines the legibility of slab serif designs popularised in the 19th century, with the grace of 16th-century roman book lettering, to see further information about the font see below:
http://typekit.com/fonts/chaparral-pro
In order to find a suitable sans-serif font, I created some typography sheets that used a passage from the application in varying fonts alongside a Chaparral Pro title, see below:
I narrowed these options down to 5 possibilities and placed them on one sheet for comparison, see below:
I eventually chose the combination of Chaparral Pro and Helvetica World, as the area in which the information is displayed is quite small and particularly narrow, so the narrow kerning helps me to fit more words into the space, without it looking cramped.
I have changed the application to fit the colour scheme that Adele chose and I am going to do some typography sheets to help choose a more appropriate typographic combination that is suitable for both user and client.
Adele has got back to me already and again seems quite impressed with my work so far, saying “It is a very good initiative with just enough bite-size information to enable the first time visitor to absorb and enjoy portraiture at the Ferens Art Gallery and beyond!” She sent me some slight changes and some imagery to use within the application, so it’s time to get cracking.
I met Adele today to show her a prototype of the application, she seemed to like it although she was concerned about the readability of the typography, her opinion was that sans serif fonts are easier to read for users and this is what she would like for the application. I used a serif font to fit the thematic design of the application, so I suggested that we use serif fonts for the headers and titles as they would be displayed slightly larger and thus easier to read and I would find an appropriate sans serif font for the main bodies of text. I also spoke to Adele about the links she wanted adding to the application and I explained why it would be inappropriate for the kiosk application to have these links, she seemed disappointed but I did explain that the links could be added to a future web based version of the application, that could be developed after this project has finished.
I also spoke to her about the interactive self portrait and I told her about the 2nd year’s application and I tried to get across my feelings for how this interactive portrait could be a great example of modern interactive art and this time I think I may have gotten somewhere as she seemed quite excited about the idea, so the interactive portrait is back on. I gave Adele my proposed content for the application for her to check and add to or edit where appropriate and I asked her if the gallery had any appropriate imagery for the application, she said she would get back to me.
I have decided to show the historical aspects of portraiture in the form of an interactive time line. It would be easy to create points on a line and add buttons for a user to press to navigate the time line but instead I would like something a little bit more interactive and unique for this application. I would like some form of slide that the user can drag to navigate to the different parts of the timeline.
Here are some timelines I looked at as part of my research:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/timelines/british/index_embed.shtml
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/50th/main.html
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/seamonsters/timeline/index.html#latecretaceous
For the past couple of weeks there has been no progress but this was not unexpected, I spent 5 days at my partners bedside as she was being induced for birth of our child and the next week was spent snowed in, adjusting to life with a new baby son and a 5 year old who was very bored as his school has been closed due to the bad weather.
I may not be adding the interactive self portrait to the application now, it is my belief that my client would prefer a drawing application instead of a webcam photo piece but this is very similar to the application that the 2nd year web students are producing and it would not be appropriate to have two similar apps running on the same kiosk, as it would cause confusion for the user. I will speak to my client to see what she would like to do, as I know she has not yet seen the 2nd year’s proposal. I will hold off on development of this part of the application until I know what is happening.
