Obtain Assets for Use in Interactive Media Products

1 – Understand contextual information relating to a range of assets in different media formats for use in interactive media products

1.1 – Establish the parameters of the project, identifying key constraints according to platform and distribution methods

For this unit, I will be discussing our redesigned website at Gray Dawes. When putting together our website, we had to consider how each of the assets would change depending on the platform, and what constraints we had. For example, with the website banner we were constrained to a GIF image, because it wasn’t feasible to have an animated video (this would make the page slower, we didn’t know if it’d work across devices, and it would have simply been unnecessary). We also had to consider image size, colour, etc.
Overall, WordPress was very restricted for us – there were a number of features we wanted that got dropped, such as a simple Grayson game. The layout in particular was very restricted, since we wanted to use the icons but the layout was more text-focused. IT had to work around this manually, which not only took a lot of time – apparently, it needs to be redone each time WordPress has an update!

1.2 – Identify the types, properties and formats of assets required for use

We knew we wanted a good amount of imagery on the website, so we knew they ideally would be JPEGs or PNGs. PNGs would be used when we required the background of them to be transparent (icons, for example), and would use JPEGs when we simply needed a flat image. We also knew anything animated would be either created within WordPress itself (the animated timeline banner), or would be a GIF created by myself.

1.3 – Establish the requirements and expectations of others who will use the obtained assets

We don’t expect people will make much use of the assets aside from simply viewing them – therefore, the assets must sit clearly and neatly on the pages, with good colour schemes and a high enough resolution that they don’t look blurry. We don’t think people would be too interested in downloading the files. They also will be used for navigation (the button icons), so we need to manually create some form of interactivity. This is done through the use of alternatively coloured icons, that change from blue to orange when you select that page. They also need to be hyperlinked correctly, to ensure the navigation of the website functions correctly.

2 – Be able to obtain assets and clearances required for the production

2.1 – Research appropriate sources of assets

When we need to use stock imagery, we tend to use freeimages.com, however most of the time I tend to create all of our assets myself! If however we use any textures, we either use free ones or make them myself. Sometimes, companies (like Virgin, Emirates) will give us imagery/assets we’re allowed to make use of, which makes tasks a lot easier! So when we’re given a project, we always need to consider whether we use stock assets, our own assets, or any assets given to us. For the website specifically, we used our own assets, because we wanted everything on the website to be our own and bespoke to us. I feel stock imagery can look (sometimes) cheap, as if it’s there to simply fill space. Some stock imagery is pretty decent, but some look very cheesy and are used far too often. Our old website used stock assets, so everyone wanted to step away from that with the new website, and have everything created specifically for us.

2.2 – Locate appropriate assets

Moving away from discussing the website, I recently had to help design a campaign based around airline Emirates. We were given a copy by an Emirates employee, and told to design an attractive campaign based on it. Whilst designing it, I noticed that I didn’t actually have any imagery to work with – which makes designing a layout very tough. I wasn’t sure how else to source them, so instead I asked the Emirates employee for images. Aside from that, I created the assets (header, etc) myself.

2.3 – Negotiate with relevant parties as required to obtain assets
2.4 – Obtain clearances and permission for use

Below, you can see the emails sent to acquire the assets we needed. It was very easy, all I needed to do was request some images they wanted us to include. It was only easy, however, because Emirates were the ones who requested the piece of work in the first place – I understand that, normally, it’d be much harder to obtain permission to use some images.

2.5 – Prepare a specification for the creation of original content

If I was going to make a contract, it’d tell the person who created/owns the image how it would be utilised – for example, if it was a photograph of a child, we’d have to explain to the photographer how and where the image would be used by us, including products, a website, etc. This would be explained in the contract, as well as these agreements being included.

3 –  Be able to organise obtained assets

3.1 – Use appropriate filing and naming conventions to organise assets to ensure that they can be easily identified and located by other relevant parties

I tweaked the original names of the images slightly, so that they were more consistent and clearer. I ensured they described the image itself, which may help when quickly cycling through them. I also put them in a series of easy-to-follow folders that made logical sense, both on my own PC and the open P:Drive.

On my PC:

All of my folders containing work are on my Desktop because for me, I find it easiest. I have a folder called ‘Current Work’ which is where I keep any things I’m in the process of putting together. Airline Focus is located in there, with a few files inside that. Inside the Airline Focus folder is a folder labelled Images, which contains the JPEGs sent to me by the Emirates employee. This, for me, is a very basic and logical way of labelling the files/folders, and is easy to navigate.

On the P:Drive:

On the P:Drive, myself and Danielle have a folder called Communications & Media Team, which everyone knows to go to if they need anything by us. Within that there’s a folder called Mailings & Campaigns, which contains any campaign-related work that people may need to access. Within that is a folder called Airline Focus JAN16, logically labelled with the title and date for people to access easily. Within that is an Images folder, which (similarly to the version above), contains the assets for anyone to obtain.

3.2 – Maintain accurate written records of key information about the obtained assets

This doesn’t really apply to the assets I described, because the situation was a little different. However, if we did in fact have to obtain permission for assets first etc, I would be sure to keep note of the status of those assets. For example, if at one point the owner of the asset suddenly asked us to not use it in the future in a specific format, I’d note that down so everyone knew. If they added any extra rules, or became more lenient (perhaps in regards to colour, editing, etc), this would also be noted down. Basically, keeping records would allow everyone to know the up-to-date rules to abide by when using the asset, rather than simply hoping they’re using it correctly.

Produce Copy for Interactive Media Products

1 – Understand the target medium/platform for communicating with text

1.1 – Identify key constraints, possibilities and opportunities offered by the selected target medium/platform

(for this unit, I will be discussing my personal blog/website called VocaEuro, which is based around the ‘Vocaloid’ technology)

For the main blog itself, I use WordPress. In terms of constraints, I can only think that perhaps I can’t design the website as I wish – I’m somewhat restricted to templates, and specific widgets that are accessible to me. However, the templates are absolutely fine, and are well-designed.
My blog isn’t aimed at being an entirely professional website that will get tons of traffic – merely a news and information source for a niche group of people, more as a hobby than anything else. So despite the few constraints, WordPress is incredibly easy to get up and running, as well as maintain. You can see all your stats at the click of a button, create and publish pages/posts with no issues at all, and you do get quite a lot of freedom, more so than a lot of other blogging tools (Tumblr, for example, is quite restricted in comparison). The website should also be easy for others to view (due to it automatically fitting to the screen of any device), so that certainly irons out any issues in that area.
Aside from the blog, the main focus I have is on Facebook and Twitter. I only update the blog if I have a long subject to discuss, a review, or other similar topics. Most of the time, we post almost daily updates to our Facebook and Twitter pages, sharing news, new songs, merchandise, etc. This allows us to update fans faster than writing a blog post for everything, and allows us to easily track the results. It makes it easier for people to comment and share content too, rather than being directed to a website. Sometimes, we’ll post/share a short roundup of some news on Facebook/Twitter, but also write a more in-depth version on the blog, which is then linked to. Social media is quite relaxed in terms of what you can do – we can tag pages/accounts we’re discussing, share images easily, and on Facebook, track results with no fuss. The only thing that’s tough is page reach on Facebook – it’s hard to get people to actually see the content you post, which we amend by (maybe once every two months or so), paying to promote the page through Facebook’s promotion tool. This always shows in the results, getting us many more likes and a much bigger reach.

1.2 – Identify key constraints or considerations arising from the use of an online content management system

With WordPress you can drag and drop images/files into the media library, where they remain easily accessible from any device once you’re logged in. The only issue I have so far is that it doesn’t seem like you can organise them into folders or anything, so sometimes an image can go too far down that I forget I have it loaded on there already – sometimes resulting in me putting the image on there a second time by accident, wasting space.

2 – Be able to produce text-based material for an interactive media product

2.1 – Identify a style that is suitable for the target audience and purpose of the communication

Fans of Vocaloid come from all over the world and can be any age – therefore, it’s impossible to narrow down the target audience too much. However, my blog is aimed at English-speaking people, so that at least narrows it down somewhat. It’s also important to bear in mind that due to Vocaloid being such an expansive topic, there will be fans who know a lot, and fans who are very new. It’s important not to be ‘elitist’, and give good explanations for newer fans. Therefore, my style should be friendly yet sophisticated. I must be clear in everything that I talk about, ensuring that I tend to both new fans, and veteran fans. I will do this by at least giving some background information with whatever I talk about, to bridge the gap. The example below shows a small section of a blog I wrote, which gives enough information for new and old fans.

I also wrote a blog entry not too long ago, with the purpose of introducing new fans to what ‘Vocaloid’ and ‘Hatsune Miku’ are. I wrote this because a 3DS game based around Vocaloid was released in the UK, and I heard a lot of people unsure of what it was – that’s what caused me to write the blog entry. It seemed to go down pretty well, with a few people saying they showed it to their friends to introduce them to the technology. This definitely shows that catering to both long-term and new fans works well, allowing them to feel part of a community. I’ve had numerous people compliment my blog, saying they’ve learnt a lot about Vocaloid that they didn’t initially know – which makes me feel very positive!

2.2 – Maintain a consistent style both within texts and between related texts

I try to keep a consistent voice across the blog, Facebook, Twitter etc, so that it all matches up. I do this by keeping my style refined and well-written, whilst also checking that I sound friendly. I want people to feel able to engage, so it’s important to convey information in a sophisticated way, yet also make them feel welcome to talk and ask questions. Below are some examples!

2.3 – Ensure that grammar, punctuation and spelling are accurate and appropriate

Before sending out a blog, I aways go through it a number of times, checking that all three of those points are done to a high standard. I personally believe that my grammar, spelling and punctuation are perfectly acceptable, so I never run into too many problems. Mistakes can slip through however, no matter how careful you are, so if anybody points this out, I’m sure to correct it straight away. I try to maintain a fairly professional appearance, so spelling, grammar and punctuation are of importance.

I always read the blog post after publishing it too, just to double check any spelling mistakes – because I use a lot of Japanese terms, of course, the spellcheck doesn’t pick up on them, meaning I have to check the spelling as much as I can. Errors have slipped through before, so this is why I always read my posts after publishing them.

2.4 – Structure the text-based content for readability and accessibility

I always break down my blogs into sections. Whilst writing, I consider what will come next, and whether it needs to be a new part, or can continue in the same paragraph. Breaking text up makes it so much easier for people to read, and I’m well aware of this. That’s why I break up the text quite often, keeping relevant parts of information together. I try to keep it in a logical order that makes sense to the reader. I also use images and videos to keep the reader engaged, and also use it to split up blocks of text.
Unlike this website, which is specifically a set number of pages with the intent of showing specific information, my VocaEuro website is a blog, which is frequently updated. For this reason, I make use of the ‘Posts’ feature, which allows me to write a new entry, without it permanently becoming a page on the website. This is the logical way to run a blog, since people can view archives if they’re interested, but will first and foremost see the latest content.
Below you can see how I’ve broken down a post into paragraphs.

2.5 – Identify search engine optimisation techniques as appropriate

When producing my copy, I ensure to use words that people would likely search for within each topic. For example, one of my most viewed blog posts contains words that are often searched by fans in this niche area, resulting in it gaining a fair amount of traffic. It seems to be the only blog post that is almost certain to get new views each day.

2.6 – Format copy, following relevant writing conventions, style guides and policies

Formatting is quite easy within WordPress – sometimes, I may type out my blog in Word (since I just prefer using it to write), and then copying and pasting it here as plain text. I can then format it by using the many tools available, pictured below. I tend to keep text the standard ‘Paragraph’ size, whilst changing titles to ‘Heading 4’. I always keep my posts a consistent format, and preview the post before publishing – this is because it can look very different once published, including image placement etc.

I wouldn’t say it’s a policy, but I follow the same style guide at the end of each post, linking to our various other accounts.

Below is a blog I found online about linking to other social media accounts.

2.7 – Produce appropriate captions or descriptions to accompany content

I don’t often use captions or descriptions, since the images I use tend to fit the article with no questions necessary – however, if I need to credit an artist/photographer, I will do that by adding a description. If I have a gallery of images, particularly of an event I’ve attended, I may also add descriptions to explain what each image shows. Below are some examples where I have captioned images, either using the caption feature or manually keeping relevant text close to the image!

2.8 – Provide clear, consistent and accessible hyperlinks

Hyperlinking is one of the most vital parts of my blog, and is something I constantly ensure is done perfectly. Due to almost every piece of Vocaloid-related work being fanmade, people may listen to a song I’ve shared, and want to hear more from that person. Sometimes however, finding more work from that person can be tough if you don’t know where to look (there are hundreds of thousands of Vocaloid songs alone, not even taking into account artwork, music videos, etc) – which is why I hyperlink every name, song, artist or reference to a previous event. This is so that people can easily do some more research about something/someone, without any difficulty. I tend to link to pages on a site called VocaDB – basically, in a similar format to a Wiki, it has fan-written pages, documenting music, artists, producers and albums. People have actually complimented my site for hyperlinking very well, which allows people to access music much easier than searching themselves. It’s part of the site I do pride myself on! Below are some examples (the hyperlinks are the blue/green text, and open up the link in a separate tab, as not to direct the reader fully away from the blog).

2.9 – Produce and embed metadata

To add metadata to an image/document, you can actually do it within Photoshop! If you go to File -> File Info, a box will appear with a number of options down the side. By clicking on ones relevant to your work, you can fill in the metadata you want to be embedded in the file! For example, for the Gray Dawes logo, I gave it a relevant title.

3 – Be able to check the accuracy of text-based material for an interactive media product

3.1 – Proofread copy to check for any errors

Before publishing a blog post, I will always re-read it probably two or three times, to be certain that all the links work, spelling is correct, and my information is accurate (as well as checking videos are working correctly, images are placed correctly, etc). There is a spellcheck feature in WordPress, which can be useful for ironing out some mistakes – however, I do of course, write a lot of words it wouldn’t recognise, so sometimes it can be more of a hinderance than a help. I like to think my writing skills are decent enough to check myself. Once I have published a post, I actually go through the text again, and quickly edit them should the need arise.

3.2 – Check the accuracy of any facts and figures quoted, seeking advice as required

Most figures I use tend to be based on things such as view count, likes/dislikes, dates, etc. All of these things are easily accessible through looking at the content (video/illustration/file) directly, so there tend to be no issues. However, if I need to confirm something, I’ll either consult the creator directly, or use a reliable article from another website to confirm my figures. Below you can see I went to YouTube to check the view count of a song.

4 – Understand legal and ethical considerations relevant to producing copy for interactive media products

4.1 – Review the content against any legal and ethical considerations

There tend not to be any issues with this sort of thing – however, due to the fanbase being somewhat niche, if there are any legal issues they get bought up very quickly. For example, I won’t share any work that has been stolen (I am often able to do the relevant research myself to determine this), and will be sure to credit all of the correct people. If a person asks for their work not to be shared or put up for download, I will also ensure to comply and remind others to comply with this. I work hard to ensure people are credited for their work, and do this outside of the blog too, on general social media. Of course, with running a blog you also have to be careful how people are depicted, and ensure it’s not going to cause any issues (e.g: racism).

4.2 – Make any necessary changes to comply with relevant legislation

If there ever is an issue, it tends to be a simple matter of editing the original post, creating a new post explaining the issue, or deleting the post altogether. I have not yet run into such issues, but you can’t be too careful!