Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Target Audience
After many thoughts about my target audience will be between the ages of six and eight. So taking this into consideration I will be making the history on my pages easy to read and simple. So the child can fully understand what I'm trying to express. I won't over power the website pages with too much text, as I need my pages to be visually attractive. Whilst looking at other examples of children's websites I have noticed they use a lot of sound. I may use a book layout to make this more interesting for the user. I will be producing this on paper to see how it would look. However I will have to put this idea to my group to see if they think its a good idea or not. Because I need to make my pages fit in with the rest of my groups.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
How to produce a button in flash
The first step is to insert a new symbol which can be re-named by going to the symbol properties. This is always good to do as you need to organise your buttons properly. You will need to change the button functions such as up, over, down and hit. The first frame is up which is a blank frame. To create the up button image, you can either use the drawing tools, import a graphic or place another symbol on the stage. You could use a movie clip for your button if you wanted too. The second frame is labelled over and you have to insert a key frame and this shows the image from your first frame.
Now you change the button image for the over frame and you repeat the same process for the down and hit frame. The hit frame isn't visible on playback, but it defines the area of the button that responds when clicked. You have to make sure that the hit frame graphic is a area large enough to cover all of the graphic elements of the up, down and over frames. This can also be larger than the visible button. After you have defined the images of the four button stages, you choose edit, then edit movie to exit symbol edit mode.
Open the library window by choosing window then library. You can locate the button in the library window and then drag the button symbol out of the library onto a stage. This step creates an instance button in the movie.
Now you change the button image for the over frame and you repeat the same process for the down and hit frame. The hit frame isn't visible on playback, but it defines the area of the button that responds when clicked. You have to make sure that the hit frame graphic is a area large enough to cover all of the graphic elements of the up, down and over frames. This can also be larger than the visible button. After you have defined the images of the four button stages, you choose edit, then edit movie to exit symbol edit mode.
Open the library window by choosing window then library. You can locate the button in the library window and then drag the button symbol out of the library onto a stage. This step creates an instance button in the movie.
Thoughts on Research
After looking into all the separate countries styles of circuses, this will enable me to produce pages that relate to the era perfectly. For example I will relate my american design to the Ringling Bros, and use an elephant to show a fact about Jumbo.
I have also decided to use a clowns face for the map on my main page, I feel this will work a lot nicer and relate to my theme perfectly. Also it will be more child friendly, as this is one of my main factors. Another factor is the colour scheme which I need to use and this will work beautifully on the clowns face. I will be stereotyping each page as this is what children will relate too and recognize. I will be using soft pastel colours for the French design and making the ringmaster on each as stereotypical as possible. I believe that this will make my designs a lot clearer to the young user.
I have also decided to use a clowns face for the map on my main page, I feel this will work a lot nicer and relate to my theme perfectly. Also it will be more child friendly, as this is one of my main factors. Another factor is the colour scheme which I need to use and this will work beautifully on the clowns face. I will be stereotyping each page as this is what children will relate too and recognize. I will be using soft pastel colours for the French design and making the ringmaster on each as stereotypical as possible. I believe that this will make my designs a lot clearer to the young user.
Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus
This is a american circus company, which was founded by James Anthony Bailey and P.T Barnum and was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling Brothers brought the Barnum & Baileys circus in 1907, however they ran the circuses separately until 1919.
In 1875, Dan Castello and William Cameron Coup persuaded Barnum to lend his name and financial backing to the circus they had already created in Delavan, Wisconsin. It was called P.T Barnum's Great Travelling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Hippodrome. Greatest Show on Earth was added later. James Bailey had teamed up with James E Cooper to create the Cooper and Baileys circus in the 1860s and this was Barnums main competitor. Cooper and Baileys exhibited "Columbia" the first baby elephant ever born in the United states. Barnum attempted to buy the elephant, and eventually agreed to combine their shows in 1881. In 1882, the combined Barnum and Bailey circus was very successful with acts that included Jumbo, which was known as the worlds largest elephant. Sadly Barnum died in 1891 and Bailey took over the circus from his widow.
He continued touring the eastern United States until he took his circus to Europe, that tour started on December 27, 1897 and lasted until 1902. In 1884, five of the seven Ringling brothers started a small circus at the same time that Barnum & Bailey were at the peak of their popularity. Similar to dozens of small circuses that toured the mid-west and north-east at the time, the Ringling's moved their circus from town to town in small animal drawn caravans. Their circus grew and they were able to move their circus by train. This enabled them to be the biggest travelling amusement enterprise in that era.
In 1875, Dan Castello and William Cameron Coup persuaded Barnum to lend his name and financial backing to the circus they had already created in Delavan, Wisconsin. It was called P.T Barnum's Great Travelling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Hippodrome. Greatest Show on Earth was added later. James Bailey had teamed up with James E Cooper to create the Cooper and Baileys circus in the 1860s and this was Barnums main competitor. Cooper and Baileys exhibited "Columbia" the first baby elephant ever born in the United states. Barnum attempted to buy the elephant, and eventually agreed to combine their shows in 1881. In 1882, the combined Barnum and Bailey circus was very successful with acts that included Jumbo, which was known as the worlds largest elephant. Sadly Barnum died in 1891 and Bailey took over the circus from his widow.
He continued touring the eastern United States until he took his circus to Europe, that tour started on December 27, 1897 and lasted until 1902. In 1884, five of the seven Ringling brothers started a small circus at the same time that Barnum & Bailey were at the peak of their popularity. Similar to dozens of small circuses that toured the mid-west and north-east at the time, the Ringling's moved their circus from town to town in small animal drawn caravans. Their circus grew and they were able to move their circus by train. This enabled them to be the biggest travelling amusement enterprise in that era.
Children's websites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/
http://www.nickjr.com/kids/
http://www.haringkids.com/
http://www.mrmen.com/
http://www.innocentkids.co.uk/
These are a selection of children's websites that will be the basis for my own design. Each has its own individual style. All of them are very inactive and simple to use, this is where I want to take my design. I find the most assessable to be Cbeebies. The reasoning behind this is because of the colours that help the user navigate easily. The second most successful in my opinion is Nick jr as the main screen shows what's available and also there is a speaker which explains what to do. This is where I would like to take my own, however I would be worried about producing sound as this is area which I haven't touched before. Saying this I would use on-line tutorials to help me develop my skills.
Haring kids has a lovely welcome page but I feel that the usage isn't as successful as it could been. The white characters stand out beautifully against the black background. However this doesn't fit in with the colour scheme that I'm looking for. As I need a brighter colour scheme to fit in with my theme. However I will be taking this into consideration whilst designing my interfaces. Mr men as a design is welcoming as again it has music playing in the background, also every button has a sound effect. Each of the characters has its own personal game, which is a nice touch. I may use characters from the circus to produce a likeness in my own design.
The final website is for innocent smoothies. This isn't an actual children programme related website however I like how there is a lot of movement within the welcome page, however this doesn't over power the design. As this is a concern of mine when I come to put mine together.
http://www.nickjr.com/kids/
http://www.haringkids.com/
http://www.mrmen.com/
http://www.innocentkids.co.uk/
These are a selection of children's websites that will be the basis for my own design. Each has its own individual style. All of them are very inactive and simple to use, this is where I want to take my design. I find the most assessable to be Cbeebies. The reasoning behind this is because of the colours that help the user navigate easily. The second most successful in my opinion is Nick jr as the main screen shows what's available and also there is a speaker which explains what to do. This is where I would like to take my own, however I would be worried about producing sound as this is area which I haven't touched before. Saying this I would use on-line tutorials to help me develop my skills.
Haring kids has a lovely welcome page but I feel that the usage isn't as successful as it could been. The white characters stand out beautifully against the black background. However this doesn't fit in with the colour scheme that I'm looking for. As I need a brighter colour scheme to fit in with my theme. However I will be taking this into consideration whilst designing my interfaces. Mr men as a design is welcoming as again it has music playing in the background, also every button has a sound effect. Each of the characters has its own personal game, which is a nice touch. I may use characters from the circus to produce a likeness in my own design.
The final website is for innocent smoothies. This isn't an actual children programme related website however I like how there is a lot of movement within the welcome page, however this doesn't over power the design. As this is a concern of mine when I come to put mine together.
English Circus
The popular belief is that the circus originated from Ancient Rome, although several components such as tumbling, juggling and rope dancing can trace their rots back more than two thousand years. The modern circus was actually developed in England by the son of a cabinetmaker and a veneer cutter. This man's name was Philip Astley who was a former Sergeant Major in the Fifteenth Light Dragoon Regiment and an outstanding horse trainer.
After his discharge from the army, he decided to copy and improve the art of trick riding which had been popular during his time in Europe. In 1768, Astley settled in London and opened a riding school where he taught riding in the morning and performed "feats of horsemanship" in the afternoon. The school had a circular arena that he called his circus which would be later known as the ring. The circus ring was devised by early trick riders and helped them to keep their balance when on the back of a galloping horse, also allowed the audience to keep the riders in sight throughout the performance. His original ring was about 62 feet in diameter but this was frowned upon by many performers as they believed it to be too big. Trick riders insisted the ring to be 42 foot and since has become the international standard for all circus rings.
By 1770, Astley had noticed that performing was much more profitable than teaching but after two seasons in London he needed to bring something new to the ring. He added acrobats, rope dancers and jugglers but his achievement was identifying the circus's need for clowns.
Through the middle ages, jesters played an important role in the social culture of Medieval Europe. They could answer back to authority, by making fun of social customs. It was during this period that clowns got there colourful costumes. Also during this period jesters had a fairly standard uniform which was brightly coloured, often green and saffron coats, two coloured hose and a hooded cap which was topped by little bells. However clowns that entertained at court were mainly street performers with a variety of skills, such as magic, juggling, story telling, puppetry, tightrope walking and witty dialogue.
After his discharge from the army, he decided to copy and improve the art of trick riding which had been popular during his time in Europe. In 1768, Astley settled in London and opened a riding school where he taught riding in the morning and performed "feats of horsemanship" in the afternoon. The school had a circular arena that he called his circus which would be later known as the ring. The circus ring was devised by early trick riders and helped them to keep their balance when on the back of a galloping horse, also allowed the audience to keep the riders in sight throughout the performance. His original ring was about 62 feet in diameter but this was frowned upon by many performers as they believed it to be too big. Trick riders insisted the ring to be 42 foot and since has become the international standard for all circus rings.
By 1770, Astley had noticed that performing was much more profitable than teaching but after two seasons in London he needed to bring something new to the ring. He added acrobats, rope dancers and jugglers but his achievement was identifying the circus's need for clowns.
Through the middle ages, jesters played an important role in the social culture of Medieval Europe. They could answer back to authority, by making fun of social customs. It was during this period that clowns got there colourful costumes. Also during this period jesters had a fairly standard uniform which was brightly coloured, often green and saffron coats, two coloured hose and a hooded cap which was topped by little bells. However clowns that entertained at court were mainly street performers with a variety of skills, such as magic, juggling, story telling, puppetry, tightrope walking and witty dialogue.
Cirque D'hiver - French Circus
Located in the heart of Paris, between the Place de la Republique and the place de la Bastille, the Cirque D'hiver is the worlds oldest circus which is still in activity. It first opened its doors in 1852. Cirque D'hiver was built for circus entrepreneur Louis Dejean as his circus companys winter home. He already managed the Cirque des Champs-Elysees, which he kept open from May to October. Up to 1846, his main establishment had been the Cirque Olmpique which was located five hundred yards from his new circus. This was on the portion of the Boulevard de Temple which disappeared in 1862 to give room to the present Place de la Republique.
Dejean sold his old Cirque Olympique in 1847, although it has been built only 20 years earlier in 1827. This had already lost its appeal and wasn't practical any more. Like any circus at this time, it had been designed with both a circus ring and a full theatre stage and was easy to convert into a regular theatre, which was known as Theatre du Cirque Olmpique. He had no permanent home during the winter and this forced Dejean to sending his troupe abroad such as London or Berlin. This was successful however having a winter base in Paris still made more sense. Dejean asked a well known architect called Jacques Ignace Hittorff to design plans for a new circus. Hittorff had already built the Cirque des Champs-Elysees as well as the Panorma. The circus Hittorff began to build in 1852, was spectacular in many ways. It was a 20 sides polygon, 42 metres in diameter with a cupola reaching 27.5 metres. However unlike other circus' at the time, there were no columns inside which gave a clearer watch for the viewer.
Dejean sold his old Cirque Olympique in 1847, although it has been built only 20 years earlier in 1827. This had already lost its appeal and wasn't practical any more. Like any circus at this time, it had been designed with both a circus ring and a full theatre stage and was easy to convert into a regular theatre, which was known as Theatre du Cirque Olmpique. He had no permanent home during the winter and this forced Dejean to sending his troupe abroad such as London or Berlin. This was successful however having a winter base in Paris still made more sense. Dejean asked a well known architect called Jacques Ignace Hittorff to design plans for a new circus. Hittorff had already built the Cirque des Champs-Elysees as well as the Panorma. The circus Hittorff began to build in 1852, was spectacular in many ways. It was a 20 sides polygon, 42 metres in diameter with a cupola reaching 27.5 metres. However unlike other circus' at the time, there were no columns inside which gave a clearer watch for the viewer.
Circus Krone - German Circus
Carl Krone who founded the circus in 1905. However Freida Sembach and her husband Carl Sembach run the circus after the end of the war, by 1949 the travelling circus went again on tour. In a century, the Circus Krone Imperium became a world wide recognized institution within the circus world. The success which they produced was based on entrepreneur spirit, love of animals and absolute seriousness.
In 1924 Krone celebrated a premier of the superlative, which was a huge circus tent with 8,000 seats and 2 stages. From this Carl was given the title King of the German circus. Carl Krone deceased in 1943. He didn't experience the total destruction of the Circus Krone Building, a destruction caused by aerial bombardment. Humans and animals were evacuated to the Krone Stud Farm in Wessling. Christel Sembach Krone directs the fate of the family owned and operated Circus Krone after the death of her father. He died on January 18th 1984 and his wife Frieda Sembach Krone died November 2nd 1995. Circus Krone is now under the leadership of the family of the fourth generation.
Circus Krone contributes to the circus popularity and fame. Circus Krone itself has a rich history which dates back to the 19th Century. Carl Knone Jr started working in his fathers institution, Menagerie Theatre. After some time, his father turned to the circus including his own building in Munich. Circus Krone presents the largest marquee in the world, 30,000 square metres in size with 400 inhabitants, 250 animals and 330 wagons. Tremendous amounts of money has been invested in the circus and the shows are visited by more than 1.2 millioin specatators each year.
In 1924 Krone celebrated a premier of the superlative, which was a huge circus tent with 8,000 seats and 2 stages. From this Carl was given the title King of the German circus. Carl Krone deceased in 1943. He didn't experience the total destruction of the Circus Krone Building, a destruction caused by aerial bombardment. Humans and animals were evacuated to the Krone Stud Farm in Wessling. Christel Sembach Krone directs the fate of the family owned and operated Circus Krone after the death of her father. He died on January 18th 1984 and his wife Frieda Sembach Krone died November 2nd 1995. Circus Krone is now under the leadership of the family of the fourth generation.
Circus Krone contributes to the circus popularity and fame. Circus Krone itself has a rich history which dates back to the 19th Century. Carl Knone Jr started working in his fathers institution, Menagerie Theatre. After some time, his father turned to the circus including his own building in Munich. Circus Krone presents the largest marquee in the world, 30,000 square metres in size with 400 inhabitants, 250 animals and 330 wagons. Tremendous amounts of money has been invested in the circus and the shows are visited by more than 1.2 millioin specatators each year.
final idea for history of circus
Team Bee have finally decided to produce a website that goes through the different aspects of the circus. I will be designing a home page that will include a world map, I will look into the history of American, French, English and German circus. I will be making this child friendly as possible as this could be rather bland compared to the other parts of the website.I need to take into consideration what children find entertaining. To find this out I will be asking the younger members of my family, and also looking into interactive children websites such as Cbeebies etc. This will be my starting point.
As I have already mentioned I will be producing a world map, when you hover the mouse over the flags, the flag itself will zoom forward and spread across the whole screen from here, you will click onto the flag and then you will enter the part of the county that you have selected. From here I will have a simple layout as I don't want to over power the child with too much information. Another factor will be to think of the colour schemes. I have noticed whilst looking at other children websites, that colours help navigate the child around the website itself, this is a technique that I will be working with. Most websites have a range of primary colours, I feel this is because children relate to this. I will be producing a slide show that shows how that circus has changed throughout the years, the buttons which move the slideshow across will be a face of a clown which smiles when you press the button. I want to make my part as interactive as possible.
The next pages will all consist of the same layout. The title will reinforce the colours of the flags. I'm hoping to produce a quick tour of each circus and have objects and animals that can be clicked on to produce a quick fact. In my opinion I feel that this will be the most successful way to make the history more entertaining. As I have already mentioned I don't want too over power the child with too much information so this is the reasoning behind this factor. I will be planning the look of these pages throughout this week.
As I have already mentioned I will be producing a world map, when you hover the mouse over the flags, the flag itself will zoom forward and spread across the whole screen from here, you will click onto the flag and then you will enter the part of the county that you have selected. From here I will have a simple layout as I don't want to over power the child with too much information. Another factor will be to think of the colour schemes. I have noticed whilst looking at other children websites, that colours help navigate the child around the website itself, this is a technique that I will be working with. Most websites have a range of primary colours, I feel this is because children relate to this. I will be producing a slide show that shows how that circus has changed throughout the years, the buttons which move the slideshow across will be a face of a clown which smiles when you press the button. I want to make my part as interactive as possible.
The next pages will all consist of the same layout. The title will reinforce the colours of the flags. I'm hoping to produce a quick tour of each circus and have objects and animals that can be clicked on to produce a quick fact. In my opinion I feel that this will be the most successful way to make the history more entertaining. As I have already mentioned I don't want too over power the child with too much information so this is the reasoning behind this factor. I will be planning the look of these pages throughout this week.
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