unit 7 evaluation
For Unit 7 our task was to produce a portfolio showcasing our work and skills in a professional structure by researching what media companies look for in portfolios and what makes a portfolio successful. We had to decide what platform we wanted to showcase our work on and how the content presents us as content creators.
To decide which site I wanted to create my portfolio on I had to research which were the most popular and what users think of them. At first I wanted to use a platform that was designed to create portfolios so I read reviews about Adobe Portfolio and tried it out myself. My first impression was great as it did not feature as many templates and build options as Weebly, Wix or Squarespace, but I continued to try it out . I found the interface hard to use and had to watch some of the few tutorials available but I soon decided the program just did not have enough design options that would make my portfolio unique. The most suggested website by Directors of Photography for portfolios was Squarespace which looked like my best option, however, the site cost money to run even before you can publish a website. My only other options suggested by Directors of Photography were Weebly and Wix. I decided as I have been using Weebly since the start of the course, I would be comfortable creating an online portfolio on the platform. I was also confident I could make the site unique using Weeblys tools just like I have done with this website and I could navigate between my websites with one account which has proved extremely useful. This meant I did not have to create any unnecessary accounts with Wix or Squarespace and I have created a portfolio that I am happy with for free.
The online portfolios I researched in LO1 heavily influenced the structure and design of my portfolio. The lack of colour in David Vollrath's website was substituted by content telling us he lot of experience. As I clearly have not worked on as many productions as Vollrath, I could not flood my home page with content. However I took this concept of drawing all of the viewers attention towards the work by using softer colours with little saturation in the background. I think my website is similar to Vollrath's when it comes to its simplicity; both have an ease of navigation and give a clean, professional image with content that stands out to the viewer. Peter Mosiman's portfolio home page was accessible just by clicking his name on the left of the website - there is no home button. I liked this concept so I applied it to my portfolio. I think using my name as the home page gives my portfolio a more professional look as the use of 'home' isn't used. Although I do not have as much content yet, I believe my portfolio lives up to the expectations I had when researching and has a professional face to it.
I think the sites I researched had relevant content appropriate to their profession. Vollrath's content told me that he is a successful cinematographer that has worked with both large companies and high billed actors so he must be good at his profession. Sloan's page had appropriate content and his image appears to be very important and this reflects in both his work and portfolio. However I believe the use of his 'Enter' page is rather dramatic and irrelevant to an employer who is just looking to see his work. On the other hand Sloan is an award winning cinematographer and his reputation is not going to be affected by the opening page to his portfolio. Peter Mosiman's portfolio contains lots of appropriate content. As well as previews of his best work, Moisman's website includes stills from his past productions which I believe is very effective as it captures the quality of his work in lots of different images. This tells us Moisman has consistency in his work and could determine whether he is chosen to direct a production. Moisman also substitutes his work into categories such as commercial, music video and narrative. This helps a client who has clear project find Moisman's work in that particular area so they can decide whether he is the right cinematographer for the job.
To decide which site I wanted to create my portfolio on I had to research which were the most popular and what users think of them. At first I wanted to use a platform that was designed to create portfolios so I read reviews about Adobe Portfolio and tried it out myself. My first impression was great as it did not feature as many templates and build options as Weebly, Wix or Squarespace, but I continued to try it out . I found the interface hard to use and had to watch some of the few tutorials available but I soon decided the program just did not have enough design options that would make my portfolio unique. The most suggested website by Directors of Photography for portfolios was Squarespace which looked like my best option, however, the site cost money to run even before you can publish a website. My only other options suggested by Directors of Photography were Weebly and Wix. I decided as I have been using Weebly since the start of the course, I would be comfortable creating an online portfolio on the platform. I was also confident I could make the site unique using Weeblys tools just like I have done with this website and I could navigate between my websites with one account which has proved extremely useful. This meant I did not have to create any unnecessary accounts with Wix or Squarespace and I have created a portfolio that I am happy with for free.
The online portfolios I researched in LO1 heavily influenced the structure and design of my portfolio. The lack of colour in David Vollrath's website was substituted by content telling us he lot of experience. As I clearly have not worked on as many productions as Vollrath, I could not flood my home page with content. However I took this concept of drawing all of the viewers attention towards the work by using softer colours with little saturation in the background. I think my website is similar to Vollrath's when it comes to its simplicity; both have an ease of navigation and give a clean, professional image with content that stands out to the viewer. Peter Mosiman's portfolio home page was accessible just by clicking his name on the left of the website - there is no home button. I liked this concept so I applied it to my portfolio. I think using my name as the home page gives my portfolio a more professional look as the use of 'home' isn't used. Although I do not have as much content yet, I believe my portfolio lives up to the expectations I had when researching and has a professional face to it.
I think the sites I researched had relevant content appropriate to their profession. Vollrath's content told me that he is a successful cinematographer that has worked with both large companies and high billed actors so he must be good at his profession. Sloan's page had appropriate content and his image appears to be very important and this reflects in both his work and portfolio. However I believe the use of his 'Enter' page is rather dramatic and irrelevant to an employer who is just looking to see his work. On the other hand Sloan is an award winning cinematographer and his reputation is not going to be affected by the opening page to his portfolio. Peter Mosiman's portfolio contains lots of appropriate content. As well as previews of his best work, Moisman's website includes stills from his past productions which I believe is very effective as it captures the quality of his work in lots of different images. This tells us Moisman has consistency in his work and could determine whether he is chosen to direct a production. Moisman also substitutes his work into categories such as commercial, music video and narrative. This helps a client who has clear project find Moisman's work in that particular area so they can decide whether he is the right cinematographer for the job.
I believe my website has enough interactive features for the user navigate easily across the portfolio. These features include an interactive slide show where you can flick through stills from my past projects, buttons that lead to my social networks and the ability to see my stills in full size as weekly allows you to light box your images. This gives the user the opportunity to inspect my work knowing they have full control of what they want to see from my page which I believe is an important asset an online portfolio should have.
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On my 'contact' page there is a message box where people can get in touch with me by submitting a comment. This is a better alternative that just including my email address because instead of copying the address and sending an email, the message is ready to be sent straight away. This is a convenient interactive feature for the user. |
I believe the colours and fonts in my website are appropriate for what I am trying to sell as they create a professional image for myself and show that I take pride in my work and like to present it an organised way. The ease of navigation is also important in trying to sell myself as a film maker as it allows the viewer to access my work easily and quickly, which they may need to if they are going through hundreds of portfolios a day. The content is also appropriate to my target audience as my portfolio offers them a variety of productions that show my set of skills in different ways. The is really important as it broadens my target audience; different employers need different skills so if I can present a range of skills my portfolio is going to invite more employers.
My site is very easy to use; there are 4 pages to navigate from, they are all easy to access at the top of the website and are set out clearly. Social media links are positioned in the same place on each page so they are easy to find and my website stays consistent. My plans for the website were for it to present me as a young film maker with skills close to a professional standard. I believe my website does this thanks to the organised structure and choice of thumbnails. I wanted the thumbnails of my productions to show I know how to position subjects within a frame, I have a good understanding of colour correction and I know how important a first impression is. When my target audience sees the thumbnails for the first time I want them to be impressed and I think my choice has been successful. With this in mind I believe my portfolio is professional enough to send to media companies, as I have done already for work experience purposes.
I think I have created enough social media sites to sell myself. I spent a while researching which sites I really needed and I think the results have helped me make the right decisions. Linkedin is essential; every time I visited a production companies website, every employee had a Linkedin account below their name. This featured their past work, experiences, skills and links to their own portfolios. Twitter is also important as it keeps employees up to date with the news and companies around them and is the best platform to get responses from big companies you want to tweet. I was sure not to create a Facebook profile for work as I believe it is a site for family and friends, so I have ensured my current Facebook profile is private and only accessible to the friends I have added, not anyone else. I also included an email attached to a YouTube account so I can publish my work all in one place. These sites sell me well as a film maker, the research I have done into the subject shows it is in my best interest to present myself professionally on social media platforms.
One thing I think I should have included in my portfolio is a paragraph next to each production on my 'Work' page that gives the audience an insight into the thoughts and ideas that went into the production and what it means to me. I think these pieces of writing will make my productions more powerful to the audience as they can understanding why I produced the work. I also wish I had more work to include as I see a lot of potential in my portfolio and more productions to showcase will make my home page more exciting to look through. However these are both things I can start to include in the near future to better my portfolio; I can add the writing as soon as possible and I will be working on many more productions throughout this year and the next so i am confident my portfolio will grow and progress.
My site is very easy to use; there are 4 pages to navigate from, they are all easy to access at the top of the website and are set out clearly. Social media links are positioned in the same place on each page so they are easy to find and my website stays consistent. My plans for the website were for it to present me as a young film maker with skills close to a professional standard. I believe my website does this thanks to the organised structure and choice of thumbnails. I wanted the thumbnails of my productions to show I know how to position subjects within a frame, I have a good understanding of colour correction and I know how important a first impression is. When my target audience sees the thumbnails for the first time I want them to be impressed and I think my choice has been successful. With this in mind I believe my portfolio is professional enough to send to media companies, as I have done already for work experience purposes.
I think I have created enough social media sites to sell myself. I spent a while researching which sites I really needed and I think the results have helped me make the right decisions. Linkedin is essential; every time I visited a production companies website, every employee had a Linkedin account below their name. This featured their past work, experiences, skills and links to their own portfolios. Twitter is also important as it keeps employees up to date with the news and companies around them and is the best platform to get responses from big companies you want to tweet. I was sure not to create a Facebook profile for work as I believe it is a site for family and friends, so I have ensured my current Facebook profile is private and only accessible to the friends I have added, not anyone else. I also included an email attached to a YouTube account so I can publish my work all in one place. These sites sell me well as a film maker, the research I have done into the subject shows it is in my best interest to present myself professionally on social media platforms.
One thing I think I should have included in my portfolio is a paragraph next to each production on my 'Work' page that gives the audience an insight into the thoughts and ideas that went into the production and what it means to me. I think these pieces of writing will make my productions more powerful to the audience as they can understanding why I produced the work. I also wish I had more work to include as I see a lot of potential in my portfolio and more productions to showcase will make my home page more exciting to look through. However these are both things I can start to include in the near future to better my portfolio; I can add the writing as soon as possible and I will be working on many more productions throughout this year and the next so i am confident my portfolio will grow and progress.