For my project i have been introduced to the idea of using audio and photography (still images) to create an interactive portfolio. By using a range of websites i have researched audio, photography ideas and what is an interactive portfolio and how it can be used in photography. For my audio research i looked into different sites that talked about audio, some talked about using copyright free sound effect while others talked about how they made there own sounds (Foley sounds). By using pintrest i was able to look at different ideas and came across some abstract images, i liked that they were unusual and made you think and really look at the image.
My project is based on Pandora’s box so while searching through pintrest i came across some images that i liked and would have liked to try within my test shots. It was a struggle to find information on interactive portfolio so instead i looked at the word interactive, what is interactive? google says “allowing a two-way flow of information between a computer and a computer-user; responding to a user’s input.” In my own words i would say interactive is doing something with someone or something for example talking to someone (your interacting with them) or playing a game on the computer (your interactive with the game/ computer).
pandoras-box-idea (document on powerpoint – collection of pintrest images)
I created Mind Maps for interactive ideas, presentation methods, storyboard ideas and sound effects. I believed this was very useful to me when it came to choosing which ideas and methods suited me best, this was very important because i had a limited time scale and needed to have a plan on what i wanted to do as i still had to take my images, edit them then find my what type of sounds i wanted and what music to use.
There were many ways I could have presented my audio-based project such as presenting a power point with my images and audio both on a slide this would have been a good idea as it allowed my audience to click the audio making it interactive. However the music and sound effects would only last until the slide was over and I wanted my sounds to flow all the way through the presentation. Another way of presenting my project could have been printing my images and having speakers playing the sound effect that match them. In the end I chose a different method that allowed not only my class but everybody as my chosen creative way was to present my project on adobe premier pro this then allowed me to upload my video onto my YouTube account.
The use of audio technology within my project was simple. For my project i focused on recording sound effects such at wildlife, walking and trees in the breeze. I wanted to make my own sounds and avoid using sounds already made because i though they would be more realistic and believable, for my background music i was going to use a copyright free song/ instrumental. The sounds I had recorded hadn’t come out the way I had wanted them too as they didn’t capture the sounds I was looking for. It was starting to get to the end of my time scale so it was at this point i had to used copyright free sound effects from YouTube.
I used a range of skills within Photoshop, premier pro, YouTube the recorder and camera. Some were easier to use as i have used them in the past such as photoshop, YouTube and a camera. However I had never used premier pro or the recorder before so it was a little learning curve for me.
Photoshop was effective when it came to editing my images as it allowed me to give a lot more detail within my images, I could change the contrast, brightness and many other things that helped my images stand out more.
On the left side is the original image this is what the image looked like before i photoshoped it, as you can see the image was bright and had unwanted items in the background. On the right side is the image once it had been photoshoped, i had darkened the image as i didn’t like how bright the image was i also removed unwanting background items. Overall i liked the photoshoped image as it captured what i wanted as i didn’t want a bright image i wanted something dark to go with its dark story/theme.
Premier pro was effective as it allowed me to put both my still images and audio together. This then allowed me to turn my still images into a video, I was able to then make my project more interactive by adding a title screen telling my viewer to ‘put headphones on’ this helped create and interactive atmosphere. On premier pro I could change the audio settings allowing me to choose important moments and bring the sound in and out whenever I wanted to switch sounds, this allowed me to direct my viewer in an emotional way. Premier pro didn’t give me any problems the only thing I struggled with was the settings and where to find them as I had never used it before.
YouTube was very effective for me as I knew how to use it and I could look of specific things unlike unknown websites that I either had to pay for or make an account to use. My sounds weren’t going the way I wanted them to so by using YouTube I found copyright free sound effects and music. This helped when it came to the final stages of my project.
The recorder I used was very good, too good in fact as it picked up unwanted sounds and I could get rid of them without ruining the sounds I wanted, it was at this point I stopped recording and just used copyright free sounds.
I uploaded my project to YouTube and this was very effective as it had wider access to viewers and a worldwide audience. I could have used a different method such as putting my project on a DVD however I did not like method because it wasn’t cost and time efficient, I think this is because if I was to improve my original project I would have to then keep replacing the DVDs buying new ones and burning them off. This is why I used YouTube as it didn’t cost me anything and it was very quick to upload also if I was to improve my project I could just upload the newest version of my video.
The camera I used was my own, I used a DSLR as I understood how it works and the quality it gives within my images, the first time I shot my images they came out too bright, i understood that i could have changed my image in photoshop however i didn’t want to change my images much. It was at this point i tried different shot types as well as shutter settings i mostly shot on shutter priority this was because when i was playing around i took some pictures that came out naturally dark and i liked how the images came out so i took majority of my images on that setting, i did however change some of my images on Photoshop just so they matched and didn’t look extremely different.
link to my project.
The feedback i got from my class was helpful and i agreed with them, my project was based on ‘Pandora’s box’ and the class agreed that my music fit my project perfectly, the music fitted my fantasy theme just the way i was hoping it would, the class liked my images as well and although my presentation was short they enjoyed it very much, the length of my project was the only bad thing as they wanted to see more. This is something i can improve on in my spare time, i would also like to improve my audio as i would have liked to add more sound effects to my images to make my project feel more real.
Kira Spencer Photography 