My decision to choose the Kindle and the subject of books grew from my existing stance against the e-reader, so it seemed a logical choice to keep to this theme in the project. From this, I discovered a surprising amount of people that also shared this opinion, despite a lack of these views on the Internet. By creating a website that voiced mine and many people’s opinions of the future for the book, I feel as though my site adds to the small handful of other websites and forums intent on preventing the book from becoming a thing of the past.
I have found this brief to be a challenging introduction to the use of video and web design, but nevertheless a rewarding one. Although I personally enjoyed this project, the most frustrating elements were involving areas of web-design, and at this point I received assistance from fellow students in producing the website I had imagined and planned. In the end, I applied the skills I had learnt to complete the site to the standard I wanted.
In comparison to the focus on web design, I much preferred creating the video content of the site and in doing so I feel as though I’ve gained an interest in using Final Cut Pro. In the future, I’d like to expand on using video and editing within my work, as it’s something I’ve always gained interest in, but never quite had the opportunity to work with.
Given the chance to improve on my website, I’d take more time to expand on my content and gather a better idea of the book production history. This could then help inform a firmer understanding of just why the book is a sacred tradition. On top of this, I regret not experimenting on the design of my website more, and producing something I saw myself as being more aesthetically pleasing.
Alongside my website, I would’ve liked to have taken more time in filming more footage such as interviews, and experimenting more with collaging and editing existing videos together.
One particular issue I encountered through the process of producing my videos was the lack of existing footage that was available, either through YouTube or the Archive website. Because of this, I regret not pursuing a more visually exciting and generally more exciting theme where a wider range of videos are available.
Regardless of certain elements I believe I could’ve improved on, I’ am pleased with the outcome of this project and hope to continue gaining confidence with both video and web design in the future.
This brief has definitely made me question not only the technological developments that threaten the book, but also the rapid pace in which we are pushing technology, which in a sense has made me fear the future. I believe this should now inform my practice beyond this brief.
