From: Stuck inside a Pixar short film Insane since: Apr 2001
posted 03-31-2003 13:19
Simple as this.....website we had to make in Dreamweaver in a week or so. Mine is based on a company that Skaarjj and I hope to start up one day. First every experience in making a website so please comment and anything else worthwhile on this site. ftp://students@students.mydesignnet.com/
Login: Students
Password: dw3101
Second httpdocs folder down. Folder: GWills_Dw. Start by clicking on index.html.
[Emp edit2: There is only one httpdocs folder - you are looking for the httpsdocs folder]
Cheers
[Emp eidt: Just making it a link - IE seems to be able to cope wih this but I'd really recommend people grab some web space before putting something up for review]
"You don't know how paralysing that is, that stare of a blank canvas, which says to the painter: you can't do a thing." - Vincent Van Gogh
[This message has been edited by Emperor (edited 04-06-2003).]
That large cloud image is huge and obnoxious. I understand what you are trying to do, but there has to be a better way. Its purpose is not worth the bandwidth it uses and its physical screen size pushed the content too far down.
Now, I like what you are doing with the curtains/theater seating type arrangement going on there. The graphics look clean and they serve a purpose. Honestly, I'd do away with the whole cloud thing and simply go with a clean title/heading "Storm Shadow FX" and then the film strip navigation and the theater setting.
Typos and bad text --
"filmmaking industry is advancing astronomically" perhaps 'astronomically' isn't the best word here?
"cinematic filmmakers overseas of locally based" should be 'or'
"'underdog' filmmaker - student, independent" Reword, I know what you are trying to say, but it is awkward.
"Considering we offer the highest quality of work around we use the latest technology and software developments..." I'm not sure what this sentence means. Try to rephrase.
I'm running 1024x 768 and I'm getting HSBoD. Bad news.
About --
Oh, too bad you got rid of the theater. I really like it. Not too bad with the film canisters, but the theater was so much cooler. Clouds are still ugly.
Your blue content text is floating up too high, overlapping your filmstrip nav.
Centered text, bad bad bad.
Bad text/typos
"Whether it be sound studios, large green\blue screen studios, editing suites, and many many rooms
containing the latest computer technology to build you work on."
Awkward. Try rephrasing.
Actually, this whole page is awkward. Try rewriting. I'd be happy to help if you'd like.
Work --
I still like the theater setting best.
Text is centered and too freakin' small, even for my eyes.
Writing is better on this page.
Animation --
Centered text = bad
Text is awkward.
I don't like how the text box has been moved from the center (on all the other pages) to the right. Breaks continuity.
Compositing --
now justified text? I'm confused.
Behind the Scenes --
Keep navigation consistant. I don't like the new navigation in the director's chairs. I dig you using metaphor (filmstrip OR director's chairs) but be consistant throughout the whole site.
Conclusion --
Get rid of the stormy clouds at the top (or decrease them significantly in size).
Work on your writing. Websites, no matter how cool, still communicate via a language, in this case the English language.
I like the theater background the best. I guess that is personal preference, but I'd definately pick one and stick with it.
Filmstrip navigation is cool. Director's chair navigation is cool. Pick one and stick with it.
Clean up your text. Some of it is justified, some left, some centered, some small, some bigger...pick something and stick with it. Put it in one place, with one size, style, justification.
Recently I reviewed a site in stream-of-consciousness styel. I'm not sure exactly why I did it, but it was a very interesting experience for me. My reviews are usually very well-ordered, with nice, neat lists of areas I think need improvement. I'm sure this method is probably the most helpful in pointing out trouble spots, but I like the SOC method because it reveals what I'm thinking when I actually see the site, and might offer more insight on an actual user experience. It also happens to reveal the fact that I can sometimes be a drama queen, but you've got to make sacrifices, right?
So, without further ado, my SOC review:
_________________________________
Gee... this sure is taking forever to load... man those text graphics are ugly... why on earth would you save those as jpegs?
Horizontal scrollbars make Baby Jesus cry...
Wow, the graphics finally loaded... whoa... that is huge...
Ah, so that's what those blanks spaces are for... the rollovers... huh? This doesn't seem to be working properly. Why is it that when I mouse over one of the menu items it tries to load something, but then nothing appears? And then the glow effect doesn't seem to go away when I mouse out, or even when I mouse over something else. Not to mention the fact that it's just plain ugly.
I could've sworn I saw a picture appear in the blank space on the left... yep, it's trying to load ABOUT.jpg, but nothing is coming up, weird. And extremely annoying.
Heh, I got all four menu items to glow at once... it's like a little game. Oh, there's another picture. No, now it's gone. What the heck was that?
And why are the glows different colors? The ones on the left seem to be blue, while the ones on the right seem to be purplish...
OK, enough playing with the menu... let's check out the content. Gah! That screen background is going to give me conniptions! Ow, ow, someone turn it off, please. And the text color... why? Dear God, why? And it's so small... let's make it bigger... ah, that's better. At least I can change the text size... but if I make it too big then it overflows onto the seats...
OK, well, let's click on "About." Ah, black background, blue/purple text... looks familiar... oh, wait, no, there's that horrid background again. It would have been so much nicer against plain black... and now the text runs over onto the film, since I made it bigger... hmm... but I don't like the smaller text. What is that, Times New Roman? And where is the line spacing? Georgia at the same size and with some decent line-spacing would be fine, but not this... nope, got to make it bigger. I've got no choice.
Well hey, this kind of sucks... I thought I'd look at the source, but it just pops up the page... must be because it's ftp... lame. I'm still pretty sure that's Times New Roman...
And why is the text centered... my, that is ridiculously hard to read. It would be so much nicer ragged right, and with an unordered list instead of those silly asterisks with no spacing...
OK, next... SSFX... um, huh? Isn't this the front page? Why does a link called SSFX take me back to the front page? Shouldn't it be called home or something? And shouldn't the link be disabled on the front page... nothing like clicking on a link that takes you to the page you're on to screw up your sense of web direction. And why is the SSFX menu item the second one... it would seem to make more sense being the first one...
Alright, moving on to "Work." Holy miniscule text, Batman! I can barely read this sitting right in front of my monitor! Make it bigger... overflows, of course, but oh well... huh, what's this? What's going on with these pics? They're... repeating? Not only that, but the background image repeats as well... this is a visual fiasco... (screen cap, 130k)
More centered text... I really just don't feel like reading more than a few lines...
"Click here"??? What year is this? *checks calendar* Yup, still 2003... for a moment there I could've sworn I was back in the early 90s... "click here"? wonderful... I scan down to find the links, which thankfully stand out nicely from the text, but all I see are three "here"s... doesn't really make me want to click on anything... moving on.
"Contact"... well this is standard fare... except that I don't get that ugly guassian background image, I get the curtains, which makes the text slightly harder to read. And why is the link blue instead of white?
Hmm... maybe I should go back and look at some of those "here"s... doesn't seem to be much left...
Why do the menu graphics sometimes disappear when I click on one of them? Weird...
OK, clicking on the first "here," even though I don't know where it goes... wow, the surrounding text shrinks back down when I click...
Plugin Error: "The data that the plugin requested, did not download." Thank you for, that information.
So now I've got some more of that hideously centered text (it is really starting to aggravate me), and a picture on the right... the progress bar is slowly creeping across the bottom, but I don't think anything is loading. What plugin, anyway? Did some say something about a plugin? I don't remember reading anything like that. I'm pretty sure I have the latest plugins installed. Ah, screw it.
Let's try one more... the second "here."
None of the images seem to be caching. I wonder if that's because of the ftp... at any rate, it makes for a very unpleasant browsing experience. OK, second "here." More shrinking text... wow, what the heck? Now I've got a narrow column of justified text with no space between it and the pictures on the left and right... I can't figure out which was more difficult to read... this or the centered text. Just look at those rivers of whitespace flowing through the text. Funky mouseovers again... this is just too painful. I have no idea what is going on, and I really don't want to subject myself to this text.
Time to go.
_________________________________
Yup, that's it. I realize that SOC reviews tend to come out a bit harsher, because I'm not "filtering" my thoughts as much (to say I'm not filtering them at all would be lying... that's just impossible), but I think it's more honest. Don't take any of it personally, anyway.
From: Stuck inside a Pixar short film Insane since: Apr 2001
posted 04-01-2003 15:30
Explanation to why things are.
Mobrul: Graphics are so big because it was an accident on my behalf. I dont know how to use Dreamweaver properly and have any experience with web design whatsoever so I dont know all the pro's and cons. I was doing something wrong in Dreamweaver and wouldnt allow me to change the resolution. I worked out what I was doing wrong tho after I had done it in a resolution too big and it was too late to change it. I getcha about the clouds, personally I love them. But hello....newbie.
All of that grammatical stuff wasnt part of our assignment dude. As long as we produced some sort of a website in Dreamweaver that was all he was after. Wasnt an English assessment.
Whats wrong with all this formatted text? You make it sound like the work of Satan! Why cant text be centered, justified or anything else? Is it a crime?
Dracusis: Dont woory....ur as bad as me. Works fine on broadband tho.
Suho1004: My god you are a prick. Nar I guess I appreciate ur opinion.....honesty is what I was after. Whats wrong with Times New Roman? From what Ive read you are very picky of what makes a suitable website. You make me sound like Im this really good web designer whos gone terrbly wrong all of a sudden. lol. Didnt know "click here's" were a crime? Rollevers do work...it's just you. Doesnt work for me but on any connection that is broadband it does work. The plugin should work too...has worked for others. I got that error myself until I fixed the page and the plugin was d\l successfully. Havent taken it personally just said what first came to mind when you first read ur post Refer to what I said to Mobrul for the rest of it.
All in all.....I had the busiest w\end that w\end with playing soccer...*add more excuses here*. But by God....I think this site needs fixing...you should see the other students sites. They will send you running to your mummies for comfort!
"You don't know how paralysing that is, that stare of a blank canvas, which says to the painter: you can't do a thing." - Vincent Van Gogh
Grammatical stuff is ALWAYS 'part of the assignment.' Always. Though your instructor may not have specifically said 'make sure you use good English', instructors will, all other things being equal, give you a higher grade, especially on something this objective, if you use the language well. It's simply easier to read good use of the language than bad.
I don't know if you code or not, but you'll find a perfect analogy in programming. Would you rather dig through JS that wasn't commented, had no whitespace, used variable names that were 128 characters long and were, as far as you could tell, completely random...or would you rather look at clean, commented, well organized code with variables that had logical, meaningful names? Even if the code does the same thing, obviously the first scenario will be stressful...not pleasant. The second should be no problem at all.
The same goes for your choice of justification. When we're talking about blocks of text, generally people prefer left justified text or text with both edges justified. If the left side of the paragraph is ragged, it becomes 'difficult' or 'stressful' for our eye to find the beginning of the next line when it reaches the end of the previous line. It's not that right justified text or centered text doesn't say the same thing, it is simply more difficult to read text formatted that way.
I'm not trying to harp, or be a dick or anything...just tryin' to help.
quote:Suho1004: My god you are a prick. Nar I guess I appreciate ur opinion.....honesty is what I was after. Whats wrong with Times New Roman? From what Ive read you are very picky of what makes a suitable website. You make me sound like Im this really good web designer whos gone terrbly wrong all of a sudden. lol. Didnt know "click here's" were a crime? Rollevers do work...it's just you. Doesnt work for me but on any connection that is broadband it does work. The plugin should work too...has worked for others. I got that error myself until I fixed the page and the plugin was d\l successfully. Havent taken it personally just said what first came to mind when you first read ur post Refer to what I said to Mobrul for the rest of it.
Heh, yes I can be quite a prick when I want to. And yes, I am very picky. Some would even call me a perfectionist. That doesn't bother me, though.
It's some of the other stuff that bothers me... "Rollevers do work...it's just you. Doesnt work for me but on any connection that is broadband it does work." Um, I have a broadband connection and I just told you that it doesn't work. So what you're basically saying is, "Well, it works for other people, so screw you."
The same goes for "The plugin should work too...has worked for others. I got that error myself until I fixed the page and the plugin was d\l successfully." Well, the plugin was not downloaded successfully, and I wasn't even told what plugin it was. Is this another screw you? If so, just let me know, and I won't bother commenting anymore.
To answer your other questions: What's wrong with Times New Roman? Well, it sucks on screen. It might be fine for print, but it needs to be larger than other fonts to be comfortable on screen. And "click here" links? Um, I thought that would be pretty obvious from what I wrote. People have a tendency to skim pages looking for important information, and links are considered important information. But if all I see when I skim is "click here" or (even worse) just "here," I have no idea what this link is about. The text of a link should give some indication as to where the link leads. This idea has been around for years now.
And as for the rest of it, refer to what mobrul said to you.
[Edit: Geez, man, what is it with me and quote tags???]
[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 04-02-2003).]
From: Stuck inside a Pixar short film Insane since: Apr 2001
posted 04-02-2003 15:17
mobrul: Dude, my grammar is near enough to perfect compared to some of the sites in the class. One guy just wrote BLAH BLAH all ove the place. So its that comparison to sites like that, that will make mine seem reasonably good. I get your point about grammar ALWAYS being a part of the assignment but this was ONE occasion where it didnt count THAT much, it at all. Trust me ok, he said in his own way that he really didnt give a shit about grammar. As long as we did a site in the time specified in Dreaweaver. I do know a little about code, HTML in this case. Thanks for your help man!
Suho1004: Drama queen, lol yeah you said it man. Dont infer Im saying scew you cos it works for others....Im not saying that. Just take it easy mate. Just stating the facts. Dont be on the defensive, epesh with that plugin fiasco. I've never used plugins before, as I said earlier Im NEW at this, have NO experience whatsoever. It's what you call, learning. I chucked in the "click here" link thingo cos I was in a rush when I was typing that page, first thing came to mind. I can assure you I wouodnt have done that if I had time and thought about it carefully before writing it.
DL-44: I aint complaining Ive got reviews... By saying jackass you're pretty much calling some of my friends that. They think I have done a reasonable job on it in the time I had. I can handle critique as well as the next person...Ive had it harsh in the past but I can also interact with the critique. Accpetance is fine, improvement can be chosen, and what I said about other pple...comparison of user problem and why certain things work and dont work.
Cheers
"You don't know how paralysing that is, that stare of a blank canvas, which says to the painter: you can't do a thing." - Vincent Van Gogh
Luxo: Um, I wouldn't start with the drama queen bit, mate. Really. I'm not the one who runs into the lobby everytime I stub my toe and screams bloody murder.
Anyway, it looks like you had all your excuses lined up and ready to go. I'm not sure why we bothered pointing out problem spots. For what it's worth, though, none of your excuses wash with me. Yeah, you may be new at this, you may have no experience with plug-ins, but that doesn't excuse your "screw you" answers. And yes, "it's just you, it worked for everyone else" is a screw you response. "Just stating the facts"? Yeah? Well so was I, and look what I get for my trouble.
So, I'm curious. Are you actually planning on improving this page here, or is the assignment already over and you have no thought of doing anything more with it? If it is the former, I'd be interested in seeing what you do with the page. If it is the latter, why did you even bother?
[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 04-03-2003).]
From: Stuck inside a Pixar short film Insane since: Apr 2001
posted 04-03-2003 11:21
Excuses lined up? No I just know what needs to be said and simply replying to comments and explaining why you are bothering pointing out problems. Reason is because this will be an actual company that Skaarjj and I are planning to start up one day and there will be a website for it. Plus it doesnt hurt to hear what people think of your work.
My excuses dont have to wash with you. Believe what you want. Looks like we are both "stating the facts" and getting hassles from each other on it. Bit redundant hey? Anyways......thanks for your comments harsh as they maybe....at least I know what I have to improve upon.
"You don't know how paralysing that is, that stare of a blank canvas, which says to the painter: you can't do a thing." - Vincent Van Gogh
Would just like to point out that given the severity of some of the issues with this website, and the blatant overkill with the graphics and plugins, the critique Suho gave was *not* that harsh.
The responses to those critques indicate huge lack of both effort and interest in making this work, and show a general carelessness that just isn't going to wash if you really wish to make a website.
Such excuses as 'other people's were worse' or 'it wasn't part of the assignment' are *completely* irrelevant in this arena.
You are at one of the greatest resources available for web/graphic design - make use of it and do some research (as opposed to running around like a beheaded chicken at the last minute ).
From: Stuck inside a Pixar short film Insane since: Apr 2001
posted 04-06-2003 16:29
"*Not* that harsh"??? Could have been worse yes, but to me it was, when it is work being criticised naturally you are going to take it personally.
"lack of effort and interest in making this work"??? "carelessness"??? Dude, you seriously dont know me if you think that's the case.
Whether my statements are irrelevant or not I dont care....the whole purpose here is to discuss the work at hand and not critique each other's replies or who said what or get bogged down with "irrelevant" technicalities and who thinks what is relevant or irrelevant.
Im well aware I am at a good resource and will make use of it, hence this thread in the first place.
Yeah I know I run around like a beheaded chicken sometimes but hey thats me, you get that. Why I do is because I am a perfectionist and so used every bit of time I have in order to make it perfect. Cant change that in me, always been like that.
What Im planning to do in the future sometime is consider what has been said about the website and work out the do's and dont's and see how it ends up refined and we shall take it from there.
"You don't know how paralysing that is, that stare of a blank canvas, which says to the painter: you can't do a thing." - Vincent Van Gogh
"Why I do is because I am a perfectionist and so used every bit of time I have in order to make it perfect. "
Um, ok, this is a stab in the dark here but maybe, just maybe your idea of a "perfect" is a little biasd. After all, you made the work, of course your going to like it. This is the number one reason why we ask for reviews. Your not able to ee your won work from the save perspective that everyone else does. After all, most the pople here have beet at this game a lot longer than you and they don't seem to think it's perfect.
Oh and another thing, reviews and negative comments will always sting, quite a lot at first but after a while, when you stop making so many mistakes it doesn't seem to sting as much. Your site will still suck to the people that have reviewed it until you change / fix it, at which point they may think it still sucks but hey, that's life.
Luxo_Jr: I'm aware that this is a review of something you've poured a lot of time and effort into but that goes for just about every site reviewed here and it doesn't give you a right to go and be rude to someone who has taken the time to review your website (after having to jump through numerous unnecessary hoops before hand) esp. when the comments seemed perfectly reasonable given what I've seen which, granted, isn't an awful lot as I had to give up eventually as it was taking so long to download (and I'm on cable). And it doesn't matter what everyone else has done we have to judge this on its merits.
As has been said if you just wanted people to say nice things about it then you'll either need to have done a very nice job or you need to have posted it elsewhere.
You are perfectly welcome to take or leave any advice, ideas, etc. that people throw in here and you don't have to thank them but you really can't just start abusing them (see the FAQ in my sig).
From: Stuck inside a Pixar short film Insane since: Apr 2001
posted 04-07-2003 16:43
Emperor:
Reason for abuse is just I took it personal seen it was my work and found the critique rather bold and harsh. It's how I interpreted it. But I dont want pple to say nice things cos they have to, Im not looking for that. You speak your mind with me so I can take it and deal with it like I have been.
Cheers mate
"You don't know how paralysing that is, that stare of a blank canvas, which says to the painter: you can't do a thing." - Vincent Van Gogh
Not to stir the pot again, Luxo, but your last post here confuses me. You admit that you have "abused" people, and yet you also say that you can take and deal with criticism. Is that your way of dealing with criticism? To abuse those who criticize you?
I'm not trying to jump on you, but you seem to be saying two different things here, or at least saying one thing and doing another...
Anyway, I guess the reviewing part of this is over, since we seem to be drifting off-topic. Will you be showing us an improved version when it is ready?
From: Stuck inside a Pixar short film Insane since: Apr 2001
posted 04-08-2003 13:02
Suho1004: Yes there was some abuse on my behalf on this thread....but it's not how I deal with criticism. The abuse was a one off that ended up happening here. Normally pple criticise me and Im like yeah ok, depends on how they say it of course and whether it's tactful or not.
And....
Yes...I will be showing an update when I do one.
"You don't know how paralysing that is, that stare of a blank canvas, which says to the painter: you can't do a thing." - Vincent Van Gogh
posted 03-31-2003 13:19
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