Finishing the Race

It was a hard, tough, stressful race, but I finished it! Perhaps I didn't win first place, but it's only because of hardships along the way. This doesn't mean I didn't at least receive a Bronze Medal.

My ambitions were definitely tested during this project. There were many things that at the beginning of this project I thought I would have no problem accomplishing. Once time, effort, and technology got in the way, well those "things" started becoming somewhat dream-like. By this I mean that although I accomplished basically what I set out to do, I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to do. I expected this project to be a lot easier than what it ended up being.

Filming - This was hard because of scheduling. In the middle of the filming the Wepisode one of the actors left town. Replacing him wasn't hard but that still meant I had to re-film some of the Wepisode. Also, during the middle of production, we found out that the camera I was using to film was not that great in quality. We weren't happy with the outcome so we got a new camera, and....re-filmed the Wepisode. What was great about the re-shooting is that we got new ideas to implement and we new a little bit more about what to expect so the experience wasn't all negative.

The Website - Internet Explorer needs to catch up to the real world and accept the fact that people like me want their website coded with XHTML and CSS. It was difficult making sure that whatever I did in my CSS pleased both Mozilla Firefox AND Internet Explorer especially because I.E. is not that CSS-friendly.

Secondly, making the website from scratch and forcing myself to learn something as intricate as XHTML and CSS was exhausting. There were times that I remember my entire layout changing only because I didn't use an "=" sign but instead used a ":" and it taking me 30 minutes to figure out this minute but important detail.

Also, I learned the art of trial and error and the meaning of that old refrain - "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again". If a window didn't look correct because of offset padding I would play with the margin. If the image didn't align with the text, I would try putting it into it's own div. Hours upon hours were spent manipulating the code until I could finally see it progress to something that I was more satisfied with.

Time - Because of the prior situations with the filming and the website itself, time became one of the most important factors for the completion of this project. To those out there wanting to complete something of similar magnitude, I openly and aggressively implore you to take your time management seriously. I had many weeks when time management was crucial not only for something like filming, but also when I had to deliver a product or make a presentation showcasing what I had so far. Add some sick days, more classes, a job, and sleep, and you have yourself a need to organize as best as you can. The fruits of this hardship is that now I have some understanding of what something similar to this will take time-wise. I can now compare my website with another website and estimate how long it would take to complete what is needed.

Skills - Although my Electric Media Design class was extremely helpful when it came down to the core of coding, most of what you on my website I had to learn on my own. I probably read over 10 chapters on web design with XHTML and CSS, visited over 50 sites that included tutorials, and had endless hours of trial and error. Every second, every page, and every word was for the best. I now feel comfortable coding a page and feel confident with my abilities to manipulate code and design.

Takeaways - I think that after this project my takeaway, aside from the learned skills, would be a better understanding of time and how to approach it. I think that if I had to do this project over again, time would be the one factor I would take more seriously. That being said, next time I have any project at hand, time will be my main focus.

Overall, I really enjoyed this project. I now know that this is something that makes me happy when I do it. It's something I don't mind doing for hours upon hours and I get great satisfaction knowing that I can do something right. This experience will forever benefit my future and I'm glad I undertook it.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE WEBSITE...ENJOY!!!
Apartment Wepisode Website
Soon it should be moving to the URL posted in the previous blog entry

Coding 101

Sick weeks aside and papers almost done, the path towards completion is almost near. All I have to focus on now is coding and more coding. This part of the project is overwhelming. Sure I know some code, but all of it has been pretty simple, nothing major. Right now I'm about to venture into unknown territory, a place where mistakes are a dime a dozen and I don't have my crutches. Am I willing to go? Of course, nothing could be more satisfying right now than to actually get all of this into real play. Also I purchased a domain! Soon www.apartmentwepisode.com will feature my creation, that is of course if everything goes according to plan. The boulder may be chasing behind me, but right now, I'm willing to run.

Here's the link:
Apartment

Nobody knows the Sorrow

I am a man of my word, and as I promised you in the beginning, I wanted to document both the smiles and frowns of this journey. Last week hit me like a hurricane. A tip to all you out there completing a similar project, DON'T LET IT CATCH UP TO YOU! All of a sudden I'm caught up with papers I have to write for the project, completing the mock up, and best of all ladies and gentlemen, STREP THROAT. I was out all last week with really bad strep throat. It was the kind that really leaves you exhausted and all the world could burn to the ground but you could care less. All of this as long as you have your best friend the blanket, and your wingman the pillow. Nevertheless I did work on a mock up for the site. It's decent and Miss Raulston thought it was neat. All I have to do now is play catch-up. I should have anything I missed turned in this week and hopefully more material on the website.

Presently I'm feeling a million times better than last week, that penicillin really worked. I should be ready for a good tough week, hopefully one filled with rewarding endings.

Take a LOOK at the mock up:
Mock Up of the Website

WEB dev BLOCK!

So I had my meeting with miss Raulston and it went great. She told me number one, to get a domain name...and number two to make a mock up in photoshop to pretty much let her know what I'm visualizing with the website. So far I need inspiration. I'm having web dev block. I have no clue what color scheme or what images to even use for this site. My solution to this though will be to visit as many apartment sites as possible so I can be inspired. Hopefully some site out there is going to have some awesome color scheme that I will like. So right now I'm feeling frustration because usually these things come to my mind pretty quickly, but of course when i actually need it, it is nowhere to be found. Hopefully my quest will not last that long and I will find something I can be proud of.

CHECK OUT the new wireframe:
Home
About
Photos
Bios
Videos

CHECK OUT the site map:
Site Map

I Have a Skeleton

This past week was "go week" and so I did. I finally sat down and worked on a wireframe for the website. I also had a talk with miss Raulston about how i was to go about with this crazy vision I had. She was really inviting, which i enjoy because for the most part I'm clueless as to what I'm supposed to do. She told me to take advantage of her expertise and to meet with her sometimes during the week and work on the site. I feel like some weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Sometimes I'm not sure whether an instructor will have enough time to deal with me and I'm glad that I don't have to go into this completely by myself.

I submitted my wireframe and already got some comments about it, which I loved because I can reconsider or argue my decisions, but I know that I'm getting advice from someone that has been doing this for some time now. Miss Raulston suggested that i change my navigation to left side navigation because it would be less limited than the top navigation that i had. In my head, while I was creating the wireframe I made the top navigation thinking that I probably wouldn't expand the website anymore. Miss Raulston's suggestion got me thinking that it would probably be better in the end to have left navigation just in case I ever want to add anything. On that note, the next post will have updated wireframes. Who knows, maybe this website will last a lot longer than I imagine. Whatever the case is, I have a skeleton!

Check out the preliminary wire frame:
Home
About
Bios
Videos
Photos

Let's get things rolling

So I guess I'm into the beginning stages of creating this website. So far everything has been conceptual and it's all in my head. Now I have to work on getting things out of my head and into something constructive, like paper. This is go week. Now that i have the "go ahead" to put forth this project, I need to have some things done by the end of this week. So far I've been adjusting to my new semester schedule, knowing exactly when it is that I have free time and how hard I will have to work on this project. Now that I'm a bit more settled, I can work on getting that wire frame done. Also, I should probably start thinking about some other things like colors and getting all the characters' information.

This reminds me, I also need to finish up the episode. Wow, so many things and already I feel swamped? On a better note, I got my "Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML" book in the mail this week. I've read through some of it and I think it is actually going to be helpful. This week will also be the first meeting I have with miss Raulston and I'm guessing we're going to discuss exactly where it is I am going with this project. Note to self : Have something worth showing. Perhaps it would be smart to get started quickly on this thing. Before you know it, It'll be the end of the semester, and I definitely want to have something to show for it.

IT begins

LIS4910-Info Tech Project. At first glance just another title of yet another IT course. Do not be fooled, so far I think this class may serve up to what I consider "the standard" of what a course should do. I'll explain further - it lets you learn something hands on about IT that propels you into the real world actually knowing something instead of basing your experience on theory. Now don't get me wrong, there have been a few courses in the program where I have learned some good skills, just nothing as free as this. By "free" I mean that as of today I was given the opportunity to pick an IT related project, and just go for it, anything valid. On top of that I also project having a better understanding of what IT professionals do out in the real world, smiles and frowns included.

The Project (Level 1) - Aside from my passions in IT, I also have some passions deeply rooted with my creativity. Acting has always been one of those passions and something that i enjoy as a hobby and a form of entertainment. Recently, I had wanted to do some more and perhaps include some close friends in an "up in the air" project which consisted of making an online show. Some of my friends and I really got into the NBC show "The Office" so I thought, in lieu of the writer's strike, wouldn't it be great to just make our own show - enter "The Apartment". To be written in a similar style, "The Apartment" was going to be about young adults living in a college atmosphere with a roommate setting and a college job to go with all of this. I immediately began to think up mediums and ways to achieve this idea so that we would all be able to look at it and, well, laugh. I knew I wanted to use Youtube and i already had some script writing software on my computer. All systems were a go. Well, I began working with a rough script winter 07. It had some dialogue and a few characters. With the winter break at hand, I left the script alone and waited for classes to start and for me to adjust to new morning classes and work schedule before I could pick up the script again.

The Project (Level 2) - Now that I had my classes down, I had one class in particular that presented a sort of challenge to me. The challenge was that I had to pick an IT related project and over the course of the semester complete it. I was at odds as to what I could do and then it hit me. I was sitting in class, a senior in IT and I did not know how to build a website. I knew a lot of the logistics behind a website, how to make it look, how some information should be placed, but I had never really gotten into the coding. Even in all my other classes, I guess I was more of the person that told the coder what to do and I never really joined in the experience. This was my chance, my opportunity to learn something new, and to take action into my own hands. I was going to create a website. The question now was what to make it about and why? I thought about this for a while and just like Archimedes shouted "Eureka!" I had an epiphany with a similar outcome. Why not make a website about this show I was producing? The idea was tangible, feasible, and undeniably cool. The hard part was getting this idea approved. Luckily for me, my instructor Melissa Raulston understood my concern with my inexperience with web development and gave me the go ahead. So now that I had a project...how do I launch it and make it happen.

The Project(level 3) - I already had some things I wanted to include on my website. I had looked at other "T.V." show websites and I knew that I wanted pages about the actors, about the show, maybe include some photos, and of course clips. Now, I'm not some romantic that just fell off the cloud, I KNEW for a fact that this was going to be a challenge. I would have to read up a lot on coding and obtain the necessary skills to reach my goal. Also, I knew I would need a lot of help along the way. My first mission is to make a content inventory and a wireframe, so I know what I want and kind of where I want it on the site. Also, I have to finish writing the episode and check out schedules for the people involved. Am I in way over my head? That's something we'll have to see. I'm ready to start this though, for better or worse, in sickness and health, till big red X's in squares do me part.