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
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