Roles Defined - interactive media developer
This lesson is devoted to clarifying the role of the Interactive Media Developer. During the meeting I hope to discuss the following topics:
- prepare for the first client meeting
- help develop a communication plan
- attend the first client meeting
- work on a mock up of the interactive media elements
- meet with instructor for comps presentation
- contribute to the web proposal
- develop flash animations, and or video clips and embed them into the pages
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assist in client handoff process
at the Interactive Media Developer meeting....... - share any question you may have about your role as Interactive Media Developer.
- if you have met with the client, clarify the client needs and analyze how flash and video can meet those needs
- share contact information so that Interactive Media Developers can form an online support system to help each other during the class.
Prepare for the first ClieNt meeting - Review the client questionnaire and add or modify any questions you feel are needed regarding the interactive media elements for the site.
Review the client's existing Website and become familiar with it's content, logo, photos, and current design. You may also want to research other web sites of a similar subject to gather ideas. Finally you may also want to find 2-3 sites which have interactive media elements you feel would be useful for your client.
Contribute to the Interactive Media / Designer sampler which you can use to show the client the various options. This page will not only help you with the current client, it will help you if you decide to do freelance Web Development. Clients often do not know what they want until they are shown an example.
HELP develop a communication plan - The most common problem among teams is a lack of communication. Since some of our students will be participating online it is essential that everyone set aside time to check their email and respond to it. Please make sure that you clearly understand your responsibility regarding team communication and feel comfortable with it.
As the class progresses and issues arise, I always refer to the team communication plan before trying to resolve the issue.
It is also essential that you get a sense of how to effectively communicate with the client. Do they want to see several options or only one? Will they review the site during the production phase or wait until it is done? There are not any right or wrong answers here, just confusion vs clarity.
Attend the first client meeting - The goal of this meeting is to determine how interactive media will be used at this site.
Try and analyze your clients style and determine how much they want to be involved in the design process for these elements. Do you have a free hand in the flash animation and video editing? If the client shows you a site that is crude and unprofessional, gently suggest that one of the sites you have located might be more appropriate and explain why. Use a gentle touch here.
Find out how involved the client wants to be in the design. Do they want to see the storyboards and mockup, or will they accept whatever you present at the Web Proposal meeting. Some clients are uncomfortable making artistic decisions while others want a to provide great deal of input. Ask them to bring whatever videos, images or ideas might be useful to the meeting.
Relax and enjoy the experience. This is a great group of people. The clients are grateful for your help, your teammates want to like you. Everyone is nervous and a bit confused - it will wear off in about 18 weeks. :->.
When you attend the meeting dress in appropriate business attire (suit and tie is not necessary but maybe one step above student grunge). If the client seems really casual you can wear whatever you want to the subsequent meetings, but it never hurts to look professional the first time. Develop a plan for folks who are late to the client meeting.
work on a mock up for the interactive elements- This process varies from team to team. Some designers have a private meeting with the client, others may send email with URLs and use email or the phone to gain client feedback. In other groups the client may have given the designer "carte blanche" to proceed with the design (this is rare, don't count on it). Interactive media developers may ask for feedback from their team, the instructor, or other colleagues. Feel free to send me a note if you are stuck or confused. Use this form as a model for your flash or video storyboards.
Meet with instructor for Comps presentation - A comp is a picture or pictures of what the flash animation will look like, it is not an actual flash file.
During this meeting the instructor will most likely be viewing the opening screen of the flash animation, and a few intermideiate screens. Another option is to create a primitive flash animation which does not have finalized images, fonts, or text but has the elements and effects that will be used.
If you are adding video clips you can either show me the raw video footage and explain what types of edits will be made, or you can show me a short clip that is typical of the numerous clips you will create.
You need to meet with your instructor and set up a 30 minute appointment to review the mock up. Appointments for this are available from 4:30 - 10:00 pm in 30 minute increments. You will bring in your flash files or video files.
To sign up for an appointment to meet with me, visit the class message board and select "Show Comps to Instructor" remember the password to the message board is "messages"
Contribute to the Web Proposal - The interactive media developer will create a storyboard for the flash animation and video clips. Use this form as a model for your interactive storyboards.
Comps - The interactive media developer will produce mock ups for the flash animations. If video clips will be edited then a sample of how those edits will be made will be described in the Web Proposal.
Deliverables - you will provide information on the interactive elements of the site. Will you be shooting video or simply editing existing video? How many flash elements will there be and where will they be placed in the site? If video is included is there a written transcript? If not are you willing to provide that transcript? What will it take to make the flash elements 508 compliant?
Creative Brief - This document serves as a written explanation and justification for the interactive elements you created. This document has several uses functions. It serves as a written explanation and justification for the decisions you made and helps the client understand the design and appreciate the finer points of your work. Finally it can help a future employer learn about your design rationale and appreciate your artistic and technical points of view.
Finally you will need to obtain the client's sign off on the interactive elements. Hopefully you have communicated with them since your first meeting, and they will accept your ideas.
develop flash animations, and or video clips and embed them into the pages - This will require cooperation between the interactive media developer, the designer and the content developer. The designer traditionally makes the index.html page, if that page has flash or video elements work with the designer to add those elements. If flash is placed on a splash page than yu may want to make that all by yourself.
If there is video or flash on additional pages contact the CD to arrange for a system for including the elements you have created into the pages they are building.
Test the site for Hardware/software & accesibility - Please research options for making the flash animations accessible. Apply what you learned to the flash animation and test it to see if it worked. Ask the client if they have a transcript of the video, if they do, research what needs to be done to close caption the video. If that is not possible provide a link to the transcript of the video. If no transcript exists you may want to produce one.
If you do not have a programmer on your team, please perform the hardware and software testing.
Contribute to the final bid - Keep track of your hours so you can assist the PM in creating a bid. The WorkLog document may help with this task. Work Log (Word)
Assist in client handoff process - Provide the video files, and flash animation files to PM so they can be placed on hand-off CD.