Visual Effects

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Visual Effects
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Aspects of Design and Implementation

• Storyboards
• Flow Charts
• Visual Effects

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What is a storyboard?

• Just a screen layout?
• Or
• A graphical depiction of the outward appearance
  of the intended system without the accompanying
  system functionality
• Dix et al HCI
• Used Widely in the film Industry

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What is a Storyboard? Continued. . .
A sequential series of sketches illustrating
stages or scenes in a production. Used as a
visual script or shooting plan.
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Why use a storyboard?

• Pre-planning sequential visual communication.
• Means of communicating ideas.
• Stimulates further ideas.
• More control.
• Structure.

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Why use a storyboard? Continued . . .

• Eliminates dead ends and repetition.
• Aids the production process.
• Ideas are required to be visualised in a
  sequential context.
• Enables you to consider each slide in detail.

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How to devise a storyboard

• Number each slide.
• Devise general storyline visually.
• Write a summary of what is being conveyed under
  each slide.
• Indicate sounds, special effects etc.

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Storyboard Example
Screen Layout
Descriptive Text
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Storyboard Development

• Software
• FrameForge 3D Studio
• http//www.frameforge3d.com/
• Microsoft Visio
• Hand Drawn

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Storyboard prototyping tool

• A prototyping tool provides a means of quickly
  developing the front end of an application in
  order to seek user approval for it.
• A storyboard is a form of pre-prototyping it
  allows the designer to provide the user with a
  visual image of what the front end will look like
  in order to seek user approval prior to prototype
  development.

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Aims of storyboarding

• To provide an idea of what the application will
  look like.
• To gain basic approval from the user.
• To gain co-operation from the user.

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Features shown by storyboards

• Screen Layout
• Colours
• Features which provide impact
• Navigational features
• Features which provide continuity
• Multimedia content

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Screen Layout

• The layout of each screen should be defined with
  boxes.
• Each box should be annotated to give the user an
  idea of what the contents will be, e.g. text,
  graphics etc.

ITEM AText
ITEM BImage
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Colour

• Which colours are used
• Where
• Why Colours can have a meaning
• Red danger / warmth
• Green normality
• Blue - cold

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Features which provide impact

• Special effects
• Which effects
• Why
• Variation on a theme
• Light and shade
• Dull bright
• Textures
• Use of metaphor

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Navigational Features

• Type
• Linear, non-linear
• Hot word / area, Menu button, arrow
• Positioning on screens
• Icons wording to be used
• Colour
• Size

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Features which provide continuity

• Which features
• Running headers
• Colour
• Screen layout
• Graphics
• Sound
• How do they provide continuity?

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Multimedia Content

• What it is included
• Multimedia type and description
• Where it is included
• Positioning
• How it is included
• Any special style effects e.g. rotating, blinking
• When
• Always there
• Available on selection
• Background
• Why??

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Advantages of Storyboards

• Can be paper based
• Application independent
• Little or no skills required
• Apart from the ability to
• think
• Design
• etc

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Disadvantages of Storyboards

• Does not provide a realistic front end (paper
  based)
• Takes little account of what might be possible.
• Does not provide functionality.

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What is a flowchart?
A graphic representation of a program in which
symbols represent logical steps and flow lines
define the sequence of those steps.
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What is a flowchart? Continued . . .

• Flowcharts can be used to plan stages of a
  project, system or process.
• There are different types of flow charts used
  depending on the reason for use.
• A flowchart can be adapted to fit any need or
  purpose.

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Elements of a flowchart
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Flowchart Example
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Flowcharting Guidelines

• In drawing a proper flowchart, all necessary
  requirements should be listed out in logical
  order.
• The flowchart should be clear, neat and easy to
  follow. There should not be any room for
  ambiguity in understanding the flowchart.
• The usual direction of the flow of a procedure or
  system is from left to right or top to bottom.
• Only one flow line should come out from a process
  symbol.

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Advantages of flowcharts

• Communication Flowcharts are better way of
  communicating the logic of a system to all
  concerned.
• Effective analysis With the help of flowchart,
  problem can be analysed in more effective way.
• Proper documentation Program flowcharts serve as
  a good program documentation, which is needed for
  various purposes.
• Efficient Coding The flowcharts act as a guide
  or blueprint during the systems analysis and
  program development phase.
• Proper Debugging The flowchart helps in
  debugging process.
• Efficient Program Maintenance The maintenance of
  operating program becomes easy with the help of
  flowchart. It helps the programmer to put efforts
  more efficiently on that part

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Disadvantages of flowcharts

• Complex logic Sometimes, the program logic is
  quite complicated. In that case, flowchart
  becomes complex and clumsy.
• Alterations and Modifications If alterations are
  required the flowchart may require re-drawing
  completely.
• Reproduction As the flowchart symbols cannot be
  typed, reproduction of flowchart becomes a
  problem.
• The essentials of what is done can easily be lost
  in the technical details of how it is done.

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Visual Effects

• Images
• Clipart
• Caption
• Transition
• Animation

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Scanning Images

• Scan to the size required.
• Never enlarge using software Grainy images
• Never reduce using software Large, cumbersome
  files.
• TIFF files are most flexible for resizing and
  manipulating.
• JPG files are best for the web.

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Photographs and Captions

• Crop unimportant details.
• Avoid text interruptions.
• Align small images (top, bottom or side)
• Align images with related text.
• Avoid text on images.

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Clipart

• Single piece of carefully chosen clipart in the
  same location throughout your document does more
  than a dozen different pieces of clipart
  scattered throughout.
• Clipart should aid understanding and design.
• Clipart used should be relevant.

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Caption

• Avoid captions which look like body copy text.
• Avoid long lines of small type.
• Use left aligned captions.
• Use condensed heavy typeface.

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Transition
The process of movement, either mental or
physical, from one activity or location to
another. Transitions are usually invoked by
others but may be self-directed.
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Advancing Slides Automatically

• You can either set the transition to be
  automatically timed or use manual control when
  the slideshow is running.
• Select a slide show, slide transition, choose a
  transition type and either on mouse click or
  automatically after?

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Timing Transitions

• Take care when timing slideshows be aware that
  different machines will effect the timings.
• Avoid boring your audience with long waits.
• Always time your slideshows on the machine which
  will be used and adjust the times accordingly.
• Rehearsing Slide Show in the Help files will tell
  you a way of setting timings easily.

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Animation
Animation is the creating a timed sequence or
series of graphic images or frames together to
give the appearance of continuous movement.
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How to animate

• Create the text or graphics object
• Select the text or object
• Select the slide show, custom animation choose
  the appropriate settings the order of effect
  etc.

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Animation Creation

• Macromedia Flash
• Macromedia Director
• Microsoft PowerPoint

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Animation using PowerPoint

• Possible to animate text, images and charts.
• Slide transition is possible.
• Simplest transition.
• Element animation.

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Summary

• Storyboards
• Flowcharts
• Animation