A Cool Resource

I found this website called www.volcanodiscovery.com  that features the current active & dormant volcanoes around the world. It has a map that marks out where they are.

There is an 'embed' option with some HTML. Through my research I discovered that iBooks Author will allow you to embed HTML from an external source into it, so I will definitely use this within either my 'What is a Volcano?' or 'Famous Volcano' chapters. 

Another really cool feature they have on this website is the ability to view live webcams of current volcanoes - whether they're erupting or not. This is something I'd also like to embed into my iBook, as it's refreshed every single day with up to date information that is reliable, and can be used to back up any points I make. E.g. does a volcano have to be spewing Lava in order to be erupting? No, it can be erupting gas, and there are plenty of Volcanoes on video that do that every single day. 

They also feature what look like very scientific diagrams...another element I could incorporate into my iBook.

http://webcams.volcanodiscovery.com/Gamalama

iBooks & iBooks Author

I want to find out a bit more information about iBooks and the software that I'm going to be using in order for me to start generating ideas and develop my brainstorming further. I am interested in doing some brief research into iBooks author as the results should allow me to distinguish how much scope I have to play within the program - is there any thing that the program isn't capable of doing?  What scale of interaction can I go to?

Alongside doing this I'm now starting to gather the content for my iBook under the category 'Volcanoes'. I am so happy I received this category! It's something that when you first hear it, it immediately sounds interesting and now I'm doing some initial research into it.

iBooks Author
iBooks Author is an application created by Apple to enable anyone to make their own iBooks and submit them to the Apple iBook store. They can be ready on iPhones, iPads and Apple Macs.

As well as allowing you to do the obvious - put text and images on a page - iBooks Author allows the user to 'interact' with the book to a greater extent than the regular iBook may allow. iBooks that have interactions in them are referred to as 'enhanced' iBooks.

According to Apples information page on iBooks Author, it's capabilities include:
http://www.apple.com/uk/ibooks-author/

- Use of prebuilt templates

I'm about 80% sure I will not be using a prebuilt template, as I would design my iBook from the ground up within their software and then design individual elements. I need to start looking into design styles.

- Add text
- Add shapes
- Add tables
- Add charts

All basic. standard elements, similar to Apple Keynote.

- Add widgets

The widgets panel in iBooks author

Widgets will allow me to implement significant interaction and animation into my iBook to help strengthen it and make it more interesting

Widgets include: importing Keynote presentations (which can include animations themselves, built within Keynote, interactive images (zoom into them, pan throughout them), image galleries (navigate through a set of pictures without having them all on the page), scrolling sidebars (allow users to briefly browse a side note without them leaving the page), 'pop over' (clickable points on an image where more information can pop up in a box), add media (add video & music and embed from external sources e.g. YouTube), chapter reviews (option to create a multi choice quiz at the end of a chapter to enable the user to check what they've learnt), 3D images (ability to view a 3D image from all angles, with added controls to navigate), and the ability to add your own HTML models. 

There is also option to choose between a Portrait or Landscape iBook. I'm likely to be going with Landscape, as it seems more of a natural way for someone read - kind of like a double page spread in a magazine - and will give me more scope to experiment with page layout as well as use larger images/graphs/interactions etc.

Now I've looked into what the software I'm going to be using is actually capable of, I can ensure that whilst brainstorming and developing ideas I am not planning to design & create something that is impossible to pull off within the means I have.

Target Audience, Specific Content & Existing Material

The target audience for my Volcanoes iBook is Level 3 Students - those studying A-Level. That puts them at a relatively similar age to me - 1 or 2 years younger. This gives me scope to analyse works  that I can somewhat relate to, too.

As our iBooks must be treated as something intended for Education purposes, I decided to do some research into what sort of depth students at Level 3 go into when actually studying the subject I'm creating my iBook about. I want to make an iBook that's relevant and can actually be used - covers the appropriate subjects within the category.

Not only that, but what content are they looking at in order to revise and study a subject? Is it engaging? What designs and concepts work and which don't?

Content covered at Level 3
I found a website called www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level by it being the very first result upon googling "A-Level Revision. This is not a website that I'm familiar with (personally, I didn't take 'typical' A-levels and never revised!), and I was actually looking out for sites that are more well known (both in popularity and for reliability) such as BBC Bitesize. It seems like a relatively large organisation (stating on their site 4.7 million users annually) that can be relied on.

I navigated;
A-Level ---- Geography ---- Natural Hazards
http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/geography/natural-hazards

and then found the categories 'Formation of Volcanoes' and 'Volcanic Hazards'.

These are two subjects I'll make sure to cover in my iBook, and I have bookmarked the page for to access information when writing those categories.

I will obviously expand hugely and not focus purely on those categories. These are just ones that I'm going to make sure are covered.

Existing A-Level Revision Material 
I had a browse on the iBook store to see if there were any existing A-Level revision guides - on both the subject of Volcanoes/Geography and general subjects (e.g. maths). I wanted to identify any patterns and similarities, and see if there is any correlations with the rating/responses to the book.

**Commence the most painfully boring set of books I've ever come across.**

I could not find one 'enhanced' (Apples name for books that you really can interact with through the inclusion of games, sound, video etc) iBook that was really aimed at those studying their A-Levels. There is plenty of revision guides, but nothing that stands out as particularly engaging or exciting.

They're all very text heavy, with little focus on design and more about the content. I understand this, as their sole purpose is to educate, but I feel as if the readability of these books could be greatly improved through some consideration on a few points - e.g. the amount of text on a page, the colour of that text against the background.

example of the amount of text spread across two pages

iBook: Physics Unit 1: The Rooster Revision Guide (sample)

The inclusion of diagrams help breaks up the text slightly, and I like the style they're in. They're walking the line between real images and childish cartoons, and they work. They're the typical, textbook style diagrams, so I may continue this into my own iBook.

What I'd change is the extent of text. Those 2 pages up there contain 6 headings, and I would at least break that up into a maximum of 2 heading per page, with some of them just covering 1 on each page. This would allow room for more breathing space and the enlargement of graphs and diagrams.

There's also room for exchanging out flat images for something more interactive.

example of diagrams that could be transformed into something more interactive

Main things I noticed:

•  Great depth into each subject

•  Appropriate imagery to match each category

•  Links (that work) to outside sources (e.g websites explaining more information)

•  Narrative. Whilst there is no obvious story, each category runs on from the previous, but you're still    able to pick up and read from anywhere within. 

Areas to be improved:

•  Readability

•  Amount of information on one single page, to be reduced

•  Turning images to interactions - e.g. mini games

•  Add more interactions - e.g. mini quizzes at the end of each subject

Advertisements

There are tons of advertisements on television that play between each show and during the breaks, but they do not last for too long. On each advert break for a show each lasts for an average of 30 seconds. There's currently a maximum amount of minutes per hour that adverts are allowed to be shown on a channel - 12, with an average of 9 minutes.  This generally means that the channel will obviously want to try and squeeze as many adverts into that time frame as possible, so generally none are over the 1 minute mark and most are around 30 seconds long, with a lot being around the 15 - 20 second mark. So, I decided to look into them.

Advertisement lengths by Ofcom

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/reviews-investigations/rada/

I saw an advert by KitKat on the TV and noticed the fast cuts, so I looked it up.

The car chase happens for about 25 seconds, and in that time features around 25-30 cuts (it's hard to count them!) What I really like about it is the use of sound. There's a slightly different tone to the car engine on each shot. Part of this is to show the difference from a shot from inside a car, and from outside (as that will sound different anyways), but a lot of the changes happen simply when a different angle of the car (from outside) is shown. I like this, as it seems to increase the pace of the film, provide a sense of continuation and create a tense feeling that goes along with the car chase. This has lead me to think about maybe using sound in my movie to create a beat/soundtrack. Each shift in tone of the engine put together builds up a rhythm/beat, and I like the idea of creating this in  my film.

From looking at other car chases I have noticed that the quick cuts/fast pace is pretty much standard, especially in more recent films (e.g. Fast & Furious, Drive etc).

This advert by Lurpak users a narrator, and a slight soundtrack but uses the diagetic sound from within the shots, and timely editing to create a beat.

This advert by Weetabix uses quick cuts to contrast with the slower, longer shots to create humour. There are 4 members of the family, who each have a short, quick cut sequence. One of the moments I noticed immediately was the sound effects at 35 seconds in, when the mother is picking up clothes from stairs. Instead of using the standing "clothes being picked up" sound (which isn't exactly loud, dramatic or exciting...) they have chosen to use a slightly "woosh" sound, which I think is really successful. It helps to strengthen her point of her constantly and quickly picking up the clothes her kids leave around and makes the advert a bit more engaging and humorous. The sound enhances the jump cut shot which shows her picking up clothing after clothing.