Location Location Location -

Since last week, I've been trying to make the event more realistic. I think the choice of venue will be the clincher as it has tro be somewhere related to the event.
>> In the beginning stages I was thinking about Trafalgar Sq. but this would be too mainstream and although you would have the backdrop of the National Gallery behind, there's not enough essence and style to adapt a CanCan theme.
>> Camden was another thought but at the same time I'm not sure whether this is specifically aimed more at the Punk Rock sort of theme, which is not what I'm trying to highlight. Still touristy so there's still a chance that on-lookers will want to come and join in once they see the abundance of people.
>> One of the later ideas was Covent Garden. Again extremely touristy and there are many performers already, this is the essence of Covent Garden. PERFORMANCE AND EXTRAVAGANCE. Especially at night I think the event will work extremely well. The lighting at Covent Garden at night is lovely so it should pick up on the attire being worn (still to be decided) pictures follow of what the venue would look like at night...

_________Although when faced with feedback, Covent Garden wasn't the greatest of ideas, I still think that the aroma of the atomosphere will linger and encourage the publi to join in hopefully as well as the followers of the actual event. The image below shows the lengths people will go to get seen by the public. Costumes are a must to draw attention so I think this will work well.

Feedback...

Yay or Nayyy?

>> Good blog/cyber sketchbook, informative.

>> Is the CanCan a workable idea? Is it realistic? More extravagent, maybe thinking about the look of the evennt rather than the actual cost and economic structure etc.

>> Will people able to afford the costume? Only some, but doesn't have to be the exact french attire, maybe just the skirt? Or just the hair band etc.

>> Think about the economic times? Fair enough everyone might not be able to afford to splash out on the costumes etc, but that's where I think the location will play a big part in how extravegant the participants will be.

>> Money is tight, just one item of fancy dress to make it more accessible for everyone.

>> Location will be key... Covent Garden (extremely touristy) or Camden... more vintage and grungey.

The key to Usability ~

Helpful worksheet for week number 7: http://www.puregene.co.uk/ID/week7.html

>> Usabillity has a vital importance in web design. It stands to reason that if a Website is difficult to use it will fail to retain visitors. Although this may seem obvious, the majority of websites do not perform to their optimum potential because the designers have failed to focus on the needs of the user. With a Website, on the other hand, the user will experience its usability before deciding whether to buy anything. This elevates usability to a level of importance well above previous products. In order to succeed, a commercial Website needs to attract and retain customers before there is any hope of making a commercial return. In the 'real' world it would be like a shop with a concealed entrance, hidden assistants and goods laid out in a random manner...

http://www.templateworld.com/free_templates.html (ideal for template design and good layouts... minimilist etc)

>> I decided to use this style of template as it had a good sized banner which is where I could have an image relating to my event. Certain aspects will have to be adjusted such as the tabs which direct you to the various pages. Not everyone will be worried about the navigational part, as long you have a Home, and a couple of others. Think about USABILITY. Some of the examples in the sheet above really help with the ideas part of thinking about how to lay your page out etc. Limited colour range, clean graphics and consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency!!

Flash Time:

>> Although I've done a couple of quick exercise in Flash before, I wouldn't say that I am a confident user, so I'm thinking that these upcoming weeks are going to be a challenge. Although with the way that the induction to DreamWeaver worked I'm hoping that Step-by-Step points will help me develop skills into knowledge.

Week1:


Week2:


Week3:

DreamWeaver Dynamics...

This experience has been totally new to me. Not using this software before is a bit of a draw back but I was keen to learn as this could be the one which I decided to use for the creation of the event website.

>> An another option would be something rather crude, radical and provoking. Such as the grunge style — dirty look with irregular, nasty, sometimes even ugly and crooked visual elements. http://generationchurch.org/

Helpful work sheet for Exercise: http://www.puregene.co.uk/ID/week3.html

>> As a whole I found the software initially confusing but as the lesson progessed I understood the various elements which contributed towards the final output. I think this was going to be one of the easier activities as Dreamweaver gave you a template so you didnt mind if something was going wrong.

>> The elements of the grunge theme could be easily sourced and it was fun to create your own scene to the page. Below is a stage from the exercise. I'd have to adjust the text block size and margining at the top and side, as this at the moment is what is making it look out of sync.

Because we CanCan*
Event So far:

Event Title: Because we CanCan*
CanCan: With women any aged (stamina levels need to be high)
Location: Trafalgar Sq/ Well known landmarks in London (Research more)
Music: Moulin Rouge Soundtrack selection (Something iconic)
Costume: Some individuals obviously behind the event will be dressed in the attire normally associated with CanCan but smart dress for those daring enough to join in.

Music to your ears?

I'd quite like to use this music track to play in the background of the event/website etc. The pinicle of the CanCan... Something individuals can relate to!

3) Sountrack of Moulin Rouge ~ Because We Can-

Mainstream Media Mayhem ~

>> I quickly searched on youtube for the video's relating to The Moulin Rouge film featuring Nicole Kidman. The reasoning for this is to get a brief idea for the music and costume, this could be the base upon the advertisement and website style of theme/layout etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZs__8EnVE - Even women in the 20th century were trying their hands at this evocative dance... Racey and seductive for their time.

>> I particularly like the way in which the costumes and music can stay traditional but the actual dance can be upbeat and contemporary etc. Although not everyone in the flashmob will be up for dressing the part, staged memebers of a CanCan troup will be there on hand to get in the mood of a traditional french affair of the dance.

>> A link to show how the once traditional dance can be transformed into something modern... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTJv4cPgnVE

Ideas...

>> From some of the research I have carried out I think the Flashmob's which work most are those which involve dancing and rhythmic moves. This made me think that this would be ideal for my event. Although not everyone has a rhythm when dancing. Saying this if I was to set something which wouldn't recquire a lot of dance knowledge I could still acquire the effect that a lot of the flashmob dances entail.

Some examples are below...

>> Celebrities also get involved when it comes to flashmobs, Tyra Banks and Black Eyed Peas to name a few. They make it socialably acceptable to do this sort of thing, and makes people think that it is the 'in' thing.

>> With the T-Mobile adverts, they have literally got it down to a 'T'! The amount of action and energy which is packed into the minutes on screen is amazing! It made me realise that a flashmob is something that can happen imminently as well as people dispursing easily after...

>> "There's something really special when you take an audience and instead of just being passive and watching, you invite them to participate," he says. "That's why it was so magical for both parties. Two groups of people came together to create something that neither of them could have done alone."

>> My intial idea was to do a massive CANCAN dance. I originally thought that just women aged between 18-35 could take part but on second thoughts I like the idea of including anyone... as long as they have stamina.

^^ I really like the idea of creating a Vintage element to the advertising of the event, whenever I think of a CanCan dance I automatically think of a france Moulin Rouge theme... This something i could carry through!

"The can-can (more correctly not hyphenated, as in the original French: cancan; French pronunciation: [kɑ̃kɑ̃]) is regarded today primarily as a physically demanding music hall dance, performed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings, that hearkens back to the fashions of the 1890s. The main features of the dance are the lifting up and manipulation of the skirts, with high kicking and suggestive, provocative body movements"

TO DO: LOOK IN TO MOULIN ROUGE AND MUSIC FOR WEBSITE/ BLOG