Research and analyse web slideshows
Research
the websites of some magazines and newspapers, all of whom include slideshows
as a way of presenting certain groups of images such as ‘the week in review’,
or ‘the day’s top pictures’, or a photo essay on a specific topic. Try to examine at least six different
websites. Select two examples of what
you consider to be particularly effective presentations.
Now
write an analysis which includes the following points:
·
Do
the different sites present slideshows in essential the same way, or are there
subtle or substantial differences between them?
·
Are
there any features that all the slideshows have in common?
·
How
do the slideshows differ in the amount of choice that they offer the viewer for
playing them? Is viewer choice a good
thing?
·
What
are the most obvious failings, in your opinion, of these slideshows?
·
If
you were constructing a slideshow for one of these sites, list the features
that you would include, based on your experience so far.
·
What
features set your two chosen sites apart from the rest?
Examples
The
course notes direct us to look at a series of examples included on the website
links 15-20:
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/interactive/2011/jan/06/new-review-month-in-photography?INTCMP=SRCH
- http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/01/23/travel/0123-borneo-slideshow.html
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/photo_galleries/article7124139.ece
- http://www.parismatch.com/Actu-Match/Monde/Photos/Janvier-2011/Heurts-236393/
- http://www.stern.de/kultur/tv/dschungelcamp/dschungelcamp-tag-8-sarah-rasselt-durchs-dschungel-abitur-1645851.html
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8274567/Animal-pictures-of-the-week-21-January-2011.html
Slideshows
have been part of the English way of life since slides were invented in the
early 1900s. The slideshow, as we know
it today, has been around since the 1950s when photography became available to
the masses due to the availability of cheaper cameras. It was expected that families came home with
various images of their holidays which they then proceeded to show to their
friends and families. People who took
slides for projection needed a portable slide projector to show their images.
These
days the slideshow has evolved and when
someone refers to a slideshow it is invariably a PowerPoint presentation or "any display
in the form of a series of static images, such as on a computer screen".
Characteristics
"Do the different sites present
slideshows in essentially the same way, or are there subtle or substantial
differences between them?"
The Guardian: This is unusual in that it starts to play sound as soon as the show starts. This is one of the
The Guardian: This is unusual in that it starts to play sound as soon as the show starts. This is one of the
The Times: this is not really a slideshow, but another
series of images to work through manually. It’s quick to load and update and to
see everything you have to log in so not much to see if you are not a
subscriber.
Some basic characteristics I can identify include:
- Navigation controls and linking to more information
- Sizing and sound position within a page
- Amount of advertising and other content
- Play controls (stop/start/pause/full screen etc)
- Transitions (effects and speed)
- Sharing options (social media options, Twitter, Facebook, etc)
Features in Common
"Are there any features that all the slideshows have in common?"
All web slideshows have a set of images set up in a sequence that has a short caption linked to a news item which opens in a new window or tab. Otherwise each newspaper’s news page is slightly different.
All web slideshows have a set of images set up in a sequence that has a short caption linked to a news item which opens in a new window or tab. Otherwise each newspaper’s news page is slightly different.
Viewer Choice
"How do the slideshows differ in the amount of choice that they
offer the viewer for playing them? Is the viewer choice a good thing?"
Choice is fairly limited to what your browser offers. I generally use Firefox, or occasionally Safari when Firefox is unavailable, but the changes are minimal. Some e-newspapers offer an automated step to move along whilst with others the viewer has to click each new image to find the next one. All the images seem to be at 72 dpi to keep loading down to a minimum, the larger the file the slower it loads on to the screen.
Choice is fairly limited to what your browser offers. I generally use Firefox, or occasionally Safari when Firefox is unavailable, but the changes are minimal. Some e-newspapers offer an automated step to move along whilst with others the viewer has to click each new image to find the next one. All the images seem to be at 72 dpi to keep loading down to a minimum, the larger the file the slower it loads on to the screen.
Sometimes it takes a few seconds to load the images and the viewer is
waiting to move on but has to wait for the section to load fully before it
responds.
Failings
"What
are the most obvious failings, in your opinion, of these slideshows?"
My first impressions of the slideshows from the sample links were not good;
they all seemed to have issues for me. And I am always surprised to see how
many HTML errors (standards violations) these pages have (counts included below),
which makes browser rendering somewhat of a lottery:
The Guardian: The Flash based content will prevent those accessing from Apple platforms. This starts to play sound as soon as the show starts and with no obvious way to turn it off. Irritating if you are listening to music or maybe browsing in an open environment (office space).
The Guardian: The Flash based content will prevent those accessing from Apple platforms. This starts to play sound as soon as the show starts and with no obvious way to turn it off. Irritating if you are listening to music or maybe browsing in an open environment (office space).
Navigation was my main issue here. Clicking on the images just seemed to
stop and start the show. To find the news item I had to activate the captions
and follow the links from there. Linked content opened over the slide show,
using the browser back button then reloads the page and so the slideshow resets
so there is little continuity if you wanted to then view the next story.
The Times: Until you mouse over there is no visual cue that this is
anything other than a single still image. Again not really a slideshow, another
series of images to step through manually. All image links route via a login
page so a very short experience for non-subscribers.
Features to include
"If you were constructing a slideshow for one of these sites,
list the features you would include, based on your experience so far?"
My main requirement as a viewer would be to navigate quickly to the information I want to access. I like the animation of something like the Guardian but want to see the associated news without jumping away, so more like The Times.
My main requirement as a viewer would be to navigate quickly to the information I want to access. I like the animation of something like the Guardian but want to see the associated news without jumping away, so more like The Times.
Whilst I understand that adverts are an integral part of websites these days, it should be kept to a minimum. What I do find menacing is that as you navigate around your chosen site you can see further information/items of sites you have visited on previous visits.
Set apart
"What features set your two chosen sites apart from the rest?"
Of the sites the two I prefer are The Guardian and The Times. This is because they offer static pages that don't jump about and don't have distracting animated advertising. They also offer simple navigation allowing the viewer to proceed at their own pace.
Of the sites the two I prefer are The Guardian and The Times. This is because they offer static pages that don't jump about and don't have distracting animated advertising. They also offer simple navigation allowing the viewer to proceed at their own pace.
