Create ideas for the client and planning (U4: P2,P3)

P2(U4): Generate ideas for a new interactive media product for a client brief.

Proposal 

The purpose of the website

This website is being created to help the MegaMovie company promote their new film release, ‘Bionic Attack!’ which will launch for a primarily young target audience to enjoy. The website will also feature the comic created as the company wishes to diversify the comic industry and therefore introduce a film alongside the established comic book helping gain a loyal audience. Furthermore, the website will need to use genre conventions to appeal to the target audience and entice them to further explore the website which should include more information about the project like a synopsis of the film to generate awareness and hype around the launch. Significantly, the website must be interesting for the 15-18 year old target audience to ensure they are enticed to watch the new film and engage with the organisation in future projects. The franchises social media accounts should be linked in a contact page on the website so audiences are able to better engage and understand the message being communicated, furthermore this will help widen audience reach as users can share the accounts posts with friends and family. Finally, this website should be accessible on a range of devices to maximise audience engagement.

Content to be included

The new interactive website must include content that appeals to the target audience and will have to consist of six pages and at least two interactive elements as the brief states. This website might include content such as an interactive game, merchandise shop, or audio/visual content to help promote the overall project and allow the site to increase appeal. Additionally, the website must include links to their social media pages to widen the reach of the campaign and help gain a following on multiple platforms and therefore promote to a larger audience. The social media pages can be linked on the 'contact us' page, but they should also appear at the bottom of each screen to make them more accessible to audiences. The merch shop and video trailer are interactive features of the website; audiences will be able to click on these elements to discover more information and control the content to some extent. For example, the merch shop may sell clothing that customers can personalise by selecting from a variety of size and colour options, allowing audiences to become more involved with the project. The video trailer is another interactive feature, as customers will be able to adjust the volume and speed settings as well as leave comments under the video to help us gain audience feedback.

Target audience

The primary target audience for the website will be 15-18 year olds as stated by the brief, this audience are likely to enjoy the sci-fi film and therefore we must ensure the interactive multimedia product appeals to them. This audience includes all genders and ethnicities so the website must have a broadened diversity to further the inclusivity of the website. One way to entice this target audience is by including a trailer or teaser clips on both the website as well as social media platforms like Instagram to generate a buzz around the new project. Interestingly, MegaMovie can post teaser clips on social media platforms to help drive traffic to the interactive multimedia product and explain to audiences that they can discover more information and extended clips by visiting the new site, helping to increase success. Additionally, this age group will likely be tempted by competitions occurring through the project and so we can promote a contest in which the winner will receive a signed poster of the new film from the cast. This will create hype around the film and thus further the audience reach of the project as the target audience will likely share the competition with friends and family through social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Finally, the website will include a synopsis of the film to ensure audiences are aware of the storyline and can grow excited for the upcoming release.
In addition, the target audience for the new publication of the ‘Flames vs Frost’ comic is slightly younger, 12–15-year-olds so we must cater to this groups needs as they will slightly differ from the older audience. This younger audience will prefer images and bright colours to maintain their attention so we must ensure the home page as well as the ‘Flame vs Frost’ print comic page include these elements as otherwise the audience might become bored and not return to the website. One interesting element which could be included for the audience on the comic page might be an interactive game/ introduction to the characters in which the user can click through and design an outfit for each avatar while reading a short description of the character. Significantly, this will help retain the attention of our audience while still giving them the necessary information to further promote the comic and entice them to read it.

Client needs

MegaMovie is an independent film company that I work for as a developer, they have requested that I create an interactive website to help promote the release of their new film 'Bionic attack' as well as a comic 'Flames vs Frost'. The client aims this new project at an audience of 15-18 year olds which must be considered when designing the website. To achieve the company's goals I must produce an interactive and exciting website that'll appeal to the audience and generate a buzz within the industry. One way to achieve this is by identifying the target market's likes/dislikes and incorporating these into the final product. For instance, learning that the audience responds well to bold colours or celebrity endorsements will help shape the website's design and ensure these are prominent features to include in order to maintain a good reputation within the audience. 

User needs 

The needs of users must be given priority as this is the group that the website is being created for so it must satisfy their needs in order to maintain success. Interestingly, users need the website to be accessible to them on a variety of devices. This allows them to access the site from anywhere at their own convenience, furthering the success of MegaMovie overall. Ensuring the website is accessible on a range of devices also allows for a wider audience reach as not all audiences will have a desktop and therefore making a website available on a smartphone or tablet device will help gain all potential users. In addition, having the website available on a black box device such as a smartphone will offer extended opportunities such as offline use thus improving consumer relationships as they are being catered to through more convenient website usage. Furthermore, the colour palette for the website must match the materials featured on it while still helping entice the audience. For instance, the site is promoting sci-fi media products and this should be reflected within the colour palette using futuristic colours and cool tones for the variety of pages but there are also elements of the products which use bolder colours to appeal to the young audience so this will also feature to ensure the audience remain interested in the product and overall website. Moreover, the website should feature images and icons to make the site more 'kid friendly' as using a surplus of text might appear overwhelming and lead audiences to not fully engage with the website. The use of images will appear more exciting and fun and thus help audiences stay engaged with the message and overall media products within the website.

Delivery format/ platforms for use 

The website will be accessible on a range of platforms to ensure the entirety of our audience is able to engage with the website and discover the upcoming launch of the film. We will make sure the website is able to adapt to the device so it looks professional and presentable both on laptops, smartphones and tablets therefore improving the reputation. Furthermore, this website will be available on a range of search engines including Google, Chrome, Internet explorer, Bing and Firefox as this will help the project reach all customers and therefore gain more traction.

Platform budget (e.g. copyright, royalties, hosting)

When creating the new website we must consider the budget to ensure the project becomes profitable as quickly as possible. There are several considerations to make when creating a website that directly impacts the overall budget and costs. For instance, our website includes two media products that require copyrights in order to avoid work being stolen or legal actions being undertaken by ourselves or others if our work has not been fully authentic. In order to carry out this process we must hire a copyrighter who will copyright our work as well as inform us of any inauthentic work before the website becomes live. Hiring this staff member will be an additional cost we must consider within the budget, the task is essential in avoiding legal action and therefore the financial team must ensure there is room in the budget to pay this employee. 
Another cost incurred by the website will be royalties. The movie trailer will feature music and actors who could have the right to royalties each time the trailer is viewed, depending on the terms negotiated within their individual contracts. Royalties are often small amounts paid to the individual who has created or featured in the video but these costs will build up in the success of a project and therefore must be included within the budget to avoid lawsuits if the company cannot afford to pay what has been stated in the contract.
Hosting a website online allows you to essentially 'rent' space on the world wide web so your audience can access and use the site. In the UK this can range from £2-£400 per month which is determined by the type of hosting you decide (private or shared). 

Sample materials

Outlining designs

The website's design must reflect the science-fiction theme while also appealing to the younger target audience. To portray the genre and make it clear to audiences, I will use futuristic colours in combination with bolder colours and glowing accents in the colour palette. The use of brighter colours will help to make the website more appealing to younger audiences, who will be more enticed by the bold colourings due to the sense of wonder they gain from this. The more futuristic elements, on the other hand, such as metallic colours and glowing details surrounding images, will help convey the genre of the website and media products featured here so audiences can distinguish.
Furthermore, the website will feature icons to further imply the genre as well as interactive icons to guide users through the website. For example, a downward arrow can be used to show the drop-down menu and lead users to other pages within the website like the 'contact us' page which will include icons of the various social media platforms to help users navigate their way to other platforms and learn more about the project. 

Wireframe

Mood board

This mood board was created to help display the ideas I wish to incorporate into my website. The colour scheme was used to link the website to the comic as well as capture the audience's attention with bold colours. Furthermore, the icons and existing website screenshots help explain to a website designer the elements we wish to include in the final interactive media product.

Navigation/ site map

This navigation map was created to assist a website creator in determining the key elements that should be included on the new MegaMovie website. This map outlines the various pages users will be able to access as well as what may be included on each page of the website, supporting the website creator in creating an efficient and user-friendly site for our primarily young target audience.

Graphical user interface (GUI) 

The graphical user interface refers to the icons and symbols that are displayed to assist visitors in navigating the website. For example, using a phone icon to indicate the company's phone number or contact details will assist users in quickly identifying where on the site they must go to obtain this information. Furthermore, a download symbol is universally a downward arrow in an open box, which will help global audiences understand what activity the interactive button will perform if clicked. These icons should be visible on all devices to ensure that users have a positive experience while using the website and return to it in the future.

Commercial considerations

To raise awareness of the new website and the media products featured on the platform, we must strategically advertise to our target audience. Interestingly, our target audience is teenagers who are likely to be active social media users, particularly on Instagram and TikTok, so we should consider advertising on these platforms. The two options for advertising here are to post images/videos in the hopes that our audience will share them and help the post go viral, or to pay for targeted ads through the platform. I believe that posting our own promotional material will be the best option because it is free and will still appeal to a large number of people. We can host competitions which allow users to share the posts to stories or tag friends and therefore increase the knowability of the website and overall company in this way.
Another form of advertising is using more traditional methods such as flyers, posters, and billboards as these methods will gain mass attention due to the increased visibility. However, this will likely only gain attention from those who live in the nearby area and those who are exposed to the advert so it might not be the best method to gain a wider reach.
Lastly, we must consider funding for the website and projects and therefore must entertain the idea of sponsorships and pop-up ads to feature on the website. Other companies with a similar target audience will pay for us to include ads promoting their business on our site as it'll help gain additional customers and this can fund the production and run of our site.

P3(U4): Produce a plan for the creation of the interactive media product from the generated ideas.