Thaumatropia

I was approached by the people at Tribal Elder Productions to create a site for their new documentary project, From The Ashes Risen. The filmmakers were getting ready to release a preview in a few weeks, and wanted a clean new website to launch alongside.

One of my primary aims was to create a web presence which visually conveyed the themes of the project. The film, a documentary chronicling the life and struggles of older gay men living with HIV/AIDS, called for a visual presence that expressed quiet dignity while betraying a sense of vibrant spirit and life just beneath the surface. With that in mind, I originally designed the site in black & white, then gradually added flashes of color- primarily reds and purples- to reflect that understated resonance.

The site needed to accomplish two main objectives: showcase enough media related to the film to draw an audience in to this compelling film, and invite visitors to connect with the producers and get involved with the production. These two aims were the driving forces behind many of my design decisions, including navigation, information architecture, Calls To Action, etc.. Every page on the site either showcases media or other information from the film (video, production stills, text from the original project proposal, etc.), or offers a means for users to contact the producers (a page to make donation, another to share stories of their experiences with HIV/AIDS, etc.).

After the design was signed off on, I developed the site in HTML 4.01 Transitional (which I tend to favor when I’m working with embedded video media, as embed code often doesn’t conform to stricter standards), CSS (including some  new CSS3 features), PHP, and Javascript (using the jQuery framework). The design (including the development of image assets) took about a week and a half (following several requested revisions), while the coding and buildout took about four days (mostly due to a holiday weekend which slowed development).

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