Ben Wain Media Portfolio

Fresh Start

2012-01-04T03:26:00.000-08:00

New year's resolutions are often ones we make to keep us occupied with something through the dreary depths of Winter, which get binned off as soon as the year picks up. Here's a less personalized one, one that doesn't need to be tailored to suit but works for everyone:

Don't be a sheep. Don't go by what the masses say. Don't go by what the TV says (in fact avoid TV altogether if possible). Don't go by what the red-tops say (anyone who does - shame on you!). Find your own likes and dislikes, find your own self. Don't be afraid to be individual. Drop worrying what others may think of you. Get out there, out of your safety zone. Open your mind beyond the pummeling of what the media want you to believe. Find your niche!

You won't regret it.

The Illusive Perfect Picture

2011-12-18T05:40:00.000-08:00

I finally got my photography page up and running. This was actually quite difficult. What do you select? Everyone sees something different in a photograph, so how do you define the 'perfect' picture. Is there such a thing? I have looked through photography competitions and wondered at how some pictures even qualified. Is it all just opinion based?

Hopefully my page has something for everyone then. I always appreciate feedback so pop over now and let me know your thoughts. As usual, I managed to resize the images wrong, so they have been resized twice, losing some of their sharpness. Always something eh?

Web Page a Go Go

2011-11-09T03:17:00.000-08:00

Well for some reason I decided to give my portfolio a little spruce up, I make that 3.0 now. Things are picking up speed here because as well as this, I am also working towards a new site where I will focus on freelance web design.

I got a little taster with some of my commissioned projects on a newly decorated web design page on my portfolio (at last).

I seem to be getting involved in larger website projects which is exciting, and will be adding them to the above linked-to page as and when they go live. Expect more soon...

Videogames: Does Quality Still Count?

2011-09-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

I can't help but notice, and am sure you have have too, the high amount of trash entering the top 10 games sales charts over the last few years.

Since the videogame market opened up from what are known as 'hardcore' niche and flooded the mainstream market, it seems developers have been a bit confused as to whether they should still bother trying to create quality games or not. Do they want to uphold a good name where it matters, or should they just aim for the big money pot?

It seems if a formula works, many developers and customers are often scared to try anything else. Take the Wii U for example. It caused Nintendo's shares to slump when it was unveiled. Why? Because it was a new concept for gaming. It seems as long as a platform has piles of samey 'shooter' games coming out on it the buyers will keep coming back. But will that always work? In Japan recently the industry was suffering a slump, and it really was 'innovate or die' time. A good thing, perhaps. In the UK though we are exceptionally bad at accepting that a trailer or good graphics means a good game. It seems actual good games are far and few between, with not many too bothered it. It is likely that the majority have never really had a good gaming experience as yet. Big shame.

I think the icing on the cake for me was the success of Angry Birds. An over used engine with an un-origional concept that became a mega-seller. What the heck is this world coming to? And the impact of nasty mobile games on the market? Don't get me started...

'Pressing Matters

2011-07-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the delay in adding content to my portfolio. One of my main projects received a remake you see, and moved from static HTML to a Wordpress based platform. The site was built on a local virtual server, and then exported once completed, which was a great learning experience! View the finished project here.

Service is expected to resume soon...

The Case For Facebook

2011-05-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

The internet seems to have an internet within itself - its name being Facebook.

I'm not sure whether its just me but the social media giant has managed to grow up from the 'teenagers posing enhanced social lifestyles to their mates, flaunting photo-shopped images of themselves looking cool' (shudder) to a monster that enhances businesses as well as its traditional purpose.

I recently attended an internet show where it was obvious just how important Facebook was on the internet - on parallel to email marketing, to be precise. It's an easy way to send offers and engage customers for free, and great to build brand image and loyalty. How have they done it? Even companies now use their Facebook page in adverts rather than sending potential customers to the traditional website.

Do I like Facebook? It's OK for the business purposes mentioned above, even useful for organising events with others, but if your job was based on a computer, how much would you really want to spend your free time hooked on there as well? Not for me, thanks.

Fear Of 3D?

2011-04-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

With the new wave of 3D technology being forced in our faces, you have to ask yourself; is this step coming too soon?

Why? Its the sales figures that come to mind here. New 3D TV's aren't selling like hot cakes, which seems odd after the thought of beinging the cinema experience to your home seems so good. Personally I have only just made the move to HD, so don't really feel the need to shell out yet again. Is this a majority case?

Or are we scared by the technology? There has been a lot of hype generated by a certain tabloid over the new Nintendo 3DS' possible health risks with the 3D effects. The intersting fact here is mobile phones will be using this same technology come the end of the year. Does that mean we won't be able to use new mobiles either? Typical tabloidal tosh, then (and possibly employing a Sony fanboy to write reviews doesn't help).

Maybe its a sign of the recession finally biting at people's wallets? I guess with all these things keeping an eye on sales trends over the months will tell all. Intreresting times eh?

Free Range Humans

2011-04-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you break the cycle of everyday life you get a feeling that there is so much more to enjoy than we realise.

In the 'hectic' lifestyles we have created ourselves, we seem to be rushing from work to the next thing, spending time glued behind screens and believing we have to live life a certain way in order to get by. It's like we've put ourselves in a cardboard box - TV tells us how we should be, we're directed by what the media says and really we've become like string puppets in the modern world.

I believe it would be healthier for us to avoid TV, newspapers - the lot. After all the saying is "bad news is good news", so how on earth do you expect us to feel better from it? Advice: get out walk, bike, whatever (adrenaline is the best therapy out there), get as far away from civilization as possible and enjoy the sounds of nature - it will clear your mind more than these spa treatments or whatever. If important news is around word of mouth will keep you in tune. Make this the last thing you read before powering down your machine, then get out there and you won't regret it. The weather is improving, go outside and make the most...

Technology Analists

2011-03-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

No, that's not a spelling mistake. It's a new word for the case of this article (anal-ists) - people who are stuck up about having to have the latest technology.

There seems to be a trend in the multi-media world of having to own the very latest/very best of what's available for everything. I suppose if you specialise in a certain trade it makes sense to use the best tools for the job to give you the edge, but in most cases it seems unnecessary. For instance, if I want to edit a video, I'll get the software that produces the result required without having to pay through my nose. Does it matter it was made in a cheaper program if it works just as well? Is it not about getting the job done? Likewise, do I get less satisfaction doing a painting if I use cheaper paints?

Maybe having to have the latest smart phone is about looking sophisticated to the other commuters on the train. Is it for bragging rights? Possibly, but I certainly hope not. It's just the typical thinking in the materialistic Western society we live in. Have a think, maybe having to have the best of everything is the reason we're a nation of whingers about our wages? Peace out.

New Site! At Last...

2011-02-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

Well that time has come around for the new ben-wain.co.uk portfolio to go live - almost a year after it was scheduled. Its been a funny year with getting used to a new job and some interesting interviews (usually containing the line of "so have you got the creative flair?") (yawn). Lots of interesting things have come up from the men in suits in those interviews including being told " you aren't allowed navigation there" and "you should only have a logo on the left"... So what happened to the 'creative' bit then?

Hopefully the new site contains some 'flair' for you. As always the things you've pictured in your mind don't quite work out in the final edit - some changes were made to the final look and more changes will be taking place down the line in fine-tuning. Also stay tuned here for further opinions/postings of mine on the world of media! Salute. [pops champagne]