Monday, March 07, 2011

Web Design: Repo & Waterlife




My dive into the world of web design with Flash brought me back to one of my favorite sites and a second one while on a top 10 Flash site search. The first site I found was “Repo! The Genetic Opera. When entering the film site, there are two layers to the page: Graverobber’s graveyard where the menu is integrated and the backdrop of GeneCo City where a separate flash window will open up to allow you to navigate through the site. The menu is comprised of three parts: the header menu at the top of the screen, the main headstone, and then the smaller headstones behind it. The Flash window that pops up over the backdrop will expand or shrink depending upon which link in the menu you click. If you click, for example, “The Film” link, the Flash window will appear and you will be able to choose which section you wish to view, characters, world, media, or reviews. Further still, if you select the media and view clips, the window will turn into an embedded Flash media player and automatically play the selected video for you.


The second website I found extremely interesting was called “Waterlife”, an online showcase about a film of the same name. It provides a preview of the cinematography and rich storytelling that appears in the film. I like how the navigation flows very much like the gentle motion of a lake. There is a sidebar menu, one on the bottom the moves when you rollover it, and the main thumbnail section which moves with your cursor and changes whenever you click on it. It was so beautiful and relaxing, I almost forgot I was even on an actual webpage; even the minor details, such as small Flash images of whales swimming, the music, and how the thumbnails change shape upon what image is clicked, add to the overall feel of the website.


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