The website for the AFI Thesis short film, Bosco’s Guitar is a simple, yet effective page that accurately informs visitors about the short film, who is involved, and how they can help. The opening page shows a list of the links, features a promotional image, and has the title of the short film at the top in a childish font. This website has many positive and negative aspects to it, and perhaps it is best to discuss the websites weaknesses first.
One obvious problem is that the page was not designed for different browsers. The page is not centered and does not move when the website is expanded to a larger browser size. A plain, white background is revealed when the browser is enlarged. They should have either designed the page to resize with the browser or implement a better design where the image blends into the background. Another major issue is the resolution of the photos. Many of them are very low and the image looks slightly blurry as a result. That is a common sense issue they should have been resolved before the site ever went online. The site could also use some aspects of advanced web design. There is virtually no use of jquery or any interactivity outside of hovering over links. The design could implement more layering with opacities and gradients to make the page feel more three dimensional and sophisticated. In addition, it would be nice to see a trailer on the home page (or any page) since it is a site for a short film, and also it would be a nice touch to add a section for screening venues.
What the site lacks in sophistication, in makes up for in simplicity and ease of navigation. Every one of the sections of the page is clearly identified and the entire site can be navigated in a matter of seconds. Each page has the same navigation bar located on it, even though its location changes from the home page. Visitors can quickly find out what the film is about, that it’s created through AFI, who’s involved, who inspired the project, and how visitor’s can help contribute. The section where the site excels is the section dedicated to the crew. The page features links to each member and what their role in the production was. On their individual page, there is a brief bio, a picture, and a quote from them about the project. Aesthetically, one nice aspect of the page is the consistent grayish-purple and yellow color scheme used throughout the site giving it a unique rustic and impoverished look. Overall, the website for Bosco’s Guitar is a great example of both what to do right and what should be done better for a short film website. The simplicity of the site is great and makes it an effortless browsing experience, but the site simply needs to be taken a few steps further by adding some more pages with trailers and screening times and also some added depth in terms of aesthetic appeal.
~Written By John Marshall