Wow, I cannot even believe the semester and the book is finally finished! I am proud of the path I took to get to the final outcome, and it is interesting to see how the final book turned out. I am happy with most of the photographs I took for the book, but there are definitely ones that I need to change.

I would just like to quickly thank everyone who helped me get through this process, I really appreciate it!

Here are some photos, they were taken quickly with my phone so the quality isn’t the best:

cover

title page

sample spread

sample spread

Thanks again for all your positive input Reg!

Here is the final image for the colour category.

Here is the final image for the shape category.

Here is a sample spread, after lots of experimentation I realized that the heading and information should remain in a stationary position throughout the entire book. The image size will differ between each spread as the objects are not always the same size. The page numbers are exceptionally large because they are meant to be used as a learning tool, they will be different colours for each category throughout the book.

Originally I was planning on taking my images at the York photo lab, but after going to test out the space I decided that it wasn’t going to work for the amount of objects I had. I decided to work in my basement, I set up white fabric on the floor and a ladder beside the area so I could get a wide shot. It was very difficult to get the area prepped for the style of photo I was aiming for, the objects were quite large and I needed to get very high to get them all in the shot.

This was my second attempt at taking the kitchen utensil category. For this image I set up both sides of the page, but because my lens was not wide enough the sides of the image became distorted.

The same issue occurred for the school supply category so I’m working to re-shoot these images.

Here is the final image for the vegetable category.

Here is the final image for the fruit category.

Manuscript: The manuscript is almost complete. I have decided to include these categories within my book; fruits, vegetables, kitchen utensils, tools, colours, shapes and school supplies. I have also decided to vary the number of items within each category because of the different sizes and shapes of each item. Each item will be followed by a brief definition and description. The end of the book will include a section where the child can photograph and describe a collection of items of their own, it will be engaging and fun for them to complete!

Children will find this book valuable because it is a visual resource filled with great information, while parents and teachers will also find it valuable because its a great learning tool!

Size: I have been going back and forth a lot with the size of the book, should it be big or small? Finally I’ve decided to make it 6.75 x 9 inches. I think this size works well with my target audience, as it’s not going to be too overpowering

Grids & Typesetting: I have decided to use a 5 column grid for this particular book. I am still determining the typeface and size. I am thinking of using Twentieth Century and Centennial.

Photography: I am still in the process of taking all the photographs for the book, below is a sample. Each section of the book with have an establishing shot similar to the one below. I will also include close up shots of each item that will be included next to each definition and description.

Binding: I agree with the class’ responses and have decided to create a hardcover for the book.

Potential Names (again): Stuff you should know!

Things I like

My Collections

What’s that?

2. If I choose to gear the book to children, should I bind it with a hard or soft cover? If I choose to gear the book to teachers, should I bind it so that it can be opened completely flat? How?

3. What should I name my book? I’ve been thinking of Things You Should Know, Stuff You Should Know, etc.

Please help, I would really appreciate it!

I’m still determining some of the subject matter for my book. I do know that I would like to create a children’s manual that includes different topics of knowledge. Some topics for my catalogue will include;

fruits> apple, banana, cherry, grape, mango, honeydew, orange, kiwi, pear, raspberry, peach, lemon, pomegranate, pineapple, strawberry

vegetables> cauliflower, pumpkin, leek, corn, asparagus, broccoli, artichoke, yam, lettuce, snow peas, peas, flat beans, zucchini, carrot, red onion, string bean, brussel sprout, potato, radish, celery, butternut squash, green onion, cucumber, sweet potato, rutabaga

animals>? IS THIS A GOOD IDEA?? because I definitely can’t photograph this topic, thoughts…

kitchen utensils> fork, knife, spoon, cheese grater, chopping board, cookie cutter, chop sticks, frying pan, knife, lemon squeezer, muffin tin, oven mitts, pizza cutter, potato masher, potato peeler, sieve, strainer, tongs, scissors, pepper mill, whisk, measuring cup

tools> hammer, pliers, screwdriver, exacto knife, saw, drill, putty knife, level, goggles, ear muffs, mallet, broom, dustpan, wrench, ruler

colours> red, green, blue, orange, yellow, purple, pink, teal, violet, cream, lime green, pink, burgundy, light blue, brown

shapes> square, triangle, circle, semicircle, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, oval, right-angled triangle, equilateral triangle, rhombus, trapezoid, parallelogram

I plan to photograph each category similar to this image:

catalogue image style ^

Following the image catalogue of each category I plan on including a section for a dictionary. I would like to define all the words that appeared in my image catalogue.

Following the dictionary section I thought it would be interesting to have a ‘fun facts’ section including tid-bits of information for all the words that appeared in my image catalogue and dictionary.

POTENTIAL BOOK NAMES

Stuff You Should Know!

I wanted my project to replicate some of the qualities from the video I posted on my blog entitled “Sorry I’m Late” as I really enjoyed the playful qualities of the music and images integrated together. For my video I took photographs of all the different objects and knocked out the backgrounds. At first I wanted to set up my video using After Effects, but as it was my first time using the program I got too overwhelmed and decided to stick with programs that I already knew. So I set up the same frame size and moved each image using Photoshop. I layered all these frames using Final Cut Pro. After experimenting with the images in my film I set out to find a song that replicated the same feeling. At first I was interested in creating a piano melody using Garage Band while also integrating different sounds of things that I would encounter throughout my day. (ie. birds chirping while I would be walking to the bus stop). While I was editing my video I was listening to my iTunes library and a song called “The Warning” by Hot Chip began playing. I thought that this song fit with different qualities in my video. I worked with my friend Michael Carbone (who is a music student at York) to edit the song and add some additional sounds so that it would work perfectly with my video.