IAEA DG Corner
During my intership at the IAEA, I helped the web designer (Mr. Kresimir Nikolic) transfer his design of the Director General’s Corner into a working website. I had to find solutions to parse XML using PHP4 and modify Javascript elements to fit the design concept.
In order to become successful in web development, I knew that I would have to value my knowledge in programming. Since Javascript is often used to generate dynamic content (AJAX) and web effects, it is essential to possess the fundamental knowledge of programming.
For this project, the IAEA’s web desginer (Kresimir Nikolic) developed the Director General’s corner for the IAEA.ORG website. In order to transfer the concept into a working website, a lot of Javascript elements were required.
The design utilizes jCarousel from JQuery, Accordion and LightWindow from Scriptaculous. Several changes had to be made to the script as Flash elements ‘bled’ through the LightWindow.
I also had to find an elegant solution to let both libraries be able to work together. At that time, the answer was not easy to find.
My second task for this project was to develop a php script that parses XML data (RSS) using the PHP4 Library. The script would have been easier to implement with PHP5 but the organization did not update their webserver then.
Visit the following link to view the website:
IAEA Bulletin Form Validation
As part of the IAEA’s web team I had to develop a form validation mechanism for the Bulletin Archive Website. I used LiveValidation to complete the project as it is an effective solution for live input.
The IAEA’s News and Information Section publish a Bulletin magazine every 2-3 months. The website offers an electronic archive system with a search function.
The design was developed by the IAEA’s web designer, Kresimir Nikolic. I was given me the task to develop an effective validation mechanism to avoid any invalid input in the search form.
By using the LiveValidation JavaScript, I managed to prepare a solution that satisfies the needs of the web application.
The users’ live input is examined and instant warning messages are generated if the data is not acceptable. These warning messages are not threatening and the user is informed as to what kind of values are expected.
The system is still live and can be visited by clicking the following link: IAEA Bulletin Archives
IAEA 50th Anniversary Staff Party – Flash Intro
For the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the IAEA, I compiled a Flash Animated Intro page that features particle programming and random colour generation. Don’t believe it? See it yourself.
I was very lucky to enter an internship during an honorable time for the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The year 2007 marked the 50th Anniversary of the IAEA and there was a lot to celebrate for, including the reception of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
On the 7th September, 2007 a big party was organized to celebrate the first half century of the IAEA and many preparations were made. Even a website! For the occasion, I was given the task to create a dynamic introduction page for the website to express the mood of the party.
I wanted it to be very special so I used Flash and implemented particle programming to produce firework effects. The colour of each firework is randomly generated. I have also added a preloader, background music, sound effects and motion effects.
I believe the result was very effective and I am very happy that it was widely appreciated from the staff.
Please feel free to look at it by visiting the following link:
IAEA’s 50th Anniversary Staff Party
IAEA Flash Video Player
Before the JW player was made available, we needed to develop a Flash video player for the IAEA website. The concept was designed by the web designer (Kresimir Nikolic) and I programmed the functionality in ActionScript for Flash 8.
One of the first mutlimedia projects that I had to develop during my internship at the IAEA was a Flash powered video player. My knowledge to develop this type of player was still fresh as I developed a similar system during my short internship at netkey.at.
Before the full screen capability was introduced, the website required a compact video player that can be placed onto focus pages, articles and the Director General’s corner.
My mentor (Kresimir Nikolic) gave me the idea of how he wanted the video player to function. In addition to the basic functionality (playback controls, volume control, time display), he wanted to be able to display a caption to describe the video before it is played.
The user is able to read the review by hovering over the video object and hide it again by moving the mouse away. This feature was quite complex to implement as the ActionScript library in Flash 8 did not contain functions that are available now in Flash CS4 (e.g. ‘if mouse is on stage’).
Although the video player served its purpose, it has been replaced by the JW player that is more robust and features full screen playback. Nevertheless, I am happy that my solution was still used while I was an intern.
Feel free to test the player below and experience its full functionality.
IAEA Flash Audio Player
Since the IAEA website features several multimedia elements, we needed to develop a Flash audio player that plays audio content while the audiences views other parts of the page.
The IAEA website features both video and audio content and a flash player was needed for both. Before the JW Player was released I had to develop a flash component that can be placed on different pages in iaea.org.
The development of the audio player was very similar to the video player. The advantage was that there was no need to convert the audio content as Flash can read mp3 files.
In addition to the basic functionality (playback functions, mute and time display), we needed to be able to place a custom image in the player’s background and animate a virtual equalizer display (top left of the player).
Flash 8 did not have the an extensive audio library back then to allow a real-time equalizer, therfore I used a looped animation to make it seem as if it were reacting to the audio. It would have definitely been very interesting to implement a real-time equalizer and apparently it is possible now with ActionScript 3. It would be a feature I intend to implement if I were to build another Flash audio player in the future.
The audio player is avaialbe below for you to test. I thought it would be appropriate to feature the first few minutes of the IAEA’s pilot podcast episode as I was involved in the production too.
