NZFC Website Analysis

By David Graham

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), is the governing body responsible for

promoting New Zealand films and filming in New Zealand. They work with other government

agencies to provide filmmakers and production companies with assistance in financing,

developing, promoting and distributing of domestic and international films made within New

Zealand. The homepage on their website, http://www.nzfilm.co.nz seeks to immediately

inform the viewer of these services through its textual structure design and by the selection

of several visual elements such as images and typeface.

Textual Structure

The NZ Film Commission website is structured to follow an 'F' shaped pattern. According to

Nielsen (2006), readers first read in a horizontal movement usually across the upper part of

the content area, then move down to a second horizontal reading pattern and finally

vertically from the left side. The website has been structured to follow this pattern by keeping

the images and content in the center of the screen for the viewer by using fixed borders on

either side. At the top of the page, the logo is strategically positioned in the left corner being

the first image viewers will see when they open the site. To the right of the logo, there are

links to contact information as well as a search bar and thumbnails of flags representing the

different languages the website can be presented in. Directly below these there are six more

links presented all in capitals relaying information about the main services and resources

provided by the NZFC. These are; Funding, Career, Distribution, International Productions,

Film Archives and News and Events. Each of these headings uses a 'hover over' technique,

whereby you hover the mouse over the heading and it opens a box leading to a multitude of

sub-categories under the main heading of each of the links. This is to avoid clutter as

"website users appear to be less inclined to ponder dense, tightly structured, sequenced

discourse." (Warnick, 2006, p. 140) These links are supported and reinforced by rotating

production images from well-known films directly underneath. They control a large portion of

the screen, containing statements such as, 'We showcase NZ films', and 'We support

filmmakers at every stage of their career', to lure the viewer into exploring these statements

in greater detail. Finally, below these images are three links leading to film archives,

information about financial incentives and NZ film on demand - a website where one can rent

or buy digital copies of a variety of films on offer which the NZFC has assisted.

Images

Whitenton (2014) states that most websites do well with a balanced approach, in particular

with images that correlate with a company’s brand. As film is a visual medium, it is

appropriate that the website has incorporated images from various productions the NZFC

has been involved with. There is a sense of balance in that, the production images take up a

large proportion of the centre of the screen to draw the viewer’s attention, but not too much

to detract attention from other elements on the site. There are a variety of high definition

photographs from well-known blockbuster feature films, through to independent art films and

documentaries to convey the range of variety and genres that the NZFC caters to. The

quality of the photographs relays to the viewer the amount of quality and care that the NZFC

employs in their business practices to achieve their finished product. They are all medium to

close up portraits with the subject’s face and body occupying most of the frames. Their faces

are clearly shown in relation to their body language to convey a range of emotions and

ultimately evoke an emotive response from the viewer. The first set of images are bigger

than others on the bottom of the page, implying a hierarchy of importance. This could be

seen as strategic, as Whitenton (2013) goes onto further explain that, designers should

assign visual weight with importance, and that when visual elements support a primary goal,

they should have more emphasis than secondary goals. As such, attached to the larger

photos are links to resource information pertaining to the specific claims they have enlisted,

which can be clearly seen as the main information the NZFC wishes to relay to the viewer

throughout their website. For example, clicking on one of the two links highlighted in figure A,

will lead to figure B.

fig. A fig. B

Typeface

Lastly, typeface is an important element as the style can inform the viewer of the genre within which the text fits, along with the ability to deliver subtle messages, according to Wysocki (2004). The main typeface being used on the NZFC homepage is sans-serif, which is more modern, bold and direct without the “frills”. It is designed to ‘function rationally like machines’ (Wysocki, 2004, p.129) and could be seen as giving the website a degree of

professionalism and seriousness. The colour selections contrast the background, black on white or white on black, and the use of capitalisation and increased font size has been employed for the headings to allow the text to stand out and increase the readability for the viewer and ultimately allow for fast, effective communication.

Conclusion

To conclude, through the incorporation of various visual elements such as the websites textual structure, images and typeface, the NZFC’s website delivers information to the viewer using a very minimalist design. Combined, these elements of web design allow for easy navigation for the viewer and effectively inform the viewer of the NZFC’s main purpose and areas of specialisation.

References

Nielsen, J. (1997). How Users Read on The Web. Retrieved from Nielsen Norman Group: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/

Warnick, B. (2006). Rhetoric on the Web. In P. Messaris, & L. Humphreys (Eds.), Digital Media: Transformations in Human Communication (pp. 139-146). New York, New York: Lang.

Whitenton, K. (2014). Image-Focused Design: Is Bigger Better? Retrieved from Nielsen Norman Group: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/image-focused-design/

Wysocki, A. F. (2004). The Multiple Media of Texts: How Onscreen and Paper Texts Incorporate Wprds, Images and Other Media. In C. Bazerman, & P. Prior (Eds.), What writing does and how it does it: An introduction to analysing texts and textual practices (pp. 123-163). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Eribaum.