code-institute-submissions / steven-flynn-ms1 Goto Github PK

Steven Flynn Milestone Project 1

My idea is a website with 3 pages (and room for future development) dedicated to teaching an individual some basics about the circus community, health benefits to doing circus, props, tricks, stores, the Irish circus scene and where to meet like minded people (at least before and hopefully after Covid times). For future development, I can add extra sections to include details about other festivals overseas including the worlds biggest juggling convention, the European Juggling Convention (EJC). Can also expand the props section to include more obscure and difficult props like gunslinging and Cyr Wheel as well as how to make your own.

UX

This website is aimed at students and people at a “consumer” level. Not aimed towards businesses but rather the individual and broadening their knowledge of the vast world of circus without the need to learn from multiple sources and risking getting conflicting information. A one-stop-shop for learning the basics for juggling.

Various User Stories • As a student who recently started studying online in university, I want to develop new skills but also get to know other people. I hear circus stuff is fun in college, but how do I learn where to start without meeting circus people in person? This website provides all the tools I need to get me started on my journey • As a parent with young kids that love to be active, I want to get sturdy equipment that will help keep my kids active and engaged. They love the circus but I know nothing. With the resources on this website, I am able to find out what is safest for my kids and also where to go where they can learn more. • Users that are already teaching themselves circus skills might want to know when and where other performers of that skill go to meet up. Using the social media links on the intro page, the user can find the name and contact details of the group that best suits their needs • For the user that has no idea about anything but wants to learn more, there is an easy to find contact me form in the footer of each page so that they can ask me, a person that has been exactly where they are not too long ago, to answer any specific questions or requests they might have.

Website Layout: Note: Each section will be in it’s own bootstrap div row and column Page 1 Header:

This page should help you get started with what the circus community is like and why you should pursue circus as either a hobby or as a profession

Navigation bar will be the left side of the page for desktop and tablet (vertical) and at the top of the page for mobile view (horizontal)

• Introduction
• Props and stores
• Events

My name is Steven and I have been practising circus skills since 2012. I first tried it when a college friend offered a much more fun alternative to going to class. I was hooked on day 1 and now I would like to share with you why I believe you should also think about taking up circus. My aim with this website is to give you a brief insight into the basics of the circus community in Ireland including groups that meet up, props you can try and larger gatherings that happen throughout the country. If you have any questions, whether they be about my experiences or about the site, feel free to use the form at the bottom of the page and send me a question.

Circus is a skill sharing based community so at it’s heart it is very social and open to new and improving jugglers as well as talented performers looking to spread their unique skill to make it a little less unique. Activities include ball juggling, hula hooping, poi, diabolo, acrobatics, plate spinning, unicycling and balloon modelling, to name but a few. In truth, just about any skill or trick involving any prop can be considered a circus skill.

Practising circus skill provides numerous physical and mental benefits. These benefits, among social and various other benefits, are a driving factor that the circus community worldwide has been steadily growing in the last number of years. Some of the common physical benefits are:

• Hand-eye coordination
• Focus
• Concentration
• Depth Perception
• Muscle Memory
• Neuromuscular balance Alongside those physical benefits are a variety of mental benefits, too. These are including, but not limited to:
• improve self esteem
• developing new skills and interests
• meet new people
• Great for physically active learners

How many in the circus community begin their journey is via the circus society or club in their college or university. This provides a space to meet people with similar interests and varied skill levels, the society or club usually provides a handful of equipment which allows you to try out a variety of props to find out what suits you best and the committee and other members can go as a group to circus events outside of your college or university to meet even more people with the community such as to circus conventions Here are a few handy social links to help you find your nearest circus meet-up. The groups are usually friendly and welcome to new people joining in, even if you do not attend the college they are affiliated with.

• DCP [Facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/dublincircusproject)
• DCU [Facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/DCU-Circus-Arts)
• UCD [Facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/UCDJugglingandCircusSociety)
• Trinity [Facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/TCDCircusSoc)
• Dublin Fire Community[Facebook group page] (https://www.facebook.com/groups/DublinFireCommunity)
• Galway [Facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/CircusSocNUIG) Gallery: ![gallery image] (images/fire.jpg) ![gallery image] (images/german wheel.jpg) ![gallery image] (images/silks.jpg) Footer: For more information on Circus in Dublin, visit the [Dublin Circus Project] (https://dublincircusproject.com/)

• Submission form with a required email address and text input with submit button
  To see what a future in Circus could look like, have a look at the [Cirque Du Soleil] (https://www.cirquedusoleil.com) Page 2: Header:

This page will familiarise you with some of the most common props used in Circus and links to stores that sell these props and many, many more! Navigation: Navigation bar will be the left side of the page for desktop and tablet (vertical) and at the top of the page for mobile view (horizontal) *Introduction *Props and stores *Events Juggling props are normally separated into a few categories of skill. Props can belong to one or more of these categories. These being: *Juggling skills *Dance (or spinning) skills *Manipulation Skills *Balance skills

This is the most common circus prop and first skill many jugglers take up. Some call it a gateway prop which evidently leads to trying to master many, many more. [Tutorial] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4_IUMS4yc8)

A wonderful mix of juggling and manipulation. Contact juggling takes a single, solid, juggling ball sized sphere and the user manoeuvrers it across their body while maintaining contact

Also referred to as “clubs” or “Skittles”, these are a step above the balls mentioned above. Because the clubs spin, it adds an extra dimension of timing and hand eye coordination to catch the club in the right place at the right time.

Hooping can be classified as a dance or a manipulation skill. People normally start this skill with traditional waist hooping but as people master the skill, the performer can instead hoop on their arms, legs or even nose (yes, this is a thing) and even transition their performance to have multiple hoops spinning on body parts simultaneously.

Poi is one of the main dance related skills as it relies heavily on rhythm, ensuring you and the props spin in tandem being sure that neither you nor the poi collide mid-spin.

Pretty much a larger version of the yo-yo, the diabolo consists of 2 sticks attached with a string and oversized yo-yo looking diabolo. The user has to ensure the diabolo is constantly spinning at high speeds on the string while manipulating it into the air and around their body.

Popular stores to purchase your own circus equipment from

• [Fire Toys Ireland] (https://www.firetoys.ie/)
• [Play Juggling] (https://www.playjuggling.com/en/)
• [Mood Hoops] (https://moodhoops.com/) ![gallery image] (images/juggling balls.jpg) ![gallery image] (images/contact.jpg) ![gallery image] (images/juggling clubs.jpg) ![gallery image] (images/hooper.jpg) ![gallery image] (images/poi.jpg) ![gallery image] (images/diabolo2.jpg) Footer: For more information on Circus in Dublin, visit the [Dublin Circus Project] (https://dublincircusproject.com/)

• Submission form with a required email address and text input with submit button
  To see what a future in Circus could look like, have a look at the [Cirque Du Soleil] (https://www.cirquedusoleil.com) Page 3 Header:

This page will introduce you to the idea of a circus convention with links to help you find where and when the next convention near you is happening. Navigation: Navigation bar will be the left side of the page for desktop and tablet (vertical) and at the top of the page for mobile view (horizontal) *Introduction *Props and stores *Events

The biggest events in a jugglers calender are the conventions. Each one has their unique traits like the organisers, workshops and performers so no 2 conventions will ever be the same. However, each convention usually have the same list of events throuoghout the convention. Each convention will usually have workshops which are voluntarily led by attendees throughout the convention, a Gala show which is a whole host of professional performances from international and local guests, a renegade show which is a circus open mic night and circus themed games. The typical schedule for a circus convention is it takes place over a weekend, Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Friday is usually some workshops and anything else that the organisers wish to put on like a secondary, show, a fire show or a little parade through the town square, to name but a few past ideas. Saturday usually has a lot more workshops from morning to early evening. Then attendees make their way to the location of the Gala show. After that, there is a short break and then the open mic night takes up the remainder of the night. Sunday has workshops going on from morning until early afternoon. After which the circus games commence and allow the community to engage their competitive side with a range of games, some requiring extreme technical skills and others just pure luck. Common games are 3 club gladiators, hula hoop racing and handstand endurance.

Initially set up by a UCD juggler by the name of Des Johnson in 2016, this convention focuses on new jugglers in Dublin and gives them a space to see first hand what their local jugglers can do and are encouraged that practise. The theme for the main Gala show is all the performers have never done a formal performance with their chosen prop, therefore enhancing the mantra that everyone at this, and every convention, are all newbies and constantly learning. There is no official page for this convention but it is run by the UCD circus and juggling society so check out their facebook page for updates on this convention [link] (https://www.facebook.com/UCDJugglingandCircusSociety)

The NCFI takes place every year in the town of Tralee, Co.Kerry since 2001. This festival is possibly the biggest circus event on the Irish calendar, pulling talent from all corners of the globe into a tightly packed schedule. Recently, this festival has added an extra day of activity and normally runs from Thursday – Sunday every year. The Sunday evening parade and street shows in the town square have been entertaining kids and adults alike since it’s inception. For more information, visit their website with photos, videos, and past and future performers. [link] (http://www.circusfestival.ie/)

Previously hosted by the Queens Circus Society, this convention is also usually very popular with jugglers from the Republic of Ireland as it is just a short drive away. It allows attendees to witness performances by jugglers from the UK juggling scene and a handful of other international performers too who each have their own unique style. What the Belfast Juggling Convention does differently is on the Friday night, they host an “open stage” show which creates a space for performers to showcase a routine they are working on for a smaller audience than if they were to try and run at on a bigger stage, allowing them to get feedback from the audience and fine tune their routine. For more information, follow Queens Circus Society on facebook [facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/qubjuggling/)

The Dublin Circus Festival (previously named Dublin Juggling Festival) is a collaborative effort between the Dublin Circus Project and college circus societies. It is a way to bring Irish jugglers together and give everybody an excuse to play around with circus props around the capital. It’s Dublin’s way of giving back to the other circus groups who hold large conventions in other areas of Ireland, such as NCFI and the Belfast Juggling Convention. Follow their facebook page for updates [facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/DublinCircusFestival/?ref=page_internal)

Our final stop on our circus journey around the island of Ireland is in the west coast in the beautiful city of Galway. Hosted by the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) circus society, this convention is normally a sunny escape taking place during the summer, in May or June. The Galway Juggling Convention has all the same thrills and frills as the other conventions with added fun and chill out time. Who doesn’t love a sunny escape to Galway? For updates, follow the Galway Circus Festival facebook page: [facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/GalwayJugglingConvention) Gallery: ![gallery photo] (tralee fire.jpg) ![gallery photo] (images/tralee acro.jpg) ![gallery photo] (images/belfast.jpg) ![gallery photo] (images/belfast uni.jpg) ![gallery photo] (images/dcf games.jpg) ![gallery photo] (images/dcf spinning.jpg) ![gallery photo] (images/dcf toss.jpg) Footer: For more information on Circus in Dublin, visit the [Dublin Circus Project] (https://dublincircusproject.com/)

• Submission form with a required email address and text input with submit button
  To see what a future in Circus could look like, have a look at the [Cirque Du Soleil] (https://www.cirquedusoleil.com)

Features

Existing Features For some/all of your features, you may choose to reference the specific project files that implement them, although this is entirely optional. • Users can find and get in contact with various groups that regularly meet up around Ireland • Users can view a wide range of photos of both international and local performers and events to get a visual idea of what to expect when entering into the wonderful world of circus • Users can fill out a form in the footer of each page to ask the author a question • Users learn from looking at the first page a little bit of info about the author, about the circus community, the physical and mental benefits of circus and can find links to other circus groups around Ireland. In my opinion the most important piece of information is the benefits of doing circus which can be seen from a quick glance to the page • Users can learn the basic props used by most performers and where to purchase their own and more, perhaps discovering a prop that will pique their interest Features Left to Implement/future development • Include links to tricks for the other props • clean up the colours on the page body • Include links and information on international groups (e.g. International Jugglers Association IJA) • A page dedicated to combat juggling, a gladiatorial like sport growing in popularity in America • A page outlining the names and rules for various circus games that are run during conventions and could be run with kids as a P.E. activity • Detailed notes and comments for screen reading tools Technologies Used • HTML5 • CSS3 • GitHub • GitPod Testing

Contact me! Form: • Separately on each page, I scrolled down to the form box • I clicked the submit button without entering any information to see if the “required” tags worked. I was prompted to enter an email address. • I entered an invalid email string to see if it was accepted, it was not. I was prompted to re-enter my email. • I submitted my correct email but no message in the question box. I was asked to write a question. A blank field was not accepted • When I entered a valid email address and some text in the text box, my submission was accepted Various social media links: • Because this page relies heavily on sending the user to external sites, I had to check that each link opened a new tab to the correct webpage. • Starting from the top of the intro page, I worked my way down the screen, clicking every link. Because I had the target=”_black” attribute, each link opened successfully in a new tab and I did not lose my place on the webpage, saving me lots of time when testing and scrolling. • I repeated the previous step on the props and events pages with the same result. YouTube tutorial link: • Testing the link for this tutorial worked similarly to the other social media and website links found throughout the webpage. When scrolling through the props and shops page, I clicked on the link and because of the formatting of the anchor tag, I was brought directly to the tutorial video in a new tab and I could continue from where I left off on the webpage if I chose to. I would have included tutorials for the other props if I was able to find decent ones online. My criteria for the videos was a good quality (in terms of sound and picture) as well as under 5 minutes in order to keep the attention of the user.

The majority of the problems I encountered were to do with padding and aligning. All of these were solved using the same method, opening a preview and inspecting the page using the built in google dev tools to get an insight onto what exactly is happening on the screen. The first bug or problem I encountered was during the initial set-up. Because I had not used the code institute template to start, I could not view a preview of my work in a new tab or window, which was especially bad because I wanted to test my webpages responsiveness to different screen sizes (desktop vs mobile). As time was of the essence, the fastest and easiest solution was to create a new repository using the code-institute template. Once I set that up properly, the preview page seemed to work as normally after copying and pasting the work I had already completed. Occasionally, I encounter a similar problem where the preview is not the most up to date version. I can usually tell because I have added a line of text which is not showing up and upon using google dev tools to inspect the page, the code or text I have entered is not there. To solve this, I can usually commit and push the code, close down the window in gitpod and reopen it immediately and the problem is resolved. I hope to investigate in the future why this is occurring. Another bug I encountered was with using and modifying the bootstrap styling on the images on the intro page to adjust their size and to make the images not appear when below a certain screen size. I tried to get this to work by creating my own styling classes for the individual images which did not seem to affect the sizes. So I decided to go back to basics and review the notes for the “love running” mini project. I went with a masonry design for the section that the photos where going to be which allowed the look clearer by taking up more of the column width. Also by following the lessons from the “love running” project, I created a media query to make the webpage responsive. At smaller screen sizes, the photos on the right hand side of the screen disappear to save room. Also, the floating navigation menu on the desktop size will disappear and become a horizontal menu fixed to the top of the screen as space will be limited and can’t a mobile screen size can not facilitate the page text and a floating navigation menu. Deployment

1. First thing I did was to make sure I had downloaded the GitHub desktop app. As I recently got a new laptop, I forgot that I hadn’t downloaded it onto this laptop until the deployment step so I think now is the best time to double check. Once you have it downloaded, be sure to log in.
2. Create a new GitHub project with the “Create New Repository” button. Save the name as “[username].github.io” where [username] is your GitHub username. Set the file path as whatever works for you and leave the other details as default. Click “Create Repository”
3. Copy all the files in the repository with the webpage to this new repository you just created.
4. Commit these changes to the master. Now push these changes to GitHub using the “Publish Repository” button on the interface. Before publishing, be sure to uncheck the “keep this code private” checkbox to be able to share the webpage with friends and family.
5. Your website is good to go and the format for the url will be something like https://[username].github.io/”

Credits

Content • The text for section Y was copied from the Wikipedia article Z • nav bar inspired by the UCD juggling website nav bar: https://www.ucd.ie/juggling/the_lingo.html#gsc.tab=0 • Styling used for the photos was inspired by the “Love Running” project in the CSS Fundamentals module • The photos used are mostly a mix of shots taken by photographers at Cirque du Soleil shows and shots taken by Stephen McGinley at Irish and British circus events Media All photos have been taken from a google and facebook, both the Cirque du Soleil page and from a well known photographer in the Irish circus community, Stephen McGinley. I have provided links for each of the photos used in this file and as comments in the html and css code from my webpage.

• juggling balls.jpeg: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informadanza.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2FAF12903bis_Viktor-Kee_Le-Cirque-WTP.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informadanza.com%2Fblog%2F2018%2F12%2F14%2Fle-cirque-worlds-top-performers-a-genova-con-alis%2F&tbnid=e5MY8ZHOWsqpZM&vet=10CL0BEDMovgFqFwoTCKjy1qHTj-0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAC..i&docid=qrO_pxM1lSGSAM&w=2068&h=1478&q=cirque%20du%20soleil%20viktor%20kee&ved=0CL0BEDMovgFqFwoTCKjy1qHTj-0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAC
  
• contact.jpeg: https://www.google.com/search?q=cirque+du+soleil+viktor+kee&sxsrf=ALeKk009MkALkxSnVraX3J_vHi6HKDsEsQ:1605930959651&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXxIiD35LtAhW8UhUIHWowB0gQ_AUoAXoECCEQAw&biw=1536&bih=722#imgrc=Z76qpVRjayXzXM
  
• juggling clubs.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/CirqueduSoleil/photos/a.146711457500/10158976909632501/
  
• diabolo1.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/CirqueduSoleil/photos/a.146711457500/10159304741962501/
  
• diabolo2.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/CirqueduSoleil/photos/a.146711457500/10159102366372501/
  
• hooper.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/CirqueduSoleil/photos/a.146711457500/10159404688927501/
  
• chinese pole.jpeg https://www.facebook.com/CirqueduSoleil/photos/a.146711457500/10159404804577501/
  
• german wheel.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/CirqueduSoleil/photos/a.146711457500/10159404804617501/
  
• silks.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/CirqueduSoleil/photos/a.146711457500/10159696106922501/
  
• fire.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/CirqueduSoleil/photos/a.146711457500/10160016361897501/
  
• poi.jpeg: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fec%2F16%2F7d%2Fec167dfd68882f99319248a0e87ec18a.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.ie%2Fpin%2F554998354050661096%2F&tbnid=zNX980wiyx63GM&vet=12ahUKEwiu3OXDxpHtAhUpVhUIHZ6hBcEQMyg4egQIARBH..i&docid=gPijyR7EbU9RuM&w=612&h=612&itg=1&q=fire%20poi&ved=2ahUKEwiu3OXDxpHtAhUpVhUIHZ6hBcEQMyg4egQIARBH
  
• devil sticks.jpeg: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.toydirectory.com%2Fproduct.asp%3Fid%3D18216&psig=AOvVaw3MhyPStBxLtJmxaCgSQSRN&ust=1605979137837000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNCdkdzQke0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAb
  
• belfast.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10157632148316628&set=a.10157632141691628
  
• belfast uni.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10157632149311628&set=a.10157632141691628
  
• tralee stilts.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10157343049966628&set=a.10157343035126628
  
• tralee fire.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10157343074391628&set=a.10157343035126628
  
• tralee acro.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10157343048306628&set=a.10157343035126628
  
• dcf toss.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10156758213251628&set=a.10156758202936628
  
• dcf spinning.jpeg https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10156758214891628&set=a.10156758202936628
  
• dcf games.jpeg: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10156758214196628&set=a.10156758202936628

Acknowledgements • My inspiration for this project came from the UCD Juggling Society webpage my partner made a number of years ago as part of an optional module in college. If I had more time, I would improve the design and user experience on my own website so that maybe one day it could be used by college societies as a template for their own website, aimed towards students and budding members of the circus community. • Thanks go to my mentor Arnold Kyeza for his helpful technical knowledge. So far I have come out of every meeting with him armed with new, important knowledge and new goals for whatever I am working on.