A Mile Wide - Portfolio » Interactive Graphics

Bonner Bridge Interactive

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:50:11 +0000

About: The Bonner Bridge Interactive adds an important dimension to an investigative story about the cost of upkeep of a bridge that covers a span of open ocean near the Outer Banks of North Carolina. A 3-D rendering of the bridge features controls that allow users to understand how the shifting sands on the ocean floor undermine the stability of the bridge.

Specs: Our 3-D artist Tim Lee created a rendering of the bridge in Lightwave. I worked with him to export the render and create an opening animation. The rest of the project was built in Flash CS3 and Actionscript 2. It uses XML to pull in external data.

Roles: Multimedia Producer, Programmer

Big 4 in the NBA

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:58:32 +0000

About: Big 4 in the NBA helped fuel a popular debate on Tobacco Road – which of the four ACC schools produce the best pros. The interactive features statistics for all players from each program since 1981. The stats are completely customizable and presented in a variety of forms.

Specs: The project was built in Flash CS3 and Actionscript 2. Statistics are loaded through external XML files.

Awards: Not entered, but popular sports blog AOL Fanhouse said, “The iphone isn’t the most amazing invention that I’ve witnessed this past week. Baby talk! No it is this database the News-Observer’s Rob Roberts created that compares all players from Duke, North Carolina, NC State and Wake Forest … aka The Big Four … from 1981 to 2006 that have played in the NBA.”

Roles: Multimedia Producer, Programmer, Designer

Are You and Your Neighbors Fairly Taxed?

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:11:06 +0000

About: Are You and Your Neighbors Fairly Taxed was one of my first projects for the News & Observer. An interactive map allowed users to see how the difference between assessed and market values of homes had increased over time. Users could also calculate how their tax burden would shift when home values would reassessed.

Specs: The project was built in Flash 8 with Actionscript 2. It loaded external data to populate the interactive. The calculator was also repurposed as an in-line tool for the online story,

Roles: Multimedia Producer, Programmer, Designer

Building Gabby Mayo

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:29:38 +0000

About: Building Gabby Mayo accompanied a series of articles about local high school sprinter Gabby Mayo who was training to compete at a elite level. The interactive allowed the user to hear from a trainer and physician on how Mayo needs to develop her body to move to the next level.

Awards: NPPA 3rd Place (Multimedia), May 2007

Roles: Multimedia Producer, Programmer, Designer, Audio Editor

Raleigh Crime Map

rob — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:30:50 +0000

About: Raleigh Crime Map is a mashup that takes daily crime reports from the Raleigh Police Department and plots them in a Google Map interface. The map is available for browsing by the general public and is also configured to support news stories on the News & Observer site.

Specs: The project uses the Google Maps Javascript API. The database is stored in mySQL and PHP calls query the database to dynamically build and display the correct info on the map. The map also incorporates a shareware zooming tool that allows the user to draw a box around an area to search for results.

Roles: Multimedia Producer, Programmer