(Rated by 8 people, viewed by 312 people)
Straight From School has 8 Reviews
Below are the reviews left by other members on Straight From School. Jump to review form?
lolitsronald gave it
on 31st Jan 2010 and said:i love your layout! the colors amaze me, you got talent. i love how your site is nice, organized, and simple. thats what catches my eyes the most. your articles are amazing, and it'll help me someday when i want to become that one actor. your site is an insperation to anyone that wants to become a successful actor/ actress in the future. its cool how you started around 2006 at first. that shows you have alot of experience on a web site. your visitors should use your advise. my first impression was "wow. this is amazing, maybe someday ill use this whenever im planning my future.
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Greykitty gave it
on 11th Feb 2009 and said:Layout
It's very simple but it works well. Everything is easy to find and navigate through. Your font is a good size, I would watch the padding on your inline photos though, the text bumps right into the edges of most of these.
You do have a rather large space between the site title and the right side of the layout. I would suggest adding something in there. Maybe come up with a nice little logo, acting faces mixed with something school-like. Maybe pens and pencils a calculator then something like a film reel or one of those scene sign clackers... I don't know what you call them. http://www.mooncostumes.com/img/byid/thumb/8236 One of those. lol!
I think I would also put other there that I think your layout would look a lot nicer if you added a spiffy font to your title, make it a gif or png maybe.
I would remove the log in to your site. As someone has once told me it's a bit of a security risk and there really is no need for it to be in your navigation. I would also remove affiliates from the navigation and just keep them on a separate page. You want people to stay on your site, not leave too soon.
Content
I'm usually not real big on celebrity sites, just cause it doesn't really interest me but this one is different. I have not seen a site like this before, with tips for young and budding actresses or information on the ones who have made it sucessfully into the business after being completely unkown before. I like the idea of it, and I think anyone who's fresh to acting would find it inspiring.Your blog entries are intersting, and you update OFTEN so nothing really to say there. It all looks pretty good to me.
Your about page is good, there's enough info there on both you and the site.Actress profiles was very good, you had enough information on all them but not too much so that it keeps the visitor interested and I like that you link to sites with more info on each person.
The very last link on that page, Fansites Page, only works when I hover over the word Page, if I hover over the other the link doesn't show as a link, might look into that, yeah it's a bit nit picky. :PCasting Guide, I have never seen something like this before on a site, so that is very unique. You have a strange character before 'A casting call...' It shows up as a questionmark with a grey square around it for me.
Your articles on this page are very good and broken up nicely. I also like how you are listing up and coming films that may be looking for young actors/actresses.
You have one small typo in 'actors in theentertainment businness' need a space. Yeah wow I am being nitpicky today. XD
I have to say this section is very well put together. I really don't have any suggestions here.Media section is pretty good, nice that you have some movie clips and you have lots of articles to look through. The Fansite Lists, it's short, but I know this site is still growing so not much to say there other than maybe go run around the net a bit more looking for some people who might want their sites listed.
The site section is pretty much standard. I haven't seen SOTM awards in ages, so it's kind of nice to see this again. And your contact for is standard, it's nice that you have one. Possibly add an actual address to the page though just in case the form wouldn't work.
Overall
You have a very nice site and I find it pretty original. It's a good resource for newbie actors as well. I think you could add a bit more spice to your layout though, your content is great though. Just keep adding to it!Using Firefox on Windows | Report This?
Olivia's Response:
Thank you for a lovely review :) And thank you for pointing out those glitches - nitpicky is the only way to go! :P
I agree, the layout needs more spice, as I'm still learning the ropes to Wordpress. Thank you again for your advice!
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inadream gave it
on 22nd Jan 2009 and said:FIRST IMPRESSION
I like your layout -- it's simple and the colors are pleasant to my eyes. I'm not sure if I like the wood background, but I definitely don't hate it. I really like the pink and coral/orange colors you used.Your navigation is easy to find, but I would suggest making the links change colors as you hover over them. Everything is organized and orderly and simple. Good enough for me!
ABOUT US
I really like that you explain how this website is different than just being a multi-fansite. You made me want to read more because of this and to see if there really is a difference. I also like the set up of the page and the descriptions of the staff.ACTRESS PROFILES
I'm not really up-to-date on anything that your site deals, with, but thank you for giving information about it. I really like that your site focuses on those people who came from a background that didn't have any acting involved but they blossomed and made something of themselves.I read a few of the profiles and I think they are pretty good. I like that there is a mixture of bullet points and paragraphs because it adds variety and it's pleasing to the eye.
CASTING GUIDE
Thanks for the definitions since I do not know what these things are. This page has so much information and is really helpful. I really like all the links to other places you give so it's that much easier for someone to start looking around and doing their own research. I found this page and all the subpages to be very well organized and full of helpful information.MEDIA
This is also a great helpful section full of different types of media for everyone to enjoy. I think it's really a good idea to include videos and articles because some people would rather read the information while others may want to hear the information. I like the amount of variety you've included.DOMAIN
I skipped over The Faniste Lists because it's under construction. This section is also very organized like the rest of your site. Looking at your past layouts, I'm really glad I'm seeing your site the way it is now because it looks a lot more professional and classy than some of the previous layouts (which is not meant to be an insult). This is a good vibe for your layout because your pages and writing is also on a professional level. Overall, this is a great section with everything anyone could ever want to know about your site. Good job!LAST IMPRESSION
I think your website is very polished and has a ton of information. It seems like it would be very useful for someone wanting to get into the acting business and it also shows that it is possible to not have any professional experience and still be a top actor/actress. I think you've done a really good job organizing the pages and everything is really nice to look at and read. I would say I will visit again, but I'm not really interested in that sort of thing. However, if I did have an interest in acting, I would definitely add your site to my list of favorites. Good job!Using Firefox on Windows | Report This?
Olivia's Response:
Thank you very much for your review, Sarah! I was hoping you'd review me because I love your writing style.
Tehe, I liked your comment on the past layouts - I quite agree :)
Thank you again!Julie gave it
on 17th Nov 2008 and said:First impressions
Nice header image. I like how it nicely flows towards the title, yet the title isn't the only thing you see. It's also nice that you have managed to make a site about actresses with a nice layout that doesn't use copyrighted celebrity images. ;)Scrolling down, though, I find there's a bit too much white. I have a rather bright monitor, so, while the background is a different color, it's still rather pale. It's like a big white attack.
Layout a bit more in depth
Things are clearly arranged, nothing revolutionary, and no hunt for the navigation.I see you use rollovers for your navigation. This is a nice touch, but placing the second row horizontally looks a bit odd. When I move my mouse to access a sub-page, I tend to move my mouse horizontally first, causing the menu to disappear.
One thing I would change is your headers (the titles of sections in the sidebar and of posts). I think it would look better if they were a bigger font. Right now, the author of each posts stands out more because its bright color makes it more visible than the title of posts.
Not layout related, but in the sidebar, there's a typo in the "Please Note" section. "apoligies" should be "apologies".
Content - About: About Us
Nothing special here. Knowing more about the topic of your site, I think it's a nice idea.Content - About: Contact Us
In the first sentence, I think a colon (:) would make more sense than a semi-colon (;).In the contact form, I think that at least the Website input and the Comments textarea should be a bit larger. Even a relatively short URL doesn't fit, and it's always nice to have plenty of space when writing down comments. Of course, it's a textarea, so a scrollbar will appear, but people are likely to want to proof-read their comments, which is difficult to do with such a small space.
Wanting to check what type of form you were using, I looked at your source code and saw that the form was set to action="form.php", but form.php doesn't exist?
Content - About: The Site Staff
In the section about Olivia (which I take it is you, as you are the one who submitted the site), "from pre-production, script-writing and editing" lacks a "to" somewhere. It should be "from pre-production and script-writing to editing".Content - About: Credits
This obviously consists of links to external websites, with one exception however, the link to "All Listed Fansites". As it is listed among external sites, I was expecting it to be one too. Maybe add a little something to make it clear? Something like little arrows or the » ... thing (That's »).The link to "Unwritten Design" is broken, looks like the site doesn't exist anymore. Same for TehLove. I assume that sites that are mentioned but not linked, like The Magic Box, are also sites that have shut down?
Content - About: Disclaimer
As you might have noticed by browsing around, most members of rev.iew.me aren't much into using celebrity images. I will comment more once I reach sections that might be concerned by this (I am really typing this as I browse your site, I haven't even gotten to other sections yet...).
Content - Profiles
Cinderella should be spelled with a capital C, since it's the name of a person (well, a fictional person, but it is still a (nick)name). I'm also quite sure that the abbreviation 'TV' should always be written in uppercase.In the second paragraph, where you speak of Daniel Radcliffe's mother, "have some strong influence" should be "had some strong influence", since it happened in the past. I doubt he needs her influence to get a role in a movie by now. ;)
While most visitors will probably be recognizing the actresses by their face, and even more so by seeing their first name, I think it would be good to add their name in the title attribute so that, when people hover over their image, they can see the full name of the actress. (e.g., in your image tag, add title="Emma Watson").
Content - Profiles: Dakota Blue Richards
It is recommended to avoid linking words such as "here" or "click here", as they are pretty generic words. For example, the sentence "A fascinating report on the queues can be found here" could be reworded as "A fascinating report on the queues can be found on the CBBC news website", and you can link "a fascinating report on the queues".Speaking of which, you use the word "queue", or variations (queuing, etc.) thereof three times in the same paragraph. Perhaps a different word, or a slightly different wording, could make it look less awkward.
Content - Profiles: Emma Watson
Woah, that's a lot of siblings and half/step/part/slightly-siblings!Everyone recognizes Emma as the classic bookworm who befriends Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, in the Harry Potter films.
The way you placed Hermione Granger, it's like Emma plays the one who befriends both Harry and Hermione. Maybe you could place the name earlier, like "as Hermione Granger, the classic...".
In "So how did she get the role", "who had be aged" should be "who had to be aged". You end the section with "why not visit our Harry Potter Casting History.". Since it's a question, it should have a question mark at the end.
Content - Profiles : Georgie Henley
You mention that she "has signed up" for future Narnia films, but hasn't Prince Caspian already been released? (Yes, I am that clueless).Content - Profiles: Katie Leung
only appeared in the screenplay until the fourth film
This should be "didn't appear...".
The link to the Harry Potter castings timeline doesn't work.
Under What's Next, when you speak of her future appearance in Poirot, you say "since it's first broadcast". It should be "its". By the way, the episode seems to have aired in September, so you might want to update this section.
Content - Profiles: Lucy Boynton
In her Claim To Fame section, "staring " should be "starring".When talking about Sense and Sensibility, you show pictures of Lucy. One image shows on the right, while the text referring to the picture says "Left".
In Other Facts, "Lucy was found" should be "Lucy has found".
Content - Profiles: Rachel Hurd-Wood
! I was quite surprised to learn that, up to the 2003 film, the role of Peter Pan himself had always been acted by a girl in live-action films! :oPerfume: Story of Murderer should be Perfume: The Story of a Murder.
Content - Fansites: Dakota Blue Richards
"Simple Daktoa Blue" should be "Simply Dakota Blue".
The link to her fanlisting is broken.Content - Fansites: Emma Watson
Whenever I see a site that doesn't mention her first name in its title (e.g. "Only Watson"), I can't help but think about the Sherlock Holmes character."Emma Touch" is broken.
With the question mark after the language, I assume you're not sure if Miss-Watson.Webz.Cz and Emma Watson's World are in Czech. It seems to be the case (.cz is for Czech websites, and the other site mentions it in the header image).
"Brazil" should be changed to Portuguese, since it's the language spoken in that country.
.hu is Hungarian, so you must be right about that site too.
Content - Fansites: Evanna Lynch
The Dutch website is broken, same for Evanna Love.Just Evanna (the French site) has moved.
Under fanlistings, Dreamer is a broken link.
Content - Fansites: Georgie Henley
I just noticed that the top site link is written as "We reccomend", which should be "We recommend". The same appears on every fansite page.You can find the updated fanlisting on http://fan.deep-magic.org/georgie/.
Content - Fansites: Lucy Boynton
"If you have a fansite for Dakota Blue Richards". I assume you have copied and pasted, but forgotten to change the name.Content - Casting: Open Castings
"Why not browse our Casting Guide or look at our history of Past Castings." Once again, this is a question and should end with a quotation mark.Content - Casting: The Open Casting Guide
Under "No Agent required", you again wrote "reccomended" instead of "recommended".Content - Casting: British Casting Directors You Should Know
In the part about Fiona Weir, you mention the Harry Potter castings, with a link to a page. The page doesn't exist.Content - Casting History: Harry Potter Castings
Ah, there it is! (I mentioned the link to this page was broken on a few pages before, but it works in the navigation).You mention the search for the actresses who would portray the "Patel" twins, but they are the "Patil" twins (unless the IMDB has it wrong!).
Content - Casting History: Casting Archives
One month later the Skins casting team opens it's doors again
The "it's" should be "its".
Content - Reviews: Movies
"ingrediants" should be "ingredients".Content - Reviews: Websites
While I understand you have an interest in reviews (hey! you did join rev.iew.me, after all), I wonder whether these really belong on the site. Everything else is about actresses, movies and casting, and suddenly, wham! A review for a non-related website. It seems a bit out of place.Content - Media: Photos
I see the link is only a "#" and, naturally, nothing happens when I click on it.Content - Domain
I have to agree with Aisling here. While it makes your navigation easier, hehe, I don't see the need to have both "About" and "Domain".Content - Domain: Affilation
I must admit I don't quite get the difference between your plain 'Affiliates' and your 'Top Affiliates'."Hiatus's". What is the plural of hiatus? Either way, I'm sure it's not "hiatus's" (which shouldn't have a capital H). *looks up* The plural is either just 'hiatus', unchanged, or 'hiatuses'.
Content - Domain: History
We are currently Olivia had previously owned a fan site for British actress Rachel Hurd-wood,
I think you forgot to finish the previous sentence before starting a new one.
Content: Overall Opinion
Well, first of all, there was a lot to view there. This could have been bad but, in this particular case, it was a good thing. You have accumulated a good amount of information and do not fall into the common fansite cliches.I certainly have no interest in becoming an actress, but I'm sure some of your advice could be useful to aspiring teenagers.
A Few Notes
While looking and reading through your pages, there are a few things I noticed, but I didn't put them on individual content pages, as they apply to multiple areas.First, you seem to enjoy putting capital letters to certain words, particularly those in relation to the entertainment industry (such as casting director). This annoyed me a bit. Personally, I'll put capital letters to such things when I want to mock a position, which I'm sure is not your message here. ;)
Second, your texts tend to have a lot of both internal and external links. There is no problem with this in itself. Referring to other sectons of your site is a good practice, and linking to other sites instead of copying their content is also good. However, it's sometimes hard to keep track of where I'll be going if I do click those links. It could be good to clearly identify external links as such, so that people know what to expect. You can see a tutorial here: http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/external/
Third, the color of bold and italic text. Here and there, it wouldn't really matter. But, right now, you have tons of text (thanks to your quotes) that is styled either way (that is, bold or italic), and is a different color, mostly red. It can be a bit aggressive on my poor eyes. If you really want to make it a different color, I recommend using a color that is only slightly different from your main text color.
Coding
<img src="header.gif" width="749" height="300" border="0" alt="header image">This is a decorative image, so the alt text should be empty. Even better, it could be set as a background.
I see that, in your updates, you align your paragraphs to the left. Didn't you set it in your stylesheet? Mmm, we'll check it out later...Setting it inside the p tag means that a) any change needs you to go through every single one to change it and b) anytime you forget to put it, you can end up with weird stuff. Right at the first paragraph (in your updates, the one where you mention rev.iew.me), the first paragraph has algin=left" instead of align="left".
*shivers* target="_blank". I hate when new windows are forced upon me, and I'm not the only one.
Mm, weird. I just noticed that, in the link tag for your stylesheet, you got "class="nav". A link tag shouldn't have a class attribute.
It seems a bit weird to have the same styling for both h2 and h3. It defeats the purpose of having both in the first place! (Well, not really, but to the majority of your users, i.e. those with CSS-supporting browsers, it does)
It is highly recommended to use relative sizes (like percentages) for your font size.
a:link, a:active, a:visited { color: #003399; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; border: 0px;text-transform: none;letter-spacing: 0px;}That can easily be shortened. font-weight:normal can be removed as it's the default value, same for border:0px and text-transform:none. I do believe the default value for letter-spacing is 0 too. Either way, I'm not much into changing letter spacing (except maybe to make it larger in headers), as it can make the text harder to read. It doesn't seem to be the case with your links, though.
You use a blockquote class (.blockquote), yet there exists a blockquote tag.
In your stylesheet, never forget to specify a generic font family.
Summary
Oof! That was lengthy.My overall feelings towards your site are not negative at all. While I pointed out errors, they were never major mistakes that would put off visitors. You are clearly doing a good job and enjoying what you do.
I like your approach to fandom. You speak about celebrities and the entertainment business in a very down-to-earth manner, which is admirable.
That said, I wish you both luck in continuing your website. I believe you are on a very good path, so don't stray off!
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Olivia's Response:
Thank you so much for such a detailed review! I'm very glad you've pointed out all the errors I've simply been too lazy to fix. You've been very helpful so thank you :) I'm definately having a revamp reffering to this review!
classof2012 gave it
on 15th Nov 2008 and said:Wow I love your layout!
It's very creative!You update quite frequently, which I like but also I noticed you have a tagboard. I don't mind tagboards, but for some reason, I don't like them because it makes them look unprofessional. Visitors can just email you and comment on updates. That's my opinion, you can keep the tagboard if you want.
I love the content!! It's amazing!! I would definitely look at your site again and again!
Go back through and check the spelling again.
I think recommend has one c :)
Maybe update on the graphics section.I really like what the site is about. I have never seen a site like that! Great work!
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Olivia's Response:
Hehe, thank you very much! 5 stars = wow!
Ah yes, recommend does only have one c. Oops...
Thank you!MelissaSue24 gave it
on 11th Nov 2008 and said:What a wonderful concept for your site! While I agree that's not necessarily a layout that grabs your attention -- a layout only captures you once -- content keeps you coming back.
I like the idea of a fansite listing -- and making sure your visitors knows all the options.
The sidebar on your site -- this may just be me, but I think you might do better to align text in some of the columns to the left. I always find that aligning it to the center when the titles are uneven looks a little jumbled, but really that might be something unique tome.
Photos under media is a broken link, which you probably already know. You should link it as "#" instead of the actual text link until you have it up.
It's a good start!
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Olivia's Response:
Yes, you're quite right about central allignment - I've been meaning to change that for a while. Thank you for your review!
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Louise.gif)
Louise gave it
on 10th Nov 2008 and said:What a unique idea for a site. ^^ (What's with all these people saying "I have no ideas for my site"?) I'm sure there are many who want to know how these actors got to where they are.
Design: Your header image is pretty cool. Who made it? Your overall design is clear and easy to read and navigate. I'm not too fond of pop-out menus, but your one doesn't disappear or move around at unexpected times, so that's cool. :) (I hate it when people choose to use them because they look good, but don't care that they don't work properly.)
Some of your pages (one of them being Casting Experiences) have center-aligned text. I don't know if that's intentional or not, but it would be good to see all pages left-aligned for readability and consistency.
Your side bar is a bit long. Perhaps make the shoutbox a bit shorter?
Anyway, good job overall. :)
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Olivia's Response:
Thank you - my co-web designed the header, but admittedly both of us aren't to experienced when it comes to design. I'm glad you pointed out the alignment problem! It is all supposed to be left-aligned, and I've just been too lazy to do something about it :)
Thank you for the review :)![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Aisling.jpg)
Aisling gave it
on 10th Nov 2008 and said:This site has a very interesting topic! I am excited to look through it since I am quite the film nerd-- I took broadcasting in high school and have done a bit of extra work. :)
First off, your layout isn't anything special. It's alright, but not great, and not entirely memorable. Your audience would be creative-types, right? Actors, singers, dancers, etc. Obviously, the creative mind is one that needs a lot of stimulation. You need to be able to hold its attention. This layout does not do that.
First is the image, which is okay, but kind of random. We have some swirly shapes, and a camera. Personally, I think you need to go for something more striking and abstract. This header image seems a bit too cliche. The script is also jagged and unattractive. I would go for something a little more bold and impressive. The main background colour and the main body area have no contrast between each other. Contrast is your friend! Right now it all blends in to create a washed out effect. Which is not what you want. You want to be BOLD and GRAB ATTENTION.
I do find the navigation to be fun!
The actual content of your site is well-spaced. I would make the sidebar text a little bit different from the main text, though, to separate the two a bit more. Your link colour is dangerously close to that of the icky default blue link colour that reminds me of 1997.
I would also darken your headings a little bit.
On to the pages in your site, your About Us page is well written and explains the aim of the site well. Your FAQs section does not exist--- so DO NOT link to it. It is a waste of your visitor's time to click a link that has only a blurb about how it's not there! Your Contact form needs to be WAYYYY wider. Right now the actual box to write in is about 100x75px. Eek. Your Staff Page is nice and organized. I don't understand why your History page is always just randomly linked to. Honestly, I think you should just attach it to the bottom of your About Us page.
The Profiles on the actresses you feature are very cute and interesting. I, personally, ADORE Emma Watson, and I ran and worked with many fan sites devoted to her from 2001 until 2003. :D I don't think you need to have a separate page for listing their fansites all over the web though. What I would suggest would be, on each of their profile pages, have a mini menu up top. Then, using anchors, link to each separate section, and include the links list at the bottom. It would be much more organized that way.
Your Casting section is well written, and probably about as informative as two teenagers without very much experience in the industry could give. The Media section is also nicely organized and is an interesting resource. I must remind you, though, with your upcoming "Graphics," section, that the use of copyrighted images (such as ones of celebrities) in your work IS illegal.
And, Domain. Honestly, all of this can go into your About Us section. Since this is not a personal site, and is a resource, all information pertaining to the site can be in one area!
Overall, I am impressed with the way you have built up your content on such a unique topic. As I mentioned, I would like to see the effort in your design match this, and be a bit more striking and interesting. Grab your viewers' attention, please, and try to step out of the box, so to speak!
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Olivia's Response:
Thanks so much :) Your suggestions are spot on, I agree with all of them.
Ahah, yes, I'm very much aware of the celebrity graphics issue, and was never intending to incorporate them!
Thanks again for your review :)
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