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from the desk of kate pavlovs
a new/old editor
Many of you reading this will have worked with me PML (Pre-Maternity-Leave). As the lolly bags and birthday cake were distributed at the end of my youngest daughter's recent 1st birthday party, I realised it was time to get out of my jeans and into a suit - starting with Mondays and Fridays. As one of the founding partners of deadline, my involvement in the early years was huge and I worked closely with many of you reading this. It's been so exciting for me to come back now and see such creative, varied, and feature-packed projects coming out of the studio. My new role will be to lead deadline's marketing, HR and operations teams. I look forward to meeting some of you for the first time, and also catching-up with older deadline friends over the coming months. It's good to be back, and thanks to Sean for running everything so well and letting me take control of the editors keyboard.
it's cold outside
It's been very cold of late but inside the deadline office it's been toasty warm, thanks to the man who fixed our air-conditioner. Working steadily on a number of exciting projects has also kept the shivering down. One exciting initiative is an educational seminar we are organising for Spring entitled 'put some spring in your web strategy'. Invites will go out in the coming weeks so stay tuned....  window signs
We get a lot of foot traffic down Chesser Street. To capitalise on this and (hopefully) give all those lawyers and bankers something interesting to look at, we have introduced some window signage. This will change regularly so try to get in and see who or what is looking at you from within our office. We have some fun things planned..., on the right is a sneak peek at what is currently hanging in the window > darwin campaign
As you probably know, we have recently acquired a few clients in Darwin, and are currently working on a marketing campaign focussed on the region. Part of this involves advertising in the 'NT Business Review' which is a business lift-out of the main daily newspaper, 'Northern Territory News'. There is a glimpse of our 'big fish' ad below or you can download a pdf.
If you know of anyone up in the NT who needs help with their website or print materials, be sure to drop us a line. Sean will be available for meetings in Darwin from Monday September 1 - Thursday September 4.
 recently completed projects
You can link directly to the new website by clicking on the homepage images below. For more information about what deadline did for each project, click on the relevant text link.
Australia India Business Council | website development  view site
Two Hands Wines | website development view site
Trims | website development view site projects in progress
Angas Securities | 56-page printed prospectus for new product offering
Desert Eco Systems | planning session held and beginning website development
Complete Fire Solutions | planning session held, interface designs selected and beginning website programming
Surgical and Medical Supplies | planning session held and beginning website development
Rollout Grass | online product catalogue with secure credit card payment gateway
Boileau Business Solutions | website planning session held
Arthritis SA | website planning session held
staff news
new staff welcomes
a big warm welcome (difficult at this time of year) to Timothy Heldna and Vanessa Delbridge.
 Timothy HeldnaPosition Junior web developer Role Website development, database design, technical support and systems administration. Comments Timothy holds a diploma in IT in software development. Tim has knowledge and experience with Visual Basic, Java, C++ SQL and HTML. Tim also has interests in game dev.
 Vanessa DelbridgePosition Senior Graphic Designer Role Graphic & website design Comments Vanessa creates print based design for Deadline's clients and sharpens her website design skills on a variety of projects. She comes from a varied background in multimedia, graphic design and lecturing. Vanessa is creative in all areas of her life and brings an enthusiastic approach to her role at Deadline.
career advice
Website programmer, Ketut, recently spoke to TAFE students about moving beyond the classroom and into the workforce as part of an AIMIA seminar. Congratulations Ketut for taking on what is apparently ranked more fearful in life BEFORE death and that is, public speaking. By all accounts, he did a great job and the students and guests enjoyed the variety of “real” stories from each of the presenters and the advice which was given to the young people considering their future.
opinion piece
 “3D Applications and their role in our Lives” by Tim Heldna
It seems that whether we realise it or not, we are becoming dependent on 3D applications and are discovering more uses for them. Would you like to be flying on a plane that has a pilot who has only had flight instructions from a manual? These days a simulator is so realistic it counts to a pilots flight time. How many movies do you watch these days that use a blue screen for a scene or effects to be added in after? Advertising, entertainment, simulation..., the list goes on and its potential uses will continue to grow.
My background using 3D applications is centred on the independent gaming community. It has been my hobby for about 7 years now. This field encompasses the following main areas: Concept design, programming, 3D modelling/texture (which includes creating characters and scenes, animators, 2D and concept artists) and research. The process of developing involves the use of various 3D/2D programs, Game Engines (such as 3DS Max), Photoshop, Visual C++, and an enormous amount of time and patience!
I want to turn your focus to the gaming industry, in particular, a game called “America’s Army: Special Forces” or simply AA.
 This 3D application is an initiative of the US Government and is used to generate interest in the US Army and help boost recruitment by reaching potential recruits in their homes. It teaches civilians about the army through watching videos, completing tests, studying the weapons, using teamwork and ultimately scoring points. It is also used by the government as a Marine tactical training tool. The game is free to download (http://www.americasarmy.com/), has seen over 20 releases, and has no sign of slowing down. The game has been criticised for the violence that it portrays and can be seen as glorifying war.
What is the result of this campaign? ‘At the US Military Academy 19 percent of 2003's freshman class stated they had played the game. Enlistment quotas were met in the two years directly following the game's release.’ – Wikipedia. Did this application directly have anything to do with Americas Army?
Sean has asked me to develop a 3D world using the C4 game engine to model the deadline office which when finished, will be available for download from the deadline website. Once again, this demonstrates the usefulness of using 3D. We will effectively be able to create a sense of walking through the deadline office, without actually being there. We will also be able to experiment with layout changes in this virtual 3D world without spending larger amounts of money upfront. What applications could your company/organisation have for this sort of technology?
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