dScope School Module

The schools module is comprised of a large number of functions which, together, provide a comprehensive and flexible solution for organisations involved in schools and other forms of group photography. The functionality for working with schools and groups is driven from two main points.

The Schools and Groups menu provides access to all the tools that can be used with the Schools and Groups data. These tools cover a wide range of functions from setting up for a school to working with the data after the shoot is complete. The main item on the menu is the 'Create and Work With Groups' option which opens up the schools workflow. The workflow screen takes the operator through a series of steps starting with the setup prior to the capture and continuing through to printing statistics at the end of the shoot.

There are some simple design features within the schools and groups module that make the system easy to work with and highly functional: All data relating to a particular class is held within a single folder. This means that data can be very easily backed up, archived or moved from one machine to another. All the classes within a particular school are in turn held within a single school folder for the same reason. All the data relating to a particular shoot can therefore be backed up simply by copying that folder to your network or burning it to a CD/DVD. The shoot process does not rely on bar code readers. Discussions with a number of operators indicated that failures in bar code readers were the most common cause of problems during shoots. dScope has the ability to simply select students from a list which negates the need for bar code readers and to print and manage bar codes within the process. dScope can be connected to any camera which has the ability to download images to a PC so you do not need to purchase new cameras. The system can also be used with multiple cameras at the same time. This is important where you need to use different cameras and/or different settings to capture different individuals. dScope also allows you to shoot to card if this method is more suited to the environment and the requirements of the shoot. At the end of the shoot you can slot the memory card into the computer and dScope will simply treat the card as a camera. The images will be downloaded and made available to dScope in the order they were shot.

Using dScope Schools and Groups makes it possible to perform the proofing process at the time of the shoot. Normally the proofing process requires you to send group images and name lists back to the school and ask for those images and lists to be proofed by the teachers. Getting proof checked images back from the school can take many weeks and is the biggest individual issue that delays the delivery of products. By performing the proofing at the time of the shoot, dScope operators are able to reduce the time between the shoot and the delivery of product from five weeks down to a matter of days.

dScope can be used with as many shoot workstations as is required to get the job done, and during the shoot, any class or group can be directed to any workstation. dScope can converge all the data from all the workstations at the end of the shoot.

It would be irrational to try to describe every function of the Schools and Groups module here. Instead the following list of steps describes a average shoot using dScope. To see more details about any of these steps, click on the item in the list below.

• Design and Create Product Offerings
• Import Class Data
• Build Shoot Folder
• Capture Group Image
• Capture Individual Images
• Build Draft Group Images and Proof Onsite
• Review and Edit Data
• Review Images
• Adjust Images
• Build Group Images
• Build Composites
• Build Package Prints
• Submit For Printing
• Print Statistics
• Archive All Data
• Tools

Design and Create Product Offerings

dScope has two sorts of products that can be offered to the customers.

Packages can be designed and developed within dScope using the Package module. You can design any number of different package pages in the system and store each package page as a template. For more details about the packages and the Package module, click here.

Special Presentations cover the highly personalised product pages that are now being used more extensively in the market. These presentations include the student details in the product and usually have complex backgrounds and themes. Special Presentations are created as one off requirements by our team to match your design requirements.

For each school or group you photograph you can create up to five different package offerings and up to three different Special Presentation offerings. Each of these eight offerings can have up to three different pages in them. Depending on the requirements of the shoot, you can create a wide range of different offerings that cover all price points and all design types, or you can keep the offerings as simple as you like. Note that it is very important the the paper width used for all prints offered (including groups and composites) is the same, otherwise the printing process will involve a very large number of paper changes. The following two screens are used to define exactly what products you are going to offer to the customers. Using this screen you can define up to 5 package based offerings, each of which can have up to three different pages in them. The same page can be used in any number of offerings, and each offering is given a name and a price.

Once a series of pages have been selected and grouped into offerings, the whole product set can be saved as a template that can be reused at any time. This screen is used to perform a similar role with Special Presentations. You can choose a series of special presentations and group them into offerings. Again, a particular series of presentations and the way they are grouped into offerings can be saved as a template for reuse.

Import Class Data

If you have details of the classes/groups and the individuals within those groups, you can import all that information straight into dScope. The data is imported from CSV files. This format has been chosen because most schools data systems can export data to this format directly, or can export to another format which can be picked up by Excel and re-output in CSV.

If there is no data available prior to the shoot, you can still create class folders and capture individuals, entering the data for those individuals at the time of the shoot.

Build Shoot Folder

Once the data is in the CSV format and ordered correctly, you can create a full shoot structure from the data and be ready to start shooting immediately. When dScope creates a shoot structure, it does a lot more than simply creating class lists.

In addition to all the required class folders and the individual data, dScope creates a series of blank classes that can be used during the shoot to capture groups the school data might have been missing. It also creates a series of folders ready to capture other images such as teachers, friendship groups, sports groups or whatever else may come up during the shoot.

dScope also creates a full backup copy of all the classes and all the individual data. If there are major problems during a shoot, these backup files can be used to make sure the shoot continues without having to be reorganised.

During the build you can also import a teacher list if this was available. You also define which offerings you want to be available to the customers and dScope will include this in the shoot folder so that products can be selected for each individual simply by ticking a box.

Capture Group Image

It is generally impractical to capture group images directly to a PC. dScope allows group images to be shot to a memory card and then imported into the system. Importing the group image at the time of the shoot is not essential, but is a prerequisite if you want to perform the proofing process at the time of the shoot.

Capture Individual Images

There are many different factors that affect a shoot and these factors are not always predictable. To make the system as flexible as possible, dScope has three different capture modes, and you can jump between these modes at any time including in the middle of a shoot.

Fast Mode

Fast mode is designed for shoots were the main goal is speed. The focus is on capturing the images for each of the individuals and leaving any data and other details to be finalised back at the office after the shoot. Every time the the camera takes an image, that image is downloaded to the screen where the photographer can do an assessment. If the image is good they click a large Yes button and the image is stored with that individual's record and the data is immediately moved on to the next individual awaiting the next shot. If the image is not good enough, they click the No button and the image is discarded and the system waits for another image for the same individual. There is also a Maybe option the will store the image, but the system remains on the same individual and the photographer can try for a better image.

In fast mode there is only one image stored for each individual and this mode does not support on site proofing. In most cases this mode is used with one person at each workstation managing the camera and the computer.

General Mode In General Mode the focus is on getting a higher quality image and performing on site proofing. It differs from the fast mode in two major ways. Firstly you can take as many images of an individual as you choose and store store up to three of those images, which means you have backup images if problems are discovered later. Secondly the capture screen includes a 'zoomable' copy of the group image so that you can find the individual in the group image and enter their position details. Entering this data facilitates the production of a group image with the name list underneath it. This means that the proofing can be performed on site literally seconds after the last individual is shot.

Free Mode

Free mode is designed for situations where it is difficult to get good images and the photographer needs to focus fully on the subject rather than on the computer. This is often used when photographing very young children or special kids. It differs from General Mode in that you can store up to twenty images for each individual.

Common Issues In All Modes

There are a number of important things that are the same in all three modes that make the system easy and flexible to use while on site.

• You do not have to process an image before taking another image. You can take as many images as you wish before going to the computer and processing the taken images. Multiple images are 'banked' on the computer and when you do start processing those images they will come up for processing in the order they were shot.
• You can enter and edit all the data for a particular individual while using the capture screens. This includes entering the order information for that individual, fixing any spelling mistakes, adding new individuals and deleting individuals that may have left the group.
• A 'framing guide' can be superimposed over the incoming images to assure that all shots are consistently framed. The framing guide can be sized and positioned in any way and can be synchronised across a number of work stations.
• Although the system is designed to work most efficiently when the individual are shot in alphabetic order, the system is capable of shooting individuals in any order simply by selecting a name from a list.
• Any of the capture modes can be used with one camera, multiple cameras, any storage media or any other device that captures images.

Build Draft Group Images and Proof Onsite

If the capture was performed in General or Free mode, and group position data has been entered, a draft copy of the group image can be created immediately after the last data is entered. There are many settings available, but generally the page size only is required at this stage to create a group image and name list. This can then be displayed at full screen size, or printed on a basic printer for proofing by the teacher.

Review and Edit Data

If you have not entered all the data during the shoot, or there is a requirement to edit some data after the shoot, the Review and Edit data screen presents all the information in a spread sheet format. New data can be added and existing data changed in any or all of the records using this screen without having to cycle through all the records in the capture or image review screens.

Review Images

The image review screen allows you to look through each record in the database and view all the images captured in each record. The default image is shown at a large size, and this is he image that will be used in all package products. If you have captured multiple images for individuals you can preview all those available and change which one will be the default. You can also use this screen if you ever need to reprint packages or presentations for a single individual independently.

Adjust Images

One of the hardest tasks in School and Group photography is getting the images consistent in both framing and colour. If you are creating composites for the group, the consistency of the images becomes even more important as one inconsistent image will be very obvious when placed on a page with twenty consistent ones. This screen allows you to see all the default images and adjust them either individually or in groups.

Build Group Images

The same screen that was previously used to create a draft group image for proofing can also be used to create a final version of the group image for printing. There are a wide range of settings that can be used to get the required result and you can make many adjustments while reviewing the result until you get exactly what you want. You can play with backgrounds, page sizes, all fonts, font sizes and colours, either text or image headings, school emblems and extra pieces of text.

Build Composites

One area where there are a very large number of options is in the production of composite images. Within dScope there is a full screen full of options you can set for composites. You can repeatedly make settings changes and then review the result until you get exactly the image that is required. The system will build multiple page composites, keep teachers and coaches in separate lines, adjust the positioning to balance pages and place highlight lines and drop shadows on images.

The will also build 'Rotating Composites'. These have a different version of the composite for every individual in which their image is highlighted.

Build Package Prints

All the order details are contained in the database, so the process of building all the required package pages is as simple as clicking a single button.

Submit For Printing

The system is then ready to submit the class/group for printing. On most print devices, dScope can take total control of the order that the prints are produced from the printer. This is very important as it will assure that all the prints required for a given customer, including packages, presentations, composites and groups, will be printed together. This completely removes the usually time consuming job of collating the products. To help with any collation that does become necessary, every print is back printed (where that capability is available) with the customer name, school, class and order details.

Print Statistics

After all the reprints are created, packaged and delivered you can get a statistics page for the class/group showing the revenue and average take up levels.

Archive All Data

The whole shoot can be backed up to any form of digital media simply by copying the whole folder. If there are any reprints required, or you need to look a any of the data from the shoot at a later date, the folder can be copied to any computer and reopened in dScope.

Tools

There are a large number of tools built into the Schools and Groups module to perform some of the less common, but very time consuming tasks that can arise. The following list includes some of those tools.

• Creating composite images including all the individuals from multiple groups or classes.
• Clearing all empty classes form a shoot
• Export all the default images from a school to files named with the individuals's name.
• Export all the default images from a school to files named with the student ID's.
• Merge Classes or Groups.
• Split Existing Classes or Groups.
• Export all class data into a CSV file.
• Build all packages across a complete school.
• Delete all packages from a complete school shoot to save space when archiving.
• Delete all composite images from a complete school shoot to save space when archiving.
• Change the case of all individual names throughout a whole school shoot.
• Update information in an existing shoot with data from a CSV file.

The list of tools is continually growing as customers come up with ways to save time in performing the required activities.