About the Associated Blast

uring the incipient phases of Associated Films, the creator of the Associated Blast was looking for a means to expose and publicize the works of this budding independent film group. Working solely on his own, the Editor analyzed vectors such as flyers, word of mouth, music, and fireworks. But all these options would cost money that could be better used making films, and wouldn't necessarily reach the public in the uniform and adaptable format Associated Films required. The group needed a medium to display information with a visual display as exciting as the films themselves and for it to be current with each film release. The Editor looked to the world wide web to take advantage of the global scale of advertising it offered.
At first, the Blast was merely series of bulletins of e-mailed and forwarded to all the members of Associated Films and their friends. The members could respond to each e-mail, providing information from their own perspectives. Unfortunately, the information exchange was limited to those only on the group e-mail list. Though the exchanges were quick and accurate, advertising and publicity was still too limited. When it became apparent that a new method of presentating news was needed; the idea for an internet website was born.
Not professionally trained in internet page authoring, the Editor quickly taught himself the basics. In May of 2001, a crude but sufficient web page dedicated solely to the news and products of Associated Films was released to the public. At first, it was widely accepted. The first few days of the Blast were an enormous success. However, the site had minor problems during its initial launch, and many more as time progressed. For example, the site's crude graphics were difficult to load and design, making some links slow to view. For the Editor, the unrefined pages were difficult to update and thus made the task of adding current news and information too tedious and time consuming. Current articles were not getting to the readers fast enough to maintain their interest and the website visitation dwindled.

A year later the Editor fully dissected the website and discovered the many problems, both apparent and hidden, and learned how to resolve them. To help his refinements, the format of using a free website was dropped in favor of purchasing the domain name and upgrading the server's capabilities. The Editor learned more web verbiage and increased his internet flexing power. The Blast underwent a two month face lift and was re-released to the public again on September 27th, 2002. It had more features than before, a charming graphic interface, and the addition of a bulletin board system that would keep up the communication from not only between the Blast and its visitors, but also from the visitors to the Blast. Released just in time for the October 5th Second Annual Associated Films Show, the Blast viewer attendance was off the charts.
Though the 2nd version of the Associated Blast was good, it still had some drawbacks. Always looking for something to change or improve, the Editor began analyzing the graphical content of each page. He found the lack of uniformity to be unprofessional and less streamlined when compared to other websites of the same caliber. Starting in February of 2003, the Blast underwent new changes, almost as drastic as its first. Taking all the knowledge of what was learned in the past and combining it with new techniques and styles, the Editor streamlined the graphic interface, professionalized the entire website, and created a more accessable website that was quicker to update and offered more more detail about news, Associated Films cast and crew, and fun facts. This version (dare we say final?) was released in March of 2003.
Despite the many changes the Associated Blast has undergone, the website, despite any format it has ever taken, always represented two things: news and fun. Since its conceptual stages as a bulletin e-mail service, its articles have always been detailed and current, and have consistently been entertaining and informative. This is a natural reflection of the film group it follows. Only one website has proven this dedication to Associated Films. As we have in the past, we can always put our trust in to the Blast to be the best source of Associated Films news.
-AJA March 7th, 2003