Luke DeWitt

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Comedy Central White Label Video Widgets
Project Name: Comedy Central White Label Video Widgets
Company: TeamSpace Canada / Comedy Central
Project Duration: September 2009
Technologies Used: Flex, ActionScript3, XML
Project Description: The Comedy Central White Label Video Widget is a project built for Comedy Central to allow their viewers to put videos of their favorite Comedy Central shows on their blogs, homepages, and social networking profiles.

The project currently has two implementations, each built for a couple of the most popular shows on Comedy Central. "The Colbert Report in :60 Seconds" allows members of Colbert Nation to catch up on what they might have missed the night before, and nights before that in a shortened, but no less funny, version of the show. Likewise, "The Daily Show in :60 Seconds" acts in the same manner for Jon Stewart's show.

The widget is controlled via the Comedy Central CMS, allowing the producers to create and modify content in an environment which they are familiar and comfortable with. The CMS allows producers to specify any of the colors, images, sponsors, and even whether or not it should implement an age gate if the sponsor of the widget is deemed as something not suitable for those not the age of majority.

*Note: widget design was done by Comedy Central, I was the developer.
That's So Weird TV - Games
Project Name: That's So Weird TV - Games
Company: TeamSpace Canada / Halifax Film / YTV
Project Duration: January 2009 - May 2009
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript 3
Project Description: The main portion of working with Halifax Film for me was the building of some simple, casual games aimed at the same age group that the "That's So Weird" TV show was aimed at ('Tweens').

The games were designed by someone at Halifax Film, and the art and animations were also done by Halifax Film workers. It was my job to build and implement the games. The nice thing was that I did have a say in how some of the games should be built and how the should play, and while a lot of my ideas weren't used, a lot of them also were!

I built 5 of the final 7 games we used, and also did a bit of cleaning up on the other 2 games.

The first game "Udder Insanity", is a twist on the classic "Whack-A-Mole" game. Of course, here instead of hitting moles with a giant hammer, you're answering phones as a receptionist who just happens to be a cow.

The next game I built, "Monkey Business", was the classic flash game where items drop from the ceiling and you have to catch them. Here though, you control a monkey that catches the object.

Up next was my favorite of the games. "Polar Prima Donnas", is a fun game that is completely original. Two polar bears are battling over screen time. You're the camera operator, scoring points by having the light and camera over the talking bear at the same time.

"Broadcast Gerbillism" was the best learning experience for me. I built a tile based engine with working gravity where gerbils ran through a "maze" like system. Also, my favorite (if not best) idea that I came up with is in this game, where the gerbils "die", they become ghosts, fully loaded with halos, angel wings and a harp.

Finally, "Cut the Cheese" is a Tetris-like puzzle game that is very tough to explain, but can be pretty entertaining once you get the hang of it.
That's So Weird TV - Video Players
Project Name: That's So Weird TV - Video Players
Company: TeamSpace Canada / Halifax Film / YTV
Project Duration: January 2009
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript 3, XML, PHP
Project Description: In early 2009, I was contracted out to Halifax Film by theRedSpace to work on a project for a new show for YTV, premiering in the second half of the year.

"That's So Weird" is a sketch comedy show for the "tween" crowd. The first of my assignments with this team was to build some video players that would stream the show's content from Akamai.

We used a custom implementation of the Open Video Player to play the videos how we wanted. All in all, it was a pretty simple process, but I really like the way the players ended up looking (especially the prize player, for which there is an image coming soon...)
The Mighty Jungle
Project Name: The Mighty Jungle
Company: TeamSpace Canada / Halifax Film
Project Duration: May 2009
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript 3, XML
Project Description: TeamSpace was contacted by Halifax Film to finish a few different applications for the Mighty Jungle website. Although I didn't play a huge role in the original development of these applications, I did have the task of performing some upgrades and making some functionality changes for the producers of the website after they had been completed as I was on a contract with Halifax film through TeamSpace at the time. I had to put these on my portfolio because they turned out great and I think the characters are just awesome.

The applications include a coloring game, a match game (not done by TeamSpace, fixed up to work properly by me), a story builder and a dress up game. They look and work great and although they are meant for preschoolers, I absolutely loved testing them out to and I think they can bring the kid out in anyone!

*Note: I did not design the applications, I was on the project as a developer.
VH1 Mobile Hub
Project Name: VH1 Mobile Hub
Company: TeamSpace Canada / VH1
Project Duration: Late 2008, Early 2009
Technologies Used: JHTML, HTML, CSS, XSLT, XML, Flash, Javascript, AJAX, JQuery
Project Description: An exciting new look to an old staple, the VH1 Mobile Hub is the home for VH1's mobile presence on the web.

The main function of the site is to allow users to find content they want on their mobile device and have that content sent directly to their phone. This content includes mobile videos (including music videos and original content for mobile devices only), games and apps for both normal devices, as well as games and apps for the iPhone. Also included is the ability to sign up for mobile alerts, and download ringtones of some of today's most catchy tunes.

Content from carrier-to-carrier can be tricky, but the site takes care of this for you by setting up tabs at the bottom of every page to let you know whether or not your carrier can handle the content. If your carrier is supported, all you have to do is simply enter your phone number in the proper tab and the instructions on how to get the content for your specific carrier is delivered right to your mobile device!

My favorite part of the page is the sliding navigation menu. It is very simple, but even more slick, and extremely easy to add/remove content from as it uses simple XML and XSLT to determine what to show to the user.

Using VH1's SEO guidelines and ad rules we were able to optimize the site to seemlessly move from old to new in early 2009.

This was a very fun project for me as the whole reason I first got interested in programming was through web design and this was the first web project I had done in a while! Really brought me back!

*note: I did not design the look to the site, I was simply the programmer although I did have some input on the overall look.
Nickelodeon - Cartoon Creator
Project Name: Nickelodeon - Cartoon Creator
Company: TeamSpace Canada / MTV International
Project Duration: July - October 2008
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript 3, XML, Flex, PHP, AJAX, SQL
Project Description: The biggest project I have ever been a part of (to this point).

The Nickelodeon Cartoon Creator is an application where children of all ages can go to create their own cartoons that they can share with their family and friends. The creator was originally built in ActionScript 2 for the Dutch Nickelodeon site. When MTV International decided to take the project to a bigger stage, TeamSpace was called upon to levy the existing project.

While the application was great the way it was, there was more to be done. The first major change was a code overhaul, moving to ActionScript 3, which would help with overall performance. Moving to ActionScript 3 also helped us with the even bigger and more important part of the app, the externalization of content and internationalization.

Externalization of content includes setting up the Cartoon Creator with more than just the original SpongeBob characters, but any cartoon that MTV producers would like. The characters can be created using Flash, XML and following outlines provided to them by my team and myself. Cartoon crossovers can even be set up, so you can have your own 'Flintstones meet the Jetsons' mashups! All of the Cartoon chatacter and object data can be uploaded using the slick administration tool we provided.

The Nickelodeon Safe Chat and Hot Phrase filter made popular in Nicktropolis was also implemented inside of the Creator to ensure no inappropriate content makes its way into cartoons. This feature was also externalized so that MTV and Nickelodeon can continue to use our implementation of Safe Chat in many different applications all over their network.

Internalization deals with the ability to set up the Cartoon Creator in any language, for any country. Cartoon object data can be translated easily to different languages, UI elements are the same way, and even Safe Chat can be used in any language. All of this can be managed through the aforementioned administration tool.

*note: I did not include any pictures of the administration tool, as I was the Flash programmer on the project and also worked on many of the web services. I did work on the Flex app, but another member of my team did the main set up.
BET - 106 & Park Favorite Moments
Project Name: BET - 106 & Park Favorite Moments
Company: TeamSpace Canada / BET
Project Duration: August 2008
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript 2, XML
Project Description: To date, my favorite project I've done with BET. A slick video player for BET's 106 & Park show.

This nice little video player is fairly simple, but looks and works very nicely. Fans of the show can visit the 106 & Park website, watch some of the top moments from the show's run, and vote on what their favorite moment is. A countdown will be shown live on air after voting has completed.

I can't explain why I like this more than any of the other projects I've done with BET, but I think the overall look, the rollover effects and perhaps even the videos themselves have something to do with it.
Tropic Thunder - Finish the Scene
Project Name: Tropic Thunder - Finish the Scene
Company: TeamSpace Canada / BET
Project Duration: August 2008
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript2, XML
Project Description: A very simple project for BET, but one of the more pleasing to the eye projects I've done with them.

This was simply displayed on a page and encouraged fans to vote on what they believed the next line of the movie would be. After voting they were able to register for a prize as well as see what the line they went with in the movie was.

* note: The design for this application was done by BET Interactive. I was the developer for the application.
BET Ultimate Fan '08
Project Name: BET Ultimate Fan '08
Company: TeamSpace Canada / BET
Project Duration: June 2008
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript2, XML
Project Description: A project for BET's 2008 awards show.

After the producers had chosen four finalists for BET's 'Ultimate Fan' contest, this drive-in inspired application allowed the public to vote on who they believed to be the ultimate fan to win a trip to the Awards show.

* note: The design for this application was done by BET Interactive. I was the developer for the application.
MTV White Label Widgets
Project Name: MTV White Label Widgets
Company: TeamSpace Canada / MTV Networks
Project Duration: March - May '08
Technologies Used: Flex, MXML, ActionScript3, Flash, XML, PureMVC
Project Description: A great project developed for MTV Networks by myself and two other developers from theRedSpace.

The White Label Widgets project provides MTV producers to create fully customizable widgets to be deployed on everything from television show sites, to social networking sites and more.

The robust widget framework allows the producers to add many different pieces of content including video, using MTV's federated player technology (developed by theRedSpace as well), news feeds, photo galleries, polls, countdown timers, television schedules, video search module and more, while also allowing them to fully customize the look, feel and advertising with minimal effort.

A project that continues to grow and one of my more proud projects, mainly because of the number of people that see/use it.
Think MTV Choose or Lose Super Tuesday
Project Name: Think MTV Choose or Lose Super Tuesday
Company: TeamSpace Canada / MTV
Project Duration: January - February 2008
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript 3, XML
Project Description: With the elections coming in the States, I was once again pegged to build an application for MTV's 'Think' brand who were ramping up for 'Super Tuesday'. To this point, I have never been so proud of an application I built.

The whole application looks pretty simple. Reads some XML, displays some data, but the smooth animations I added (unfortunately not visible in simple screen shots) and just the overall flow of the application is something I'm really proud of.

What I enjoy the most about the application is the fact that it polls an XML file every x-number of seconds to check to see whether the blogger is broadcasting live from their cell phone, and checking every y-seconds to see if they have recently updated their blog in the last hour and will display a frame around the user depending on the case.

There were actually two different versions of the application, one for the main 'Think' page and one for the 'MTV News' homepage. Both read the same XML files, making it easy to keep track of data on the site, rather than having different XML files all over the site.

Really just enjoyed this project from start to finish. It came out very smooth and clean, and the code behind it was the same way.

* note: The design for this application was done by the folks at MTV Interactive. I was the developer for the application. I did however have reign over the animations, which I think were very slick! Unfortunately some of the images provided did not have the best sizes were required to be stretched.
Think MTV Slider
Project Name: Think MTV Slider
Company: TeamSpace Canada / MTV
Project Duration: December 2007, January 2008
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript 3, XML
Project Description: After some more very generic players with BET which I haven't posted because having the same over and over may be a bit too repetitive (and unimpressive in my mind), I was asked by MTV to create a very useful 'slider' to display the bloggers in their 'Think' campaign for the upcoming elections in the states.

Basically the slider is very generic with some pretty impressive math behind it to loop the 'bloggers' around when the user is at the end and hits the 'next' button, likewise for the 'previous' button at the start. It also handled the case where there was no need for those buttons.

In January I was asked to modify the application to handle the same functionality for the presidential candidates. The file was the same, with the change made that depending on the XML that was read, it would know whether or not to display the candidates or the bloggers, and if it was the candidates and did not require the looping then it would group all of the candidates of the same party together.

* note: The design for this application was done by the folks at MTV Interactive. I was the developer for the application. Unfortunately some of the images provided did not have the best sizes were required to be stretched.
TeamSpace Foosball Tracker
Project Name: TeamSpace Foosball Tracker
Company: None - Myself
Project Duration: August 2007, November 2007
Technologies Used: HTML, PHP, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, SQL
Project Description: At the office at TeamSpace we have a foosball table. It's a lot of fun to get away from the monitor for a few minutes with a couple of the co-workers and play a quick game of foos.

Shortly after I started in June, we started kicking around the idea that it would be fun to have a way to track the best players in the office. We never thought much of it, but then I got to thinking that it wouldn't really be too difficult and a great way to do some PHP/MySQL/AJAX work, which is something I really wanted to get more into. So, in July, when I was sitting around bored, I started to build the app.

All in all it was a very simple project to build and a lot of people in the office got a lot of joy out of it, so I have to consider it a success!

In November I added some new functionality including team statistics and an administrator account for myself as well as I implemented a much slicker design.
BET - Doritos Hot / Cool Challenge
Project Name: BET - Doritos Hot / Cool Challenge
Company: TeamSpace Canada / BET
Project Duration: September 2007
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript 2, XML
Project Description: Another generic player project. But this one was quite a bit different from the others.

For the first few weeks of the contest there were two tabs, each with two videos of people competing. The user could vote on both a "Hot" and "Cool" performer.

Also, there was a second player that would be similar, but would only show the week's winner's and have no voting functionality.

Finally, there was the generic looking player, where all the winning teams videos could be seen.

* note: The design for this application was done by BET Interactive. I was the developer for the application.
BET - Ballpark Rap Challenge
Project Name: BET - Ballpark Rap Challenge
Company: TeamSpace Canada / BET
Project Duration: September 2007
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript 2, XML
Project Description: After the Online Best Player was finished, BET decided they wanted to go with some very similar players over the next few months. By making some small modifications to the Online Best Player, I was able to create a simple generic video player with voting functionality that would be easily skinnable, thus cutting down on production time.

The Ballpark Rap Challenge was the first player to use this generic model. Once I received the graphics, the application was built and ready to go in just about an hour. While there were minor modifications to be made, a project that took so little time and ended up looking the best of all the players we have built thus far (in my opinion), I couldn't have been happier with it.

* note: The design for this application was done by BET Interactive. I was the developer for the application.
BET - Online's Best Player
Project Name: BET - Online's Best Player
Company: TeamSpace Canada / BET
Project Duration: August 2007
Technologies Used: ActionScript 2, Flash, XML
Project Description: The Online's Best player was an application to showcase some of the artist's to be featured on BET's original program "Sunday's Best". The show is basically the "American Idol" of Gospel music. Viewer's can browse to the site, watch five videos selected by BET brass, and vote on their favorite. I know the contestant with the most votes wins a prize, but at the moment, that prize escapes my mind...

A project that was built very quickly but turned out nice. I, personally, took a different approach in the way I coded this application and it turned out pretty great for a project that was built pretty quickly.

* note: The design for this application was done by BET Interactive, Daniel Garcia of TeamSpace Canada and I were the developers for the application.
BET - onBlast 2.0 Player
Project Name: BET - onBlast 2.0 Player
Company: TeamSpace Canada / BET
Project Duration: July 2007
Technologies Used: ActionScript 2, Flash, XML, PixLib for AS2 (open source library)
Project Description: The main video player application for videos at BET.com. The onBlast player is one of the most hit areas on the BET website.

I came in late on this project. BET had contracted an outside developer to build the onBlast 2.0 player. He built in (and did a really great job). However, there were extra features to be added (mainly in the area of advertisements and ad tracking) as well as some bugs to fix and extra enhancements. While I was not a part of this project from the start, it was a great opportunity to "take over" someone else's code and have to make it my own without breaking the whole app.

All in all, it was a great project to work on.

* note: I have to give props to Daniel Garcia from TeamSpace, as he too helped a lot on fixing bugs with me on this project.
Bet - Bet Awards '07
Project Name: Bet - Bet Awards '07
Company: TeamSpace Canada / BET
Project Duration: June 2007
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript, XML
Project Description: Basically a simple site for the BET Awards 2007, however was a very rushed project.
All content is read from XML files hosted on the BET server (which explains why all the screen grabs are 'post-event').

* note: I did development on this project. The design was done by BET Interactive. Thanks to Daniel Garcia for his help with the Nominees and News pages.
BET - The 5ive
Project Name: BET - The 5ive
Company: TeamSpace Canada / BET
Project Duration: Late May 2007
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript, XML
Project Description: The 5ive was a project I got when I first started working with TeamSpace. Basically a show of the same name runs three times a week where they feature five videos. After the show, these same videos can be seen online at the 5ive's website. User's can vote on their favorires, as well as watch previous shows videos.

There is also functionality for the viewer's do vote with the "Video Remix" voting system.

* note: I did development on this project. The design was done by BET Interactive
Coolriot.com
Project Name: Coolriot.com
Company: PenguinFire Media
Project Duration: April 2006 - April 2007
Technologies Used: Flash, ActionScript, Java, MySQL, HTML, JavaScript, AJAX, XML, CSS, Open Source Projects including Jetspeed-2, Tomcat, Hibernate and Openfire.
Project Description: Coolriot.com was a website created to give local companies a presence to advertise online. Traffic was driven to the site to play the games in hopes of winning different prizes from these companies, as well as other services, such as weather, movie listings, lotto numbers, etc.

This is a sample of some of the applications (portlets) I built for the site.

* note: I did little with the design of the application... I was mainly the developer, though I did do some of the design of the Coolriot applications.
contact info
Email: luke at whatadewitt.com
MSN: lukedewitt2112@hotmail.com
twitter: www.twitter.com/whatadewitt
AIM: whatadewitt