::Virtues of Harmony II:: Website Guide

::Virtues of Harmony II:: Website Guide

I've come to realize that certain parts of my website are just a little bit complex to navigate through and some of you don't know all of the goodies in each section, therefore this section was created to help everyone! Hopefully this will lessen the confusion and make everyone's stay at the site more enjoyable! I've also added a history of all of the layouts that this site has used so that people who never got a chance to see what they looked like can see it.

Map/Tour Guide

Layouts History

WEBSITE MAP/TOUR GUIDE

Main ť This is where the Updates Box is located. Visitors are encouraged to check the "Updates Box" each time they visit the website. This allows them to see easily and quickly when the site was last updated and what was last updated. For first-time visitors, this is the introductory section to allow them to know what "Virtues of Harmony II" is all about and gives a quick overview of the website. Top affiliates are listed here as well.

Website Guide ť This section allows the visitor to learn what each section of the site is about. Also located on this page is a history of all of the layouts that this site has gone through and the webmaster's personal inspiration, meaning, and opinions of the layouts. A handy little section in case a visitor gets lost or wants to know what the site looked like in the past or to read more about why the layout was created.

Series Profile ť Just like how stars have a profile page, this page was created to give the basic information on "Virtues of Harmony II."

Character Biographies ť A detailed look at all of the casts of "Virtues of Harmony II." The main characters and significant gueststars get a short paragraph that details his/her importance in the show as well as his/her personality. This page is useful for finding out all of the information on a certain character and to discover the real names of the actors and actresses that portray our favorite "Virtues" characters.

Gallery ť Nearly 600 pictures are included in this huge gallery. Almost every picture released pertaining to the series is in this section.

Videos ť Despite its name, this section doesn't have direct downloads of video clips from the series. This section gives the URL to mostly all of the clips regarding "Virtues of Harmony II" released by TVB from their official site. Episodes preview are brief, 20-second trailers that allow the viewer to see what the majority of the episode is going to be about. K-100 clips are those released by TVB's K-100 show, which is a weekly show that inform fans on what's new with their favorite shows, stars, etc. Some clips from them are around 30 seconds while others can be up to a few minutes long. Other clips include clips from Jade Starbiz and other places. Most of these clips are pretty long (a couple of minutes), which gives a nice, chunky viewing.

Series Summary ť The entire series is summarized in this section. I've broken up the series into its major subplots. Essentially, "Virtues of Harmony II" is one long series made up of several different subplots. Hence, it's logical and efficient to summarize the series in this manner. For those who can't enjoy the humor of the series, they can still read up on the events in the series via these summaries. They're not long and are quite brief, getting to the point. I don't give out all of the details and the humor just can't be summarized. Rent the series to fully enjoy it!

Analysis ť "Virtues of Harmony II" makes many references to social issues, people, events, and other series. Some of their jokes are spoofs on these things. Some viewers might miss or not understand all of the witty references, so this section was created to help.

Goofs ť Every show, no matter how great it is, has flaws. This section lists the goofs and mistakes that result in the show from bad editting, filming, or inconsistences in the characterizations and plot.

Screenshots ť The name of this section is self-explanatory. However, in case someone doesn't know, a screenshot is basically a capture of a frame from a video clip. A breakdown of all of the screenshots follow below.

Ť Episode Preview Trailers ť These are captures of the 20-second trailer that can be downloaded on the Videos page. They're all around 240x180 in size and range from 12 through 30 screenshots per episode. These screenshots give a view of certain scenes from the show and shows what the majority of that episode is about.

Ť High-Quality Episode Captures ť Only episodes 1-31 have high-quality screenshots. Each episode contains at least 50 screenshots. The earlier episodes have 100+! I've broken the screenshots for each episode down into different parts so that the loading of each page won't be too long of a wait. Like the name states, the quality of these screenshots are very nice.

Ť Miscellaneous ť This section contains high-quality screenshots of special scenes in episodes that were worthy of obtaining their own page of screenshots. Most of the screenshots here are pretty cool. The following gives a synopsis of what each "Miscellaneous" screenshot subpage contains. Several visitors miss all of the goodies that can be found in this section.

ŤŤ Lonely ť Bernice Liu is stood up by Frankie Lam on her birthday.

ŤŤ Trailer #1 ť The very first trailer advertising the airing of "Virtues of Harmony II."

ŤŤ "The Bund" ť A spoof of the infamous wedding scene in the 1980 series, "The Bund."

ŤŤ Carnival Date ť Linda Chung and Steven Ma share a first date with fun and games.

ŤŤ TVBI Trailer #2 ť The trailer released by TVBI to promote "Virtues of Harmony II" and its new subplots, cast members, and gueststars because Frankie, Bernice, and Cutie Mui left the cast and hence they were forced to create a totally new side to "Virtues" and TVB wanted to promote this and attempt to win new (and old) audiences.

ŤŤ Family Portrait ť The Kams have their family portrait taken after Hawick is added to the family.

ŤŤ Themevideo #1-3 ť Captures of all four themevideos from the series.

ŤŤ Living Together ť Adorable scenes of Steven and Linda pretending to be a couple.

ŤŤ Costume Fitting ť The very first look at the production way back in March 2003 with everyone trying on their modern looks.

ŤŤ 1970s Flashback ť The sad story of how Nancy Sit's husband was stolen from her.

ŤŤ Be My Boyfriend ť Linda forces Steven to pretend to be her boyfriend.

ŤŤ "War and Beauty" ť A spoof on the popular 2004 series, "War and Beauty."

ŤŤ Wish Upon A Star ť Frankie and Bernice make a wish on a star to be together always.

ŤŤ One Kiss From You ť The sweet kiss shared by Bernice and Frankie after they get together at the airport, all misunderstandings cleared.

ŤŤ Joey's Crying Scene ť Bernice cries from her disappointment about losing a contest.

ŤŤ Commercial Stills #1-2 ť Screenshots of the footage that plays in the middle of each episode.

ŤŤ Kelly's Crying Scene ť Bondy Chiu is touched by Cutie's words.

ŤŤ Kitty's Crying Scene ť Yvonne Lam cries.

ŤŤ Today's Crying Scene ť Joyce cries at the thought of losing her acting career.

ŤŤ "Point of No Return" ť A spoof of the 2003 "Point of No Return" series.

ŤŤ Modelling Experience ť Bernice and Frankie are models for a fashion photoshoot.

ŤŤ Romance In The Rain ť Frankie and Bernice walk together under the same umbrella in the rain.

ŤŤ Miss Chinese International 2004 ť Captures of the casts from their hosting of the "Miss Chinese International 2004" pageant. Ironically, that night's winner, Linda Chung, would go on to join the cast a few months after her win.

ŤŤ Michelle's Crying Scene ť Linda feels helpless.

ŤŤ Marco & Kelly's Wedding ť Michael Tse and Bondy get married.

Ť K-100 ť Various screenshots from clips released by K-100. Some screenshots are from clips from Jade Starbiz.

Ť Official Screenshots ť 884 screenshots from TVB's official site, 2 per episode.

Quotes ť A collection of the best lines from the show.

Discussion Forum ť A place for fans to post information and discuss on the series.

Music Downloads ť Themesong, sub-themesong, songs sung by the casts, songs featured in the show, and background music played can be downloaded in this section. All are in direct download format.

Commentary ť Essays written by me that states my views on various issues pertaining to the series, casts, characters, and plotlines that occur in the show. Quite interesting and informative to read. Be warned, they're biased.

Guestbook ť A place for visitors to tell me their opinions of my site.

Ratings Report ť A look at "Virtues of Harmony II"'s weekly ratings.

Wallpapers ť Beautiful wallpapers to decorate your computer desktop with.

Frequently Asked Questions ť Concerns and confusions are answered here.

Virtues of Harmony Network ť A link back to the main "Virtues of Harmony" website that incorporates the ancient and modern versions, fanlisting, fanfiction, and anything and all that is "Virtues!"

WEBSITE LAYOUTS HISTORY

Layout Version 1.1 - Smile
Smiling keeps you fit

Used
May 2003 ~ August 2003

Explanation
This layout was based on one of the lyrics in the "Everybody Laughs" song found on the "Happy Together" CD. The line goes "smiling keeps you fit." I found this lyric to be amusing and really cute, so I based the 'official' first version of the site on it! The background for all of the different versions/upgrades of layout #1 is a collage of pictures from the filming of themevideo #1 for "VOH II." This is because I thought the pictures were really attractive and the casts look so happy. Thus, the background never changed. The different colors and rose brushes used were inspired from the last layout of the "VOH I" website partly because I wasn't talented enough to do anything different (Haha!) and also because I wanted to convey a sense of unity between the two sites. I tried to use screenshots that matched the lines in of the banner; most of them were from the first 4 episodes and themevideo #1 because at that time, those were the only screenshots that I had. Basically, with this layout I wanted to convey a cheerful feeling and to foreshadow the future storylines of "VOH II" as the show had only begun its run on May 5, 2003!

Personal opinion
I remember that I was really pleased with this layout when I first made it and now that I look back at it later, it still brings a smile to my face (as fitting with the lines of the banner). Everything flows really well and it truly does convey a nice feeling of what "VOH II" is. Out of all of the different versions for layout #1, this is my favorite by far; it is very pleasing to look at.

Layout Version 1.2 - Happy Heart
A happy heart brings excitement

Used
August 2003 ~ October 2003

Explanation
Once again, this layout was based on another song on the "Happy Together" CD. It is from Michael Tse and Bondy Chiu's duet, "Love Has To Be Happy"; this line is "a happy heart brings excitement." The first slide of the banner consists of screenshots of the casts in ancient clothing because for a significant amount of "VOH II" (during the first 100 episodes at least) were ancient dreams. Hence, I felt that it was approriate and because of the versatility of the production to be so good in both ancient and modern versions. Once again, I used rose brushes (because I was ignorant and didn't anything else to use!) and two different shades of blue. The green font is due to my liking of the color. The screenshots were pretty random and the overall layout had no significant mission besides giving the site a fresh new look.

Personal opinion
To be honest, I like this version the least out of all the other versions for layout #1. The screenshots, fonts, and coloring really do not match. Compared to the first version, I changed this layout quickly because I wasn't happy with it. It clashes too much and I couldn't stand looking at it. It was pretty much a "filler" layout because I felt it was time to take version 1.1 down and give visitors a new look. It's decent, but by far one of the worst layouts.

Layout Version 1.3 - Relationships
A little bit a fate, some happiness, and a lot of love

Used
October 2003 ~ January 2004

Explanation
At the time of putting up this layout, most of the couples in "VOH II" were starting to pair up, so I felt that I should dedicate the next layout to the couples. Plus, I was anxious to get rid of the horrid version 1.2 layout. I really tried to make everything uniform and I feel that the screenshots used really matches the statements regarding relationships between couples in love. The goal of this layout was to convey the blossoming love among the characters.

Personal opinion
This is a really cute layout. The darker and lighter hues of orange match well and really compliment each other. The font is cool and I really love the quotes that I wrote for the banner. It's no wonder why I kept it up for so long! It's very plain, but very beautiful. It truly portrays a sense of love from the show.

Layout Version 1.4 - Life
Conquering inevitable changes and hardships

Used
February 2004 ~ May 2004

Color/theme
The theme of this layout were stars and stripes and the coloring was black and white.

Explanation
This version was put up after Frankie Lam and Bernice Liu were gone from "VOH II." This was because I knew the show would no longer be the same (and boy did it change!). I never used black or white in any of my layouts before, so I thought it would be interesting to try it. The stars and stripes were the theme used because I didn't know how create anything else. The lines in the banner were based on the lyrics from the "VOH II" themesong. The meaning behind this layout was that I wanted to convey a sense of hope that although Frankie and Bernice may be gone, "Virtues" can still carry on.

Personal opinion
At first I thought that this layout would be really refreshing and nice since I have never used black before. However, it turned out to be pretty ugly. It is way too plain and black doesn't match with the "Virtues" feel at all. It was due to the unattractivenss of this layout (and because of AP Chemistry and AP US History!) that I didn't update the website for months after putting it up. The stars, stripes, font, black, and white do not match, but instead collide and make too simplistic of a layout. Overall it is ok, but too simple for my tastes. Compared to version 1.2, this one is slightly better in my opinion. I was really relieved when I finally got to take this layout off because it is too boring.

Layout Version 2.0 - Painted Portrait
Painting the vivid portrait of life with the colors of the wind

Used
May 2004 ~ August 2004

Color/theme
The theme was basically a bunch of different colors that resembled paints.

Explanation
I don't know where I was inspired from, but I wanted to portray "VOH II" as a painting with a bunch of different colors. Perhaps I wanted to declare that "Virtues" is a masterpiece of an artwork. This is the first 'new' layout that wasn't a variation of layout #1. Also, this layout was co-designed by Sandy, the site's Graphic Designer. Starting from this layout, Sandy helped me to design all of the layouts that followed. At the time of the layout, there was news that "VOH II" would become very different and that more new people will be written into the show. Thus, I wanted to make a layout that expressed that although there would be new people, it would only make the show better by adding more variation in characterizations and casting. For the background, at first I wanted to put up a group picture, but disappointingly, I couldn't find any good ones! I settled with the "Virtues" logo because this was the most 'fair' way to go. The screenshots were added using a double layer, which is why all of the screenshots were 'painted.' The font is called 'Japanese Brush' and resembles wording that appears to be painted as well.

Personal opinion
I really like this layout. It is so refreshing and cool to look at! The font is really awesome and the colors and pictures all blend in very nicely. It is very different and probably stands out the most from the other layouts that I've had.

Layout Version 3.0 - Dreams and Reality
Dream within an everlasting dream

Used
August 2004 ~ October 2004

Color/theme
The main coloring was baby blue with sparkles.

Explanation
At the time of this layout's making was the depressing news that "Virtues" would be ending in early 2005! I was really upset, but I knew I had to reluctantly accept it. I also wanted to comfort other fans that it would be ok as well. To me, "Virtues" is like a really nice dream that no one wants to wake up from. It is an escape from reality and watching it relieves so much stress and it makes everyone feel really warm and happy inside. It is an indescribable, but very intimate, feeling. I thought that only a 'dream' theme would best express that. "Virtues" was (is) great while it lasted, but everything does (sadly) comes to an end, and we all have to move on. Regardless, "Virtues" can always live on in our memories and dreams, and that is a very nice feeling.

Personal opinion
A very dreamy and nice layout this is, indeed! The variation in the font is very cool and I like the blue background.

Layout Version 4.0 - Natural
Loving and living together

Used
October 2004 ~ December 2004

Color/theme
The theme is leaves and the color is green.

Explanation
"Virtues" would be ending soon and there was still no news on Frankie Lam or Bernice Liu, therefore, I wanted to send out a plead for them to come back into the show ("return to their 'roots'") and finish up their storyline before the show ended. Also, I wanted to tie up a sort of 'kindred' feeling by having the theme be leaves. The "Virtues" cast all came from the same roots of the same tree ("VOH"), but some have sprouted into separate branches (Cutie Mui leaving the drama department and going into the variety shows, Hawick Lau going to China to act, and of course Bernice and Frankie parting from "Virtues" and starring in 'bigger' and 'better' productions). Regardless, everyone still came from the same place and share a connection. The green coloring is due to green being my favorite color, of course! I was in a rush to get this layout out because I wanted to include the newest "Virtues" cast, Steven Ma, into the site.

Personal opinion
I adore this layout! It is probably the most biased layout because it is so green. It's an uplifting and fresh layout. Looking at this layout makes me envision a cool summer breeze. The fonts and quotes in the banner are good and it is just really pretty and so appealing.

Layout Version 5.0 - Beautiful Romance
A lovely affair that touches you and me. Two souls united into one heart forever.

Used
December 2004 ~ February 2005

Color/theme
Cherry blossoms, butterflies, sparkles, and pink are the primary elements of this layout.

Explanation
With 2005 approaching and "Virtues" about to close its curtains forever, I wanted to do a really special layout to bring in the new year (which will be the first without "Virtues"!). This layout is supposed to convey the deep love between the "Virtues" couples that is so subtle but very candid. The screenshots and quotes used all have a romantic tie-in. The flowers (particularly cherry blossoms) symbolize spring, and consequently rebirth. 2005 is a new year and without "Virtues", so everyone is basically going to be "reborn" since the year won't be the same as the previous years. On a more optimistic note, the flowers are also representative of the Chinese saying 'fa hoi fu gwai' (flowers give birth to wealth). I wanted to wish everyone (the "Virtues" casts, crew, and fans) a successful and blissful new year. Even if it won't be the same without "Virtues," we can all still move on and have prosperity. This multi-meaning layout with many layers is an experiment for me as I used different tools and brushes to convey a very lovely appearance.

Personal opinion
I had intended this layout to be more red than pink, but then it turned out to be all pink! Although it's not what my original vision of this layout's design was, Sandy still did a great job and it is stunningly beautiful. It is the most meaningful layout and is really special. It's somewhat girly, but it's so breathtakingly attractive that I don't mind. Everything matches really well and it so such a sweet layout. I love the screenshots that I used and the font and coloring are very pretty.

Layout Version 6.0 - Precious Jewel
A diamond lasts forever

Used
February 2005 ~ March 2005

Color/theme
Midnight blue and sparkles that resembled clusters of stars are what bring out this layout.

Explanation
This layout was put up after "Virtues of Harmony II" was over. I wanted a layout to convey how special the production was (is). The midnight blue and sparkles work to create a breath-taking view of the night sky adorned by millions of stars. In fact, it almost seems to look like a view of outer space with clusters of stars and galaxies. Diamonds are so precious because they're so rare. A production like "Virtues" is rare, which is why we all support it for so many years. I intended the stars to resemble diamonds in the night sky. Although "Virtues" is over, its profound effect on everyone will remain and its brilliance will forever shine, lighting up our hearts with happiness and laughters. Also, a diamond supposedly lasts forever and even if in reality there'll be no more "Virtues," the production still goes on in our minds. It's that special and only such a layout like this can bring that out. "Virtues" brings hope and emits light.

Personal opinion
What a dreamy and stunning layout this is! The background and everything work together really well. When I look at it, I feel so calm and it almost seems like I'm looking up at the night sky full of stars. Sandy did a great job making this background! The thing I didn't like about this layout is that it was hard to find a perfect font to fit it and there were no other colors beside white that would appear on it! It gave me trouble in that aspect. The other thing I didn't like was the fact that I couldn't find any really good screenshots. Overall, this is a very good layout. All of the pictures and text just seems the light up.

Final Layout - Solid Gold Memories
Reality is never as sweet as the memories in our minds

Used
March 2005 ~ Eternity

Color/theme
Film stripes brush (to represent memories) and different shades of golden yellow (to represent gold).

Explanation
I wanted the final layout to be a summary/looking back/reflection on "Virtues of Harmony II." Now that the show is over, all that we have left are the wonderful memories that the series has given us. Gold represents royalty and yellow matches "Virtues" best. That is why none of the other layouts used yellow; I purposedly saved it for last! Every page has a different banner or button, which makes them all unique. Every webgraphic has a different theme and showcases different scenes from the series. I wanted to convey the sense that "Virtues" II is a classic (gold) that will always remain in our memories. All of the "memories" are placed in a slideshow-looking frame. The reason why I chose a dotted bordering for all of the banners and buttons is because I wanted it to represent a "to be continue" type of feeling. I didn't want to make it solid because that would mean that there would be no more. I'm holding on to the hope that there'll be a continuation to the series in the future and the fact that the border is broken up is representative of my hope for a sequel.

Personal opinion
I refuse to acknowledge this layout as "Version 7.0" because in Cantonese, the number "7" sounds similar to "failure." Thus, I will call this the "Final" version. Overall I am quite happy with this layout. It is fresh and very bright and warm. I love the coloring and how everything just comes together.