Unit 3: Multimedia

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Unit 3 Multimedia

• The Development Process

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What is Multimedia?

• An interactive piece of software using several
  types of media
• Text
• Graphics (photographs or illustrations)
• Audio (synthesised or digitised)
• Video
• Animation
• Multimedia Applications can be
• Linear or non-linear
• Simple or extremely complex
• For example
• PowerPoint presentation
• Sophisticated and basic web pages
• Multimedia games

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The Development Process/Cycle
Design may change if application does not work as
expected
Maintenance
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Analysis Stage

• This stage is make it absolutely clear what the
  project is supposed to do.
• The aims of the application
• Who will be using it?
• What will be in it?
• How will it be distributed?
• How much money can be spent?
• How long have you got?
• Input/output?
• At the end of the stage a requirements
  specification will be produced.

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Design Stage

• Navigation structure?
• The HCI (Human Computer Interface)
• What does each screen look like?
• What media elements will be included?
• Storyboards may be produced for this.

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Implementation Stage

• Make it
• Create and combine all the media elements using
  the pre-decided authoring software.

Testing Stage

• Does each screen and link work as expected?
• If not can it be fixed or does it have to have
  the design altered.

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Documentation Stage

• Write the documentation
• The technical guide
• What are the hardware requirements
• The user guide
• Advice on how to use the software and provide
  users with any other help.

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Evaluation Stage

• Does it meet the specifications made at the
  analysis stage?

Maintenance Stage

• Fixing any bugs that have been found after its
  released.
• Adapting and updating the application to suit
  clients needs.

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Unit 3 Multimedia

• The Development Process

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The Development Process mnemonic
A Dance In The Dark Every Monday
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Methodologies used in creation of multimedia
applications

• Text editor
• Application is created using plain text
• e.g. Creating simple web pages using HTML.
• WYSIWIG editors
• Previewing applications under development to
  check that What You See Is What You Get.
• Eg PowerPoint to create a presentation

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WYSIWYG
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Text Editor
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WYSIWYG Vs Text Editors
Advantages Disadvantages
Text Editor Simple and places less demands on system. Provides greater control over the application Difficult to Visualise output Dependant on programming or text-based commands knowledge
WYSIWYG Easy creation and editing of application Ideal for beginners Complex software that puts higher demands on system. Software tends to be expensive
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Methodologies used in creation of multimedia
applications

• Authoring Software
• Application can be customised using
• Program code or scripting
• Icon based setting up of properties (without the
  need to learn programming code)
• Presentation Software
• Enables the creation of a sequence of slides
• Allows hyper linking to different slides or files

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Methodologies used in creation of multimedia
applications

• Who makes authoring software?
• Macromedia
• Flash, Dreamweaver and Director
• Microsoft
• FrontPage
• Adobe
• GoLive
• Others
• Mediator, HyperStudio, etc

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Methodologies used in creation of multimedia
applications

• Who makes presentation software?
• Microsoft
• PowerPoint (Most common)
• Others
• LiquidMedia
• Cre8
• Many others exist but not common

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Authoring Vs Presentation
Advantages Disadvantages
Authoring Advanced features give developer more control over final application Difficult to learn, special training generally required Can be difficult to debug complex application
Presentation Simple commands Easy to learn Limited features
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Unit 3 Multimedia
The Development Process
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Displaying Multimedia Data

• Distribution Technologies
• Web Pages
• Embedded into Web pages
• ActiveX Object
• Visual Basic Script
• Java Applet
• JavaScript Program

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Displaying Multimedia Data

• Distribution Technologies (cntd)
• Stand alone Program (executable)
• Multimedia file using player software
• Macromedia Flash or Shockwave
• PowerPoint
• QuickTime

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Displaying Multimedia Data

• Distribution Medium
• Web pages on the Internet
• Web pages on an Intranet
• CD-ROM
• DVD
• Digital Broadcast System

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Displaying Multimedia Data

• Embedded Data
• Applications include files for sound, video etc
• These are combined (embedded) into the actual
  program file itself

Advantages Disadvantages
File management is easier as there is only one file Easier to implement security File could be very large Entire file must be downloaded before it can be played Individual data items cannot be updated separately
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Displaying Multimedia Data

• Streamed data
• Data broadcast over a network
• radio stations broadcast over the Internet
• View film clips
• Played as it is received
• No need to download entire file before
  listening/viewing it
• Requires a plug in e.g. Real Player

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Codecs Container Files

• Codecs (Compressor/Decompressor)
• Main purpose is to reduce the file size while
  keeping as much quality as possible
• Enables faster downloads
• Often built into programs but sometimes require
  downloaded as a add-in

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Codecs Container Files

• Container File
• Contains several compressed files.
• This can be transmitted over a network and the
  individual files regenerated at the receiving end
• Much more convenient than sending multiple files
• A ZIP file is an example of a container file