1. Fundamentals of Multimedia Week 1 Introduction and Authoring Leila Sharifi UUT Fall 2011

2. History of Multimedia 1.Newspaper: perhaps the 1rst mass communication medium –uses text, graphics, and images. 2.Motion pictures: conceived of in 1830's in order to observe motion too rapid for perception by the human eye. 3.Wireless radio transmission: Guglielmo Marconi, at Pontecchio, Italy, in 1895. 4.Television: the new medium for the 20th century established video as a commonly available medium The connection between computers and ideas about multimedia covers what is actually only a decade 2

3. Hypermedia and Multimedia A hypertext system: meant to be read nonlinearly, by following links that point to other parts of the document, or to other documents HyperMedia: not constrained to be text- based, can include other media, e.g., graphics, images, and especially the continuous media- sound and video. The World Wide Web (WWW) | the best example of a hypermedia application. hyper implies linking 3

4. (…)Hypermedia and Multimedia 4 Hypertext is nonlinear

5. Multimedia Definition Definition: to distribute and present information coded as Graphics, animation, audio and video (and text,..) By – Computer, TV, phone, etc. A multimedia system is characterized by the integrated – production, – processing, – storage, – representation, – and transmission of several time-dependent and time independent media streams. 5

6. Why is Multimedia Hot? Business Boom – Computer games (gross more money than movie industry 1997) – Media Companies: Google, Time Warner, Disney, … – Huge Market… Convergence of computers, telecom, TV and … – Caused by technology and competition – Dramatic changes in products, infrastructure, etc. Interesting technical issues (CS, EE, …) Diverse (Potential) Applications –Potential for improving our lives (e.g., learning, entertainment, medicine, and work) 6

7. Application Areas hypermedia courseware video-on-demand TV (interactive, HDTV, …) audio/video production audio/video conferencing (GroupWare) virtual worlds (VR& SR) Augmented & Virtual Reality (Matrix!) Web (web based seminars, …) UI (3D, …) 7

8. Reference Model 8

9. Media Types Time-Independent Media – Information is not related to timing of the data stream – All classic media in the computer, such as: text graphics (line drawings, vector graphic) image (photo, pixel graphics) Time-Dependent Media – Information is time-related, must be shown to the user at –specific points in time – Continuous data streams – Data appears in regular intervals – Examples: Audio (continuous) Video (continuous) An animation (not a continuous stream, but time dependent) An interactive game on the Internet (not a continuous stream, but has real-time requirements) 9

10. AUTHORING 10

11. What is an Authoring System? & Why? Authoring: the process of creating multimedia applications What? a program which has preprogrammed elements for the development of interactive multimedia software titles some knowledge of heuristic thinking and algorithm design is necessary speeded-up form of programming Why? It generally takes about 1/8th the time to develop Accelerated prototyping 11

12. Multimedia Authoring Paradigms/Metaphors the methodology by which the authoring system accomplishes its task Types: Scripting Language metaphor – Special language to enable interactivity – OpenScript, … Slide Show metaphor – Mostly Linear – PowerPoint Hierarchical metaphor – Tree Structure – Menu Driven Apps Iconic/Flow Control metaphor – Flowchart, rapid prototype – Macromedia Authorware … 12

13. Issues in Multimedia Applications Design Content Design What to say, what vehicle to use?! five ways to format and deliver your message Writing: Scripting illustrating: Graphics Wiggling: Animation Hearing: Audio Interacting: Interactivity 13

14. Detail View Scripting (writing) – Understand your audience and correctly address them. – Keep your writing as simple as possible. (e.g., write-out the full message(s) first, then shorten it.) Graphics (illustrating) – Make use of pictures to effectively deliver your messages – "A picture is worth a thousand words.“ – Create your own (draw, (color) scanner,...), or keep "copy files" of art works. – Color Themes -- be consistent with the contents Animation (wiggling) – "A leaf doesn't flutter if the wind doesn't blow.“ –Only animate when it has a specific purpose 14

15. (…)Detail View Audio (hearing) – Music - set the mood of the presentation, enhance the emotion, illustrate points – Sound effects - to make specific points – Narration - most direct message, often effective Interactivity (interacting) – people remember 70% of what they interact with (according to late 1980s study) – Menu driven programs/presentations, Hypermedia, Simulations 15

16. Technical Issues Video Mode, Target Platforms, Resolution, and Max # Colors Memory and Disk Space Requirement – Rapid progress in hardware alleviates the problem, but software is too "greedy", especially the multimedia ones. Delivery – Live Presentation – Delivery by CD/DVD – Electronic Delivery (Netshow/Streaming-video, etc.) 16

17. Authoring Tools Image/Graphics Editing – Adobe Photoshop Audio Editing – Cooledit Video Editing – Adobe Premiere Web Design – FrontPage – Dreamweaver … 17

18. ANY QUESTIONS?! 18