Multimedia and the Web Chapter 10

2 Overview  This chapter covers:  What Web-based multimedia is  how it is used today  advantages and disadvantages of using multimedia  multimedia elements  Developing a multimedia site  Steps and principles  software used during this process  A look at the future of Web-based multimedia

3 What Is (Multi) Media?  Media  a means of communication  Multimedia:  The integration of a variety of media, such as  Text  Images  Video  Animation  Sound  The success of a website is based on three things:  It serves the purpose for its being  It reaches the audience it is intended for  It uses the correct multimedia

4 Multimedia Elements  Text: Used to supply basic content, and to add text-based menus and hyperlinks  Serif typefaces: More readable, used for large bodies of text  Sans serif typefaces: Used for titles, headings, Web page banners  Different typefaces can convey widely different feelings  Important to select a typeface that matches the style of the Web site  When a consistent text appearance is required—such as a logo—a graphical image is used instead

5 Multimedia Elements  Images or graphics: Digital representations of photographs, drawings, charts, and other visual images also called a graphic  Clip art consists of pre-drawn electronic images  Stock photos are also available online

6 Multimedia Elements  Animation: A series of graphical images are displayed in succession to simulate movement  Available using:  Java applet: A small program inserted into a Web page that performs a specific task  Animated GIF: A group of GIF images saved as an animated GIF file, inserted in a Web page, which are displayed successively to simulate movement  JavaScript or another scripting language  Flash is in particularly wide use today  Silverlight is an alternative to Flash

7 Multimedia Elements  Audio: All types of sound including music, spoken voice, sound effects  Can be recorded using a microphone or MIDI instrument, captured from CDs, or downloaded from the Internet  Often played when an event occurs on a Web page or when the visitor clicks a link  Streaming audio is used to speed up delivery  Common audio file formats include: .wav .mp3.aiff.acc.midi.m4a

8 Multimedia Elements  Video: Begins as a continuous stream of visual information, which is then broken into separate images (frames) when the video is recorded  Can require a substantial amount of storage space  Video data, like audio data, is usually compressed  Streaming video is used for large files  Common video file formats include: .avi .mp2. mov.wmv.mp4

9 Multimedia Web Site Creation  Web site analysis and design  The process of planning what a Web site will look like and how it will function  Web site development, implementation, maintenance:  The process of creating, testing, publishing, and maintaining a Web site

10 Multimedia Web Site Design  Web site design principles/challenges:  Make it interesting and exciting applications  Consider technology  Target Audience  Appropriate Navigation  Site maps  Design tools  Flowcharts  Page Layouts  Storyboards  Access considerations

11 Multimedia Web Site Design

12 Multimedia Web Site Design In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. ADA compliance - Compatibility with assistive Technology such as screen readers that “read” alternative text

13 Multimedia Web Site Development  Web site development  Occurs after the site is designed  Can be performed in-house or outsourced  Three basic steps  Creating the multimedia elements using design software  Creating the Web site using authoring software  Testing, publishing, and maintaining the site

14 Multimedia Web Site Development  Creating the multimedia elements  Usually several different software programs are used, such as:  Image editing software  Animation software  Flash  Audio editing software  Protools, SoundForge, Reason  Video editing software  Premiere

15 Multimedia Web Site Development  Creating the Web site  Authoring tools – Dreamweaver, ExpressionWeb, Notepad  Markup language - a language that uses symbols or tags to describe what a document should look like when it is displayed in a Web browser  Hypertext Markup Language (HTML): The original markup language  Uses HTML tags to indicate where effects and elements belong in the Web page  The computer and browser being used still determines exactly how the Web page will display  Other languages  CSS, WML, XML, JavaScript, VBScript, PHP, Perl, AJAX, VRML, ActionScript

16 Multimedia Web Site Development  Testing, publishing, and maintaining the site  All hyperlinks should be clicked to ensure they take the user to the proper location  Every possible action that could take place with an animated element should be tested  Proofread each page or screen carefully  Consider a “stress test”  Update content and check links on a regular basis  xHTML Web pages can be checked with an xHTML validator