Multimedia Research Shannon Ciriaco

Video Video is the process of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, and transmitting a number of still images making movement. It refers to recording, manipulating and displaying a movie tape that is usually in a format that can be shown on a television. Videos can be produced using a video recorder/camcorder or any device that’s capable of capturing full motion. There are different ways in which videos are used by the society. It could be used in education to help children learn as it could give them important information as well as entertaining them; which is a very ‘fun’ way of learning. Using videos to teach a class can benefit both teachers and students as engaged students means an interactive and productive lesson. In terms of use in leisure and entertainment, videos are used in different ways. If a person has an undiscovered talent that they want to share with everyone, they could record themselves and put it in video-sharing sites like YouTube. Families and friends can also spend time going to cinemas or buying DVDs where they could watch their favourite films. Videos can also be helpful for business marketing and advertisement because they are very appealing in a way that we’d prefer to watch advertisements rather than reading them. Also, if posters were used, there would be a certain amount of information that you could put on it whereas in a video, you can have a slideshow showing all the information of a product and it could demonstrate how it functions and its features.

Audio The term Audio refers to any sounds which can be recorded, transmitted or produced and could be heard from radios, mp3 players, etc. It could also be digital audio where sounds are stored in a digital format which includes CDs, or any sound files stored from the computer. Audios can be used in education to help students learn in a more efficient way. Podcasts can be used so students are able to download or listen to them through their phones or iPods. This way, they won’t have to sit in a room with a book to revise from instead, they could be out while listening to podcasts. Podcasts may also be helpful if students missed a lesson so they could get the same information from it as the rest of the class and it won’t affect their results. Audio is widely used in the entertainment & film industry because without sounds/audio films won’t make any sense to the audience. Also, one of the most common way people use audio for leisure and entertainment is listening to songs recorded by artists. Recording artists make their own songs and put it on a CD for the public to listen to. In the same way, anyone blessed with the talent can record their music and share it to anyone by uploading it to audio platforms such as SoundCloud. It could be used for audio marketing which involves call centres. By audio marketing, it enables companies to increase their chances of connecting to potential and existing customers on a more personal level and therefore could sell more sales.

Still Images A still image is a static 2D image that shows different subjects. They may be captured by different optical devices such as cameras, telescopes, microscopes, lenses or mirrors. Capturing still images is one of the ways still images are used for leisure. Professional photographers use cameras such as SLRs/DSLRs to get high quality photos. We also use images to give us memory of a good time we’ve had on holiday, with friends etc. Still images have also been a way for people to earn money. Magazine companies in the entertainment industry use pictures of celebrities to make money which the public buys in to. In education, still images are used to help explain a point so students understand lessons more. Teachers can use pictures to show a diagram or print it off for students to annotate, this way lessons go more quickly because they don’t have to draw a copy of a certain image. Images are also used in advertising or labels of products in a company. Depending on how it’s manipulated or projected, it can attract many customers therefore earn a lot of money for the business.

Animation Animation is the rapid display of static images. The easiest way of producing animations is by drawing it and allowing an animation software to develop these images into a sequence. The amount of frames in a second can be set to produce an effective animation. Three- dimensional animation can also be made using objects such as modelling clay or puppets. It is widely used in the film industry and a popular films company is Disney Pixar. They’ve produced films like Shrek, Monsters Inc., and Toy Story which have earned a lot of money throughout the years. Making animated films take a lot of years to produce due to the amount of frames that one sequence needs. It could also be used for education. Animations can help students to understand diagrams/flowcharts more easily especially when teaching about how something functions e.g. a heart, lungs, machines. Animated shows or films can be shown on TV for children’s entertainment as well as for their learning. Most cartoons’ storyline is that they’d face a problem and at the end, the characters will find a way of fixing this so it also teaches morals for the young viewers.

Simulation Simulation is an imitation of real processes. It works by programming a set of mathematical processes into a software that allows computer programming/simulation. More advanced computer programs will allow simulation of weather conditions, chemical reactions, atomic reactions etc. Simulation can be used in education especially in top universities which provides pilots a real 3D experience of flying an aircraft. This benefits them as they are able to learn hands-on and their school saves more money because they don’t have to need fuel every time when practicing. It could also be used for entertainment. There are some simulation games that offer both entertainment and education. Some however are just role-play simulation like the Sims; it allows players to run a real-life game just like how a real person would take care of their own needs. Others require basic strategies and physical skills including strategic games and learning exercises.