Multimedia, Interactive Multimedia, Hypertext and Hypermedia

Question 4 : Discuss the differences among multimedia, interactive multimedia hypertext and hypermedia.

Hypertext is an innovation to the paradigms of computing user interfaces that attempts to overcome the limitations of written text. Hypertext, instead of remaining static like traditional text, will dynamically "branch or perform on request" (Nelson 1970). Thus hypertext makes possible the organization of material in ways that partially overcome the linearity inherent in written text. The prefix hyper- (Modern Greek term for over or beyond) signifies the overcoming of such constraints. The most frequently discussed form of hypertext document contains automated cross-references to other documents called hyperlinks. Selecting a hyperlink causes the computer to load and display the linked document.

Documents referenced by hypertext can themselves be static (prepared and stored in advance) or dynamically generated (in response to user input). Therefore a well-constructed system using hypertext can encompass, incorporate or supersede other conventions of user-interface paradigms, such as menus and command lines, and can be used to access both static collections of cross-referenced documents and interactive applications. The documents and applications can be local or can come from anywhere with the assistance of a computer network like the Internet. The most famous implementation of hypertext is the World Wide Web.

The term "hypertext" is often used where the term hypermedia might seem appropriate; the two have always been synonymous but "hypertext" is grammatically simpler.

Hypermedia is a term created by Ted Nelson, and used in his 1965 article Complex information processing: a file structure for the complex, the changing and the indeterminate. It is used as a logical extension of the term hypertext, in which graphics, audio, video, plain text and hyperlinks intertwine to create a generally non-linear medium of information. This contrasts with the broader term multimedia, which may be used to describe non-interactive linear presentations as well as hypermedia. Hypermedia should not be confused with hyper graphics or super-writing which is not a related subject.

The World Wide Web is a classic example of hypermedia, whereas a non-interactive cinema presentation is an example of standard multimedia due to the absence of hyperlinks.

The first hypermedia system was the Aspen Movie Map, while the first truly universal hypermedia was Hypercard. Most modern hypermedia is delivered via electronic pages from a variety of systems. Audio hypermedia is emerging with voice command devices and voice browsing.

Question 5 : Your boss wants you to create a hypermedia system for Web visitors to find technical support information about your company. What are some of the implications in creating this system? Should you hand-build the links or use an automatic indexing system? Why?

Hypermedia is the use of text, data, graphics, audio and video as elements of an extended hypertext system in which all elements are linked, where the content is accessible via hyperlinks. This could help the user to understand more about the company because it allows to gather information in non-linear way which means that the users would have a choice as to what path the users want to takes in order to gather information.

With use of hypermedia, it restricts the slow speed and take times to load the site. For the question of should hand build the links or use an automatic indexing system, the answer is depends. However, I would like to recommend to use automatic indexing system because it able to enhance the usability of multimedia material after it is organized in a lesson structure. Moreover, it also allows the company to create different context-based presentations starting from the expected skills of target users. Besides that,  it also helps to create a through system without missing any procedures.

Design and Produce Audio Portions of Multimedia Project

You have been assigned to design and produce the audio portions of a multimedia project. The program will be delivered on CD-ROM, and video clips will take up most of the CD. You have only 50MB of storage space to store 20 minute clips of speech, 10 songs averaging three minutes long and a background sound loop. What sampling rate and depth should you use for the speech, for the music, and for the background sound? Why? Roughly calculate the file size totals for these specifications, and be sure that you end up with less than the 50MB of storage space allotted. Discuss your reasoning.
Answer

MP3 format would be the choice for my entire audio file in video clip. This is because it has  compressed without affecting the quality of sounds.

Speech - 96kbps bit rate for music, 128kbps bit rate for the sound quality as the soung quality is near to the CD quality, 128kbps bit rate for background sound loop.

Speech
60seconds * 96kbps = 5760 kb of data
5760/8 = 720kb (0.772mb)
0.72 *20 = 14.4mb

Music
180seconds *128kbps = 23040 kb of data
23040/8 = 2880kb (2.88mb)
2.88 * 10 = 28.8mb

Background song
300seconds * 128kbps = 38400 kb of data
38400/8 = 4800kb (4.8mb)

Total
14.4 + 28.8 + 4.8 = 48mb

Tutorial Exercise (Week 10)

Discuss the relationship between a program’s content, its interface, and its usability. What is the best way to make the content accessible to users without unnecessary complexity? Where are modal interfaces useful? What are their drawbacks? Where are navigation or sites maps useful? How might you use “themes” to identify different areas if a program or different approaches to the content’s structure?

The relationship between a program’s content, its interface, and its usability.

A program's content, interface and usability are interrelated with each other. For program's content, the best thing is to make the content stay simple. The content must be easy to understand and navigate. The text and font size of the content must be big enough and contrast with the background because some of the users may have eyes sight problem. Also make sure that the program loading time is reasonable, every link/button is consistent and can link to each other and avoid ads pop out.

For the interface, the design must match with the content and the company logo and theme. It is advisable to keep the interface simple and user-friendly, in other way, not too busy and messy. The icon and button used must be fully accepted by everyone, meaning that the icon must contain only 1 meaning to avoid misunderstand by the users. The location of the icon must big and clear enough and place in a appropriate location because some of the users may have difficulties in seeing and hearing.

Designer can also use hyperlinks to connect a user to another part of the same document/different document and another website for more information; image maps which are larger images that are sectioned into hot areas with associated links are called image maps.

For the usability, the program must:

• ·         Present the information to the user in a clear and concise way.

1. ·         Give the correct choices to the users in an obvious way.

• ·         Remove any ambiguity regarding the consequences of an action (e.g. clicking on delete/remove/purchase).
• ·         Place important items in an appropriate area on a web page or a web application.
• Even though a program may have a good interface design, but the content must be also useful and usable in order to attract more user.

What is the best way to make the content accessible to users without unnecessary complexity?

The best way to make the content accessible are:
- make it simple and clean
- user-friendly
- easy to understand
- avoid too much information
- major heading are clear and descriptive
- critical content is above the fold
- styles and colors are consistent
- emphasis (bold etc) is used sparingly
- avoid ads pop out
- urls are meaningful and user-friendly

Where are modal interfaces useful? What are their drawbacks?

Modal interfaces are useful in all other way except multimedia.

There is an increasing interest in rich user interfaces that go beyond the traditional mouse/keyboard/screen interaction. In the past few years, their development has accelerated due to the wide availability of commodity sensors and actuators. For example, the Microsoft Kinect provides, at low cost, a structured light infrared depth camera, a regular color camera, and a microphone array. Moreover, smart phones contain a variety of additional sensors such as acceleration that provide unique opportunities for control. Unlike traditional controllers such as a mouse that provide direct and simple sensor readings, these new rich interfaces provide high dimensional, noisy and complex sensor readings. Therefore sophisticated digital signal processing and machine learning techniques are required in order to develop effective human computer interactions using such interfaces. At the same time they offer fascinating possibilities of blending the physical and virtual world such as non-invasive full body control and augmented reality. Different algorithms and customization are required for each specific application and possibly user so there is a large design space for novel research and contributions.

Modal interfaces are useful in all other way except multimedia.

The usefulness of modal interfaces is increased usability: the drawbacks of modal interfaces are offset by the strengths of another. For example, on a mobile device with a small visual interface and keypad, a word may be quite difficult to type but very easy to say (e.g. Poughkeepsie). Consider how you would access and search through digital media catalogs from these same devices or set top boxes. And in one real-world example, patient information in an operating room environment is accessed verbally by members of the surgical team to maintain an antiseptic environment, and presented in near real time aurally and visually to maximize comprehension.

In addition, modal interfaces input user interfaces have implications for accessibility. A well-designed modal interfaces application can be used by people with a wide variety of impairments. Visually impaired users rely on the voice modality with some keypad input. 

Hearing-impaired users rely on the visual modality with some speech input. Other users will be "situationally impaired" (e.g. wearing gloves in a very noisy environment, driving, or needing to enter a credit card number in a public place) and will simply use the appropriate modal interfaces as desired. On the other hand, a modal interfaces application that requires users to be able to operate all modal interfaces is very poorly designed.

Where are navigation or sites maps useful?

Navigation is useful in the website where people can enter a site through any other page, not just the homepage. Using other pages as entry points is achieved through search engines, links from other web sites or bookmarks. Users must easily find their way around a web site from every and any page. They should be able to reach the homepage from any page within the web site. Reaching all major site sections can only help them see more of the provided information.

For the sites maps, it is useful especially the search engine where the sitemap will let the Google robot see how pages, such as those in the fourth and fifth level, fit into your site. If you link to your sitemap page from your homepage, all of the pages listed in your sitemap will be no farther from your home page than the third level. This will encourage Google to index your entire site.

How might you use “themes” to identify different areas if a program or different approaches to the content’s structure?

For example, if we doing a clothing website, for the female clothing section, we can use female related theme and color such as clothes, earring, rose or other accessories to identify the female areas whereas for the male  clothing section, we can use the theme with tie, clothes and watch to identify that is the areas for male. 

Poster Design

The topic is promote open sources software

Tutorial Exercise (Week 9)

 Referring to Chapter 8: Multimedia Skills (lecture slides), identify the typical members of a multimedia project team and describe the skills that they need in their work.  Describe several ways of categorizing the skills, for example, how each skill is related to project management, to design, to media, and to programming.  

Project Manager

Project management is essentially the co-ordination of resources towards the finishing of projects. It entails defining precisely what the multimedia product or system should be able to do, the hardware and software required, and planning the overall production and resource allocation.

Work Activities

Multimedia is the communication of information using a variety of media, for example words, sounds, images, interactive graphics, modeling and web design.

A Project Manager co-ordinates and controls the combined efforts of a team of multimedia/systems designers, programmers, writers and support personnel.

Project Managers oversee the entire running and successful completion of the project at hand. 

This involves leasing with each person involved in the completion of the project including customers or clients who may have ordered the product or service that the team is working on. The number of staff reporting to a Project Manager on a development project varies, depending on the size of the project.

The Project Manager budgets for personnel requirements and other direct costs. This cost analysis is discussed with the client company before agreement is reached and final contracts are signed.

The Project Manager has responsibility for various tasks, including: establishing clear targets and timescales to implement the requirements within budget and quality parameters; administration of the project, assessing production against targets, liaising with the client and, if necessary, refining processes.

He/she makes decisions on content, informs others and is well informed of all aspects of the project. It is up to the Project Manager to ensure design quality and consistency. Project Managers can work long hours, particularly when a deadline is approaching or problems are encountered.

The Project Manager can often be considered the producer of the multimedia product and as such the role has more in common with a video/film producer than with a Project Manager in the software industry. A Project Managers' work can be very varied and unstructured

The role of a Project Manager 

To lead the production of multimedia tools from design through to launch (including post-launch assessment as necessary).  Specifications for each project will be based on the strategic, creative and business-related requirements agreed to with the client.

This is a dynamic, challenging role in which the ideal candidate will be capable of understanding the diverse needs of our clients and work collaboratively with a team to develop innovative interactive solutions that will achieve quantifiable results for their school/business.  The ability and desire to embrace our video production capabilities and leverage their tremendous value in online, multimedia experiences is a must.  Qualified candidates will understand the dynamics and managerial needs of multimedia projects, be enthused to be part of an innovative team, and adhere to the following responsibilities:

•              Oversee internal production of multiple projects simultaneously

•              Manage design/programming personnel for each project

•              Offer creative input during discovery and design

•              Work effectively with department leadership, designers and programmers

•              Interface with clients to provide regular updates to job status, upcoming milestone, and needed approvals

•              Assist in presentation of deliverables to clients

•              Implement strategic solutions to meet client needs

•              Craft detailed business/technical specifications for projects

•              Report status and progress of projects to management/sales regularly

•              Provide clients with budget-conscious, quality-driven results

•              Achieve project goals and milestone on-time and on/under budget

•              Document all work – billable and non-billable time

Multimedia Designer

Multimedia designers are professionals who are responsible for the creation of high quality websites, products like CD's, DVD's, special effects in video games and corporate logos. The best part of this job is that it requires high level of creativity and practical knowledge, and the one having these qualities has unlimited scope for growth and career advancement. Openings for multimedia designers and their salaries are growing at a fast rate according to the experts in the industry.

Multimedia designers are professionals who can work on multiple projects such as preparation of education-related software, website designing or even video game development. They are required to work with different types of clients and hence it becomes imperative for them to interact with them personally and understand their requirements thoroughly. The actual process of designing starts after this and for completing it successfully, multimedia designers are required to work with the following professionals

• ·         Animation experts
• ·         Programming professionals
• ·         Sound engineers
• ·         Writers

Multimedia designers create videos and computer based layouts for their clients and provide good technical support or assistance to the clients. A lot of technical aspects are involved when audio or video projects are prepared for customers. They are known to co-ordinate live video projects which in itself is a big responsibility. They use their expertise in technology to deliver quality outputs. Their expertise in the creation of products like CD- ROMs and DVD's, which are very useful in mass education and entertainment is unmatchable. Their job typically requires them to work in the product development department. Some designers specialize in the preparation and delivery of print training manuals and logos for corporate. The chief multimedia designing team leader shoulders the important responsibility of distributing work among his team members and checking it for errors, also with guiding them well. Generally, professionals in this field find jobs in television stations, ad agencies and web development organizations. Having said this, most of them are seen working in the web development sector.

Interface Designer Responsibilities

Interface is the tool that allows the interaction between a system or machine and the user. Through this tool, the user is able to operate the system and perform the required functions. There are two types of interfaces: hardware and software interfaces. The main use of both these interfaces is to facilitate smooth functioning of different operations. A person who works for the designing and development of these interfaces is called interface designer, responsibilities of whom are to provide excellent interfaces for the systems, applications, or other machines.

Tutorial Exercise (Week 8)@Chapter 7: Making Multimedia

Question 1

Chapter 7: Making Multimedia (lecture slides), write a synopsis for the entire chapter based on your understanding of that chapter. 

Most multimedia and web projects must be undertaken in stages. Some stages should be completed before other stages begin, and some stages may be skipped or combined. Here are the four basic stages in a multimedia project: 

Planning and costing

 A project always begins with an idea or a need that you then refine by outlining its messages and objectives. Identify how you will make each message and objective work within your authoring system. Before you being developing, plan out the writing skills, graphic art, music, video, and other multimedia expertise that you will require.
Develop a creative graphic look and feel, as well as a structure and a navigational system that will allow the viewer to visit the messages and content. Estimate the time you'll need to do all the elements and then prepare a budget.Work up a shot prototype or proof of concept, a simple working example to demonstrate whether or not your ide is feasible.
The ease with which you can create materials with today's production and authoring tools tempts new developers to immediately move into production-jumping in before planning.This often results in false starts and wasted time and, in the long run, higher development cost.
The more time you spend getting a handle on your project by defining its content and structure in the beginning the faster you can later build it, and the less reworking and rearranging will be required midstream.
Think it through before you start! Your creative ideas and trails will grow into screens and buttons and your proof of concept will help you test whether your ideas will work.You may discover that by breaking the rules, you can invent something terrific!

Designing and producing

Perform each of the planned tasks to create a finished product. During this stage, there may be many feedback cycles with a client until the client is happy.

Testing

Test your programs to make sure that they meet the objectives of your project, work properly on the intended delivery platforms, and meet the needs of your client or end user.

Delivering

Package and deliver the project to the end user.

Tutorial Exercise (Week 7)

Essay Question 3

Discuss several considerations in shooting and editing video for multimedia.  What techniques would you use to produce the best possible video, at a reasonable cost?  Which of these techniques apply to all video, and which apply specifically to multimedia?

We should take several considerations in shooting and editing video for multimedia such as planning, recording the video, editing the video, transition and special effect, titles and captions, sound and music and fade music clips in and out to make a more dramatic effect

Planning

In creating a video or any multimedia presentation for that matter, a solid plan will save time, minimize frustration, and produce a better final product.

• ·         Begin at the end: what do you plan to do with this video when all the work is done? Are you going to show it on TV from a tape? Will it be “burned” to a CD or DVD? Will you want to post it to your school’s web site? Each of these formats requires different considerations when shooting and editing your production.
• ·         Create a storyboard before you shoot your video so that you have a good idea of the kinds of shots you need. The only exception might be a social event where you want some spontaneity but even in that case you’ll need a plan.
• ·         Clean off your hard drive. Video take up huge amounts of space. Depending on several factors, 1 minute of video could require 100 mb or more on your hard drive. The more room you have the more flexibility you will have in the editing process. For large projects or multiple projects, consider getting an external FireWire hard drive.

Recording the Video

With a good plan in hand, the “shoot” should go smoothly and result in plenty of good raw materials for the editing process.

• ·         The better the quality of your original material, the better your final product. Use a digital camcorder if you can but no matter the camera, use a fresh tape.
• ·         Use a real video camera. That may sound like a stupid suggestion but many digital still cameras, and even some cell phones, claim that they will take movies and people believe it. These devices take short, very small videos which will not be of high enough quality to show anywhere but in a postage-stamp sized window on your computer screen. Hopefully, you want something better.
• ·         Turn off the date/time display on your camera. Those features and other messages that appear in the viewfinder could become part of your video.
• ·         Plan a variety of wide, medium and close up shots. Include some establishing shots which tell the viewer where they are.
• ·         Always take more video than you’ll need. It can often be difficult to go back and take additional shots later.
• ·         Keep a written log of your shots so you have some guide when looking for the scene you want during the editing process. It also helps when you are planning titles or captions for a scene. (This is a good job to give to an assistant cameraman.)
• ·         Hold a shot longer for subjects that may be unfamiliar to your audience and shorter for subjects which are easily understood.
• ·         Avoid zooming around. Using the zoom on your camera frequently or suddenly can distract from the message of the program itself. In addition, if your video is destined for the web, your sudden movements will look terrible due to the slow frame rate and small size.
• ·         Use a tripod to get a steady shot. While the “jiggly” look works for Cops or “The Blair Witch Project”, it probably won’t work for you. And even the best digital stabilization software in your camera won’t compensate for an unsteady hand.
• ·         Make sure the subject is well lit. Although the higher end video editing software (Apple Final Cut Pro, Avid DV Express or Adobe Premiere) can adjust for brightness and contrast, the process takes time. And it can never fully compensate for a bad picture.

Editing The Video

If you’ve done a good job of planning your project and recording the video, the editing part will be both easy and fun. Having a good computer with lots of hard drive space and great software (iMovie is the best of the inexpensive programs) will also help.

• ·         Most editing programs will allow you to name each individual clip, either as it’s brought in or after it’s in the clip library. Do it! If you don’t you will have dozens of “Untitled” shots making it difficult to sort things out later.
• ·         Unless you have a small hard drive or don’t have much space left, be generous as to what you import to the computer. Remember, you can throw clips away much easier than importing them in the first place.
• ·         Bring in a little “padding” at the start and end of each shot to allow for transitions and effects.
• ·         Follow the “30-3 rule” of video editing: keep your shots under 30 seconds and your scenes under 3 minutes. This helps to set a fast pace and keep your audience interested.
• ·         Make sure your clips are in the right order in the Timeline. If you need to rearrange, you can just click and drag them to the correct place in most editing software.
• ·         Adjust the amount of footage showing at the start and end of each clip to create a smooth transition between scenes. Try inserting some black space between sections and use a fade transition.

Transitions and Special Effects

As you may have noticed in the movies running at your local theater, special effects can make a good production even better – or completely ruin it. Don’t get caught in the SFX trap.

• ·         Try to use the same one or two transitions consistently throughout the video. Using a different transition for each clip will distract from the story you’re trying to tell.
• ·         Don’t use a transition if the start or end of a scene contains an important scene. Transitions will make it hard to see details in your film and your audience will miss the point.
• ·         Keep the transitions short. Although transitions can run six seconds or more in most programs, long changes between scenes can slow down the pace of your story.
• ·         Don’t go effects crazy. All video editing software and many digital cameras allow you to apply a variety of special effects to your video (turn your color video into black and white film noir) but using these features should be part of your planning.
• ·         Never use the effects built into your camera. Most are difficult to use and you can’t undo them after the video has been transfered to the computer.

Titles and Captions

·         As with special effects, the way you use titles and captions can do a lot to enhance or ruin your project.

• ·         Use titles and captions sparingly. Let the video and sound tell the story.
• ·         Make your text large enough to be seen and choose a color which can be easily viewed on the background of your video.
• ·         Leave the text on the screen long enough for your viewers to read it.
• ·         Titles (text on a blank background) can sometimes be more effective than captions (text superimposed on the video).
• ·         Although most editing software allow text to be scrolled in and out of the screen, use this sparingly since it can distract from your story.

Music and Sound

Think about this: even silent movies (and Mel Brooks’ “Silent Movie”) were not silent. They were usually accompanied by background music which was designed to enhance the mood. The right music and well placed narration can make your video project even better.

• ·         Make the addition of sounds part of the planning process. As you are working on the storyboard and recording the video, think about music that might enhance your production.
• ·         Don’t count on the built-in microphone on your camcorder. It will do a fair to good job of picking up general sounds but will do a lousy job of recording individual voices. If you need to hear a single person, most cameras will allow you to plug in a microphone, a wireless mic would be even better. You may also want to record what the person has to say and add it as a narration.
• ·         If you’re serious about sound, use headphones plugged into your camcorder while you are recording the video. In that way you can get a good idea of the sound you are actually getting on the tape.
• ·         Music should be brought in directly from the CD based on start and stop times rather than trying to record the track.
• ·         If your video has sounds, you will need to take this into account and adjust that volume to balance with music and narration.
•  Remember the copyright laws! Adding music from the Star Wars CD to your vacation video will probably not get you into trouble. Adding it to a student project that is displayed at parent’s night could.

·         Publishing Your Movie

·         The final step in your project is to put the video in a form that your audience can actually see.

• ·         Before exporting your final product, preview it to make sure it really is finished. In most inexpensive video editing software this preview will be a little jerky around transitions and captions but you should be able to get an overall impression of your film.
• ·         Make sure all the cables are connected correctly and that you understand how to work the recording equipment (VCR, camcorder, DVD burner). For tape, run a short test of your connections by digitizing and recording a short (30 second) movie and then play it back.
• ·         Record two (or even three) copies of your film. That way you can remove the movie and all its video clips from your hard drive to make room for the next video production.
• ·         If you ever plan to return to this project and do any additional editing, don’t throw away the original files. Move them to an external hard drive or server. Editing the edited version of the video will result in a loss of quality and it will be more difficult to get what you want.

Video consideration

• •          Video can add great impact to your multimedia presentation due to its ability to draw people attention.
• •          Video is also very hardware-intensive (require the highest performance demand on your computer)

–        Storage issue: full-screen, uncompressed video uses over 20 megabytes per second (MBps) of bandwidth and storage space.

–        Processor capability in handling very huge data on real time delivery

• •          To get the highest video performance, we should:

–        Use video compression hardware to allow you to work with full-screen, full-motion video.

–        Use a sophisticated audio board to allow you to use CD-quality sounds.

–        Install a Super fast RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) system that will support high-speed data transfer rates.