COM 205

MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS

St. Joseph’s College

Fall 2004
 Chapter 1

Introduction to Multimedia
What is Multimedia?
• Multimedia is any combination of
– text,
– graphic art,
– sound,
– animation,
– video,
delivered by computer or electronic
means
 What is Multimedia?
•Text
•Graphics
•Sound
•Animation
•Video
Multimedia takes may forms
• Greeting Cards
• Conferencing
• Movies
• Photo albums
• Image catalogs
Creating and Delivering Multimedia

Graphic User Interface - GUI

Producing a Multimedia Project
• Requires
a) creative skill
b) technology tools
c) organizational and business talent
d) knowledge of ownership and
copyright rules
Where Do You Begin?
• Study each element of Multimedia
• Read trade periodicals
• Visit web sites
Where Do You Begin?
• Learn tools to create or edit that
element
• Learn to use texts and fonts
effectively
• Learn how to make and edit colorful
images
• Learn how to animate images into
movies
• Learn how to record and edit sound
Types of Multimedia
• Interactive multimedia
• Hyperactive multimedia
• Linear multimedia
Interactive Multimedia

• Allows the user to control

– what and
– when the elements are delivered
Hypermedia
• Interactive Multimedia which
provides a structure of linked
elements through which the user
can navigate
Multimedia Project
• Software vehicle, messages and
content presented on a computer or
TV screen
– Multimedia title - if sold or shipped to
users with or without instructions
– Web page if on the www and composed
of HTML or DHTML ( Dynamic Hypertext
Markup Language)
Multimedia Project
• Linear - users watch from beginning
to end
• Non-linear and interactive - users are
given navigational control and can
wonder through the content
Authoring Tools
• Multimedia elements are “sewn”
together using tools like Authorware
– to provide facilities for creating and
editing text and images
– have extensions to drive videodisc
players and other peripherals
– playback the sound and movie elements
created with other tools
 Requirements
• Multimedia requires:
– large amounts of digital memory and
network bandwidth;
– GUI (“gooey”) - a graphical user interface
– CD-Rom or DVD technology for storage
In the future these may be replaced by
“connected” fiber, and radio/cellular
technology
– DVD – Digital Versatile Disc
Delivering and Using Multimedia
• Multimedia demands bandwidth
• CD-ROMs hold 650-700 MB (80
minutes of full screen video)
• DVD-ROMs hold 4.7-18 GB
• Multimedia can be delivered on line
Why Multimedia?
• Multimedia enhances learning,
memory and retention
– audio stimulation - 20% retention rate
– audio/visual - up to 30% retention rate
– interactive multimedia - up to 60%
retention rate
Delivering and Using Multimedia
• Online uses include:
– Books and Magazines
– Movies
– News and Weather
– Education
– Maps
– Entertainment
Appropriate uses
• Business
• Schools
• Homes

• Public Places
– 1995 Al Gore - White House Challenge
to connect every classroom, clinic,
hospital to Information Superhighway
by 2000
Delivering and Using Multimedia
• Virtual Reality
New Technologies
• VR- Virtual Reality
– Goggles, helmets, gloves, etc. place
users “inside” a life-like experience
– View changes as user moves forward,
left/right, etc.
– Composed of thousands of geometric to
be realistic
– Will require new standards (VRML) for
transmitting virtual worlds on the web
Results
• Multimedia will cause radical changes in
teaching and learning
• “Teachers will become mentors and
guides along a learning path that is
student centered…” (See pp. 12-13)
• Education will shift from the
“SAGE on the STAGE to the
GUIDE at the SIDE” of each student.
 Project
• Visit the International Space Station (ISS)
Virtual Tour at
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/index.html
Choose the Interactives and ISS Explorer
then try to answer these questions:
• What is the Soyuz capsule used for?
• In node 2, what does the PMA-2 interface
serve as a docking station to?
• The Japanese Experiment Module is named
Kibo. What does “kibo” mean in English?
Alternate Project
• Virtual tour of London and
• St. Michael’s Abbey
• Go to main website:
http://www.virtualfreesites.com/museums.html
then Virtual Reality tours
• St. Michael’s Abbey
What happens when you click on a “red spot”?

• Virtual Tour of London

What is the London Eye?
Why is the Tower of London famous?