Multimedia Development

Process
Learning Outcome
• Able to explain Multimedia Development Process (9 Steps)
• Able to identify costing of a Multimedia Production
• Able to identify issues in Multimedia Development Process
Multimedia Development
1. Conceptualization
2. Design
3. Content Production
4. Prototyping
5. Production
6. Evaluation
7. Testing
8. Deployment
9. Maintenance
1. Conceptualization and Planning
• Every multimedia project begins with an idea or a
concept.
• The concept and the plan define a project.
• Planning should make the realization of the
concept as straightforward as possible
• Defining project goals and objectives
• Specific goals, objectives and activities matrix
must be laid down.
1. Conceptualization and Planning
• Goals: In multimedia production goals are general statements of
anticipated project outcomes, usually more global in scope.
• Objectives: Specific statements of anticipated project outcomes.
• Activities: These are actions, things done in order to implement an
objective.
• Specific people are responsible for their execution, a cost is related to their
implementation
• There is a time frame binding their development.
• Defining the Target Audience:
• A very important element that needs to be defined at this stage is the potential
target audience of the proposed title since, this will determine how the content
needs to be presented.
1. Conceptualization and Planning
• Example of conceptualization:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpE2vUYtcvo
Planning
1. Conceptualization and Planning
Planning
• Allocate personnel and equipment resources
• Who and what will be involved in design, programming, testing and
deployment of the product.
• Technical issue and content.
• What content, hardware and software are to be used to develop the
product
• Determine schedule
• How long will each major activities require?. How long will subtasks take
to complete?
• Establish and monitor a project budget.
• Manage risks that would hinder the project
Type of components
• Fixed component: project description, product, objective, and
initial allocation of resources, schedule and budget.
• Dynamic component: tracking resources and project cost as
the project unfolds.
2. Design
• Bridging the gap between the audience and you
• Design should embody concept, purpose, and
messages
• Technology helps and often is indispensable –
but technology alone without the proper design
creativity cannot do the trick
2. Design
• Often begins with a brainstorming session
• a dynamic process of gathering ideas and exploring possibilities
without judgment or constraint
• A good brainstorming session results in a collection of ideas and
solutions that become the foundation for both the design and
the prototype developed from it
Design Goals
2. Design
Design Goals
1. Simplicity
2. Consistency
3. User involvement
4. Affordability
5. Fun and Timing
Simplicity
• Multimedia by definition includes user interaction
and exploration
• Note: prettiest designs may not be the simplest,
nor the easiest to use
• Good interaction design should instill a desire to
go on and find out more
• However, efficiency is always an issue
Consistency
• Primarily related to user interface
• A good product should behave in a consistent
manner.
• Consistency reduces learning time and reduces
chances for surprise, even with functions you
have never used before
• Increased familiarity translates into increased
productivity.
User Involvement
• Most people like to get “involved”
• Adding a human dimension to the
communication with a mindless machine
• People enjoy exploring and discovering new
paths – reward curiosity by designing depth
• Allow users to explore more than one level of
information – but only if they explicitly choose
to do so
Affordability
• Analyze what the users from the target group
can afford.
• Different audience segments have different
amounts they are willing to spend on a given
product.
• Design goal: accommodate as much as possible
within a given price range.
Fun and Timing
• Some applications can be fun to use (but each
user can have his or her own definition of what
exactly is “fun”)
• User comprehension has its own pace – try to
be neither too fast, nor too slow
• Performance is always an issue: but this is
predominantly a technical problem
Storyboarding
2. Design
Storyboard
• A storyboard is an expression of everything that will be
contained in the program (easier transition into development
work)
• Important tool for communication among client, interactive
programmer, graphic designer
• Usually hand-written/drawn
• From little booklets up to large wall-charts
Storyboard Usages
• It is commonly used in video and animation planning.
• It is also commonly used by laying out multiple application
views and the transitions between them.
Storyboard (Web Design)
Storyboard (Application Design)
Type of Navigation Structures
1. Linear - User navigate sequentially, from one frame to another
2. Hierarchical - User navigate along the branches of a tree
structure that is shaped by the natural logic content.
3. Non-Linear - User navigate freely, unbound by predetermined
routes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eo_9v56PPk
4. Composite - User can navigate freely, but are occasionally
constrained to linear presentations of movies
Type of Navigation Structures
Storyboard (Animation or Video)
Information
2. Design
Information
• How to organize and present information in a clear, accurate,
meaningful and useful form
• Includes the information in all media and their visual interaction
(to an extent)
Information
• Timeline Interactive Example:
• https://www.abmc.gov/sites/default/files/interactive/interactive_files/W
W2/index.html
3. Content Production
• Content production follows storyboarding so
that the story ideas and concept can be turned
into reality.
• Content defines the project information and
material.
• Content can have low and high production
value.
• The basic building blocks of content are videos,
photographic collections, and textual
information bases.
• Content can be either created or acquired.
3. Content Production
• Acquiring content can be very expensive and time-consuming.
• Financial planning and allocation of sufficient time are important
aspects of content acquisition.
• Pre-existing content can be obtained from a variety of sources.
• The sources from where pre-existing contents can be acquired
are:
• Commercial stock houses - to ensure licensed work devoid of copyright
infringements. Photo, sound library, and stock footage house - for
specific or complex content.
• The National Archives of Malaysia - for a rich source of content, both
copyrighted as well as in the public domain
Copyright and Public Domain
3. Content Production
Copyright
• Any text or image that is copied or incorporated requires the
permission of the owner. Such incorporated work is referred to
as derivative work.
• It is important to obtain a written agreement from every
individual contributing to the work.
• Developing projects includes designing interfaces, writing text,
programming codes, and producing musical scores, sound
effects, and video.
Copyright
• When a work is created, certain rights are granted to its creator.
• Right must be required for using content
• The rights should be licensed to use copyrighted material before a
project is developed.
• Rights for unlimited use should be sought, as the content can be
altered any time.
• An electronic right enables creators to publish work in a
computer-based storage and delivery medium or on the Web.
Public Domain
• Public domain means either the work was never copyrighted or
the expired copyright protection has not been renewed.
• Public domain material can be used freely without a license.
4. Prototyping
• A limited implementation of a design
• Emphasizes exploration and experimentation
• Prototyping helps simplify and improve
production process
• Often used as proof-of-concept and/or testing
purposes
• Multimedia applications must be
prototyped
4. Prototyping
• Prototyping can be used to:
• Test Product Ideas
• Evaluate Software Capabilities
• Evaluate Hardware Capabilities
• Evaluate Design Strategies
• Test Story lines
• Assess Content Effectiveness
4. Prototyping
5. Production
• Activities in this phase include:
• Interface Design
• Graphics Development
• Selection of musical background and sound
recording
• Development of computer animation
• Production of digital video
• Authoring
5. Production
• Authoring is a process of assembling the content into the
multimedia software development environment following the
map provided by the storyboard
• Two kinds of authoring that occur:
• Content assembly - the content is put together and linked to other
content
• Functional programming - software is created to provide specific
behavior
6. Evaluation
• Evaluation is the process that tests and assesses a MM product
to make sure it is what was ordered and it does what it
supposed to do.
• It starts the moment storyboards and requirements analysis activities
begin.
• In-process evaluation that occurs during development, called
formative evaluation
• Evaluation conducted following the authoring process is called
summative evaluation
6. Evaluation
6. Evaluation
• Usability testing focuses on operation and
performance of the product from the end
user’s perspective.
• Usability testing may be applied to:
• Prototype versions of the product
• Data elements such as graphics, audio, video
segment and animation clips.
7. Testing
• Alpha testing - product is evaluated relatively early in the
development phase, to review application concept, format,
user interface, and page layout.
• Beta testing - product is evaluated prior to final release mainly
to find bug and content mistake.
• Alpha testing is usually done in-house or with end users who
agree to keep their comments and experiences confidential
8. Deployment
• Releasing the product to the end user.
• Task involve such as:
• Documentation for the product
• Mass production of CDROM, DVDROM
• Packing of product
• Marketing the product
• Installation of the software
• Training of personnel to use the software
9. Maintenance
• The process in which a product can evolve and grow with
emerging technology or to meet users’ demands.
• Complete redistribution of the product
• Distribution of portions of the product
• Maintenance activities may include a new development cycle
from planning through authoring and evaluation.
• Documentation of old version is important.
Costing
• Multimedia project cost is based on:
• Content costs
• Labour costs
• Equipment costs
• Production costs
• Facility and location costs
• Marketing and production cost
• Maintenance and support costs
(Labor and content costs tend to be the highest single cost items.)
Costing Models
• There are two basic models to follow when estimating costs:
• Labor driven cost
• Cost/Content driven model
Labour Driven Cost
• Based on the amount of labor and time estimated for the
project.
• Estimate the number of hours for each labor category.
• The key to this approach is knowing how much labor costs
run and having a reasonable estimate of the overall product
effort.
Cost/Content Driven Model
• Based on what it costs to create a single page and the cost per
element content.
• This model assume that you can estimate number of pages and
amount of content, example:
• Number of pages for the entire product including page title, menus,
content, help etc. (Price per page can be assigned).
• Number of element of content. This may be measured as 100 words of
text, a single graphic, or minutes of video.
Issues
• Concept Validity - Is this an idea that will sell? Or it is important
for commercial product.
• Technology Dependence - advance technology.
• Availability of content - can we fill the CD with relevant and
useful content.
• Tool selection - need to pick the best tool for the production.
THE END

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