Research

IST Multimedia Data-types

Data is the raw facts used by a system. Data is a multi-media system is digitalized, that is, it is digital data or data that has been changed into digital form. Data types include text, hypertext, images, animation, audio and video.

Multi-media systems are information systems that combine at least two or three types of media. These systems use media such as text, including hyper-text and numbers; audio or digitalized sound; images, both static and animated and video. They generate programs quickly handle the range of data needed for multimedia and generally make it easier for those with limited programming experience to develop a professional programme.

One of the most important factors in the development of multimedia is the choice of software tool that will do the task. These tools cover multimedia products already developed as well as authoring systems that support the development of multimedia and programming languages. They are used in many areas including education, entertainment and information.

Multimedia Products

Educational: Educational multimedia systems involve the learner in a learning environment that uses all media. They can provide computer-based support and remote-distance learning, as well as track sporting performance. The major advantage is that the pre-sentation is interactive, and the learner is engaged and is able to read, understand and select the direction of their learning at their own pace. A simple multimedia product to give a lecture in an interesting manner can be produced relatively quickly.

Entertainment: Multimedia systems can be used for computer games and other leisure activities. Computer games include video clips, animation, integrated sound and advance 3-D graphics to challenge users with fantasy or realistic situations. This form of multimedia requires a very high level of interactivity. Special hardware such as a joystick or computer mouse may be needed to interact with the game and the machine needs a lot of RAM, a good graphics card (Nvidia GTX) and sound-card to take full advantage of the multimedia. The graphics card plays an essential role in the display by processing the required data. One of the popular forms of multimedia entertainment are online gaming; these allow users to network computers to play with multiple competitors or to play games across the internet. Games are now developed using dedicated game engines and custom languages.

Information: Multimedia can be used to provide information in an interesting and interactive manner, replacing human assistants. All kinds of data can be combined to create many different types of online, CD-ROM and DVD multimedia. The amount of information on CD storage is up to 700 MB or about an entire encyclopedia. A DVD hold far more. Sounds, images and video take massive storage space but it is still possible to include a lot text. The use of a search mechanism, combined with the computer’s ability to search for any data the user needs, means that that information is available in a very different way from using a book. Instead of turning to the book index or using a table of contents, a keyword can be typed into the system and all references to that subject located in a very short time, creating a very useful and efficient programme. 

Common Multimedia Types

Type	Description	Importance	Use
Text	A meaningful string of characters- letters, numbers, symbols or punctuation	Text should accent the main message as well as provide a body of information on each screen	-Fonts -Menus -Animated Text
Hypertext	The presentation of text in non-sequential ways	Allows nonlinear user navigation between or within documents	Hot text or hot links to other documents or parts of a document activated by the user
Audio	Digital sound consisting of waves that represent change in air pressure	Enhances the presentation by giving it greater quality	Illustration and demonstration of: -Concepts -Speech and music
Images	Digitized pictures (Graphics)	Communicate more widely than text: add interest; used for analysis, aid visualization and communicate ideas	Line drawings, photographs, scanned diagrams, icons-information, illustration and navigation
Animation	The illusion of movement achieved by showing a series of static images, called frames in quick succession	Allows movement to be demonstrated and adds interest	Information and illustration of processes and events
Video	Continuous stream of data (graphics and sound) first created and then broken down into separate frames	Provides reality to programme	Small video windows to illustrate and inform users

How Data is manipulated

What is streaming: Streaming is the process that allows video or audio frames to be loaded and played before later frames are loaded. As the frames are loaded, some are being played, others are being discarded from memory and still others are being loaded into RAM. The user believes the whole video is loaded but the memory only remains a few frames a time. The method depends heavily on getting the stream of frames to move at the right place. An example of this could be YouTube or Twitch.

What is data compression: Data compression makes files smaller. Data compression techniques are needed as secondary storage has limited capacity and many data files require considerable space to store. Compression reduces the physical size of large files using techniques to remove or summaries redundant or repetitious data. Thee are various methods of compressing files depending on the type of media, but the result can reduce the file by between 5 and 95 percent.

Technique	Description	Use	Compression
Lossless	Repetitive patterns are coded into a summary and data retrieved is the same as data stored.	Most text files where it is vital that no data is lost, e.g database files.	File may be reduced to 30% or more of original size.
Lossy	Data is discarded during compression, e.g shades of colour in a graphic or soft sounds in a sound file; some data is irretrievably lost.	Sound, images and video files where lost data can be masked by other data	Files may be reduced to 5% of the original size.

Methods of Data Compression

Technique	Description	Use	Compression
Lossless	Repetitive patterns are coded into a summary and data retrieved is the same as data stored.	Most text files where it is vital that no data is lost, e.g database files.	File may be reduced to 30% or more of original size.
Lossy	Data is discarded during compression, e.g shades of colour in a graphic or soft sounds in a sound file; some data is irretrievably lost.	Sound, images and video files where lost data can be masked by other data	Files may be reduced to 5% of the original size.

Some issues related to the choice of Data-Types

Data Types	Issue	Explanation
Text	Amount of text on a screen	Too much text results in an overcrowded screen lacking interest; too little text and the number of screens increases as well as leading to endless navigation between those screens.
	Amount of text on a page	Preferably text should fit on a page with minimal scrolling.
	Legibility	Text should be clear and easy to read- fonts should be chosen for style, size and typeface.
	Readability	Easy to read fonts are advised.
	Consistency	Use of the same fonts, style, colour and size of multiple page documents.
	Meaningful menus	Minimal direct text.

Authoring Software Systems

Authoring software is an application that is specially designed to create programs or files that combine data types for multimedia output. It is software, which allows its user to create multimedia applications for manipulating multimedia objects.

In the development of educational software, an authoring System is a program that allows a non-programmer to easily create software with programming features. The programming features are built in but hidden behind buttons and other tools, so the author does not need to know how to program. Generally, Authoring Systems provide lots of graphics, interaction, and other tools educational software needs.

Advantages

Simplicity: One of the major advantages of a authoring software is its simplicity. Anyone with some basic technical skills can figure out how to make a programme with this type of tool -- you don't have to spend time learning coding or any other programming language to make a fully functional multimedia product. Instead, you basically point and click your way to creating one.

Save Time: Another benefit of using this type of application is that it can save you a substantial amount of time. With most programming editors, you simply have to choose from a few different options when it comes to the items to put in your pages. You create some content and establish the layout and graphical elements of your project. If you were to do some of these things by hand-coding it, it would take much longer.

Disadvantages

Limited Options: One of the potential problems with using a authoring-software is that it limits your options as a designer. Typically, such programs rely on templates, with limited options for the look and feel of it. Because of this, you may not be able to create a programme that looks professional or original. Depending on the type of program, you may not be able to implement Flash, video or other common and popular elements.

Reliance on the programme: Another problem with using authoring software tools is that they make you completely reliant on them. Because of this, if the program suddenly becomes unavailable for some reason, you can't create a programme. By comparison, if you know coding, you can design projects, regardless of what programs you have at your disposal .

Project Development

Project management is the use of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to meet the requirements of a project. It is the process and activity of planning, organising, motivating, and controlling resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals (in this case- multimedia programs and games.)

People have been planning and managing projects since they first became organized human beings. Management requires people to develop timelines, determine resources and allocate tasks.

The advantages of using project management techniques include: -

-Cost control

-Development of a project in specified times

-Organised use of the available hardware and software

-An improved end product.

Underlying all project management is the need to always consider the social and ethical implications of the project so that not only are the competing demands for project content, time restraints and quality balanced to achieve the best outcome, but also the issues of meeting social, cultural, gender and disability standards are met.

Processes and techniques that are used for project management are: -

-Project plan

-Communication skills

-Collaboration

-Group work

-Good listening skills

Geographical User Interface (GUI) is a screen interface, which uses windows, icons, mouse and pull-down menus.  It is software that works at the point of contact (interface) between a computer and its user, and employs graphic elements (dialog boxes, icons, menus, scroll bars) instead of text characters to let the user give commands to the computer or to manipulate what is on the screen.

GUI elements are usually accessed through a pointing device such as a mouse, pen, or stylus. All programs running under a GUI use a consistent set of graphical elements so that once the user learns a particular interface, he or she can use all programs without learning additional or new commands, creating a more easy and efficient method of developing a multimedia product.

Basic design principles are used to organize or position the structural elements of design. These principles are the fundamental concepts that will assist you to communicate the key theme of your composition or programme. As such, they can be applied to each element of your design or to your composition as a whole.

It is necessary to develop a visual awareness to identify how these principles are used in the composition of every day design. In:

-Illustrations

-Photographs

-Animations

-Websites

-Billboards

-Posters

Developing a visual awareness will give you the skills necessary to critically analyze and constructively criticize the design work or multimedia programme you engage in. This will allow you to develop a method of solving graphic problems in reference to the following basic principles of design.

The layout of the programme has to be intuitive, appealing and inspiring. It has to be consistent throughout the game or programme, with the same headings, menus, instructions, etc. Frames are to hold similar items to increase the readability of the screen, as well as for easy navigation.

The balance of data types is also important in order to create a sense variety and ultimately make your programme more original and detailed, providing a broader spectrum of data types, which adds another dimension to your project. Balanced layouts balance the use of data types. Sound might be background sound or sound effects. Background sound should not intrude on the main purpose of the programme but should add to the objectives to be achieved. Text, graphics, animation and video can be integrated to provide interest, challenge, information and entertainment in the one product. Video is usually limited to a small window to reduce the size of the file and the demands on processing.

A storyboard is a graphic representation of how your game/programme will unfold, sequence by sequence. It is made up of a number of squares with illustrations or pictures representing each shot, with notes about what’s going on in the scene and what’s being said in the script during that shot.  I like to think of it as sort of a comic book version of my script. There are a number of reasons why creating a storyboard is beneficial to the creation of a game or programme.

A storyboard is the best way to share your vision: A visual aid makes it much easier for you to share and explain your vision for your game with others. When you have a storyboard, you can show people exactly how your video is going to be mapped out and what it will look like.  This makes it extremely easier for them to understand your idea.

A storyboard makes production much easier: When you storyboard your game you are setting up a plan for production, including all the shots that you will need, the sequence they will be laid out, and how the visuals will interact with the script.  This really comes in handy when you are making your game, as it ensures that you won’t forget any shots.  It also comes in handy during editing, as it serves as a nice guide for your editor so they can piece together the programming according to your vision.  This will also prevent you from requesting multiple revisions from your editor, saving you a lot of time.

A storyboard saves you time: While it may take you a little while to put your storyboard together, in the long run it will save you time.  Not only will it save you time by making it easier to explain your vision to the people you are presenting the gamming programme with, but also by providing a solid shot list that will make the creation process go more smoothly.

I have created a story-board in for my Multimedia Programme which will be printed into the IST folder.