Introduction to Multimedia

• Multimedia is something people can see, hear, touch, and read on websites, radio, television, video games, phone applications, retail stores, cinema halls, and ATMs.
• Multimedia is a combination of picture, text, sound, video, and animation.
• Multimedia provides information to the users in the form of text, audio, video, animation, and graphics.
• Interactive multimedia allows the user to control elements.
• Hypermedia is interactive multimedia where the user controls the structure of linked elements.
• Multimedia includes text, graphics, audio, and video.
• Multimedia is used in education, offices, airports, journalism, creative industries, entertainment, medicine, IT, and research.
• Multimedia provides information interactively with images, graphics, animation, video, and audio.
• Multimedia is gaining popularity as a powerful educational tool.
• Storage for multimedia includes USBs, CDs, and DVDs.

Classification of Media Types

• Captured media refers to real-world information types like still or moving pictures and sound.
• Synthesized media refers to computer-generated information types, such as text, graphics, and computer animation.

Categories of Multimedia

• Linear multimedia presents information sequentially from start to finish (e.g., cinema).
• Non-linear multimedia is interactive and requires audience participation (e.g., Web Pages).

Characteristics of Multimedia

• Multimedia systems must be computer-controlled.
• Multimedia systems are integrated.
• Multimedia information should be represented, stored, processed, and transmitted digitally.
• The interface to the final presentation of media is interactive.

Applications of Multimedia

• Multimedia is used in entertainment, education, communication, internet, and journalism.

Stages of Multimedia Project

• The stages are pre-production, production, and post-production.

Pre-Production

• Pre-production involves asking "why" you want to develop a multimedia project.
• Important questions at this stage include marketability, profitability, effectiveness compared to print, requirements, task durations, the responsible party, and project costs.

Production

• The production stage brings the planning into effect.
• Key personnel includes a project manager, interface designer, computer graphic artist, audio/video specialist, computer programmer, and permission specialist.

Post-Production

• Post-production involves assessing technical aspects to ensure a perfect, error-free project.
• Testing/Evaluation: Testing the product on multiple computers and monitors.
• Mastering: Writing the product to a CD-ROM or DVD.
• Archiving and Duplication: Saving original files including audio, video, and software formats.
• Marketing and Distribution: Promoting the product to reach the maximum audience.

Post-Production Evaluation

• User's Perspective: Subject and content (interest), platform (equipment), usability (error rate), and cost.
• Developer's Perspective: Content (users understand the message), performance (users have equipment), and interface (useful and user-friendly).

Multimedia Skills Required in a Team

• Team members must communicate and share goals.
• Specialists might be required to play more than one role.
• Team members require extensive backgrounds in their fields as well as the ability to learn new skills.

Summary

• Multimedia combines text, graphic art, sound, animation, and video.
• Multimedia projects are linear or non-linear.
• Multimedia projects are stored on CD-ROMs, DVDs, and the web.
• Multimedia is widely used in: business, schools, public places, hospitals, research, and for at-home entertainment.
• Virtual reality is an extension of multimedia.
• Stages of multimedia: pre-production, production, post-production.
• Evaluation is done from the perspectives of users and developers.
• The team should be knowledgeable, experienced, and efficient.
• Every team member should perform duties as well as helping others.