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Digital Multimedia, 2nd edition

Nigel Chapman & Jenny ChapmanChapter 1

This presentation 2004, MacAvon Media Productions

https://sites.google.com/site/drahmedsalimxpress/digital-multimedia

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A storyteller might use these portentous words to captureyourattention and draw you into a tale.

The dark and stormynight can be represented in differentmedia,each of which tells the story through different means, appealing todifferent senses.

One of the keyinsights in computing is that all these media can be

represented digitally,as a structured collection of bits, and can thenbe manipulated byprograms on a computer, stored on disks andother storage devices, and transmitted over networks.

Their shared digital representation means that different media can

be combined into what is loosely called multimedia.

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Digital multimedia can be interactive, in a way that, for example, aTV news bulletin is not, and that goes far beyond the simple controlafforded by a VCR.

By clicking on an icon on the screen, the user could cause the scene

to play as a video clip, or add sound effects, according to their choice.

Differentinterface options might be offered for users with differenttastes and needs.

Programs can manipulate data in response to user input, so digitalmultimedia can be interactive

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Digital multimedia may be used for manythings besides stories andforensic reconstructions.

The most prominent and economicallysignificant uses ofmultimedia at present are in the fields ofentertainment and

education.

Multimedia is also being used educationally in schools, and forextra-curricular and pre-school learning, where multimedia teachingmaterials can be used to present information in more direct ways

than traditional books and lessons.

For example, filmclips and original recordings of radio broadcastsMultimedia teaching materials can be bought in as complete CD-ROM titles, or they can be made by teachers in their own schools.

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Several successful multimedia CD-ROMs use elements ofgames foran educational purpose.

Multimedia is also used in salespresentations and promotions forexample, computers on sale in showrooms often run multimedia

presentations describing their capabilities, and Web pages oftenfunction as sales brochures.

Graphic designers produce interactive presentations oftheirwork asa supplement to, or even as a substitute for, a conventional portfolio.

The electronic portfolio can be inexpensively duplicated on CD-ROM and sent to potential clients, or posted on aWeb site as avirtual exhibition.

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One area in which computation plays a more active part isvisualization.

In which graphics and animation are used as a means ofpresentingcomplex data.

for example, a program that simulates atmospheric dynamics.

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One area in which computation plays a more active part isvisualization.

In which graphics and animation are used as a means ofpresentingcomplex data.

for example, a program that simulates atmospheric dynamics.

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Applications of multimedia require a means of delivery todistribute this material from the producer to the user.

It is useful to distinguish between online and offlinedelivery.

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Uses a network(usually the Internet) to sendinformation from one computer to another

World Wide Web is commonest form of online delivery ofmultimedia

Often a server machine providing centralized storage of bulky data.

Network may be a LAN in a single organisation ormore often the public Internet.

Bandwidth requirements. Delivery of multimedia content via streaming.

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Removable secondary storage required with significantstorage capacity and data transfer performance.

Widespread deployment of CDROM drives in mid

1990s partly accounted for surge in interest inMultimedia.

Current trend in DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) mirrors

CDROM related factors leading to different applicationsof multimedia, in particular widespread use in homemovie industry.

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Some dates: CD-ROM specification published 1985

CD-ROM drives on desktop machines from ~1989

WWW publicly available at start of 1992

Handful of servers; line-based browser

HTML 3.2 adopted as W3C Recommendation in January1997

Audio and video proprietary extensions

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The making ofmultimedia requires software not only for thepreparation of individual media elements, but for their integrationinto a finished production.

Programs that allow a designer to assemble different media elements

in space and time, and add interactive behavior to them, are usuallycalled authoring systems.

Multimedia authoring systems take manyforms, though: if we arecurrently unsure about the form of multimedia, we are equally

uncertain about the best means of producing it.

Director, storyboard and Photoshop.

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Multimedia production display and presentation isthe sole purpose

Multimedia application display is driven bycomputation e.g. Web application presenting data stored in a database

Multiple media user must switch between modalities(read, watch, listen,) instead of combining them

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Digital multimedia: any combination of two or moremedia, represented in a digital form, sufficiently wellintegrated to be presented via a single interface, or

manipulated by a single computer program

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There are many precedents for the integration of media,

but the addition ofinteractivityis a novel contribution ofdigital multimedia.

Interactivityis frequently cited as the feature thatdistinguishesdigital multimedia from other forms of

combined media. Fundamentalcontrol offered to user is limited within

parameters established by the multimedia producer sinceinteraction takes place within a finite system as defined by

the controlling computer program. Interactivityembedded in a richenvironment provided by

a multimedia enhanced program can however create newuserexperiences eg. some types of multimedia games.

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Text, images laid out in 2-D arrangement as in book ormagazine

Time-based elements embedded as if they wereimages Playback controls may be provided

Pages combined using links (hypermedia)

Essentiallystatic

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Elements arranged in time Presented in sequence on a timeline

Elements may be frames or discrete pages (slideshow)

Often incorporatesparallelism Parallel elements may be synchronized

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Film: fixed order of frames defines a single playbacksequence

Book: physical arrangement of text and pages impliesa linear reading order

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Flash: jumps between frames, controlled by

interactivity, permit branching and loops

Hypermedia: links between pages permit multiplearbitrary reading orders

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Means of presenting choices and accepting user inputcan vary enormously from Stylized interface elements used by mainstream OSs

and applications

to Free-form, dynamically changing interaction of games

Conventions are predictable, but limited to (static)context in which they were developed

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If access to multimedia is the norm, those denied accessbecome marginalized ('digital divide')

Access may be limited by lack of: Access to equipment and skills

Network infrastructure

Literacy and education

Physical and cognitive abilities

These factors may depend on wealth, geographicallocation,

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Access to production of traditional media highlyrestricted

Books: distributed through publishers, subject to editorialscrutiny; barriers to newcomers

Film: very high cost; studios prefer safe bets

Music: mostly distributed by few labels controlled bysmall number of multinationals; hard to break in to thebusiness

TV: video production relatively low cost, but access tobroadcast rigidly controlled

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Potentially anyone with Internet access can have theirown Web site ISPs provide free Web space

Free and inexpensive tools are adequate

WWW has potential for revolution in access to themeans of production and distribution of digitalmaterial

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All sufficiently complex societies seek to control whatpeople may see or hear, either by explicit policing,economic or other means

Rapid growth of the Internet and its potential fordisseminating unacceptable content has given newimpetus to debates about censorship

Complicated ethical issues with no enduringconclusion or consensus despite thousands of years ofdebate

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WWWisglobalnetwork, hence material reachesmany different societies and cultural and religiousgroups within those societies

Many different models of censorship none, rigidcentralized control, self-regulation,

Unrealistic to expect a single model of censorship to

be acceptable everywhere Difficult to assign responsibility for dissemination of

content on Internet

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Platform for Internet Content Selection

Attempt to provide a mechanism that supports adiversity of attitudes towards content and censorship

Labels attached to each page, providing a rating of itscontents

PICS only defines standard label format

Screening software rejects material deemed unsuitableaccording to user's criteria

Defers the difficult decisions