multimedia

Audio and Multimedia


Multimedia content on the Web, by its definition - including or involving the use of several media - would seem to be inherently accessible or easily made accessible.



However, if the information is audio, such as a RealAudio feed from a news conference or the proceedings in a courtroom, a person who is deaf or hard of hearing cannot access that content unless provision is made for a visual presentation of audio content. Similarly, if the content is pure video, a blind person or a person with severe vision loss will miss the message without the important information in the video being described.



Remember from Section 2 that to be compliant with Section 508, you must include text equivalents for all non-text content. Besides including alternative text for images and image map areas, you need to provide textual equivalents for audio and more generally for multimedia content.





Some Definitions

A transcript of audio content is a word-for-word textual representation of the audio, including descriptions of non-text sounds like "laughter" or "thunder." Transcripts of audio content are valuable not only for persons with disabilities but in addition, they permit searching and indexing of that content which is not possible with just the audio. "Not possible" is, of course too strong. Search engines could, if they wanted, employ voice recognition to audio files, and index that information - but they don't.



Categorization of multimedia


Multimedia may be broadly divided into linear and non-linear categories. Linear active content progresses without any navigational control for the viewer such as a cinema presentation. Non-linear content offers user interactivity to control progress as used with a computer game or used in self-paced computer based training. Hypermedia is an example of non-linear content.



Multimedia presentations can be live or recorded. A recorded presentation may allow interactivity via a navigation system. A live multimedia presentation may allow interactivity via an interaction with the presenter or performer.



Major characteristics of multimedia

Multimedia presentations may be viewed in person on stage, projected, transmitted, or played locally with a media player. A broadcast may be a live or recorded multimedia presentation. Broadcasts and recordings can be either analog or digital electronic media technology. Digital online multimedia may be downloaded or streamed. Streaming multimedia may be live or on-demand.



Multimedia games and simulations may be used in a physical environment with special effects, with multiple users in an online



Terminology

History of the term

The term "multimedia" was coined[citation needed] by Bob Goldstein (later 'Bobb Goldsteinn') to promote the July 1966 opening of his "LightWorks at L'Oursin" show at Southampton, Long Island. On August 10, 1966, Richard Albarino of Variety borrowed the terminology, reporting: “Brainchild of songscribe-comic Bob (‘Washington Square’) Goldstein, the ‘Lightworks’ is the latest multi-media music-cum-visuals to debut as discotheque fare.” [1]. Two years later, in 1968, the term “multimedia” was re-appropriated to describe the work of a political consultant, David Sawyer, the husband of Iris Sawyer—one of Goldstein’s producers at L’Oursin.



In the intervening forty years, the word has taken on different meanings. In the late 1970s the term was used to describe presentations consisting of multi-projector slide shows timed to an audio track.[citation needed] However, by the 1990s 'multimedia' took on its current meaning. The German language usage society, Gesellschaft fur deutsche Sprachgebrauch, decided to recognize the word's significance and ubiquitousness in the 1990s by awarding it the title of 'Word of the Year' in 1995. The institute summed up its rationale by stating "[Multimedia] has become a central word in the wonderful new media world"[2]



In common usage, the term multimedia refers to an electronically delivered combination of media including video, still images, audio, text in such a way that can be accessed interactively. Much of the content on the web today falls within this definition as understood by millions. Some computers which were marketed in the 1990s were called "multimedia" computers because they incorporated a CD-ROM drive, which allowed for the delivery of several hundred megabytes of video, picture, and audio data.



Word usage and context

Since media is the plural of medium, the term "multimedia" is a pleonasm if "multi" is used to describe multiple occurrences of only one form of media such as a collection of audio CDs. This is why it's important that the word "multimedia" is used exclusively to describe multiple forms of media and content.



The term "multimedia" is also ambiguous. Static content (such as a paper book) may be considered multimedia if it contains both pictures and text or may be considered interactive if the user interacts by turning pages at will. Books may also be considered non-linear if the pages are accessed non-sequentially. The term "video", if not used exclusively to describe motion photography, is ambiguous in multimedia terminology. Video is often used to describe the file format, delivery format, or presentation format instead of "footage" which is used to distinguish motion photography from "animation" of rendered motion imagery. Multiple forms of information content are often not considered modern forms of presentation such as audio or video. Likewise, single forms of information content with single methods of information processing (e.g. non-interactive audio) are often called multimedia, perhaps to distinguish static media from active media. In the Fine arts, for example, Leda Luss Luyken's ModulArt brings two key elements of musical composition and film into the world of painting: variation of a theme and movement of and within a picture, making ModulArt an interactive multimedia form of art. Performing arts may also be considered multimedia considering that performers and props are multiple forms of both content and media.



Usage



A presentation using Powerpoint. Corporate presentations may combine all forms of media content.

Virtual reality uses multimedia content. Applications and delivery platforms of multimedia are virtually limitless.

VVO Multimedia-Terminal in Dresden WTC (Germany)Multimedia finds its application in various areas including, but not limited to, advertisements, art, education, entertainment, engineering, medicine, mathematics, business, scientific research and spatial temporal applications, see Banerji & Ghosh (2010). Several examples are as follows:



Creative industries

Creative industries use multimedia for a variety of purposes ranging from fine arts, to entertainment, to commercial art, to journalism, to media and software services provided for any of the industries listed below. An individual multimedia designer may cover the spectrum throughout their career. Request for their skills range from technical, to analytical, to creative.



Commercial

Much of the electronic old and new media used by commercial artists is multimedia. Exciting presentations are used to grab and keep attention in advertising. Business to business, and interoffice communications are often developed by creative services firms for advanced multimedia presentations beyond simple slide shows to sell ideas or liven-up training. Commercial multimedia developers may be hired to design for governmental services and nonprofit services applications as money.



Entertainment and fine arts

In addition, multimedia is heavily used in the entertainment industry, especially to develop special effects in movies and animations. Multimedia games are a popular pastime and are software programs available either as CD-ROMs or online. Some video games also use multimedia features. Multimedia applications that allow users to actively participate instead of just sitting by as passive recipients of information are called Interactive Multimedia. In the Arts there are multimedia artists, whose minds are able to blend techniques using different media that in some way incorporates interaction with the viewer. One of the most relevant could be Peter Greenaway who is melding Cinema with Opera and all sorts of digital media. Another approach entails the creation of multimedia that can be displayed in a traditional fine arts arena, such as an art gallery. Although multimedia display material may be volatile, the survivability of the content is as strong as any traditional media. Digital recording material may be just as durable and infinitely reproducible with perfect copies every time.



Education

In Education, multimedia is used to produce computer-based training courses (popularly called CBTs) and reference books like encyclopedia and almanacs. A CBT lets the user go through a series of presentations, text about a particular topic, and associated illustrations in various information formats. Edutainment is an informal term used to describe combining education with entertainment, especially multimedia entertainment.



Learning theory in the past decade has expanded dramatically because of the introduction of multimedia. Several lines of research have evolved (e.g. Cognitive load, Multimedia learning, and the list goes on). The possibilities for learning and instruction are nearly endless.



The idea of media convergence is also becoming a major factor in education, particularly higher education. Defined as separate technologies such as voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications) and video that now share resources and interact with each other, synergistically creating new efficiencies, media convergence is rapidly changing the curriculum in universities all over the world. Likewise, it is changing the availibility, or lack thereof, of jobs requiring this savvy technological skill.



Newpaper companies all over are also trying to embrace the new phenomenon by implementing it's practices in their work. While some have been slow to come around, other major newspapers like The New York Times, USA Today and The Washington Post are setting the precedent for the positioning of the newspaper industry in a globalized world.



Engineering

Software engineers may use multimedia in Computer Simulations for anything from entertainment to training such as military or industrial training. Multimedia for software interfaces are often done as a collaboration between creative professionals and software engineers.



Industry

In the Industrial sector, multimedia is used as a way to help present information to shareholders, superiors and coworkers. Multimedia is also helpful for providing employee training, advertising and selling products all over the world via virtually unlimited web-based technology



Mathematical and scientific research

In mathematical and scientific research, multimedia is mainly used for modelling and simulation. For example, a scientist can look at a molecular model of a particular substance and manipulate it to arrive at a new substance. Representative research can be found in journals such as the Journal of Multimedia.



Medicine

In Medicine, doctors can get trained by looking at a virtual surgery or they can simulate how the human body is affected by diseases spread by viruses and bacteria and then develop techniques to prevent it.



Document Imaging

Document Imaging is a technique that takes hard copy of an image/document and converts it into a digital format



Miscellaneous

In Europe, tlolreference organization for Multimedia industry is the European Multimedia Associations Convention (EMMAC).



Structuring information in a multimedia form

Multimedia represents the convergence of text, pictures, video and sound into a single form. The power of multimedia and the Internet lies in the way in which information is linked.



Multimedia and the Internet require a completely new approach to writing. The style of writing that is appropriate for the 'on-line world' is highly optimized and designed to be able to be quickly scanned by readers. [3]



A good site must be made with a specific purpose in mind and a site with good interactivity and new technology can also be useful for attracting visitors. The site must be attractive and innovative in its design, function in terms of its purpose, easy to navigate, frequently updated and fast to download. [4]



When users view a page, they can only view one page at a time. As a result, multimedia users must create a ‘mental model of information structure’.[5]



Patrick Lynch, author of the Yale University Web Style Manual, states that users need predictability and structure, with clear functional and graphical continuity between the various components and subsections of the multimedia production. In this way, the home page of any multimedia production should always be a landmark, able to be accessed from anywhere within a multimedia piece. ihil

When a transcript of the audio part of an audio-visual (multimedia) presentation is displayed synchronously with the audio-visual presentation, it is called captioning. When speaking of TV captioning, open captions are those in which the text is always present on the screen and closed captions are those viewers can choose to display or not.



Descriptive video or described video intersperses explanations of important video with the normal audio of a multimedia presentation. These descriptions are also called audio descriptions.



Collections of Multimedia Links




Multimedia Authoring Web

This site was developed for and by "The Authoring Group" at Maricopa Community Colleges. It has links to the following areas: authoring languages, centers for multimedia development, multimedia resources, authoring listservs, and commercial multimedia producers.





Apple Multimedia Program

This site contains links to multimedia software from Apple, resource material, multimedia developers, and multimedia news.





Apple Americas Higher Education

This site has links to Learning Technologies, Distance Learning, Collaboration, Information Access, Workflow, Mobility, Other Resources, and Campus Sales.





New Media Centers

The New Media Centers has links to news, academic members, corporate memebers, resource center, and new media clips.





Sun Microsystems

This site has links to Products and Solutions, Sales and Service, Technology and Developers, Corporate Overview, Sun on the Net, and SunSite.









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Authoring Software



Descriptions of 62 Authoring Languages



HyperCard Homepage

The HyperCard Home Page has links to Hypercard/Apple News, Technical Help, Archive Sites, Home Pages, Developers, the Hypercard FAQ, Comparisons, Commercial Sites, etc.





SuperCard Home Page

The SuperCard Home Page has links to its home company Allegiant, the new internet software Marionet, tecnical support, and current news.





Hyperstudio

The Hyperstudio home page has links to What's New, Online Catalog, The Gallery, Roger's Laboratory, Hot Hyper Sites, Download Library, and Guestbook.





Macromedia

The Macromedia home page has links to the industry, tools, service, gallery, toys, and guide.





Authorware Interactive Studio

Authorware Interactive Studio with Shockwave is designed specifically for delivering interactive information over intranets. It combines media creation tools with an interactive authoring environment. Studio can be used to produce graphics, animation, high-quality audio, and interactivity for sharing information, assessing learning, and collecting end-user data.





Digital Chisel

Digital Chisel is a lower end authoring software package. It allows developers to create interactive screens with graphics, animation, QuickTime movies, sound, and hypertext links. It also has quiz templates which are linked to a database to record student progress. A new version of Digital Chisel will be released in early 1997 which will be platform independent, connect to the Internet, and have a more powerful database.





HyperGasp

HyperGasp is an extension to HyperCard which allows developers to create interactive presentations and courseware with graphics, scanned images, sounds, QuickTime movies, animations, videodisc sequences and text. It also includes templates, such as guided writing exercises, exploratory simulations, and electronic quizzes.





Libra

Libra is a stand-alone application based on HyperCard's object-oriented and event-driven environment. Libra can be used to created interactive courseware and is organized as a set of template stacks. These templates consist of basic expository displays, question formats, and a variety of informative displays. Libra's other tools feature straight-forward procedures to integrate these and other components (such as, QuickTime movies, color graphics, and digitized sound) into the lessons.





Super MacLang

Super MacLang is an easy to use authoring system for the Macintosh that permits authors to contextualize conventional language activities (fill-in, jumble, comlumn matching, and multiple choice) with text, graphics, sound, and video. It permits authors to deal with multiple correct answers, anticipated incorrect answers, and feedback. It also keeps track of student input.











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Tools for the Web



Cool Tool of the Day

My favorite web site, Cool Tool of the Day presents a new web tool every day with a full description of its features and a link to its web site.





Claris Home Page 2.0

Claris Home Page is a WYSIWYG HTML editor that allows you to create dynamic web pages with frames, tables, forms, and multimedia plug-ins quickly and effectively.





Real Audio

The Real Audio System is software that allows playback of audio in real-time over internet connections of 14.4 kbps or faster. It consists of three pieces: the Real Audio Playe, which plays files encoded in the Real Audio format, the Real Audio Encoder, which encodes files into the Real Audio format, and the Real Audio Server, which delivers RealAudio over the internet. The Real Audio Player and Encoder can be downloaded for free, but the Real Audio Server is relatively expensive.



It is possible, however, to serve Real Audio files via the internet without the Real Audio Server. The sound files don't stream, but the Real Audio Encoder has reduced the size of the files enough so that the wait time is reasonable. I have made some test pages, and sound files of about one minute in length are downloaded in about 25 seconds.





On-line JavaScript Reference

JavaScript is a programming language for adding functionality and features to HTML pages. JavaScript scripts are embedded in HTML files and run on the browser side. It currently runs only on Netscape's browsers. View Robert Beard's On-line Russian Grammar. He has written explanations for all the major grammar topics accompanied by interactive web quizzes made with JavaScript. See also the JavaScript web quiz I wrote to go with our photo album pages.





LiveCard

LiveCard is a CGI that works in conjunction with a Macintosh web server to serve HyperCard stacks directly over the web.





Friedman's Little Interactive Quizzes

This software package has just been released, and it allows instructors to create and serve interactive, multimedia quizzes to students over the World Wide Web. The complete package includes FLIQ, which serves quizzes and logs student progress, FLIQ Builder, which creates, tests, and installs new quizzes, FLIQ Edit, which edits existing quizzes, and FLIQ Stats, which generates graphs showing statistics of student performance. The examples of the quizzes on the web site are minimal, but there is a web-based copy of FLIQ Builder which allows one to create and test an interactive quiz online but not save it.



I created a demo quiz with a link to a photo and a Real Audio sound, and it worked well. FLIQ Builder provides a form on which the instructor fills in instructions (which can include links to images and sounds) and the quiz questions, with appropriate answers and hints. Then, the instructor clicks on the "Create Quiz" button at the bottom of the page, and FLIQ Builder automatically creates the CGI script for the quiz form and produces a web page with the newly created quiz. It takes about 5 seconds. Then, the instructor can test the quiz, click on the "Correct Quiz" button at the bottom of the quiz and receive feedback on the answers.



I'm waiting now for FLIQ to be installed on the UNIX system at St. Olaf, and then I'll put some example quizzes on this page.





Backgrounds for Web Pages



Icons for Web Pages







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Sound and Digital Images



Voxware: Put Sound on the Web

This site describes the new products from Voxware -- ToolVox Web Player and ToolVox Web Encoder -- which provide a simple and low cost way to play speech over the Web. At this site, you may download free copies of the ToolVox Web Player (Macintosh version not available yet) and the ToolVox Web Encoder.





Kodak Home Page

This site has information about the Kodak company, photography, product information, digital imaging, and customer solutions.









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Online Journals



Syllabus Magazine



MacWeek Online