Multimedia Production Process

What Is Multimedia Design?

 Multimedia design is the art of integrating
multiple forms of communication media. It is
used in video games, information kiosks,
websites that uses a combination of audio,
animation and text and any other interactive
applications.
 The advertising and marketing industries have
jumped on this trend of using multiple forms of
media to reach wider audiences.
 Industries such as video gaming and education
are also taking advantage of innovations in
multimedia design.
 Multimedia projects are sometimes complex; they
often involve the skills and efforts of multiple
teams or people.
 During the development process, a project moves
from story creation to technical editing, with
regular collective review sessions
 Each stage of the project is designed to refine the
attention to the client's needs, technical
requirements and audience preferences.
 Multimedia Production Process
 Multimedia development is a project-based
process. To make an interactive multimedia (IM)
application you will need:
 A project management plan
 People with knowledge and skills
 Tools - like Hardware, Software and Production
Equipment
 Subject matter and content to put into your
multimedia project.
 Multimedia Production Team
 High-quality interactive multimedia applications
are the product of the efforts of a production
team.
 Several software applications are available that
enable even the average computer user to develop
a simple and effective presentations.
 But the production of fine-quality high-end
interactive multimedia applications is usually the
work of a team of specialist.
 Almost all multimedia projects are developed by
a team rather than an individual.
 The Team
 The specialists in multimedia production team
include:
 Project Managers (oversee the projects timeline
and resources)
 Computer Graphic Artist Designers
 Audio and Video Specialist
 Multimedia Architect / Program Authoring
Specialist (Text Editor/Content Specialist)
 Programmers or Script Writer – Author creative
and technical
 User Interface Designers
 Animators - 2-D and 3-D
 Stages of Multimedia Application
Development
 A Multimedia application is developed in stages as
all other software are being developed.
 In multimedia application development few stages
have to be completed before other stages begin, and
some stages may be skipped or combined with other
stages.
Following are the basic stages of multimedia project
development :
1. Planning and Costing
2. Designing the Visual Aspects
3. Review and Editing
4. Production and user testing
5. delivering
1. Planning
 This is the first when the multimedia idea is
conceived. Application is defined as the
formulation of a scheme of program for the
accomplishment of a goal of purpose.
 This stage begins with an idea or need. The idea
is further developed by outlining objective and
message.
 Then, Estimate the time needed to prepare all
elements of multimedia and prepare a budget
accordingly. Develop a prototype or proof of
concept
 Therefore Planning involves the following steps:
1. Defining the goals and objectives of the
proposed multimedia title
2. Describing the content of the title
3. Developing the application script
4. Translating the application script into an
outline
5. Translating the outline into a logic flow chart
6. Developing the storyboard
i. defining the Goals and Objectives
 Goals and objectives are both tools for
accomplishing what you want to achieve.
 Goals are long term and objectives are usually
accomplished in the short or medium term
 While formulating the goals and objectives of the
multimedia application, the following critical
questions need to be addressed:
 What is the purpose of the proposed title?
 What is the team trying to accomplish?
 What are the expected results?
ii. Describing the Content of the Title
 Can be defined as the specific message, data,
facts or information to be presented.
 The content specialist provides the program
content to the multimedia architect, who in turn
prepares the narration, text, bullets, charts and
tables that will be presented in the title.
 The integration of a variety of multimedia
elements appeals to different learning styles and
helps the audience comprehend and retain the
information.
iii. Developing the Application Script
 The application script is a written description of
the proposed multimedia project.
 The purpose of the script is to describe the
actions of all components to be used i.e text,
graphics, video etc.
 The script will help the development team to
have clear understanding of the purpose of the
program.
iv. Translating the Application Script
into an Outline
 The next step it to identify and define the
branching of the program.
 The simplest way to define branching is to
develop an outline.
 The responsibility for developing the outline
belongs to the content specialist.
Example of Outline:
 Translating the Application Script into an
Outline
 1.0 Courseware
 1.1.0 Alphabets
 1.2.0 Games
 1.2.1 Typing Tutor
 1.2.2 Jigsaw Puzzle
 1.3.0 Song
 1.3.1 Alphabet Song
 1.3.2 Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
v. Logic Flow Chart
 Also known as navigational chart. The logic flow
chart provide a road map of the proposed application
for the team member in charge of authoring.
 A series of diagrams describing
the flow of the program.
 The flowchart will contain
information about what screen
leads from one to another, what
happens if a particular
response is made, when
does the program end etc.
 vi. Program Storyboard
 The storyboard is a graphic representation of the
purpose multimedia project.
 A multimedia project usually includes multiple
pieces: audio, video, imagery, text for voiceovers
and on-screen titles.
 Story boarding ties everything together; a story
board panel for a scene includes a sketch of the
visual elements, the voiceover or title text, and
any production notes.
 It guides the process, keeps everyone in check
and gives structure to the project.
 Storyboarding
 Preparing textual & pictorial displays of EACH
screen/scene
 Each screen should be roughly illustrated and
serve the purpose of generating further ideas.
 Storyboarding is used to help plan the general
organization or content of a presentation
organizing ideas on index cards, or placed on
board/wall.
 This where the visualization of the production is
conceptualized.
 Example of storyboard

• Storyboards on the left and with finished screen on

the right
Examples of
storyboard
Benefits of the storyboard
 Provides an overview of the title
 Demonstrates the navigation scheme
 Can check whether the presentation is accurate
and complete
 Can be evaluated by users such that:
 The design team will use the storyboard to define and
test design solutions.
 The client may use the final storyboards to obtain
support for the project.
 The programmer will use the storyboards to create
the program.
2. Designing the Visual Aspects
 During the design stage, designers take over the
visual aspects of the project to determine how it
looks and feels.
 Using the notes from the storyboard, they create
graphics, design the navigation and give direction
to photographers and videographers regarding
the correct shots.
 Depending on the project, the design stage might
also include web design, information design,
photography or image collection.
 The following are stages to design visual aspects
i. Designing the navigational structure
 The manner in which project material is organized
for navigational has just a great impact on the viewer
as the content itself.
 Mapping the structure of a project should be done
early in the planning phase.
 The navigation system should be designed in such a
manner that viewers are given free choice.
 There are four fundamental organizing structures: –
 Linear structure
 Hierarchical structure
 Non-linear structure
 Composite structure
a. Linear Structure
 The user navigates sequentially, moving
from one page to the next.
 Users navigate sequentially, from one frame
of information to another.
b. Hierarchical Structure
 Analogous to the branches of a tree. Users navigate
along the branches of a tree structure that is shaped
by the natural logic of the content. It is also called
linear with branching.
 To move from top to bottom, one must move down
one branch at a time, with more branches being
available the lower you go.
c. Non-linear Structure
 Users can navigate freely through the content,
unbound by predetermined routes.
d. Composite Structure
 Users may navigate non-linearly, but are
occasionally constrained to linear presentations.

 Poor navigational aid can make viewers feel lost

and unconnected to the content and just give up
and quit the program.
ii. Designing the user interface
 The interface is what connects the user to the
content and helps shape the interactive
experience.
 User Interface is everything a user sees, hears,
touches and feels.
 The method you provide for navigation from one
place to another in your project is part of user
interface. The nature of your interface will vary
depending on the purpose
 If your messages and contents are disorganized
and difficult to find your project may fail.
 User Interface
 The very first thing the end user sees of your
multimedia presentation is the interface design.
 This visual is their first impression, which, as we
all know, first impressions are usually the ones
that last the longest.
 Your Interface is your opportunity to interact with
and impress the user. Therefore you need to make
your interface design;
 Appealing / Attractive
 Easy to understand,
 Intuitive to interact with and
 Enjoyable.
 GUI Considerations
 Good interface design is the key to good interactive
multimedia, it will captivate the user and guide their
eyes and interaction the way the designer intended.
 There are two types of viewers, computer literate
and illiterate. To satisfy both is not easy.
 Graphical approaches that get good results:
 Neatly executed contrasts i.e heavy/light, bright/dark
 Simple and clean screens with lots of white spaces
 Shadow and drop shadows in various shades.
 Eye-grabbers such as drop caps of single bright color
 Reversed graphics to emphases important text of
images
 Graphical mistakes you should avoid in
creating GUI that are:
 Clashes of color.
 Busy screens(too much of stuffs).
 Using a picture with a lot of contrast in color or
brightness as a background
 Clanging bells or squeaks when the button is
clicked
 Requiring more than two button clicks to quit.
 Too many numbers and words.
 Too many substantive elements presented too
quickly.
 Design Audio Interfaces
 A multimedia user interface may include
important sound elements that reflects the
rhythm of a project and may affect the attitude of
your audience.
 Sound can be a background music, special effects
for button clicks, voice-overs, effects synced to
animation or track of the video clip.
 Choose the music that fits the content and the
atmosphere you wish to create
 Always provide a toggle switch to disable sound
iii. Detailed Design
 Here a paper based design stage where detailed
information about the project and it’s content is
created.
 Each frame is detailed including graphics, text,
multimedia components, navigation and actions.
 This may involve script writing to decide the
entire structure of the multimedia production.
 All the segment of the production must be
arranged in order and sequentially using
flowchart.
3. Review and Editing
 Editing is one of the most involved and complex
stages of the multimedia development process.
 The people responsible for editing the project turn
the various pieces into a interrelated product, taking
into consideration the time, story line and creative
specifications.
 For projects with a large amount of video, editing is
often the longest stage of the process; for instance a
minute of final video can take hours of editing.
 The editing stage usually involves internal review
iterations and may also include rounds of client
review and editing.
4. Production and User Testing
 The production stage is when all the parts of a
multimedia project come together.
 The production staff gathers all of the edited assets
in one place and puts them together in a logical
sequence, using the story board as a guide.
 The programmer assembles all into a final product
using any convenient multimedia authoring
application program
 Translate the storyboard/flowchart into a series of
instructions on the computer. i.e. Put the plan into
practice!
 This should be a prototype and is subjected to
constant testing and debugging.
 User Testing
 To ensure that a project has the desired impact on
the target audience, a company may engage in
user testing as part of production.
 Depending on the goals of the project, the staff
might observe users' reactions or have them
answer questions to see if the project hits the
right marks.
 After user testing, there are usually further
adjustments to the project.
 Once the team and clients are satisfied, the
project goes out for distribution.
5. Delivering
 After testing and correcting all errors, the final
stage of the multimedia application development
is to pack the project and published or delivered
to the end user for implementation.
 This stage has several steps such as shipping and
marketing the product and maintenance.
 Delivering the project may sometimes require
building a run-time version of the project, using
the multimedia authoring software.
 It is important to use tools that facilitate easy
transfer across platforms.
Project Tracking and copyrighting:
 Version control of your files is very important,
especially in large projects.
 If storage space allows, archive all file iterations.
 Insert a copyright statement in the project that
legally designates the code as the creator's
intellectual property.
 Copyright and ownership statements are
embedded in <meta> tags at the top of a HTML
page.
 Multimedia Design Principles
 There are three principles in multimedia design:
1. Consistency of the styles
 Layout, format and style should be the same
throughout. Readability is improved when
similar items are grouped.
2. Easy Navigation
 Users need to be able to find information easily,
and not wait too long for downloads.
3. Simple design
 Don’t overuse design elements as this will
create visual clutter
 Issues in Multimedia Application
Design
 There are three issues to consider when designing
a multimedia application,
 Below are the issues involved in:
 Content Design
 Technical Design
 Visual Design
1. Content Design
 Content design deals with: What to say, and what
content to use etc.
 In multimedia, there are five ways to format and
deliver your message. You can:
1. write it, (Scripting)
2. illustrate it, (Graphics)
3. wiggle it, (Animation)
4. hear it, (Audio) and
5. interact with it.“ (Interactivity)
 i. Scripting (writing)
 Rules for good writing:
 Understand your audience and correctly
address them.
 Keep your writing as simple as possible. (e.g.,
write out the full message(s) first, then shorten
it.)
 Make sure technologies used complement each
other.
 ii. Graphics (illustrating)
 Make use of pictures to effectively deliver your
messages.
 Create your own drawing, (color) scanner,
PhotoCD, ..., or keep "copy files" of art works. –
 Use Graphics Styles such as:
 fonts
 colors
 pastels
 earth-colors
 metallic
 primary color
 neon color
 iii. Animation (wiggling)
 When to Animate: Only animate when it has a
specific purpose
 Enhance emotional impact
 Improve information delivery
 Provide a transition to next subsection
 Improve information delivery e.g., "pulsing"
words (in and out of screen) adds emphasis
 Indicate passage of time e.g., clock/hourglass ->
program still running e.g., animated text -> to
prompt for interaction/response
 iv. Audio (hearing)
 Types of Audio in Multimedia Applications:
1. Music - set the mood of the presentation,
enhance the emotion, illustrate points
2. Sound effects - to make specific points, e.g.,
squeaky doors, explosions, wind, ...
3. Narration - most direct message, often
effective
 v. Interactivity (interacting)
 Types of Interactive Multimedia Applications:
1. Menu driven programs/presentations - often a
hierarchical structure (main menu, sub-menus, ...)
2. Hypermedia
 easier for introducing more multimedia features, e.g.,
more interesting "buttons"
 could sometimes get lost in navigating the
hypermedia
 less structured, cross-links between subsections of the
same subject
3. Simulations / Performance-dependent
Simulations
 - e.g., Games - SimCity, Flight Simulators
 2. Technical Design
 Technological factors may limit the ambition of
your multimedia presentation:
 Technical parameters that affect the design and
delivery of multimedia applications are:

1.Video Mode, format and resolution:

 The most popular video formats — NTSC, PAL,
and SECAM— are not compatible, so a conversion
is required before a video can be played on a player
supporting a different format.
2. Computer Platform:
 Computer platform (Windows, UNIX/Linux etc.)
 There are many "portable", "cross-platform"
software and "run-time modules", but many of
them lose quality/performance during the
translation and may not work well across systems.

3. Memory and Disk Space Requirement:

 At least 128 MB of RAM and 20 GB of hard-disk
space should be available for acceptable
performance and storage for multimedia
programs.
4. Delivery Methods:
 Live Presentation A streaming option may be
available, depending on the presentation.
 Delivery by diskette -: Small in size, slow to
install
 Delivery by CD-ROM+: Large capacity -:
Access time of CD-ROM drives is longer than
hard-disk drives
 Electronic delivery (ftp, www, etc.) is an option,
but depends on network connection and
monthly bill
 3. Visual Design
 Factors that should be considered in the visual
design of a multimedia presentation are:
1.Themes and Styles
 A multimedia presentation should have a
consistent theme/style, it should not be
disjointed and cluttered with multiple themes.
 The choice of theme/style depends on the styles
and emotions of your audience.
 Some Possible Themes:
 Cartoon theme: interesting / entertaining -: must
be consistent with the character's personality
 Traditional theme - straightforward: simple,
often informative, not as interesting
 High tech theme - contemporary computer art
work (morphing, texture mapping, metal
texture, explosions, ...) : attractive, easy to
animate
 Technical theme - include blueprints, 3D
models of the product, ... e.g., start with a
drawing, then transformed into a rendered
image. : shows adequate technical information
: gives impression of solid design and
construction
2. Color Schemes and Art Styles
 Natural and floral (outdoor scenes, e.g.,
mountains, lakes, ...) getting back to nature
 Oil paints, watercolours, colored pencils, pastels. -
these art styles can be combined with e.g., cartoon
or high tech themes
3.Basic Layout
 Title, Action area , Narration , Dialog and Interactive
controls
 Make sure that the information delivery path in
the layout is smooth, not irregular/jumpy
 Use headlines/subtitles, additional shapes,
buttons, fonts, backgrounds and textures to
enhance the visual appearance.
3 .Pace and Running length
 Few guidelines:
 Allow a block of text to be slowly read twice.
 Transition time should be an indication of real-time.
 dissolve - time delay, scene change
 cut - two views of same scene at same time, or
abrupt scene change
 Running length
 self running presentation: 2-3 minutes

 limited interaction: 5-6 minutes

 complete analytical, hands-on demo: < 15 minutes

 with questions, discussions: > 30 minutes

 ** build in breaks for long presentations

Useful Rules to consider in visual design
 Do not use too many text information , size of the text
should be adequate of its meaning
 Objects should be readable, Allow a block of text to
be slowly read twice
 Good background for easy reading , bright colors
takes attention , do not use to many colors
 Show pictures at least for 5 seconds
 Transition time should be an indication of real-time
 dissolve - time delay, scene change
 cut - two views of same scene at same time, or
abrupt scene change
Project Assignment
 Work with your group to create a multimedia project based
on the following guidelines:
 1. Create a multimedia project that you can present to the class.
The work can be on a topic and format of your choice, but all
group members must agree on both the topic and format.
model real-life experiences and presentation of research results
in the range of media possibilities available to working
professionals.
 2. Include at least three of the following forms of media:
images, video, sound, animation, text, graphics.
 3. Be sure that your presentation lasts between 4 and 8
minutes.
 4. Be sure that you can publish your work in digital form
without breaking copyright law. Apply ethical and copyright
issues in your multimedia production
 Assignment evaluation
 To help you meet the criteria, Your final project will be
assessed on:

Achievement of the purpose you state in the planning 20 points

stage, Multimedia Project Storyboard
Good use of multimedia elements, such as images, 20 points
sound, text, etc.
Evidence of group work effort 20 points
Presentation demonstrates a comprehensive and depth 15 points
of understanding of the material presented
Originality 15 points
Ideas are well organized, clearly communicated, and 10points
connected.
Example of Multimedia projects
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-upKk2nNkU
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKlRxM68S9A
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9ZjaKQsCjE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHmGSiFGI3E
Review Questions
 What are the three issues in Multimedia Application
Design?
 2. What are the rules in good writing for Multimedia
Application?
 3. Explain when and how the animated elements used in
multimedia applications.
 4. How to determine the theme or style of a multimedia
application?
 List five applications of multimedia
 Your answers may include any of the following areas
i) Education
ii) Entertainment
iii) Medicine
iv) Engineering
v) Industry
vi) Creative Industry
vii) Mathematical and scientific Industry
viii) Engineering
ix) Commercial
 1. Define Multimedia and list all five elements of Multimedia.
 2. Briefly define the following terms:
 a. Multimedia Developers
 b. Multimedia Project
 c. Multimedia Title
 d. Interactive Multimedia
 3. Give four examples of Multimedia usage.
 4. What are the three requirements for Multimedia?
 5. Give any two advantages and two disadvantages of
Multimedia.
 6. Define Multimedia System.
 7. List four characteristics of a Multimedia System.
 8. Give four examples of Multimedia Application.
 9. What are the methods used to deliver Multimedia
application?