Multimedia: tools

Multimedia Authoring Tool

There are many types of multimedia authoring tools (software programs) which can be used for developing instructional multimedia products. However, as technology became more powerful, so did the authoring tools -- permitting more complex instructional design. A multimedia authoring tool enables you to create a final application merely by linking together objects, such as a paragraph of text, an illustration, or a song. Attractive and useful multimedia applications can be produced by defining the objects relationships to each other, and by sequencing them in an appropriate order.

Multimedia Authoring Tool easy and exciting for beginners... dynamic and interactive for experts... It requires less technical knowledge to master and is used exclusively for applications that present a mixture of textual, graphical, and audio data. Multimedia authoring tool can be used to create anything from simple slide shows to full-blown games and interactive applications. The splendid, yet refined, contents with multimedia materials (text, image, sound, video, animation, Flash, web document and database) with easy and convenient editing can be applied to the web as well as CDs and presentations. A multimedia authoring tool supports a wide variety of multimedia file formats including images, video, and sound. Clip-art and sound libraries are rarely bundled with a multimedia authoring tool.

Multimedia Presentation Software

Multimedia software comprises a wide variety of software that allows you to combine images with text, music and sound, animation, video, and other special effects. Many kinds of multimedia software are available. Multimedia software is sometimes broadly grouped as:

Multimedia Authoring can be used to create anything from simple slide shows to full-blown games and interactive applications. A professional multimedia development program is called an authoring tool or authoring software. An authoring tool allows you to give the user interactive control over the sequence and timing of videos, graphics and animation. It also provides a scripting language, also called a macro or authoring language to control the action.

Multimedia presentation software is capable of stunning multimedia slideshows, brandishing dynamic sound, 3D Animation and cinematic quality special effects. Multimedia Presentation can be described as an intuitive book. Each page of the book can include pictures, animations, sounds and other controls. The pages can turn themselves or wait for their users to click on Next. Unlike the pages of a traditional book, they can talk to their readers too. No matter what your particular need may be, whether to e-mail an electronic photograph album to your relatives, allow users of your web page to download a multimedia catalog, show prospective clients samples of your work or make a dull subject come alive in class, multimedia presentation software can transform your ideas into a complete, professional application. In a live multimedia presentation, the slides are commonly projected onto large screens or printed on overhead transparencies. The slides may be distributed in printed form as handouts to accompany the live presentation.

Multimedia Presentation Software can build self-displaying, interactive slide shows, electronic books and brochures, clickable advertisements, distributable portfolios and all sorts of other multimedia applications. Almost everything it can accomplish requires nothing more than a few mouse clicks. It has a short learning curve. Some multimedia presentation software documents are EXE files - they can be opened on any system. They can be freely distributed on disks and CD-ROMs, and over the Internet. Multimedia Presentation Software has some great features like the ability to:

Build and distribute slide show style presentations.
Write your own clickable advertisements, to distribute alone or with other products.
Design training materials that include pictures, sounds and interactive elements.
Compile a distributable portfolio.
Completed presentations are frequently published in multiple formats, which may include print, the Web, or electronic files.

Multimedia Presentation Software requires a faster processor. A display adapter and screen driver capable of displaying more than 16 million colors is needed to get the best out of it.

Computer Animation Software Information

The main goal of computer animation is to synthesize the desired motion effect which is a mixing of natural phenomena, perception and imagination. Animations are mainly used to demonstrate an idea or illustrate a concept. A special and computer animation software are necessary for the creation of computer animation. Some examples of animation software are: Amorphium, Art of Illusion, 3D Studio Max, SoftImage XSI, Alice, and Adobe Flash (2D) ect. Prices will vary greatly ranging from affordable to mind-numbingly expensive depending on target market. In general, computer animation software intended for the novice to enjoy for fun or for simple animation is less costly. Software for more professional animation is not only more expensive, but also more comprehensive. However, even the most basic animation programs are capable of creating some amazing animations.

There are two types of Computer animation: Cel based and Object based. Cel based computer animation consists of multiple drawings, each one a little different from the others. When these drawings are shown in rapid sequence, the drawing appears to move. Object based computer animation (also called slide or path animation) simply moves an object across a screen. The object itself does not change.

Speed is key to the success of computer animation. To give the illusion of smooth movement, complete images, often called frames, must be shown at speeds of at least 12 images per second. At lesser speeds, the human eye is able to detect a certain amount of jerkiness. Interestingly, however, there is no advantage to showing images at speeds of 70 frames per second or more, as there is no noticeable improvement in movement perception at speeds this high.

Video is usually taken from life, whereas animations are based on drawings. Vector graphics may be 2D or 3D. 2D graphics show only length and width, whereas 3D graphics show depth too. Shading, anti-aliasing and morphing are other techniques used to make the images more realistic. Manipulating large images eventually destined for movies can be highly processor intensive, which calls for specialized computers and operating system. Clusters of Silicon Graphics computers were used for the amazing visual effects and the CGI for movies like 'Abyss', 'Matrix' and 'Jurassic Park' to name a few. Animation is far reaching. There are the block-busting special effects, which make the Millennium Falcon fly and the Titanic sink. Each of these types of animation has its own difficulties - budget and time constraints, technology limitations, and so on. Skills of imagination, creativity and artistic ability are highly desired in the field of web animation.

Multimedia Computer: Music and Sounds

A multimedia computer can include sound data and live synthesized music. Various software programs record, play and edit digitized sounds. Sounds are basically analog signals, but they can be easily digitized and stored on disks. This will enhance the performance of computer animation.

Digitized video files are very lengthy. To store video and play it back at a usable rate, the files are heavily compressed using a video codec (compressor-decompressor).

A multimedia kit is a package of hardware and software that adds multimedia capabilities to a computer. Typically a multimedia kit includes a CD-ROM or DVD player, a sound card, speakers, and CD-ROMs.

Multimedia