Multimedia/digital media

Introduction

Multimedia/digital media involves the use and integration of media (for example, text, images and graphic elements, animation, sound and music, and video) to create digital products that are available online or offline.

Multimedia/digital media raises questions about a range of impacts, issues and solutions that the ITGS student must investigate, including copyright, intellectual property, and current practices and policies used to grant permission for use.

Multimedia File formats

TEXT FORMATS

1) PDF – Portable Document Format is a computer file format created by Adobe Systems. It is a multi-platform file, which is more secure (and can only be opened in a PDF reader) and smaller in size than other word processing files.

2) RTF – Rich Text Format is a standardized file format created by Microsoft. It is an ASCII file (a file which uses ASCII code to assign each byte) which indicates formatting information.

3) TXT - Text-file is a multi-platform computer file which has a limited variety of characters thus uses very little space. It can also be used as a programing language.

GRAPHICS

1) JPG/JPEG – It is a compressed (using lossy compression, where some quality is lost, no colour lost) electronic graphics format developed by the Joint Photographic Group (or extended group).

2) TIFF – Tagged Image File Format is a picture/ graphics file format which is cross-platform compatible.

3) GIF – Graphic Interchange Format is a bit-mapped (consists of rows and columns of dots of a graphics file, each stored as a couple of bits of data) file format. It is very popular; however it has limited colour options.

4) CGI – Computer Generated Imagery is an application software used for creating simulations (3D animation, games, etc.). It creates dynamic and or static. It is used in engineering, movies and games.

AUDIO

1) MIDI – Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a standard that has been adopted by the electronic music industry. It is used to control electronic devices that emit music (synthesizers and sound cards for example).

2) MP3 – MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 is an audio file format, a coding scheme for the compression of audio signals. It is a form of lossy compression in which all redundant sounds (beyond human hearing) are removed.

3) MP4 – MPEG-4 is a compression (lossy) standard derived from MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 used for compression of audio and video files. MPEG-4 is designed to transmit video, audio and 2D & 3D graphics over smaller bandwidths.

4) WAF – Wave Audio Format is a standardized (by Microsoft and IBM) algorithm used to store audio bit-streams.

VIDEO

1) AVI – Audio Video Interleaved is a multimedia format developed by Microsoft. AVI can store audio and video formats synchronized together in a file.

2) MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) - MPEG is a group of video compression standards and digital file formats developed by the Moving Picture Expert Group. It includes MPEG3 and MPEG4. MPEG formats are small in size and can easily be transmitted over the internet. MPEG is very popular.

3) Video Codec – It is an application software that enables the lossy compression/ decompression of digital video files.

4) MOV (Apple File Format) – MOV is a multimedia computer file format, developed by Apple Computer. It is used for compressing and storing video and audio files.

5) Video cast/ Video podcast – Video podcast is a digital media. It is the online delivery of audio or video files via web syndication.

Copy right Issues with Multimedia products

When you buy a typical computer software package, you are not actually buying the software. Instead, you are buying a software license to use the program, (this is also true for most movies and songs whether purchased online or on disc.) While end-user license agreements vary, most include limitations on your rights to install and use software on multiple computers, copy discs, install software on hard drives and transfer info to other users. Many companies offer volume licenses: these are special licenses for families, companies, schools, or government institutions. Some companies even rent software to corporate and government clients.

Virtually all commercial software is copyrighted. Copyrighted software can’t be legally written or duplicated for distribution to others

From Beekman G and Beekman B, Digital planet, tomorrows technology and you. Tenth Edition. Pearson Education International.

Digital rights management (DRM)

Some CDs and DVDs are copyrighted using DRM. This is a technology used to in many audio files to protect musician’s and other artist’s intellectual property. This technology ensures that the files cannot be duplicated with conventional copying techniques.

Tutorials, training and wizards (assistants)

In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of tutorials, training and wizards, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:

• Key terms—tutorial software, training software, wizards and assistants, help menu and help features, “Read Me” files

• Wizards, assistants and online assistants in the design and creation of a product, for example, desktop-published documents, slideshows, web sites.

A wizard is a user interface element where the user is led through a sequence of dialogs. Unlike most modern user interfaces, the user is forced to perform the task in a specific sequence. However, for complex or infrequently performed tasks where the user is unfamiliar with the steps involved, it may make it easier for them to perform the task.

a tutorial is a computer program whose purpose it is to assist users in learning how to use (parts of) a software product such as an office suite or any other application, operating system interface, programming tool, or game. There are two kinds of software tutorials: movie tutorials that you watch; and interactive tutorials where you follow on-screen instructions (and in some cases watch short instruction movies), whereupon you do the tutorial exercises and get feedback depending on your actions. Some computer based tutorials can also be put up on the web.

Online Help is topic, procedural or reference information delivered through computer software. It is a form of User Assistance. Most Help is designed to give assistance in the use of a software application or operating system, but can also be used to present information on a broad range of subjects. When Help is linked to the state of application (what user is doing), it's called context-sensitive Help.

A readme (or read me) file contains information about other files in a directory or archive and is very commonly distributed with computer software. Such a file is usually a text file called README.TXT, README.1ST, READ.ME, or simply README. The name is chosen such that even if one were not aware that there might typically be a readme file, they would be drawn to read it because of the name. The contents typically include one or more of the following:

configuration instructions
installation instructions
operating instructions
a file manifest
copyright and licensing information
contact information for the distributor or programmer
known bugs

Knowledge of technology

In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of images, sound and presentations, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include the following...

Design and creation concepts

Key terms

animation,
bit-map versus vector graphics,
object-oriented,
clip art,
CAD,
hypermedia,hypertext,
pixel, resolution,
MP3, MIDI,
- morph
data integrity
consistency in design elements
use of appropriate fonts, sound, images, video to convey a specific message

Storage, processing and access concepts

file formats, for example, storage requirements, loading time, portability
sound, image and video capture and editing
updating and combining sounds or images at a later point in time to create a new work of art

Social and ethical issues

Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of images, sound and presentations, for example, multimedia, slideshows, virtual reality, games. These may include:

intellectual property relating to the copying and modifying of text, images, sound and video (fair use policies)
copyright issues
printed versus electronically published information
health issues related to virtual reality
multimedia solutions for disabled persons
multilingual selection possibilities of CD-ROMs and DVD
surveillance and privacy
global access to information available on CD-ROMs versus Internet
use of virtual actors in films
biased information
reliability of data
social and ethical issues related to games.

Some Multimedia definitions

Animation: This consists of motion pictures created by recording a series of still images—drawings, objects, or people in various positions of incremental movement—that when played back no longer appear individually as static images but combine to produce the illusion of unbroken motion. The term animation applies to creations on film, video, or computers, and even to motion toys, which usually consist of a series of drawings or photographs on paper that are viewed with a mechanical device or by flipping through a hand-held sequence of images (for example, a pad of paper can be used to create an animated flipbook of drawings).

A bitmap image , raster graphics, or digital image, is a data file or structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, on a computer monitor, paper, or other display device. The color of each pixel is individually defined; images in the RGB color space, for instance, often consist of colored pixels defined by three bytes—one byte each for red, green and blue. Less colorful images require less information per pixel; for example, an image with only black and white pixels requires only a single bit for each pixel.
Vector graphics (also called geometric modeling or object-oriented graphics) is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and polygons, which are all based upon mathematical equations to represent images in computer graphics.
Vector graphics represent an image through the use of geometric objects such as curves and polygons while Raster graphics is the representation of images as a collection of pixels (dots)
Clip Art: Clip art, in the graphic arts, refers to pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Clip Art, in computer applications, such as desktop publishing and word-processing programs is a collection of graphics that can be copied and added to brochures, newsletters, and other documents created with the programs.

Hypermedia, in computer science, is the integration of graphics, sound, video, and animation into documents or files that are linked in an associative system of information storage and retrieval. Hypermedia files contain cross references called hyperlinks that connect to other files with related information, allowing users to easily move, or navigate, from one document to another through these associations.

Morph: Also called Motion Picture, is a series of images that are projected onto a screen to create the illusion of motion. Motion pictures—also called movies, films, or the cinema—are one of the most popular forms of entertainment, enabling people to immerse themselves in an imaginary world for a short period of time. But movies can also teach people about history, science, human behavior, and many other subjects. Some films combine entertainment with instruction, to make the learning process more enjoyable
Morph in motion pictures and animations, refers to a special effect that changes (morphs) one image into another through a seamless transition.

Reference: http://kennedyb.wordpress.com/category/ib-itgs/b-new-syllabus-2012/strand-3-it-systems/3-6-multimedia-digital-media/

Bulleted headings excerpted from Information technology in a global society: guide. Cardiff Wales, UK: International Baccalaureate Organization, 2006.

http://www.ruthtrumpold.id.au/itgswiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.ImagesSoundsAndPresentations