Multimedia Notes

UNIT 1
Introduction to Multimedia
Structure
1.1 Introdution
1.2 Categories of Multimedia
1.3 Applications of Multimedia
1.4 Stages of Multimedia Application Development
1.5 Delivering methods of Multimedia Contents.
Learning Objectives
In this lesson we will learn the preliminary concepts of Multimedia. We will
discuss the various benefits and applications of multimedia. After going through
this chapter the reader will be able to :
(i) Define multimedia
(ii) List the elements of multimedia
(iii) Enumerate the different applications of multimedia
(iv) Describe the different stages of multimedia software development
366 Computer Graphics and Animation
1.1 Introduction
Multimedia has become an inevitable part of any presentation. It has found
a variety of applications right from entertainment to education. The evolution of
internet has also increased the demand for multimedia content.
Multimedia is the media that uses multiple forms of information content
and information processing (e.g. text, audio, graphics, animation, video,
interactivity) to inform or entertain the user. Multimedia also refers to the use of
electronic media to store and experience multimedia content. Multimedia is similar
to traditional mixed media in fine art, but with a broader scope. The term “rich
media” is synonymous for interactive multimedia.
Multimedia elements
• Text
• Graphics
• Audio
• Video
• Animation
• Interactivity
1.2 Categories of Multimedia
Multimedia may be broadly divided into linear and non-linear categories.
Linear active content progresses without any navigation 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. Non-linear content is also known as hypermedia 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 interaction with the presenter or performer.
1.2.1 Features 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.
Paper - III Fundamentals of Computer Graphics and Animation 367
Multimedia games and simulations may be used in a physical

environment with special effects, with multiple users in an online network, or
locally with an offline computer, game system, or simulator.
Enhanced levels of interactivity are made possible by combining multiple
forms of media content But depending on what multimedia content you have it
may vary Online multimedia is increasingly becoming object-oriented and data-
driven, enabling applications with collaborative end-user innovation and
personalization on multiple forms of content over time. Examples of these range
from multiple forms of content on web sites like photo galleries with both images
(pictures) and title (text) user-updated, to simulations whose co-efficient, events,
illustrations, animations or videos are modifiable, allowing the multimedia
“experience” to be altered without reprogramming.
1.3 Application of Multimedia
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. A
few application areas of multimedia are listed below:
1.3.1Creative 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 and to creative.
1.3.2 Commercial
Much of the electronic old and new media utilized by commercial artists is
multimedia. Exciting presentations are used to grab and keep attention in
advertising. Industrial, 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 well.
1.3.3 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.
1.3.4 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.
1.3.5 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 collaboration between creative
professionals and software engineers.
1.3.6 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 technologies.
1.3.7 Mathematical & Scientific Research
In Mathematical and Scientific Research, multimedia is mainly used for
modeling 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.
1.3.8 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.
1.3.9 Multimedia in Public Places
In hotels, railway stations, shopping malls, museums, and grocery stores,
multimedia will become available at stand-alone terminals or kiosks to provide
information and help. Such installation reduce demand on traditional information
booths and personnel, add value, and they can work around the clock, even in
the middle of the night, when live help is off duty.
A menu screen from a supermarket kiosk that provide services ranging
from meal planning to coupons. Hotel kiosk list nearby restaurant, maps of the
city, airline schedules, and provide guest services such as automated checkout.
Printers are often attached so users can walk away with a printed copy of the
information. Museum kiosk are not only used to guide patrons through the exhibits,
but when installed at each exhibit, provide great added depth, allowing visitors
to browser though richly detailed information specific to that display.
(Virtual Reality)
At the convergence of technology and creative invention in multimedia is
virtual reality, or VR. Goggles, helmets, special gloves, and bizarre human
interfaces attempt to place you “inside” a lifelike experience. Take a step forward,
and the view gets closer, turn your head, and the view rotates. Reach out and
grab an object; your hand moves in front of you. Maybe the object explodes in
a 90-decibel crescendo as you wrap your fingers around it. Or it slips out from
your grip, falls to the floor, and hurriedly escapes through a mouse hole at the
bottom of the wall.
VR requires terrific computing horsepower to be realistic. In VR, your
cyberspace is made up of many thousands of geometric objects plotted in three-
dimensional space: the more objects and the more points that describe the objects,
the higher resolution and the more realistic your view. As the user moves about,
each motion or action requires the computer to recalculate the position, angle
size, and shape of all the objects that make up your view, and many thousands
of computations must occur as fast as 30 times per second to seem smooth.
On the World Wide Web, standards for transmitting virtual reality worlds
or “scenes” in VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) documents (with the
file name extension .wrl) have been developed.
Using high-speed dedicated computers, multi-million-dollar flight simulators
built by singer, RediFusion, and others have led the way in commercial application
of VR.Pilots of F-16s, Boeing 777s, and Rockwell space shuttles have made
many dry runs before doing the real thing. At the California Maritime academy
and other merchant marine officer training schools, computer-controlled simulators
teach the intricate loading and unloading of oil tankers and container ships.
Specialized public game arcades have been built recently to offer VR combat
and flying experiences for a price. From virtual World Entertainment in walnut
Greek, California, and Chicago, for example, BattleTech is a ten-minute interactive

video encounter with hostile robots. You compete against others, perhaps your
friends, who share coaches in the same containment Bay. The computer keeps
score in a fast and sweaty firefight. Similar “attractions” will bring VR to the
public, particularly a youthful public, with increasing presence during the 1990s.
The technology and methods for working with three-dimensional images
and for animating them are discussed. VR is an extension of multimedia-it uses
the basic multimedia elements of imagery, sound, and animation. Because it
requires instrumented feedback from a wired-up person, VR is perhaps
interactive multimedia at its fullest extension.
1.4 Stages of Multimedia Application Development
A Multimedia application is developed in stages as all other software are
being developed. In multimedia application development a few stages have to
complete before other stages being, and some stages may be skipped or combined
with other stages. Following are the four basic stages of multimedia project
development :
1. Planning and Costing : This stage of multimedia application is the first
stage which begins with an idea or need. This idea can be further refined by
outlining its messages and objectives. Before starting to develop the multimedia
project, it is necessary to plan what writing skills, graphic art, music, video and
other multimedia expertise will be required.
It is also necessary to estimate the time needed to prepare all elements of
multimedia and prepare a budget accordingly. After preparing a budget, a
prototype or proof of concept can be developed.
2. Designing and Producing : The next stage is to execute each of the
planned tasks and create a finished product.
3. Testing : Testing a project ensure the product to be free from bugs.
Apart from bug elimination another aspect of testing is to ensure that the
multimedia application meets the objectives of the project. It is also necessary
to test whether the multimedia project works properly on the intended deliver
platforms and they meet the needs of the clients.
4. Delivering : The final stage of the multimedia application development
is to pack the project and deliver the completed project to the end user. This
stage has several steps such as implementation, maintenance, shipping and
marketing the product.
1.5 Delivering Methods of Multimedia Content

(a) CD-ROM
A Compact Disc or CD is an optical disc used to store digital data,
originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market
since late 1982,
remains the standard playback medium for commercial audio recordings
to the present day, though it has lost ground in recent years to MP3 players.
An audio CD consists of one or more stereo tracks stored using 16-bit
PCM coding at a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz. Standard CDs have a diameter of
120 mm and can hold approximately 80 minutes of audio. There are also 80
mm discs, sometimes used for
CD singles, which hold approximately 20 minutes of audio. The technology
was later adapted for use as a data storage device, known as a CD-ROM, and
to include recordonce and re-writable media (CD-R and CD-RW respectively).
CD-ROMs and CD-Rs remain widely used technologies in the computer industry
as of 2007. The CD and its extensions have been extremely successful: in 2004,
the worldwide sales of CD audio, CD-ROM, and CD-R reached about 30
billion discs. By 2007, 200 billion CDs had been sold worldwide.
(b) DVD
DVD (also known as “Digital Versatile Disc” or “Digital Video Disc”)
is a popular optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are video and data
storage. Most DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs (CDs) but
store more than 6 times the data. Variations of the term DVD often describe the
way data is stored on the discs:
DVD-ROM has data which can only be read and not written, DVD-R can
be written once and then functions as a DVD-ROM, and DVD-RAM or DVD-
RW holds data that can be re-written multiple times.
DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs respectively refer to properly formatted
and structured video and audio content. Other types of DVD discs, including
those with video content, may be referred to as DVD-Data discs. The term
“DVD” is commonly misused to refer to high density optical disc formats in
general, such as Blu-ray and HD DVD.
“DVD” was originally used as an initialism for the unofficial term “digital
video disc”. It was reported in 1995, at the time of the specification finalization,
that the letters officially stood for “digital versatile disc” (due to non-video
applications), however, the text of the press release announcing the specification
finalization only refers to the technology as “DVD”, making no mention of what
(if anything) the letters stood for. Usage in the present day varies, with “DVD”,
“Digital Video Disc”, and “Digital Versatile Disc” all being common.
(c) About Flash Drives
A USB flash drive is a data storage device that includes flash memory with
an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. USB flash drives are typically
removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most
weigh less than 30 g. As of January 2012 drives of 1 terabytes (TB) are available.
and storage capacities as large as 2 terabytes are planned, with steady
improvements in size and price per capacity expected. Some allow up to 100,000
write/erase cycles (depending on the exact type of memory chip used) and 10
years shelf storage time.
USB flash drives are often used for the same purposes for which floppy
disks or CD-ROMs were used. They are smaller, faster, have thousands of
times more capacity, and are more durable and reliable because they have no
moving parts. Until approximately 2005, most desktop and laptop computers
were supplied with floppy disk drives, but floppy disk drives have been
abandoned in favor of USB ports.
USB flash drives use the USB mass storage standard, supported natively
by modern operating systems such as Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, and other
Unix-like systems, as well as many BIOS boot ROMs. USB drives with USB
2.0 support can store more data and transfer faster than much larger optical
disc drives like CD-RW or DVD-RW drives and can be read by many other
systems such as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, DVD players and in some
upcoming mobile smart phones.
(d) About Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that
use the standard Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users
worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public,
academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that
are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking
technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources
and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide
Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support email.
Short Answer Type Questions

1. Define categories of Multimedia.
2. List out the features of Multimedia.
3. List out the stages of Multimedia application development.
4. Explain about Internet.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. Explain different applications of Multimediate.
2. Explain delivering methods of Multimedia content.
UNIT 2
All About Text
Structure
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Multimedia Building Blocks
2.3 Text in Multimedia
2.4 Computers and Text
2.5 Font Editing and Design Tools
2.6 Summary
Learning Objectives
In this lesson we will learn the different multimedia building blocks. Later
we will learn the significant features of text.
(i) At the end of the lesson you will be able to
(ii) List the different multimedia building blocks
(iii) Enumerate the importance of text
(iv) List the features of different font editing and designing tools
2.1 Introduction
All multimedia content consists of texts in some form. Even a menu text is
accompanied by a single action such as mouse click, keystroke or finger pressed
in the monitor (in case of a touch screen). The text in the multimedia is used to
communicate information to the user. Proper use of text and words in multimedia
presentation will help the content developer to communicate the idea nd message
to the user.
2.2 Multimedia Building Blocks
Any multimedia application consists any or all of the following components:
1. Text: Text and symbols are very important for communication in any
medium. With the recent explosion of the Internet and World Wide Web, text
has become more the important than ever. Web is HTML (Hyper text Markup
language) originally designed to display simple text documents on computer
screens, with occasional graphic images thrown in as illustrations.
2. Audio: Sound is perhaps the most element of multimedia. It can provide
the listening pleasure of music, the startling accent of special effects or the
ambience of a mood-setting background.
3. Images: Images whether represented analog or digital plays a vital role
in a multimedia. It is expressed in the form of still picture, painting or a photograph
taken through a digital camera.
4. Animation: Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-
D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an
optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and
can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways.
5. Video: Digital video has supplanted analog video as the method of choice
for making video for multimedia use. Video in multimedia are used to portray
real time moving pictures in a multimedia project.
Text in Multimedia
Words and symbols in any form, spoken or written, are the most common
system of communication. They deliver the most widely understood meaning to
the greatest number of people. Most academic related text such as journals, e-
magazines are available in the Web Browser readable form.
2.3 About Fonts and Faces
A typeface is family of graphic characters that usually includes many type
sizes and styles. A font is a collection of characters of a single size and style
belonging to a particular typeface family. Typical font styles are bold face and
italic. Other style attributes such as underlining and outlining of characters, may
be added at the users choice.
The size of a text is usually measured in points. One point is approximately

1/72 of an inch i.e. 0.0138. The size of a font does not exactly describe the
height or width of its characters. This is because the x-height (the height of lower
case character x) of two fonts may differ. Typefaces of fonts can be described in
many ways, but the most common characterization of a typeface is serif and
sans serif. The serif is the little decoration at the end of a letter stroke. Times,
Times New Roman, Bookman are some fonts which comes under serif category.
Arial, Optima, Verdana are some examples of sans serif font. Serif fonts are
generally used for body of the text for better readability and sans serif fonts are
generally used for headings. The following fonts shows a few categories of serif
and sans serif fonts.
F F
(Serif Font) (Sans serif font)
Selecting Text fonts
It is a very difficult process to choose the fonts to be used in a multimedia
presentation. Following are a few guidelines which help to choose a font in a
multimedia presentation.
• As many number of typefaces can be used in a single presentation, this
concept of using many fonts in a single page is called ransom-note
topography.
• For small type, it is advisable to use the most legible font.
• In large size headlines, the kerning (spacing between the letters) can be
adjusted.
• In text blocks, the leading for the most pleasing line can be adjusted.
• Drop caps and initial caps can be used to accent the words.
• The different effects and colors of a font can be chosen in order to
make the text look in a distinct manner.
• Anti aliased can be used to make a text look gentle and blended.
• For special attention to the text the words can be wrapped onto a sphere
or bent like a wave.
• Meaningful words and phrases can be used for links and menu items.
• In case of text links(anchors) on web pages the messages can be

accented.
• The most important text in a web page such as menu can be put in the
top 320 pixels.
2.4 Computers and Text
2.4.1Fonts
Postscript fonts are a method of describing an image in terms of
mathematical constructs (Bezier curves), so it is used not only to describe the
individual characters of a font but also to describe illustrations and whole pages
of text. Since postscript makes use of mathematical formula, it can be easily
scaled bigger or smaller. Apple and Microsoft announced a joint effort to develop
a better and faster quadratic curves outline font methodology, called truetype
In addition to printing smooth characters on printers, TrueType would draw
characters to a low resolution (72 dpi or 96 dpi) monitor.
2.4.2 Character Set and Alphabets
(i) ASCII Character set
The American standard code for information interchange (SCII) is the 7 bit
character coding system most commonly used by computer systems in the United
states and abroad. ASCII assigns a number of value to 128 characters, including
both lower and uppercase letters, punctuation marks, Arabic numbers and math
symbols. 32 control characters are also included. These control characters are
used for device control messages, such as carriage return, line feed, tab and
form feed.
(ii) The Extended Character set
A byte which consists of 8 bits is the most commonly used building block
for computer processing. ASCII uses only 7 bits to code is 128 characters; the
8th bit of the byte is unused. This extra bit allows another 128 characters to be
encoded before the byte is used up, and computer systems today use these
extra 128 values for an extended character set. The extended character set is
commonly filled with ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard
characters, including frequently used symbols.
(iii) Unicode
Unicode makes use of 16-bit architecture for multilingual text and character
encoding. Unicode uses about 65,000 characters from all known languages and
alphabets in the world. Several languages share a set of symbols that have a
historically related derivation, the shared symbols of each language are unified
into collections of symbols (Called scripts). A single script can work for tens or
even hundreds of languages.Microsoft, Apple, Sun, Netscape, IBM, Xerox
and Novell are participating in the development of this standard and Microsoft
and Apple have incorporated Unicode into their operating system.
2.5 Font Editing and Design Tools
There are several software that can be used to create customized font.
These tools help an multimedia developer to communicate his idea or the graphic
feeling. Using these software different typefaces can be created.
In some multimedia projects it may be required to create special characters.
Using the font editing tools it is possible to create a special symbols and use it in
the entire text.Following is the list of software that can be used for editing and
creating fonts:
• Fontographer
• Fontmonger
• Cool 3D text
Special font editing tools can be used to make your own type so you can
communicate an idea or graphic feeling exactly. With these tools professional
typographers create distinct text and display faces.
1. Fontographer
It is macromedia product; it is a specialized graphics editor for both
Macintosh and Windows platforms. You can use it to create postscript, true
type and bitmapped fonts for Macintosh and Windows.
2. Making Pretty Text
To make your text look pretty you need a toolbox full of fonts and special
graphics applications that can stretch, shade, color and anti-alias your words
into real artwork. Pretty text can be found in bitmapped drawings where
characters have been tweaked, manipulated and blended into a graphic image.
3. Hypermedia and Hypertext
Multimedia is the combination of text, graphic, and audio elements into a
single collection or presentation – becomes interactive multimedia when you
give the user some control over what information is viewed and when it is viewed.
When a hypermedia project includes large amounts of text or symbolic
content, this content can be indexed and its element then linked together to
afford rapid electronic retrieval of the associated information. When text is stored
in a computer instead of on printed pages the computer’s powerful processing
capabilities can be applied to make the text more accessible and meaningful.
This text can be called as hypertext.
4. Hypermedia Structures
Two Buzzwords used often in hypertext are link and node. Links are
connections between the conceptual elements, that is, the nodes that may consists
of text, graphics, sounds or related information in the knowledge base.
5. Searching for words
Following are typical methods for a word searching in hypermedia systems:
Categories, Word Relationships, Adjacency, Alternates, Association, Negation,
Truncation, Intermediate words, Frequency.
Summary
In this lesson we have learnt the following
(i) The multimedia building blocks such as text, audio, video, images,
animation.
(ii) The importance of text in multimedia.
(iii) The difference between fonts and typefaces.
(iv) Character sets used in computers and their significance.
(v) The font editing software which can be used for creating new fonts
and the features of such software.
1. List out the Multimedia Building Blocks.
2. What is ASCII Character set.
3. What is hypermedia and hypertext.
4. What is hypermedia structures
1. Explain about fonts and faces
2. Explain about fonts and character sets.
3. Explain about font editing and design tools.
UNIT 3
All About Images
Structure
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Digital Image
3.3 Making Still image
3.4 Colors
3.5 Image File format
3.6 Summary1.0
Learning Objectives
In this lesson we will learn how images are captured and incorporated into
a multimedia presentation. Different image file formats and the different color
representations have been discussed in this lesson.
At the end of this lesson the learner will be able to
(i) Create his own image
(ii) Describe the use of colors and palettes in multimedia
(iii) Describe the capabilities and limitations of vector images.
(iv) Use clip arts in the multimedia presentations
3.1 Introduction
Still images are the important element of a multimedia project or a web site.
In order to make a multimedia presentation look elegant and complete, it is
necessary to spend ample amount of time to design the graphics and the layouts.
Competent, computer literate skills in graphic art and design are vital to the
success of a multimedia project.
3.2 Digital Image

A digital image is represented by a matrix of numeric values each representing
a quantized intensity value. When I is a two-dimensional matrix, then I(r,c) is
the intensity value at the position corresponding to row r and column c of the
matrix.
The points at which an image is sampled are known as picture elements,
commonly abbreviated as pixels. The pixel values of intensity images are called
gray scale levels (we encode here the “color” of the image). The intensity at
each pixel is represented by an integer and is determined from the continuous
image by averaging over a small neighborhood around the pixel location. If
there are just two intensity values, for example, black, and white, they are
represented by the numbers 0 and 1; such images are called binary-valued images.
If 8-bit integers are used to store each pixel value, the gray levels range from 0
(black) to 255 (white).
3.2.1 Digital Image Format
There are different kinds of image formats in the literature. We shall consider
the image format that comes out of an image frame grabber, i.e., the captured
image format, and the format when images are stored, i.e., the stored image
format.
3.2.2 Captured Image Format
The image format is specified by two main parameters: spatial resolution,
which is specified as pixelsxpixels (eg. 640x480)and color encoding, which is
specified by bits per pixel. Both parameter values depend on hardware and
software for input/output of images.
3.2.3 Stored Image Format
When we store an image, we are storing a two-dimensional array of values,
in which each value represents the data associated with a pixel in the image. For
a bitmap, this value is a binary digit.
3.2.4 Bitmaps
A bitmap is a simple information matrix describing the individual dots that
are the smallest elements of resolution on a computer screen or other display or
printing device. A one-dimensional matrix is required for monochrome (black
and white); greater depth (more bits of information) is required to describe
more than 16 million colors the picture elements may have, as illustrated in
following figure. The state of all the pixels on a computer screen make up the
image seen by the viewer, whether in combinations of black and white or colored
pixels in a line of text, a photograph-like picture, or a simple background pattern.
Where do bitmap come from? How are they made?
 Make a bitmap from scratch with paint or drawing program.
 Grab a bitmap from an active computer screen with a screen capture
program, and then paste into a paint program or your application.
 Capture a bitmap from a photo, artwork, or a television image using a
scanner or video capture device that digitizes the image.
Once made, a bitmap can be copied, altered, e-mailed, and otherwise
used in many creative ways.
3.2.5 Clip Art
A clip art collection may contain a random assortment of images, or it may
contain a series of graphics, photographs, sound, and video related to a single
topic. For example, Corel, Micrografx, and Fractal Design bundle extensive
clip art collection with their image-editing software.
3.2.6 Multiple Monitors
When developing multimedia, it is helpful to have more than one monitor,
or a single high-resolution monitor with lots of screen real estate, hooked up to
your computer. In this way, you can display the full-screen working area of your
project or presentation and still have space to put your tools and other menus.
This is particularly important in an authoring system such as Macromedia Director,
where the edits and changes you make in one window are immediately visible in
the presentation window-provided the presentation window is not obscured by
your editing tools.
3.3 Making Still Images

Still images may be small or large, or even full screen. Whatever their form,
still images are generated by the computer in two ways: as bitmap (or paint
graphics) and as vector-drawn (or just plain drawn) graphics.
Bitmaps are used for photo-realistic images and for complex drawing
requiring fine detail. Vector-drawn objects are used for lines, boxes, circles,
polygons, and other graphic shapes that can be mathematically expressed in
angles, coordinates, and distances. A drawn object can be filled with color and
patterns, and you can select it as a single object. Typically, image files are
compressed to save memory and disk space; many image formats already use
compression within the file itself – for example, GIF, JPEG, and PNG. Still images
may be the most important element of your multimedia project. If you are designing
multimedia by yourself, put yourself in the role of graphic artist and layout designer.
3.3.1 Bitmap Software
The abilities and feature of image-editing programs for both the Macintosh
and Windows range from simple to complex. The Macintosh does not ship with
a painting tool, and Windows provides only the rudimentary Paint (see following
figure), so you will need to acquire this very important software separately –
often bitmap editing or painting programs come as part of a bundle when you
purchase your computer, monitor, or scanner.
3.3.2 Capturing and Editing Images
The image that is seen on a computer monitor is digital bitmap stored in
video memory, updated about every 1/60 second or faster, depending upon
monitor’s scan rate. When the images are assembled for multimedia project, it
may often be needed to capture and store an image directly from screen. It is
possible to use the Prt Scr key available in the keyboard to capture a image.
3.3.3 Scanning Images
After scanning through countless clip art collections, if it is not possible to
find the unusual background you want for a screen about gardening. Sometimes
when you search for something too hard, you don’t realize that it’s right in front
of your face. Open the scan in an image-editing program and experiment with
different filters, the contrast, and various special effects. Be creative, and don’t
be afraid to try strange combinations – sometimes mistakes yield the most
intriguing results.
3.3.4 Vector Drawing

Most multimedia authoring systems provide for use of vector-drawn objects
such as lines, rectangles, ovals, polygons, and text.
Computer-aided design (CAD) programs have traditionally used vector-
drawn object systems for creating the highly complex and geometric rendering
needed by architects and engineers.
Graphic artists designing for print media use vector-drawn objects because
the same mathematics that put a rectangle on your screen can also place that
rectangle on paper without jaggies. This requires the higher resolution of the
printer, using a page description language such as PostScript.
Programs for 3-D animation also use vector-drawn graphics. For example,
the various changes of position, rotation, and shading of light required to spin
the extruded.
How Vector Drawing Works
Vector-drawn objects are described and drawn to the computer screen
using a fraction of the memory space required to describe and store the same
object in bitmap form. A vector is a line that is described by the location of its
two endpoints. A simple rectangle, for example, might be defined as follows:
RECT 0,0,200,200
3.4 Color
Color is a vital component of multimedia. Management of color is both a
subjective and a technical exercise. Picking the right colors and combinations of
colors for your project can involve many tries until you feel the result is right.
3.4.1 Understanding Natural Light and Color
The letters of the mnemonic ROY G. BIV, learned by many of us to
remember the colors of the rainbow, are the ascending frequencies of the visible
light spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Ultraviolet
light, on the other hand, is beyond the higher end of the visible spectrum and can
be damaging to humans.
The color white is a noisy mixture of all the color frequencies in the visible
spectrum. The cornea of the eye acts as a lens to focus light rays onto the retina.
The light rays stimulate many thousands of specialized nerves called rods and
cones that cover the surface of the retina. The eye can differentiate among millions
of colors, or hues, consisting of combination of red, green, and blue.
3.4.2 Additive Color
In additive color model, a color is created by combining colored light sources
in three primary colors: red, green and blue (RGB). This is the process used for
a TV or computer monitor.
3.4.3 Subtractive Color
In subtractive color method, a new color is created by combining colored
media such as paints or ink that absorb (or subtract) some parts of the color
spectrum of light and reflect the others back to the eye. Subtractive color is the
process used to create color in printing. The printed page is made up of tiny
halftone dots of three primary colors, cyan, magenta and yellow (CMY).
3.5 Image File Formats
There are many file formats used to store bitmaps and vectored drawing.
Following is a list of few image file formats.
Format Extension
Microsoft Windows DIB .bmp .dib .rle
Microsoft Palette .pal
Autocad format 2D .dxf
JPEG .jpg
Windows Meta file .wmf
Portable network graphic .png
Compuserve gif .gif
Apple Macintosh .pict .pic .pct
3.6 Summary
In this lesson the following points have been discussed.
 Competent, computer literate skills in graphic art and design are vital to
the success of a multimedia project.
 A digital image is represented by a matrix of numeric values each
representing a quantized intensity value.
 A bitmap is a simple information matrix describing the individual dots

that are the smallest elements of resolution on a computer screen or
other display or printing device
 In additive color model, a color is created by combining colored lights
sources in three primary colors: red, green and blue (RGB).
 Subtractive colors are used in printers and additive color concepts are
used in monitors and television.
1. What is Bitmap.
2. What is Clip art.
3. Define scanning images
4. List out the different image formats.
1. Explain digital images.
2. Explain about making still images.
3. Explain about colors.
UNIT 4
All About Sounds
Structure
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Power of Sound
4.3 Formula for determining the size of digital audio
4.4 Editing Digital recordings
4.5 Making Digital Audio
4.6 Audio Filr Formats
4.7 Red Book Standard
4.8 Software Used for audio
4.9 Summary
Learning Objectives
In this lesson we will learn the basics of Audio. We will learn how a digital
audio is prepared and embedded in a multimedia system.
At the end of the chapter the learner will be able to :
(i) Distinguish audio and sound
(ii) Prepare audio required for a multimedia system
(iii) The learner will be able to list the different audio editing softwares.
(iv) List the different audio file formats
4.1 Introduction
Sound is perhaps the most important element of multimedia. It is meaningful
“speech” in any language, from a whisper to a scream. It can provide the listening
pleasure of music, the startling accent of special effects or the ambience of a
moodsetting background. Sound is the terminology used in the analog form, and
the digitized form of sound is called as audio.
4.2 Power of Sound

When something vibrates in the air is moving back and forth it creates
wave of pressure. These waves spread like ripples from pebble tossed into a
still pool and when it reaches the eardrums, the change of pressure or vibration
is experienced as sound. Acoustics is the branch of physics that studies sound.
Sound pressure levels are measured in decibels (db); a decibel measurement is
actually the ratio between a chosen reference point on a logarithmic scale and
the level that is actually experienced.
4.2.1 Multimedia Sound Systems
The multimedia application user can use sound right off the bat on both the
Macintosh and on a multimedia PC running Windows because beeps and warning
sounds are available as soon as the operating system is installed. On the Macintosh
you can choose one of the several sounds for the system alert. In Windows
system sounds are WAV files and they reside in the windows\Media subdirectory.
There are still more choices of audio if Microsoft Office is installed. Windows
makes use of WAV files as the default file format for audio and Macintosh systems
use SND as default file format for audio.
4.2.2 Digital Audio
Digital audio is created when a sound wave is converted into numbers – a
process referred to as digitizing. It is possible to digitize sound from a
microphone, a synthesizer, existing tape recordings, live radio and television
broadcasts, and popular CDs. You can digitize sounds from a natural source or
prerecorded. Digitized sound is sampled sound. Ever nth fraction of a second, a
sample of sound is taken and stored as digital information in bits and bytes. The
quality of this digital recording depends upon how often the samples are taken.
4.2.3 Preparing Digital Audio Files

Preparing digital audio files is fairly straight forward. If you have analog
source materials – music or sound effects that you have recorded on analog
media such as cassette tapes.
• The first step is to digitize the analog material and recording it onto a
computer readable digital media.
• It is necessary to focus on two crucial aspects of preparing digital audio
files:
• Balancing the need for sound quality against your available RAM and
Hard disk resources.
• Setting proper recording levels to get a good, clean recording.
Remember that the sampling rate determines the frequency at which samples
will be drawn for the recording. Sampling at higher rates more accurately captures
the high frequency content of your sound. Audio resolution determines the
accuracy with which a sound can be digitized.
4.3 Formula for Determining the Size of the Digital Audio
Monophonic = Sampling rate * duration of recording in seconds * (bit
resolution / 8) * 1
Stereo = Sampling rate * duration of recording in seconds * (bit resolution
/ 8) * 2
 The sampling rate is how often the samples are taken.
 The sample size is the amount of information stored. This is called as bit
resolution.
 The number of channels is 2 for stereo and 1 for monophonic.
 The time span of the recording is measured in seconds.
4.4 Editing Digital Recordings
Once a recording has been made, it will almost certainly need to be edited.
The basic sound editing operations that most multimedia procedures needed
are described in the paragraphs that follow
1. Multiple Tasks: Able to edit and combine multiple tracks and then
merge the tracks and export them in a final mix to a single audio file.
2. Trimming: Removing dead air or blank space from the front of a

recording and an unnecessary extra time off the end is your first sound editing
task.
3. Splicing and Assembly: Using the same tools mentioned for trimming,
you will probably want to remove the extraneous noises that inevitably creep
into recording.
4. Volume Adjustments: If you are trying to assemble ten different
recordings into a single track there is a little chance that all the segments have the
same volume.
5. Format Conversion: In some cases your digital audio editing software
might read a format different from that read by your presentation or authoring
program.
6. Resampling or downsampling: If you have recorded and edited your
sounds at 16 bit sampling rates but are using lower rates you must resample or
downsample the file.
7. Equalization: Some programs offer digital equalization capabilities that
allow you to modify a recording frequency content so that it sounds brighter or
darker.
8. Digital Signal Processing: Some programs allow you to process the
signal with reverberation, multitap delay, and other special effects using DSP
routines.
9. Reversing Sounds: Another simple manipulation is to reverse all or a
portion of a digital audio recording. Sounds can produce a surreal, other wordly
effect when played backward.
10. Time Stretching: Advanced programs let you alter the length of a
sound file without changing its pitch. This feature can be very useful but watch
out: most time stretching algorithms will severely degrade the audio quality.
4.5 Making MIDI Audio
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a communication standard
developed for electronic musical instruments and computers. MIDI files allow
music and sound synthesizers from different manufacturers to communicate with
each other by sending messages along cables connected to the devices. Creating
your own original score can be one of the most creative and rewarding aspects
of building a multimedia project, and MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
is the quickest, easiest and most flexible tool for this task.
The process of creating MIDI music is quite different from digitizing existing
audio. To make MIDI scores, however you will need sequencer software and a
sound synthesizer.
The MIDI keyboard is also useful to simply the creation of musical scores.
An advantage of structured data such as MIDI is the ease with which the music
director can edit the data.
A MIDI file format is used in the following circumstances :
 Digital audio will not work due to memory constraints and
more processing power requirements
 When there is high quality of MIDI source
 When there is no requirement for dialogue.
 A digital audio file format is preferred in the following
circumstances:
 When there is no control over the playback hardware
 When the computing resources and the bandwidth
requirements are high.
 When dialogue is required.
4.6 Audio File Formats
A file format determines the application that is to be used for opening a file.
Following is the list of different file formats and the software that can be
used for opening a specific file.
1. *.AIF, *.SDII in Macintosh Systems
2. *.SND for Macintosh Systems
3. *.WAV for Windows Systems
4. MIDI files – used by north Macintosh and Windows
5. *.WMA –windows media player
6. *.MP3 – MP3 audio
7. *.RA – Real Player
8. *.VOC – VOC Sound
9. AIFF sound format for Macintosh sound files

10.*.OGG – Ogg Vorbis
4.7 Red Book Standard
The method for digitally encoding the high quality stereo of the consumer
CD music market is an instrument standard, ISO 10149. This is also called as
RED BOOK standard.
The developers of this standard claim that the digital audio sample size and
sample rate of red book audio allow accurate reproduction of all sounds that
humans can hear. The red book standard recommends audio recorded at a
sample size of 16 bits and sampling rate of 44.1 KHz.
4.8 Software used for Audio
Software such as Toast and CD-Creator from Adaptec can translate the
digital files of red book Audio format on consumer compact discs directly into a
digital sound editing file, or decompress MP3 files into CD-Audio. There are
several tools available for recording audio. Following is the list of different
software that can be used for recording and editing audio ;
 Sound recorder fromMicrosoft
 Apple’s QuickTime Player pro
 Sonic Foundry’s SoundForge for Windows
 Sound edit 16
4.9 Summary
Following points have been discussed in this lesson
 Audio is an important component of multimedia which can be used to
provide liveliness to a multimedia presentation.
 The red book standard recommends audio recorded at a sample size of
16 bits and sampling rate of 44.1 KHz.
 MIDI is Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
 MIDI is a communication standard developed for electronic musical
instruments and computers.
 To make MIDI scores, however you will need sequencer software and
a sound synthesizer.

1. What is Multimedia Audio system.
2. What is Digital Audio.
3. List out the different audio file formats.
4. What is red book standard.
5. How to determine the size of digital audio.
1. Explain about power of sound.
2. Explain about making MIDI audio.
3. Explain about editing digital recordings.
UNIT 5
All About Animations
Structure
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Principles of Animation
5.3 Animation Techniques
5.4 Cell Animation
5.5 Computer Animation
5.6 Kinematics
5.7 Morphing
5.8 Animation File Formats
Learning Objectives
In this lesson we will learn the basics of animation. At the end of this lesson
the learner will be able to
(i) List the different animation techniques.
(ii) Enumerate the software used for animation.
(iii) List the different broadcasting standards.
5.1 Introduction
Animation makes static presentations come alive. It is visual change over
time and can add great power to our multimedia projects. Carefully planned,
well-executed video clips can make a dramatic difference in a multimedia project.
Animation is created from drawn pictures and video is created using real time
visuals.
5.2 Principles of Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D artwork or
model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion
of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created
and demonstrated in a number of ways. The most common method of presenting
animation is as a motion picture or video program, although several other forms
of presenting animation also exist
Animation is possible because of a biological phenomenon known as
persistence of vision and a psychological phenomenon called phi. An object
seen by the human eye remains chemically mapped on the eye’s retina for a brief
time after viewing. Combined with the human mind’s need to conceptually
complete a perceived action, this makes it possible for a series of images that
are changed very slightly and very rapidly, one after the other, to seemingly
blend together into a visual illusion of movement. The following shows a few
cells or frames of a rotating logo. When the images are progressively and rapidly
changed, the arrow of the compass is perceived to be spinning.
Television video builds entire frames or pictures every second; the speed
with which each frame is replaced by the next one makes the images appear to
blend smoothly into movement. To make an object travel across the screen
while it changes its shape, just change the shape and also move or translate it a
few pixels for each frame.
5.3 Animation Techniques
When you create an animation, organize its execution into a series of logical
steps. First, gather up in your mind all the activities you wish to provide in the
animation; if it is complicated, you may wish to create a written script with a list
of activities and required objects. Choose the animation tool best suited for the
job. Then build and tweak your sequences; experiment with lighting effects.
Allow plenty of time for this phase when you are experimenting and testing.
Finally, post-process your animation, doing any special rendering and adding
sound effects.
5.4 Cel Animation

The term cel derives from the clear celluloid sheets that were used for
drawing each frame, which have been replaced today by acetate or plastic.
Cels of famous animated cartoons have become sought-after, suitable-for-framing
collector’s items.
Cel animation artwork begins with keyframes (the first and last frame of an
action). For example, when an animated figure of a man walks across the screen,
he balances the weight of his entire body on one foot and then the other in a
series of falls and recoveries, with the opposite foot and leg catching up to
support the body.
• The animation techniques made famous by Disney use a series of
progressively different on each frame of movie film which plays at 24 frames per
second.
• A minute of animation may thus require as many as 1,440 separate
frames.
• The term cel derives from the clear celluloid sheets that were used for
drawing each frame, which is been replaced today by acetate or plastic.
• Cel animation artwork begins with keyframes.
5.5 Computer Animation
Computer animation programs typically employ the same logic and
procedural concepts as cel animation, using layer, keyframe, and tweening
techniques, and even borrowing from the vocabulary of classic animators. On
the computer, paint is most often filled or drawn with tools using features such as
gradients and antialiasing. The word links, in computer animation terminology,
usually means special methods for computing RGB pixel values, providing edge
detection, and layering so that images can blend or otherwise mix their colors to
produce special transparencies, inversions, and effects.
• Computer Animation is same as that of the logic and procedural concepts
as cel animation and use the vocabulary of classic cel animation – terms such as
layer, Keyframe, and tweening.
• The primary difference between the animation software program is in
how much must be drawn by the animator and how much is automatically
generated by the software
• In 2D animation the animator creates an object and describes a path for

the object to follow. TZhe software takes over, actually creating the animation
on the fly as the program is being viewed by your user.
• In 3D animation the animator puts his effort in creating the models of
individual and designing the characteristic of their shapes and surfaces.
• Paint is most often filled or drawn with tools using features such as
gradients and antialiasing.
5.6 Kinematics
It is the study of the movement and motion of structures that have joints,
such as a walking man.
• Inverse Kinematics is in high-end 3D programs, it is the process by
which you link objects such as hands to arms and define their relationships and
limits.
• Once those relationships are set you can drag these parts around and
let the computer calculate the result.
5.7 Morphing
• Morphing is popular effect in which one image transforms into another.
Morphing application and other modeling tools that offer this effect can perform
transition not only between still mages but often between moving images as well.
• The morphed images were built at a rate of 8 frames per second, with
each transition taking a total of 4 seconds.
• Some product that uses the morphing features are as follows
 Black Belt’s EasyMorph and WinImages,
 Human Software’s Squizz
 Valis Group’s Flo , MetaFlo, and MovieFlo.
5.8 Animation File Formats
Some file formats are designed specifically to contain animations and the
can be ported among application and platforms with the proper translators.
• Director *.dir, *.dcr
• AnimationPro *.fli, *.flc
• 3D Studio Max *.max
• SuperCard and Director *.pics

• CompuServe *.gif
• Flash *.fla, *.swf
Following is the list of few Software used for computerized animation:
• 3D Studio Max
• Flash
• Animation Pro
1. Define animation.
2. Define Kinematics.
3. Define morphing.
4. Define cel animation.
1. Explain about principles of Animation.
2. Explain about animation techniques.
3. Explain about Computer animation.
UNIT 6
All About Video
Structure
6. 1 Introduction
6.2 Video
6.3 Shooting and editing video
6.4 Recording Formats
6.5 Optimizing files for CD-Rom
6.6 Summary
Learning Objectives
In this lesson we will learn the basics of Video. At the end of this
lesson the learner will be able to
(i) List the different video signals.
(ii) Various video compressions.
(iii) List the different broadcasting standards.
(iv) Describe the basics of video recording and how they relate to multimedia
production.
(v) Have knowledge on different video formats.
6.1 Introduction
Carefully planned, well-executed video clips can make a dramatic difference
in a multimedia project. Video is nothing but sequences of images captured by
camcorder or any other video recording device of live actions.
6.2 Video
6.2.1 Analog versus Digital
Digital video has supplanted analog video as the method of choice for making
video for multimedia use. While broadcast stations and professional production
and postproduction houses remain greatly invested in analog video hardware
(according to Sony, there are more than 350,000 Beta cam SP devices in use
today), digital video gear produces excellent finished products at a fraction of
the cost of analog. A digital camcorder directly connected to a computer
workstation eliminates the image-degrading analog-to-digital conversion step
typically performed by expensive video capture cards, and brings the power of
nonlinear video editing and production to everyday users.
6.2.2 Broadcast Video Standards
Four broadcast and video standards and recording formats are commonly
in use around the world: NTSC, PAL, SECAM, and HDTV. Because these
standards and formats are not easily interchangeable, it is important to know
where your multimedia project will be used.
6.2.3 NTSC
The United States, Japan, and many other countries use a system for
broadcasting and displaying video that is based upon the specifications set forth
by the 1952 National Television Standards Committee. These standards define
a method for encoding information into the electronic signal that ultimately creates
a television picture. As specified by the NTSC standard, a single frame of video
is made up of 525 horizontal scan lines drawn onto the inside face of a phosphor-
coated picture tube every 1/30th of a second by a fast-moving electron beam.
6.2.4 PAL
The Phase Alternate Line (PAL) system is used in the United Kingdom,
Europe, Australia, and South Africa. PAL is an integrated method of adding
color to a black-and-white television signal that paints 625 lines at a frame rate
25 frames per second.
6.2.5 SECAM
The Sequential Color and Memory (SECAM) system is used in France,
Russia, and few other countries. Although SECAM is a 625-line, 50 Hz system,
it differs greatly from both the NTSC and the PAL color systems in its basic
technology and broadcast method.
6.2.6 HDTV
High Definition Television (HDTV) provides high resolution in a 16:9 aspect
ratio (see following Figure). This aspect ratio allows the viewing of Cinemascope
and Panavision movies. There is contention between the broadcast and computer
industries about whether to use interlacing or progressive-scan technologies.
6.3 Shooting and Editing Video
To add full-screen, full-motion video to your multimedia project, you will
need to invest in specialized hardware and software or purchase the services of
a professional video production studio. In many cases, a professional studio will
also provide editing tools and post-production capabilities that you cannot
duplicate with your Macintosh or PC.
6.3.1 VideoTips
A useful tool easily implemented in most digital video editing applications is
“blue screen,” “Ultimate,” or “chromo key” editing. Blue screen is a popular
technique for making multimedia titles because expensive sets are not required.
Incredible backgrounds can be generated using 3-D modeling and graphic
software, and one or more actors, vehicles, or other objects can be neatly layered
onto that background. Applications such as VideoShop, Premiere, Final Cut
Pro, and iMovie provide this capability.
6.4 Recording Formats
6.4.1 S-VHS Video
In S-VHS video, color and luminance information are kept on two separate
tracks. The result is a definite improvement in picture quality. This standard is
also used in Hi-8. still, if your ultimate goal is to have your project accepted by
broadcast stations, this would not be the best choice.
6.4.2 Component (YUV)
In the early 1980s, Sony began to experiment with a new portable
professional video format based on Betamax. Panasonic has developed their
own standard based on a similar technology, called “MII,” Betacam SP has
become the industry standard for professional video field recording. This format
may soon be eclipsed by a new digital version called “Digital Betacam.”
6.4.3 Digital Video
Full integration of motion video on computers eliminates the analog television
form of video from the multimedia delivery platform. If a video clip is stored as
data on a hard disk, CD-ROM, or other mass-storage device, that clip can be
played back on the computer’s monitor without overlay boards, videodisk
players, or second monitors. This playback of digital video is accomplished
using software architecture such as QuickTime or AVI, a multimedia producer
or developer; you may need to convert video source material from its still common
analog form (videotape) to a digital form manageable by the end user’s computer
system. So an nderstanding of analog video and some special hardware must
remain in your multimedia toolbox. Analog to digital conversion of video can be
accomplished using the video overlay hardware described above, or it can be
delivered direct to disk using FireWire cables. To repetitively digitize a full-
screen color video image every 1/30 second and store it to disk or RAM severely
taxes both Macintosh and PC processing capabilities–special hardware,
compression firmware, and massive amounts of digital storage space are required.
6.4.4 Video Compression
To digitize and store a 10-second clip of full-motion video in your computer
requires transfer of an enormous amount of data in a very short amount of time.
Reproducing just one frame of digital video component video at 24 bits requires
almost 1MB of computer data; 30 seconds of video will fill a gigabyte hard
disk. Full-size, full-motion video requires that the computer deliver data at about
30MB per second. This overwhelming technological bottleneck is overcome
using digital video compression schemes or codecs (coders/decoders). A codec
is the algorithm used to compress a video for delivery and then decode it in real-
time for fast playback.
Real-time video compression algorithms such as MPEG, DVI/Indeo, JPEG,
Cinepak, Sorenson, ClearVideo, RealVideo, and VDOwave are available to
compress digital video information. Compression schemes use Discrete Cosine
Transform (DCT), an encoding algorithm that quantifies the human eye’s ability
to detect color and image distortion. All of these codecs employ lossy
compression algorithms. In addition to compressing video data, streaming
technologies are being implemented to provide reasonable quality low-bandwidth
video on the Web. Microsoft, RealNetworks, VXtreme, VDOnet, Xing, Precept,
Cubic, Motorola, Viva, Vosaic, and Oracle are actively pursuing the
commercialization of streaming technology on the Web.
QuickTime, Apple’s software-based architecture for seamlessly integrating

sound, animation, text, and video (data that changes over time), is often thought
of as a compression standard, but it is really much more than that.
6.4.5 MPEG
The MPEG standard has been developed by the Moving Picture Experts
Group, a working group convened by the International Standards Organization
(ISO) and the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) to create
standards for digital representation of moving pictures and associated audio and
other data. MPEG1 and MPEG2 are the current standards. Using MPEG1,
you can deliver 1.2 Mbps of video and 250 Kbps of two-channel stereo audio
using CD-ROM technology. MPEG2, a completely different system from
MPEG1, requires higher data rates (3 to 15 Mbps) but delivers higher image
resolution, picture quality, interlaced video formats, multi resolution scalability,
and multichannel audio features.
6.4.6 DVI/INDEO
DVI is a property, programmable compression/decompression technology
based on the Intel i750 chip set. This hardware consists of two VLSI (Very
Large Scale Integrated) chips to separate the image processing and display
functions. Two levels of compression and decompression are provided by DVI:
Production Level Video (PLV) and Real Time Video (RTV). PLV and RTV
both use variable compressionrates. DVI’s algorithms can compress video images
at ratios between 80:1 and 160:1. DVI will play back video in full-frame size
and in full color at 30 frames per second.
6.5 Optimizing Video Files for CD-ROM
CD-ROMs provide an excellent distribution medium for computer-based
video: they are inexpensive to mass produce, and they can store great quantities
of information. CDROM players offer slow data transfer rates, but adequate
video transfer can be achieved by taking care to properly prepare your digital
video files.
• Limit the amount of synchronization required between the video and
audio. With Microsoft’s AVI files, the audio and video data are already interleaved,
so this is not a necessity, but with QuickTime files, you should “flatten” your
movie. Flattening means you interleave the audio and video segments together.
• Use regularly spaced key frames, 10 to 15 frames apart, and temporal
compression can correct for seek time delays. Seek time is how long it takes
the CD-ROM player to locate specific data on the CD-ROM disc. Even fast
56x drives must spin up, causing some delay (and occasionally substantial noise).
• The size of the video window and the frame rate you specify dramatically
affect performance. In QuickTime, 20 frames per second played in a 160X120-
pixel window is equivalent to playing 10 frames per second in a 320X240
window. The more data that has to be decompressed and transferred from the
CD-ROM to the screen, the slower the playback.
6.6 Summary
In this lesson we have learnt the use of animation and video in multimedia
presentation. Following points have been discussed in this lesson :
• Animation is created from drawn pictures and video is created using
real time visuals.
• Animation is possible because of a biological phenomenon known as
persistence of vision
• The different techniques used in animation are cel animation, computer
animation, kinematics and morphing.
• Four broadcast and video standards and recording formats are commonly
in use around the world: NTSC, PAL, SECAM, and HDTV.
• Real-time video compression algorithms such as MPEG, P*64, DVI/
Indeo, JPEG, Cinepak, Sorenson, ClearVideo, RealVideo, and VDOwave are
available to compress digital video information.
1. What is NTSC and PAL.
2. What is SECAM and HDTV
3. Define Video Tips.
4. What is MPEG
5. What is DVI/INDEO.
1. Explain about video.
2. Explain about recording formats.
3. Explain about optimizing video files for CD-Rom.
UNIT 7
Creating Multimedia Content
Structure
7.1 Introduction
7.2 What is Creativity
7.3 Hardwares
7.4 Softwares
7.5 Video Formats
7.6 Summary
Learning Objectives
This lesson aims at introducing the multimedia hardware used for providing
interactivity between the user and the multimedia software, and also intended to
teach the learner the basic tools (software) used for creating and capturing
multimedia. The first part deals with Hardware and Second part deals with
Software.
At the end of the lesson the learner will be able to:
(i) Identify software for creating multimedia objects
(ii) Locate software used for editing multimedia objects
(iii) understand different hardware and software tools
7.1 Intorduction
The basic tools set for building multimedia project contains one or more
authoring systems and various editing applications for text, images, sound, and
motion video. A few additional applications are also useful for capturing images
from the screen, translating file formats and tools for the making multimedia
production easier.
7.2 What is Creativity?
Creativity as the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality.
Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. Innovation is the
production or implementation of an idea. If you have ideas, but don’t act on
them, you are imaginative but not creative.
“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being...creativity
requires passion and commitment. Out of the creative act is born symbols and
myths. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new
life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness-ecstasy.”
- Rollo May, The Courage to Create
“A product is creative when it is (a) novel and (b) appropriate. A novel
product is original not predictable. The bigger the concept, and the more the
product stimulates further work and ideas, the more the product is creative.”
- Sternberg & Lubart, Defying the Crowd
Creativity can be improved with lot of observation and thinking of new
possibilities in the way you like to implement.
Stages of a Multimedia Project
The stages for multimedia application development are Planning and costing,
designing and producing, testing and delivery.
Communication Proccess:
Every communicator must know the significance of language which is essential
for effective communication. There is no life without communication and
communication flows like a river. Hence communication is the life line of
management and it is vital for good management. Unless and until one should
master the communication skills, he/she cannot get employability. He/ she should
develop communication and language skills practicing the following:
• While interacting with someone, give importance to the message.
• Do not be pre-occupied with grammatical accuracy.

• Once you become fluent, you should try to improve grammar.
• Accept yourself as you are.
• Practice is very important. Whenever you get an opportunity to speak
in front of others, make use of it. Face the audience boldly.
• Keep a good dictionary with you as your companion.
• Read newspapers, read stories, articles, news-items, watch news on
T.V. , Radio, develop your listening skills.
• Mingle with others freely; it helps you to develop interpersonal and group
skills.
• Cultivate habit of reading books. By reading books, you can improve
and develop ‘Creativity’.
• Selection of right books, good books to read is the key factor to success.
• Motivate the young minds and activate to learn subject and language.
• The great ideas will definitely help the reader in his later life. So read,
Mark, learn and inwardly digest what is there in the books.
• Books are temples of knowledge. Visit the Library regularly at fixed
hour.
• Now-a-days, knowledge is open for all in so many forms. You need to
acquire desired knowledge from vast sources available.
7.3 Hardware
7.3.1 Input devices
Often, input devices are under direct control by a human user, who uses
them to communicate commands or other information to be processed by the
computer, which may then transmit feedback to the user through an output device.
Input and output devices together make up the hardware interface between a
computer and the user or external world. Typical examples of input devices
include keyboards and mice. However, there are others which provide many
more degrees of freedom. In general, any sensor which monitors, scans for and
accepts information from the external world can be considered an input device,
whether or not the information is under the direct control of a user.
Classification of Input Devices

Input devices can be classified according to:-
• The modality of input (e.g. mechanical motion, audio, visual, sound,
etc.)
• Whether the input is discrete (e.g. keypresses) or continuous (e.g. a
mouse’s position, though digitized into a discrete quantity, is high-resolution
enough to be thought of as continuous)
• The number of degrees of freedom involved (e.g. many mice allow 2D
positional input, but some devices allow 3D input, such as the Logitech Magellan
Space Mouse)
Pointing devices, which are input devices used to specify a position in space,
can further be classified according to
• Whether the input is direct or indirect. With direct input, the input space
coincides with the display space, i.e. pointing is done in the space where visual
feedback or the cursor appears. Touchscreens and light pens involve direct
input. Examples involving indirect input include the mouse and trackball.
• Whether the positional information is absolute (e.g. on a touch screen)
or relative (e.g. with a mouse that can be lifted and repositioned) Note that
direct input is almost necessarily absolute, but indirect input may be either
absolute or relative. For example, digitizing graphics tablets that do not have an
embedded screen involve indirect input, and sense absolute positions and are
often run in an absolute input mode, but they may also be setup to simulate a
relative input mode where the stylus or puck can be lifted and repositioned.
(a) Keyboards
A keyboard is the most common method of interaction with a computer.
Keyboards provide various tactile responses (from firm to mushy) and have
various layouts depending upon your computer system and keyboard model.
Keyboards are typically rated for at least 50 million cycles (the number of times
a key can be pressed before it might suffer breakdown).
The most common keyboard for PCs is the 101 style (which provides 101
keys), although many styles are available with more are fewer special keys,
LEDs, and others features, such as a plastic membrane cover for industrial or
food-service applications or flexible “ergonomic” styles. Macintosh keyboards
connect to the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), which manages all forms of user
input- from digitizing tablets to mice.
Examples of types of keyboards include

• Computer keyboard
• Keyer
• Chorded keyboard
• LPFK
(b) Pointing devices
A pointing device is any computer hardware component (specifically human
interface device) that allows a user to input spatial (ie, continuous and multi-
dimensional) data to a computer. CAD systems and graphical user interfaces
(GUI) allow the user to control and provide data to the computer using physical
gestures - point, click, and drag - typically by moving a hand-held mouse across
the surface of the physical desktop and activating switches on the mouse.
While the most common pointing device by far is the mouse, many more
devices have been developed. However, mouse is commonly used as a metaphor
for devices that move the cursor. A mouse is the standard tool for interacting
with a graphical user interface (GUI). All Macintosh computers require a mouse;
on PCs, mice are not required but recommended. Even though the Windows
environment accepts keyboard entry in lieu of mouse point-and-click actions,
your multimedia project should typically be designed with the mouse or
touchscreen in mind. The buttons the mouse provide additional user input, such
as pointing and double-clicking to open a document, or the click-and-drag
operation, in which the mouse button is pressed and held down to drag (move)
an object, or to move to and select an item on a pull-down menu, or to access
context-sensitive help. The Apple mouse has one button; PC mice may have as
many as three.
Examples of common pointing devices include
• Mouse
• Trackball
• Touchpad
• SpaceBall - 6 degrees-of-freedom controller
• Touchscreen
• Graphics tablets (or digitizing tablet) that use a stylus
• Light pen
• Light gun
• Eye tracking devices
• Steering wheel - can be thought of as a 1D pointing device
• Yoke (aircraft)
• Jog dial - another 1D pointing device
• Isotonic joysticks - where the user can freely change the position of the
stick, with more or less constant force
• Joystick
• Analog stick
• Isometric joysticks - where the user controls the stick by varying the
amount of force they push with, and the position of the stick remains more or
less constant.
• Pointing stick
• Discrete pointing devices
• Directional pad - a very simple keyboard
• Dance pad - used to point at gross locations in space with
feet
(c) High-degree of freedom input devices
Some devices allow many continuous degrees of freedom to be input, and
could sometimes be used as pointing devices, but could also be used in other
ways that don’t conceptually involve pointing at a location in space.
• Wired glove
• Shape Tape
(d) Composite devices
Wii Remote with attached strap
Input devices, such as buttons and joysticks, can be combined on a single
physical device that could be thought of as a composite device. Many gaming
devices have controllers like this.
• Game controller
• Gamepad (or joypad)
• Paddle (game controller)

• Wii Remote
(e) Imaging and Video input devices
Flat-Bed Scanners
A scanner may be the most useful piece of equipment used in the course of
producing a multimedia project; there are flat-bed and handheld scanners. Most
commonly available are gray-scale and color flat-bed scanners that provide a
resolution of 300 or 600 dots per inch (dpi). Professional graphics houses may
use even higher resolution units. Handheld scanners can be useful for scanning
small images and columns of text, but they may prove inadequate for the
multimedia development.
Be aware that scanned images, particularly those at high resolution and in
color, demand an extremely large amount of storage space on the hard disk, no
matter what instrument is used to do the scanning. Also remember that the final
monitor display resolution for your multimedia project will probably be just 72
or 95 dpi-leave the very expensive ultra-high-resolution scanners for the desktop
publishers. Most expensive flat-bed scanners offer at least 300 dpi resolution,
and most scanners allow to set the scanning resolution. Scanners helps make
clear electronic images of existing artwork such as photos, ads, pen drawings,
and cartoons, and can save many hours when you are incorporating proprietary
art into the application. Scanners also give a starting point for the creative
diversions. The devices used for capturing image and video are:
• Webcam
• Image scanner
• Fingerprint scanner
• Barcode reader
• 3D scanner
• Medical imaging sensor technology
• Computed tomography
• Magnetic resonance imaging
• Positron emission tomography
• Medical ultrasonography
Audio input devices

The devices used for capturing audio are
• Microphone
• Speech recognition
Note that MIDI allows musical instruments to be used as input devices as
well.
(f) Touch Screens
Touch screens are monitors that usually have a textured coating across the
glass face. This coating is sensitive to pressure and registers the location of the
user’s finger when it touches the screen. The Touch Mate System, which has no
coating, actually measures the pitch, roll, and yaw rotation of the monitor when
pressed by a finger, and determines how much force was exerted and the location
where the force was applied.
Other touchscreens use invisible beams of infrared light that crisscross the
front of the monitor to calculate where a finger was pressed. Pressing twice on
the screen in quick and dragging the finger, without lifting it, to another location
simulates a mouse clickand- drag. A keyboard is sometimes simulated using an
onscreen representation so users can input names, numbers, and other text by
pressing “keys”.
Touch screen recommended for day-to-day computer work, but are
excellent for multimedia applications in a kiosk, at a trade show, or in a museum
delivery system anything involving public input and simple tasks. When your
project is designed to use a touch screen, the monitor is the only input device
required, so you can secure all other system hardware behind locked doors to
prevent theft or tampering.
7.3.2 Output Devices
Presentation of the audio and visual components of the multimedia project
requires hardware that may or may not be included with the computer itself-
speakers, amplifiers, monitors, motion video devices, and capable storage
systems. The better the equipment, of course, the better the presentation.
There is no greater test of the benefits of good output hardware than to
feed the audio output of your computer into an external amplifier system: suddenly
the bass sounds become deeper and richer, and even music sampled at low
quality may seem to be acceptable.
(a) Audio devices

All Macintoshes are equipped with an internal speaker and a dedicated
sound clip, and they are capable of audio output without additional hardware
and/or software. To take advantage of built-in stereo sound, external speaker
are required. Digitizing sound on the Macintosh requires an external microphone
and sound editing/recording software such as SoundEdit16 from Macromedia,
Alchemy from Passport, or SoundDesingner from DigiDesign.
(b) Amplifiers and Speakers
Often the speakers used during a project’s development will not be adequate
for its presentation. Speakers with built-in amplifiers or attached to an external
amplifier are important when the project will be presented to a large audience or
in a noisy setting.
(c) Monitors
The monitor needed for development of multimedia projects depends on
the type of multimedia application created, as well as what computer is being
used. A wide variety of monitors is available for both Macintoshes and PCs.
High-end, large-screen graphics monitors are available for both, and they are
expensive.
Serious multimedia developers will often attach more than one monitor to
their computers, using add-on graphic board. This is because many authoring
systems allow to work with several open windows at a time, so we can dedicate
one monitor to viewing the work we are creating or designing, and we can
perform various editing tasks in windows on other monitors that do not block
the view of your work. Editing windows that overlap a work view when developing
with Macromedia’s authoring environment, director, on one monitor. Developing
in director is best with at least two monitors, one to view the work the other two
view the “score”. A third monitor is often added by director developers to display
the “Cast”.
(d) Video Device
No other contemporary message medium has the visual impact of video.
With a video digitizing board installed in a computer, we can display a television
picture on your monitor. Some boards include a frame-grabber feature for
capturing the image and turning it in to a color bitmap, which can be saved as a
PICT or TIFF file and then used as part of a graphic or a background in your
project.
Display of video on any computer platform requires manipulation of an

enormous amount of data. When used in conjunction with videodisc players,
which give precise control over the images being viewed, video cards you place
an image in to a window on the computer monitor; a second television screen
dedicated to video is not required. And video cards typically come with excellent
special effects software.
There are many video cards available today. Most of these support various
videoin- a-window sizes, identification of source video, setup of play sequences
are segments, special effects, frame grabbing, digital movie making; and some
have built-in television tuners so you can watch your favorite programs in a
window while working on other things. In windows, video overlay boards are
controlled through the Media Control Interface. On the Macintosh, they are
often controlled by external commands and functions (XCMDs and XFCNs)
linked to your authoring software.
Good video greatly enhances your project; poor video will ruin it. Whether
you delivered your video from tape using VISCA controls, from videodisc, or
as a QuickTime or AVI movie, it is important that your source material be of
high quality.
(e) Projectors
When it is necessary to show a material to more viewers than can huddle
around a computer monitor, it will be necessary to project it on to large screen
or even a whitepainted wall. Cathode-ray tube (CRT) projectors, liquid crystal
display (LCD) panels attached to an overhead projector, stand-alone LCD
projectors, and light-valve projectors are available to splash the work on to
big-screen surfaces.
CRT projectors have been around for quite a while- they are the original
“bigscreen” televisions. They use three separate projection tubes and lenses
(red, green, and blue), and three color channels of light must “converge” accurately
on the screen. Setup, focusing, and aligning are important to getting a clear and
crisp picture. CRT projectors are compatible with the output of most computers
as well as televisions. LCD panels are portable devices that fit in a briefcase.
The panel is placed on the glass surface of a standard overhead projector
available in most schools, conference rooms, and meeting halls. While they
overhead projectors does the projection work, the panel is connected to the
computer and provides the image, in thousands of colors and, with active-matrix
technology, at speeds that allow full-motion video and animation.
Because LCD panels are small, they are popular for on-the-road
presentations, often connected to a laptop computer and using a locally available
overhead projector. More complete LCD projection panels contain a projection
lamp and lenses and do not recover a separate overheads projector. They
typically produce an image brighter and shaper than the simple panel model, but
they are some what large and cannot travel in a briefcase.
Light-valves complete with high-end CRT projectors and use a liquid crystal
technology in which a low-intensity color image modulates a high-intensity light
beam. These units are expensive, but the image from a light-valve projector is
very bright and color saturated can be projected onto screen as wide as 10
meters.
(f) Printers
With the advent of reasonably priced color printers, hard-copy output has
entered the multimedia scene. From storyboards to presentation to production
of collateral marketing material, color printers have become an important part
of the multimedia development environment. Color helps clarify concepts,
improve understanding and retention of information, and organize complex data.
As multimedia designers already know intelligent use of colors is critical to the
success of a project.
Tektronix offers both solid ink and laser options, and either Phases 560
will print more than 10000 pages at a rate of 5 color pages or 14 monochrome
pages per minute before requiring new toner. Epson provides lower-cost and
lower-performance solutions for home and small business users; Hewlett
Packard’s Color LaserJet line competes with both. Most printer manufactures
offer a color model-just as all computers once used monochrome monitors but
are now color, all printers will became color printers.
7.3.3 Communication Devices
Many multimedia applications are developed in workgroups comprising
instructional designers, writers, graphic artists, programmers, and musicians
located in the same office space or building. The workgroup members’ computers
typically are connected on a local area network (LAN). The client’s computers,
however, may be thousands of miles distant, requiring other methods for good
communication.
Communication among workshop members and with the client is essential
to the efficient and accurate completion of project. And when speedy data transfer
is needed, immediately, a modem or network is required.
If the client and the service provider are both connected to the Internet, a
combination of communication by e-mail and by FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
may be the most cost-effective and efficient solution for both creative development
and project management.
In the workplace, it is necessary to use quality equipment and software for
the communication setup. The cost-in both time and money-of stable and fast
networking will be returned to the content developer.
(a) Modems
Modems can be connected to the computer externally at the port or internally
as a separate board. Internal modems often include fax capability. Be sure your
modem is Hayes-compatible. The Hayes AT standard command set (named for
the ATTENTION command that precedes all other commands) allows to work
with most software communications packages.
Modem speed, measured in baud, is the most important consideration.
Because the multimedia file that contains the graphics, audio resources, video
samples, and progressive versions of your project are usually large, you need to
move as much data as possible in as short a time as possible. Today’s standards
dictate at least a V.34 28,800 bps modem.
Transmitting at only 2400 bps, a 350KB file may take as long as 45 minutes
to send, but at 28.8 kbps, you can be done in a couple of minutes. Most modems
follows the CCITT V.32 or V.42 standards that provide data compression
algorithms when communicating with another similarly equipped modem.
Compression saves significant transmission time and money, especially over long
distance. Be sure the modem uses a standard compression system (like V.32),
not a proprietary one.
According to the laws of physics, copper telephone lines and the switching
equipment at the phone companies’ central offices can handle modulated analog
signals up to about 28,000 bps on “clean” lines. Modem manufactures that
advertise data transmission speeds higher than that (56 Kbps) are counting on
their hardware-based compression algorithms to crunch the data before sending
it, decompressing it upon arrival at the receiving end.
If we have already compressed the data into a .SIT, .SEA, .ARC, or .ZIP
file, you may not reap any benefit from the higher advertised speeds because it
is difficult to compress an already-compressed file. New high-speed/high
transmission over telephone lines are on the horizon.
(b) ISDN
For higher transmission speeds, you will need to use Integrated Services
Digital Network (ISDN), Switched-56, T1, T3, DSL, ATM, or another of the
telephone companies’ Digital Switched Network Services. ISDN lines are
popular because of their fast 128 Kbps data transfer rate-four to five times
faster than the more common 28.8 Kbps analog modem. ISDN lines (and the
required ISDN hardware, often misnamed “ISDN modems” even though no
modulation/demodulation of the analog signal occurs) are important for Internet
access, networking, and audio and video conferencing.
They are more expensive than conventional analog or POTS (Plain Old
Telephone Service) lines, so analyze your costs and benefits carefully before
upgrading to ISDN. Newer and faster Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology
using copper lines and promoted by the telephone companies may overtake
ISDN.
(c) Cable Modems
In November 1995, a consortium of cable television industry leaders
announced agreement with key equipment manufacturers to specify some of the
technical ways cable networks and data equipment talk with one another. 3COM,
AT&T, COM21, General Instrument, Hewlett Packard, Hughes, Hybrid, IBM,
Intel, LANCity, MicroUnity, Motorola, Nortel, Panasonic, Scientific Atlanta,
Terrayon, Toshiba, and Zenith currently supply cable modem products.
While the cable television networks cross 97 percent of property lines in
North America, each local cable operator may use different equipment, wires,
and software, and cable modems still remain somewhat experimental. This was
a call for interoperability standards.
Cable modems operate at speeds 100 to 1,000 times as fast as a telephone
modem, receiving data at up to 10Mbps and sending data at speeds between
2Mbps and 10 Mbps. They can provide not only high-bandwidth Internet access
but also streaming audio and video for television viewing. Most will connect to
computers with 10baseT Ethernet connectors.
Cable modems usually send and receive data asymmetrically they receive
more (faster) than they send (slower). In the downstream direction from provider
to user, the date are modulated and placed on a common 6 MHz television
carrier, somewhere between 42 MHz and 750 MHz. the upstream channel, or
reverse path, from the user back to the provider is more difficult to engineer
because cable is a noisy environment with interference from HAM radio, CB
radio, home appliances, loose connectors, and poor home installation.
7.3.4 Multimedia Storage Devices
Fig. 7.1
7.4 Software
(a) Text Editing and Word Processing Tools
A word processor is usually the first software tool computer users rely
upon for creating text. The word processor is often bundled with an office
suite.Word processors such as Microsoft Word and WordPerfect are powerful
applications that include spellcheckers, table formatters, thesauruses and prebuilt
templates for letters, resumes, purchase orders and other common documents.
(b) OCR Software
Often there will be multimedia content and other text to incorporate into a
multimedia project, but no electronic text file. With optical character recognition
(OCR) software, a flat-bed scanner, and a computer, it is possible to save many

hours of rekeying printed words, and get the job done faster and more accurately
than a roomful of typists.
OCR software turns bitmapped characters into electronically recognizable
ASCII text. A scanner is typically used to create the bitmap. Then the software
breaks the bitmap into chunks according to whether it contains text or graphics,
by examining the texture and density of areas of the bitmap and by detecting
edges. The text areas of the image are then converted to ASCII character using
probability and expert system algorithms.
(c) Image-Editing Tools
Image-editing application is specialized and powerful tools for enhancing
and retouching existing bitmapped images. These applications also provide many
of the feature and tools of painting and drawing programs and can be used to
create images from scratch as well as images digitized from scanners, video
frame-grabbers, digital cameras, clip art files, or original artwork files created
with a painting or drawing package.
Here are some features typical of image-editing applications and of interest
to multimedia developers:
• Multiple windows that provide views of more than one image at a time
• Conversion of major image-data types and industry-standard file formats
• Direct inputs of images from scanner and video sources

• Employment of a virtual memory scheme that uses hard disk space as
RAM for images that require large amounts of memory
• Capable selection tools, such as rectangles, lassos, and magic wands,
to select portions of a bitmap
• Image and balance controls for brightness, contrast, and color
balance
• Good masking features
• Multiple undo and restore features
• Anti-aliasing capability, and sharpening and smoothing controls
• Color-mapping controls for precise adjustment of color balance
• Tools for retouching, blurring, sharpening, lightening, darkening,

smudging, and tinting
• Geometric transformation such as flip, skew, rotate, and distort, and
perspective changes
• Ability to resample and resize an image
• X34-bit color, 8- or 4-bit indexed color, 8-bit gray-scale, black-and-
white, and customizable color palettes
• Ability to create images from scratch, using line, rectangle, square, circle,
ellipse, polygon, airbrush, paintbrush, pencil, and eraser tools, with
customizable brush shapes and user-definable bucket and gradient fills
• Multiple typefaces, styles, and sizes, and type manipulation and masking
routines.
• Filters for special effects, such as crystallize, dry brush, emboss, facet,
fresco, graphic pen, mosaic, pixelize, poster, ripple, smooth, splatter,
stucco, twirl, watercolor, wave, and wind
• Support for third-party special effect plug-ins
• Ability to design in layers that can be combined, hidden, and reordered
Plug-Ins
Image-editing programs usually support powerful plug-in modules available
from third-party developers that allow to wrap, twist, shadow, cut, diffuse, and
otherwise “filter” your images for special visual effects.
(d) Painting and Drawing Tools
Painting and drawing tools, as well as 3-D modelers, are perhaps the most
important items in the toolkit because, of all the multimedia elements, the graphical
impact of the project will likely have the greatest influence on the end user. If the
artwork is amateurish, or flat and uninteresting, both the creator and the users
will be disappointed.
Painting software, such as Photoshop, Fireworks, and Painter, is dedicated
to producing crafted bitmap images. Drawing software, such as CorelDraw,
FreeHand, Illustrator, Designer, and Canvas, is dedicated to producing vector-
based line art easily printed to paper at high resolution.
Some software applications combine drawing and painting capabilities, but
many authoring systems can import only bitmapped images. Typically, bitmapped
images provide the greatest choice and power to the artist for rendering fine
detail and effects, and today bitmaps are used in multimedia more often than
drawn objects. Some vector based packages such as Macromedia’s Flash are
aimed at reducing file download times on the Web, and may contain both bitmaps
and drawn art. The anti-aliased character shown in the bitmap of Color Plate 5
is an example of the fine touches that improve the look of an image.
Look for these features in a drawing or painting packages:
• An intuitive graphical user interface with pull-down menus, status bars,
palette control, and dialog boxes for quick, logical selection
• Scalable dimensions, so you can resize, stretch, and distort both large
and small bitmaps
• Paint tools to create geometric shapes, from squares to circles and from
curves to complex polygons
• Ability to pour a color, pattern, or gradient into any area
• Ability to paint with patterns and clip art
• Customizable pen and brush shapes and sizes
• Eyedropper tool that samples colors
• Auto trace tool that turns bitmap shapes into vector-based outlines
• Support for scalable text fonts and drop shadows
• Multiple undo capabilities, to let you try again
• Painting features such as smoothing coarse-edged objects into the
background with anti-aliasing, airbrushing in variable sizes, shapes,
densities, and patterns; washing colors in gradients; blending; and
masking.
• Support for third-party special effect plug-ins
• Object and layering capabilities that allow you to treat separate elements
independently.
• Zooming, for magnified pixel editing
• All common color depths: 1-, 4-, 8-, and 16-, X34-, or 3X3- bit color,
and grayscale.
• Good color management and dithering capability among color depths
using various color models such as RGB, HSB, and CMYK.
• Good palette management when in 8-bit mode
• Good file importing and exporting capability for image formats such as
PIC, GIF, TGA, TIF, WMF, JPG, PCX, EPS, PTN, and BMP.
(e) Sound Editing Tools
Sound editing tools for both digitized and MIDI sound let’s hear music as
well as create it. By drawing a representation of a sound in fine increments,
whether a score or a waveform, it is possible to cut, copy, paste and otherwise
edit segments of it with great precision.
System sounds are shipped both Macintosh and Windows systems and
they are available as soon the Operating system is installed. For MIDI sound, a
MIDI synthesizer is required to play and record sounds from musical instruments.
For ordinary sound there are varieties of software such as Soundedit, MP3cutter,
Wavestudio.
(f) Animation, Video and Digital Movie Tools
Animation and digital movies are sequences of bitmapped graphic scenes
(frames, rapidly played back. Most authoring tools adapt either a frame or object
oriented approach to animation.
Moviemaking tools typically take advantage of QuickTime for Macintosh
and Microsoft Video for Windows and lets the content developer to create, edit
and present digitized motion video segments.
7.5 Video formats
A video format describes how one device sends video pictures to another
device, such as the way that a DVD player sends pictures to a television or a
computer to a monitor. More formally, the video format describes the sequence
and structure of frames that create the moving video image.
Video formats are commonly known in the domain of commercial broadcast
and consumer devices; most notably to date, these are the analog video formats
of NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. However, video formats also describe the digital
equivalents of the commercial formats, the aging custom military uses of analog
video (such as RS-170 and RS-343), the increasingly important video formats
used with computers, and even such offbeat formats such as color field sequential.
Video formats were originally designed for display devices such as CRTs.
However, because other kinds of displays have common source material and
because video formats enjoy wide adoption and have convenient organization,
video formats are a common means to describe the structure of displayed visual
information for a variety of graphical output devices.
Common Organization of Video Formats

A video format describes a rectangular image carried within an envelope
containing information about the image. Although video formats vary greatly in
organization, there is a common taxonomy:
• A frame can consist of two or more fields, sent sequentially, that are
displayed over time to form a complete frame. This kind of assembly is
known as interlace. An interlaced video frame is distinguished from a
progressive scan frame, where the entire frame is sent as a single intact
entity.
• A frame consists of a series of lines, known as scan lines. Scan lines
have a regular and consistent length in order to produce a rectangular
image. This is because in analog formats, a line lasts for a given period
of time; in digital formats, the line consists of a given number of pixels.
When a device sends a frame, the video format specifies that devices
send each line independently from any others and that all lines are sent
in top-to-bottom order.
• As above, a frame may be split into fields – odd and even (by line
“numbers”) or upper and lower, respectively. In NTSC, the lower field
comes first, then the upper field, and that’s the whole frame. The basics
of a format are Aspect Ratio,
• Frame Rate, and Interlacing with field order if applicable: Video formats
use a sequence of frames in a specified order. In some formats, a single
frame is independent of any other (such as those used in computer video
formats), so the sequence is only one frame. In other video formats,
frames have an ordered position. Individual frames within a sequence
typically have similar construction.
• However, depending on its position in the sequence, frames may vary
small elements within them to represent additional information. For
example, MPEG-X3 compression may eliminate the information that is
redundant frame-to-frame in order to reduce the data size, preserving
the information relating to changes between frames.
Analog video formats
 NTSC
 PAL
 SECAM
Digital Video Formats

These are MPEGX3 based terrestrial broadcast video formats
 ATSC Standards
 DVB
 ISDB
These are strictly the format of the video itself, and not for the modulation
used for transmission.
Broadcast video formats
Analog broadcast
5X35 lines: NTSC • NTSC-J • PAL-M
6X35 lines: PAL • PAL-N • PALplus • SECAM
Multichannel audio: BTSC (MTS) • NICAM-7X38 • Zweiton (AX3, IGR)
Digital broadcast
Interlaced: SDTV (480i, 576i) • HDTV (1080i)
Progressive: LDTV (X340p, X388p, 1seg) • EDTV (480p, 576p) •
HDTV (7X30p, 1080p)
Digital TV standards (MPEG-X3):ATSC, DVB, ISDB, DMB-T/H
Digital TV standards (MPEG-4 AVC):DMB-T/H,DVB,SBTVD,ISDB
(1seg)
Multichannel audio: AAC (5.1) • Musicam • PCM • LPCM
Digital cinema: UHDV (X3540p, 43X30p) • DCI
X3.7.3 QuickTime
QuickTime is a multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc. capable
of handling various formats of digital video, media clips, sound, text, animation,
music, and several types of interactive panoramic images.
Available for Classic Mac OS, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows
operating systems, it provides essential support for software packages including
iTunes, QuickTime Player (which can also serve as a helper application for web
browsers to play media files that might otherwise fail to open) and Safari.
The QuickTime technology consists of the following:

1. The QuickTime Player application created by Apple, which is a media
player.
2. The QuickTime framework, which provides a common set of APIs for
encoding and decoding audio and video.
3. The QuickTime Movie (.mov) file format, an openly-documented media
container.
QuickTime is integral to Mac OS X, as it was with earlier versions of Mac
OS. All Apple systems ship with QuickTime already installed, as it represents
the core media framework for Mac OS X. QuickTime is optional for Windows
systems, although many software applications require it. Apple bundles it with
each iTunes for Windows download, but it is also available as a stand-alone
installation.
QuickTime players
QuickTime is distributed free of charge, and includes the QuickTime Player
application. Some other free player applications that rely on the QuickTime
framework provide features not available in the basic QuickTime Player. For
example:
• iTunes can export audio in WAV, AIFF, MP3, AAC, and Apple
Lossless.
• In Mac OS X, a simple AppleScript can be used to play a movie in full-
screen mode. However, since version 7.X3 the QuickTime Player now
also supports for full screen viewing in the non-pro version.
QuickTime framework
The QuickTime framework provides the following:
• Encoding and transcoding video and audio from one format to another.
• Decoding video and audio, and then sending the decoded stream to
the graphics or audio subsystem for playback. In Mac OS X, QuickTime
sends video playback to the Quartz Extreme (OpenGL) Compositor.
• A plug-in architecture for supporting additional codecs (such as DivX).
The framework supports the following file types and codecs natively:
Audio
• Apple Lossless
• Audio Interchange (AIFF)

• Digital Audio: Audio CD - 16-bit (CDDA), X34-bit, 3X3-bit integer &
floating point, and 64-bit floating point
• MIDI
• MPEG-1 Layer 3 Audio (.mp3)
• MPEG-4 AAC Audio (.m4a, .m4b, .m4p)
• Sun AU Audio
• ULAW and ALAW Audio
• Waveform Audio (WAV)
Video
• 3GPP & 3GPPX3 file formats
• AVI file format
• Bitmap (BMP) codec and file format
• DV file (DV NTSC/PAL and DVC Pro NTSC/PAL codecs)
• Flash & FlashPix files
• GIF and Animated GIF files
• H.X361, H.X363, and H.X364 codecs
• JPEG, Photo JPEG, and JPEG-X3000 codecs and file
formats
• MPEG-1, MPEG-X3, and MPEG-4 Video file formats and
associated codecs (such as AVC)
• QuickTime Movie (.mov) and QTVR movies
• Other video codecs: Apple Video, Cinepak, Component
Video, Graphics, and Planar RGB
• Other still image formats: PNG, TIFF, and TGA
Specification for QuickTime file format
QuickTime Movie File extension: .mov .qt
MIME type: video/quicktime
Type code: MooV
Uniform Type Identifier: com.apple.quicktime-movie

Developed by: Apple Inc.
Type of format: Media container
Container for: Audio, video, text
The QuickTime (.mov) file format functions as a multimedia container file
that contains one or more tracks, each of which stores a particular type of data:
audio, video, effects, or text (for subtitles, for example). Other file formats that
QuickTime supports natively (to varying degrees) include AIFF, WAV, DV, MP3,
and MPEG-1. With additional QuickTime Extensions, it can also support Ogg,
ASF, FLV, MKV, DivX Media Format, and others.
Summary
In this lesson we have learnt the details about input devices, connecting
devices and output devices. We have discussed the following key points in this
lesson :
• Input Devices and Output devices provide interactivity.
• Communication devices enables data transfer.
1. What is creativity.
2. What is keyboard and pointing devices.
3. What is flat bed scanners.
4. What is touch screens.
5. Define modems and ISDN.
6. What is OCR software.
7. What are sound editing tools.
8. What is Quick Time Framework.
1. Explain about Hardware.
2. Explain about output devices.
3. Explain about Software.
4. Explain varous video formats.
UNIT 8
Jobs in Multimedia Industry
Structure
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Publishing Indusry
8.3 Entertainment Industry
8.4 Interactive Multimedia and Web industry
8.5 Fashion and Interior Design Industry
8.6 Animation Industry
8.7 Gaming Industry
8.8 Summary
Learning Objectives
This lesson aims at introducing the Job arena relating to multimedia industry.
This lesson covers almost all branches of Multimedia industry and respective
job roles associated with this industry.
At thTe Tend of the lesson the learner will be able to:
i) Know the Job Scope in this industry
ii) Various functions performed by Multimedia professionals
iii) How to reach your desired position in this industry

we have various applications software to work with, it also requires
distinctive professionals to perform certain functions at different levels of the
project. In this lesson the student is going to get in depth insight of various
multimedia job roles along with brief descriptions.
8.1 Introduction
“Multimedia is any combination of text, graphic art, sound, animation, and
video delivered to you by computer or other electronic means. It is richly
presented sensation. When you weave together the sensual elements of
multimedia-dazzling pictures and animations, engaging sounds, compelling video
clips, and raw textual information-you can electrify the thought and action centers
of people’s minds. When you give them interactive control or the process, they
can be enchanted. Multimedia excites eyes, ears, fingertips, and, most importantly,
the head.” (Multimedia making it work 5th edition)
The world of multimedia is a gold mine of career opportunities for those
who have an aptitude for combining their creative talent with technological skills.
It is a world in which such creative people use text, graphics, animation,
audio and video with computer interactivity to create new visual and virtual
worlds. And work could be fun aplenty if you simply lose track of time while
conjuring up those worlds on your PC. Multimedia tools span a wide spectrum
- from video and sound editing to special effects, virtual reality, animation, games
and interactive multimedia programming.
Learning multimedia and working as a professional in this challenging field
could be an enjoyable experience. But it requires hard work, ability to visualise
and understand the concept of design logically, and implement it with a clear
head. Be prepared to persevere. The different areas where you could plan a
career in multimedia are:
8.2 Publishing industry
Print media is one of the oldest areas of work and forms the biggest chunk
of the Indian, Asian and global media market. And it is likely to remain dominant
for years to come. Publishing has acquired newer and broader dimensions owing
to networking. There are lots of Government and private institutions in India
where one could learn the art of design and printing technology, and digital print
media.
8.3 Entertainment industry

The boom in the IT industry and the emergence of cable TV and convergent
entertainment segments have made this a medium with a lot of potential for
growth and creativity, particularly taking the emerging international markets into
consideration. Graphic designers, cameramen, sound recordists, compositors,
games design specialists and animators are an integral part of this happening
sector.
A number of Government and private institutions offer training in media and
mass communication. A beginner could easily earn up to Rs. 20,000 per month
within two years and the sky is the limit if you can make the grade.
8.4 Interactive Multimedia and Web Industry
Talk of multimedia and it is often the Internet that springs to one’s mind.
Apart from the Internet, creation of interactive CDs has contributed significantly
to the growth of the multimedia industry. Career opportunities are aplenty.
There are plenty of institutions that provide training in web design and
engineering. But one must be cautious and choose an institute that has credibility
in the industry, and which can assist you in finding a suitable job. A fresher in this
area could earn approximately Rs. 7,000 per month and after a year or two it
could go up to Rs. 15,000. An entrepreneur could earn a lot more.
8.5 Fashion and interior designing industry
Fashion industry in India is supported by the Department of Textiles under
the Government of India and also by various garments and textile organisations.
Although there are a plethora of institutes that claim to be teaching fashion
designing, one must choose an institution that is closely linked with the fashion
industry. Experts in the field should be associated with the training. This is a
lucrative career and a talented trainee could earn Rs.15,000 per month.
Interior designing
With the advent of design tools, interior designing has captured the
imagination of one and all. Static 3-D, modelling of objects and scene designing
through computer graphics have given a boost to this segment.
8.6 Animation industry

Animation is one of the fastest growing IT-enabled services in India. About
3,00,000 professionals are expected to be in this industry by 2008. Animation
application areas include entertainment (films and television), business (marketing

demonstrations, product promotions), sales (presentations), education, tourism,
publishing (graphics and printing), web design and virtual reality for simulation in
defence, engineering, advertising (commercials and advertisements), interiors
and fashion design. Visualizes, ink-and-paint artists, people specializing in special
effects, character animators and modeling artists are some of the professionals
required in this industry. The starting salary of an animator may be around Rs.
6,000.
8.6.1 Special effects
Although special effects (SFX) may be part of other industries such as
entertainment, advertising and animation, its increasing use in all forms of interactive
presentation has earned for it a special place in today’s multimedia-savvy world.
Advertisement films, games, CBTs and a plethora of other media use special
effects to spice up their content.
You could learn SFX from good high-end animation institutes. Those who
are talented can make it big in this industry. Think of any film, be it ‘Matrix
Reloaded’ or ‘Shrek’, or Hindi films such as ‘Raju Chacha’, ‘Devdas’ and
‘Mohabattein’, special effects form an integral part of. For a SFX person, salaries
could be between Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 10,000.
8.7 Gaming industry

India has a huge potential for developing games for domestic and
international markets. There are five main departments in the average game
company: art, design, programming, sound, and support. Many companies divide
each into sub-categories. Given the huge demand for trained games developers
in India, salaries for trainees may range from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 10,000.
8.8 Advertising industry

The field of advertising, both on-line and off-line, has been one of the key
beneficiaries of multimedia technology, and digital advertising is being used
extensively by organizations today.
Multimedia specialists use multiple types of media, text, graphics, sound,
animation, and video, in various combinations in advertisements.
Salary for beginners ranges from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 8,000 and could go up
to Rs. 20,000 with a couple of years of experience.
CAREERS
Animator Art Director

Game Designer Graphics Designer
Interactive Writer Interface Designer
Sound Producer Vedio producer
Web Content Producer Web developer
Web master Presenation Artist
CD-ROM Developer
MARKETS
Online games CD-ROM games Arcade games

Corporate Websites design Personal Websites Edutainment
Reference material ATM’s / Kiosks Marketing
Production introduction Technical Training Trade Shows
MULTIMEDIA USES
Publishing Media Companies

Advertising Software startups
Museums / Zoos Advertising
Education Softwares
What do you need to succeed in Multimedia?

How do you get there ?
• Clearly define what you want to be or do. (i.e. a Graphic Designer,
Authoring Specialist, Art director, Animator)
• Define the skills you need to succeed in your chosen field. (Make a list)
• Create a plan to acquire the skills you do not possess.
• A great resume. Generating 3 to 4 versions of your resume is a good
idea. (Different versions for different jobs) The cover letter is what will get you
the interview it needs to be your best work. (A dozen different versions are
handy to have) Start your resume the day you register for classes at COM and
have it finished and in hand the day you get your certificate.
• A professional looking, polished portfolio. Keep it short. Keep it focused
• Work experience. Every Human Resources manager looks for this. Get
it, find it, and create it! It may be volunteer or part time, no matter, you need
some.
1. What is Multimedia.
2. What is Entertainment industry.
3. What is publishing industry.
4. What is gaming industry.
1. Explain about Animation industry.
2. Explain about Advertising industry.
3. Explain about special effects.
UNIT 9
Planning and Costing
Structure
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Idea analysis
9.3 Pre-testing
9.4 Task planning
9.5 Development
9.6 Delivery
9.7 Summary
Learning Obejectives
At the end of this lesson student will learn the following:
• Process of making a multimedia project (preproduction, production,
postproduction)
• Planning
• Idea analysis
• Cost estimating
• Revision
• Testing etc. in brief.
9.1 Introduction
Even though we have all the required elements of multimedia to start and
finish a full fledged multimedia project, it also requires a plan of action relating to
project handling that includes planning, budgeting, analysis, provisioning etc.,
so, this lesson gives a brief introduction to multimedia project handling stages.
The process of making multimedia.
• Scheduling.
• Estimating.
• RFPs and bid proposals.
Planning and costing involves the following stages:
They are
• Idea analysis.
• Pre-testing.
• Task planning.
• Development.
• Delivery.
Before beginning a multimedia project, it is necessary to determine
its scope and content.
• Balance is the key principle in idea analysis.
• The aim is to generate a plan of action that will become the road map
for production.
• It is necessary to continually weigh the purpose or goal against the
feasibility and the cost of production and delivery.
• This can be done dynamically by adding elements to or subtracting
elements from a project.
• Additive process involves starting with minimal capabilities and gradually
adding elements.
• Subtractive process involves discarding unnecessary Idea Analysis
elements from a fully developed project.
9.2 Idea Analysis

Idea analysis involves finding answers to questions like:
• Who is the intended audience? What are their needs?
• What multimedia elements will best deliver the message?
• What hardware, software, and storage capacity would be
required?
• How much time, effort, and money would be needed?
• How will the final product be distributed?
Idea Analysis Project management software includes:
• Microsoft Project.
• Designer’s Edge.
• Screenplay System’s Screenwriter and StoryView.
• Outlining programs.
• Spreadsheets.
Idea Analysis
• CPM - Project management software typically provides Critical Path
Method (CPM) scheduling functions to calculate the total duration of a project
based upon each identified task, showing prerequisites.
• PERT - Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) chartsprovide
graphic representations of task relationships.
• Gantt charts - depict all the tasks along a timeline.
9.3 Pre-Testing
• Involves defining project goals in fine detail and spelling out what it will
take in terms of skills, content, and money to meet these goals.
• Work up a prototype of the project on paper to help yourelate your

ideas to the real world.
9.4 Task Planning
• Task planning involves:
• Designing the instructional framework.

• Holding creative idea sessions.
• Determining the delivery platform and authoring platform.
• Assembling the team.
• Building a prototype, producing audio and video, testing the functionality,
and delivering the final product. Development
Prototype development
• Also known as a proof-of-concept or feasibility study.
• Involves testing of the initial implementation of ideas, building mock-up
interfaces, and exercising the hardware platform.
• Trial calculations are possible after prototyping.
• A written report and an analysis of budgets allow the client some flexibility
and also provide a reality check for developers.
9.5 Development
• Alpha development – At this stage, the investment of effort increases
and becomes more focused. More people get involved.
• Beta development – At this stage, most of the features of a project are
functional. Testing is done by a wider arena of testers.
9.6 Delivery
• In the delivery stage, the project is said to be “going gold.”
• The concerns shift towards the scalability of the project in the
marketplace.
Scheduling
• Milestones are decided at this stage.
• The time required for each deliverable, that is the work products delivered
to the client, is estimated and allocated.
• Scheduling is difficult for multimedia projects becausemultimedia creation
is basically artistic trial and error.
• Scheduling is also difficult because computer hardware andsoftware
technology are in constant flux.
• At this stage, clients need to approve or sign off on thework created.

• Any revisions of previously approved material would requirea change
order.
• A change order stipulates that the additional cost ofrevising previously
approved material should be borne by the client.
• When negotiating with a client, limit the number ofrevisions allowed.
Estimating
• Cost estimation is done by analyzing the tasks involved in aproject and
the people who build it.
• The hidden costs of administration and management arealso included in
the cost estimates.
• A contingency rate of 10 to 15 percent of the total costshould be added
to the estimated costs.
• Time, money, and people are the three elements that canvary in project
estimates.
• The time at which payments are to be made is determinedand are usually
made in three stages.
Estimating
• The billing rate should be equal to the total cost plus areasonable profit
margin.
• Typical billing rates for multimedia projects range from $60 to $150 an
hour.
• Lower rates do not necessarily imply poor quality of work;they could
rather mean lower overheads.
• The demand-supply mechanisms determine the prices.
• Contractors and consultants can be hired, but they shouldbe billed at a
lower rate.
• Ensure that contractors perform the majority of their workoff-site and
use their own equipment to avoid classifying them as employees. The
categories of expenses incurred for producing multimedia are:
• Project development costs.
• Production costs.
• Testing costs.
• Distribution costs.
Project Development Costs
These include:
• Salaries.
• Client meetings.
• Acquisition of content.
• Communication.
Project Development Costs
These include :
• Travel.
• Research.
• Proposal and contract prep.
• Overheads.
Production Costs
Production costs can further be classified as:
• Management costs.
• Content acquisition costs.
• Content creation costs.
• Graphics production costs.
• Audio production costs.
• Video production costs.
• Authoring costs.
Testing Costs
These include:
Distribution Costs
These include:
• Salaries
• Documentation
• Packaging
• Manufacturing
• Marketing
• Advertising
• Shipping
Estimating Hardware
• Hardware is the most common limiting factor for realizing amultimedia
idea.
• List the hardware capabilities of the end-user’s platform.
• Examine the cost of enhancing the delivery platform.
The most common delivery platforms require a monitorresolution of
800X600 pixels and at least 16- bit color depth.
RFPs and Bid Proposals
Request for Proposals (RFPs)
• These are formal and detailed documents from largecorporations who
are “outsourcing” their multimedia development work.
• They provide information about the scope of work and the bidding
process.
• They are generally not very detailed and specific.
RFPs and Bid Proposals
Bid proposals
• Should contain an executive summary or an overview.
• The backbone of the proposal is the estimate and project plan,which
describes the scope of the work.
• The cost estimates for each phase or deliverable milestone and the
payment schedules should also be included.
• Should contain the graphic and interactive goals of the project.
• Prepare a brief synopsis if a project is complicated. RFPs and Bid
Proposals.
• Lists the terms and conditions of the contract.
• The terms of a contract should include a description of the billing rates,
invoicing policy, third-party licensing fees, and a disclaimer for liability
and damages.
• Design the proposal according to a client’s expectations.A proposal
should appear plain and simple, yet business like.
• A table of contents or an index is a straightforward way to present the
elements of a proposal in condensed overview.
• Need analysis and description describes the reasons theproject is being
put forward.
• It is necessary to describe the target audience and the targetplatform.
• Creative strategy – This section describes the look and feel ofa project.
This is useful if the reviewing executives were not present for the
preliminary discussions.
• Project implementation – This section contains a detailed calendar, PERT
and Gantt charts, and lists of specific tasks with associated completion
dates, deliverables, and work hours.
9.7 Summary
• Before beginning a project, determine its scope and content.
• The process of making multimedia involves idea analysis,pre-testing,
task planning, development, and delivery.
• Costs related to multimedia creation are categorized asproject
development costs, production costs, testing costs, and distribution costs.
1. List out the stages of planning and costing.
2. What is Pre-testing.
3. What is task planning.

4. What is development.
1. Explain briefly different stages of planning and costing.
2. Explain RFPs and Bid proposals.
UNIT 10
Multimedia and Internet
The Convergence
Struture
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Multimedia
10.3 Internet and Multimedia
10.4 Summary
Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson students will learn:
1. Over all Multimedia technology in general ( a king of
revision)
2. Influence of this technology on Internet world.
10.1 Introduction
Multimedia technology is very important in today’s business world, not
only just because of general communication, but also for effective communication.
And in this lesson students are going to learn all the major areas that are completely
influenced by multimedia technology in the cyber world.
10.2 Multimedia
Multimedia, or mixed-media, systems offer presentations that integrate
effects existing in a variety of formats, including text, graphics, animation, audio,
and video. Such presentations first became commercially available in very primitive
form in the early 1980s, as a result of advances that have been made in digital
compression technology particularly the difficult area of image compression.
Multimedia online services are obtainable through telephone/computer or
television links, multimedia hardware and software exist for personal computers,
networks, the internet, interactive kiosks and multimedia presentations are
available on CD-ROMs and various other mediums. The use of multimedia in
our society has it benefits and it’s drawbacks, most defiantly. Some of the more
computer-related uses of multimedia, such as electronic publishing, the internet,
and computers in education will be discussed in depth thought this paper.
Electronic publishing is the publishing of material in a computer-accessible
medium, such as on a CD-ROM or on the Internet. In a broader sense of the
term it could also include paper products published with the aid of a desktop
publishing program, or any form of printing that involves the use of a computer.
Reference works became available in the mid-1980s both in CD-ROM
format and online. Increasingly, in the 1990s, magazines, journals, books, and
newspapers have become available in an electronic format, and some are
appearing in that format only. Companies that publish technical manuals to
accompany their other products have also been turning to electronic publishing.
Electronic books have been recently introduced to the world as a whole.
This new concept is the use of internet or otherwise computer technology to
electronically convert books to a digital, readable format viewed on a television
set or computer screen. This would most likely be done by scanning in individual
pages in a book, arrange them in orderly fashion, and have users be able to
cycle back and forth between the photo-identical pages. This method would be
very quick, and very easy to accomplish that is scanning pages as opposed to
re-typing millions of words is preferred. This brings us to another method in
electronic book production- the interactive method. In digital format, the book’s
pages can only be viewed, just like a book. If a reader would want to take notes
from a book, he/she would have to write down the notes by hand, or would be
forced to photo-copy the page(s). If the book was typed out entirely as would
be done by an electronic word processor such as Microsoft Word, users would
greatly benefit. The ability for the computer to recognize the words on the screen
as actual words as opposed to mere bitmaps is often unrealized to the computer
non-familiar.
This recognition allows the page to be edited with complete interactivity

and ease again like Microsoft Word. Books can be updated or corrected in real
time, without having to re-upload corrected pages, or compensate for unalignment
in words and page breaks. Perhaps the most beneficial to the user is the
interactivity- the ability to interact with the words in the book. By highlighting
letters on the page, copying them, and pasting them in personal clipboards or
other word processing programs, the tedious task of note-taking can be
eliminated. This idea, on the other hand, can raise issues with the author and
publisher of the book. Plagiarism, already a problem, would run wild in this
area. Users would theoretically be able to copy entire books or magazines to
their personal files, and be able to use them as their own reports or writings.
Additionally, the ability to view a book and it’s contents at no charge obviously
will not agree with some publishers. This also brings up the idea of charging
people for time “online.” Users could be charged money for use of electronic
books/magazines on a time basis. This, however, will not go over well in the
public domain. We would rather take on the trouble of taking manual notes than
be charged for something that is otherwise free at a library.
10.3 Internet and Multimedia
In a very short time the Internet has become a major vehicle of worldwide
communication and an unrivaled source of information. One of the Internet’s
fascinations is that its resources are limited only by the number of computers
participating in the World Wide Web and the imaginations of their users.
The Internet is an international web of interconnected government,
education, and business computer networks- in essence, a network of networks.
From a thousand or so networks in the mid-1980s, the Internet had grown to
about 30,000 connected networks in mid-1994. By mid-1995 the number of
networks had doubled to more than 60,000, making the Internet available to an
estimated 40 million people worldwide.
The Internet owes its unusual design and architecture to its origins in the
US Defense Department’s ARPANET project in 1969. Military planners wanted
to design a computer network that could withstand partial destruction (as from
a nuclear attack) yet still function as a network. They reasoned that centralized
control of the data flow through one or a few hub computers would leave the
system too open to attack. Every computer on the network should be able to
communicate, as a peer, with every other computer on the network.
Thus if part of the network was destroyed, the surviving parts would
automatically reroute communications through different pathways. Because many
factors–power outages, overtaxed telecommunications lines, equipment failure–
can degrade a network’s performance, the ARPANET solution was also attractive
to networkers outside the military.
The Internet is also a repository of information for businesses. Thousands
of discussion groups with specialized interests–in topics ranging from aeronautics
to molecular biology–share data across the Internet. The US government posts
more and more information, such as Commerce Department data and new patent
filings, on the Internet. Additionally, many universities are converting large libraries
to electronic form for distribution on the Internet. One of the most ambitious
examples is Cornell University’s ongoing project to convert 100,000 books,
printed over the past century, on the development of American infrastructure-
books on bridges, roads, and other public works.
Some businesses have also begun to explore advertising and marketing on
the Internet. Thus far results have been mixed. Protection of copyrighted material
is a problem, because anyone can download data from the Internet.
Some companies have explored encrypting data for sale on the Internet,
providing decoding keys only to buyers of the data, but this scheme will not
prevent the buyers from repackaging and reselling the data. However, the
companies are very reluctant to deny the lure the internet generates. Any customer
from around the world could log on to a company site, get information in seconds,
and even order directly through the company’s server.
The recent development in modem speeds have also allowed businesses to
elaborately cram web sites with spectacular multimedia effects, drawing surfers
in young and old. Advertising on the internet is relatively cheap (compared to
television) and is very specialized and often more effective.
Companies can choose to advertise on certain high hit rate sites that pertain
to that company’s field. This makes the advertisement seen by more of it’s target
audience, and as a result, the advertisement will be more effective.
The explosive growth of the Internet has been fueled by individual users
with modem-equipped personal computers. Most of these users subscribe to
local networks that provide a connection to the wider Internet. As well, a lot of
users (including myself) choose to use direct-connection service providers. Unlike
separate networks like AOL, the direct service providers often have less users,
thus increases the speed of the T1 connection. Many users, as well as businesses,
can create their own “home pages”- points of access that allow anyone on the
Internet to download information from the personal computer. The prime cause
of the Internet explosion, however, has been the development of the World
Wide Web service: a collection of several thousand independently owned
computers, called Web servers, that are scattered worldwide. Using software
programs such as Mosaic and Netscape, individuals can enter the World Wide
Web and “browse” or “surf” the Internet with increasing ease and rapidity through
a system of hypertext links. This is perhaps the most exiting part about the
internet. You can visit any website you like, wherever it is located at no extra
charge, and download files and view great multimedia effects at any time. Though
greatly over-hyped as the “Information Superhighway,” the Internet will become
increasingly more interactive and will play a much more significant role in the
future.
Since their introduction in schools in the early 1980s computers and
computer software have been increasingly accessible to students and teachers
in classrooms, computer labs, school libraries, and outside of school. By the
mid-1990s there were about 4.5 million computers in elementary and secondary
schools throughout the United States. Schools buy Macintosh and IBM-
compatible computers almost exclusively (though mostly Macs, dang it!!),
although nearly half of their computers are based on older designs such as the
Apple IIe. Students spend on the average an hour per week using school
computers. Though this depends on the student
Computers can be used for learning and teaching in school in at least four
ways. First, learning involves acquiring information. Computers- especially linked
to CD-ROMs and video disks that electronically store thousands of articles,
visual images, and sounds- enable students to search the electronic equivalent
of an encyclopedia or a video library to answer their own questions or simply to
browse through fascinating and visually appealing information.
Second, learning involves the development of skills like reading and
mathematics skills that are greatly learned on computers in basic forms. Software
called computer-assisted instruction, or CAI, asks questions to students and
compares each answer with the single correct answer a very basic program.
Typically, such programs respond to wrong answers with an explanation and
another, similar problem. Sometimes CAI programs are embedded in an
entertaining game that holds student interest and yet keeps student attention on
academic work. Most CAI programs cover quite limited material, but some
larger-scale reading and mathematics programs have been developed.
Third, learning involves the development of a wide variety of analytic
understandings. Computers help students reach these goals through software
such as word processors , graphing and construction tools, electronic painting
and CAD programs, music composition programs, simulations of social
environments, and programs that collect data from science laboratory equipment
and aid in analysis.
Finally, a large topic in learning is communicating with others finding and
engaging an audience with one’s ideas and questions. Several types of computer
software can be used in schools for communications: desktop publishing and
image-editing software for making professional quality printed materials, computer
programming languages such as BASIC or Pascal or C for creating interactive
computer exercises, and telecommunications software for exchanging ideas at
electronic speeds with students in other classrooms all over the world.
The computer in education can pose great benefits to the student, but to a
limited extent. The computer must be used as a tool, and not as a teacher. It
should be thought of as an educational assistant (in the school setting) and not a
game machine. Computers have unlimited possibilities, and we should incorporate
them into our schools. But in doing this, we must realize that computers should
not be the main focus, education and the quality of the teachers should be. For
any case, without solid teaching and instruction, computers and other such
resources become useless.
1. What is Multimedia.
2. What is Internet.
1. Explain briefly about Multimedia
2. Explain briefly about Internet.

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UNIT 1

Multimedia games and simulations may be used in a physical

Greek, California, and Chicago, for example, BattleTech is a ten-minute interactive

1.5 Delivering Methods of Multimedia Content

Short Answer Type Questions

The size of a text is usually measured in points. One point is approximately

• In case of text links(anchors) on web pages the messages can be

3.2 Digital Image

3.3 Making Still Images

3.3.4 Vector Drawing

 A bitmap is a simple information matrix describing the individual dots

4.2 Power of Sound

4.2.3 Preparing Digital Audio Files

2. Trimming: Removing dead air or blank space from the front of a

9. AIFF sound format for Macintosh sound files

Short Answer Type Questions

5.4 Cel Animation

• In 2D animation the animator creates an object and describes a path for

• SuperCard and Director *.pics

QuickTime, Apple’s software-based architecture for seamlessly integrating

• Do not be pre-occupied with grammatical accuracy.

Classification of Input Devices

Examples of types of keyboards include

• Paddle (game controller)

Audio input devices

(a) Audio devices

Display of video on any computer platform requires manipulation of an

7.3.4 Multimedia Storage Devices

(OCR) software, a flat-bed scanner, and a computer, it is possible to save many

• Direct inputs of images from scanner and video sources

• Tools for retouching, blurring, sharpening, lightening, darkening,

Common Organization of Video Formats

Digital Video Formats

The QuickTime technology consists of the following:

• Audio Interchange (AIFF)

Uniform Type Identifier: com.apple.quicktime-movie

iii) How to reach your desired position in this industry

8.3 Entertainment industry

8.6 Animation industry

application areas include entertainment (films and television), business (marketing

8.7 Gaming industry

8.8 Advertising industry

Animator Art Director

Online games CD-ROM games Arcade games

Publishing Media Companies

What do you need to succeed in Multimedia?

9.2 Idea Analysis

• Work up a prototype of the project on paper to help yourelate your

• Designing the instructional framework.

• At this stage, clients need to approve or sign off on thework created.

3. What is task planning.

This recognition allows the page to be edited with complete interactivity

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