principles of interactive media authoring

Principles of Interactive Media Authoring U N I T 6 0 & 1 - H A R RY L I S T E R

Authoring

Definition Web authoring is a category of software that allows the user to develop a website in a desktop publishing format. The software will generate the required HTML coding for the layout of the web pages based on what the user designs. Typically, the user can toggle back and forth between the graphical design and the HTML code and make changes to the web page in either the design of the accompanying code. Web authoring can be done either online or offline depending on what applications you use. Some online applications include sites like weebly.com, squarespace.com, and wix.com. Some of the offline authoring applications that are available are applications like Dreamweaver, and Director.

Example of Weebly.com and the Dreamweaver programme logo.

Interactive Media Authoring Tools Typically authoring tools require less technical knowledge to master and are used exclusively for applications present a mixture of textual, graphical and audio data. Multimedia authoring tools are tools for making a complete multimedia presentation where users usually have a lot of interactive controls. Director is a multimedia authoring tool that allows you to create interactive CD-ROM presentations, dynamic HTML pages and flash projects. Examples of other Authoring programmes: Microcosm

Question Mark Emblaze Creator Flash Flash 3.0 Hyper Studio Example of the Director programme running.

Planning When planning my multimedia product there are numerous things that I need to take into consideration. These include: What I have done in each part of the creation of the product. Software skills diary

Where have I retrieved the images and GIF animations from

Sources diary

What piece of software I will use to create my product

planning

12 different activities to chose What I will include in my product (what activities will be offered, what the name of the 3 sub headings will be etc.)

3 different subheadings with 4 activities to each subheading

Where I will collect my information from

Assets collection What type images I will be using in the product

What animations will be used in the product. What website I have visited with web links

What buttons I will include in my product for navigation around my product

What video I will use in the product and where in the product I will be using them

Design My product will use the colours:

Blue Green Yellow My background will be plain light blue as I don’t want it to take the attention away from the main product. Each heading will be at the top of each page in the middle to make the product look centred. Each of my pages will be designed and laid out in the same way to make the product look more professional and tidy. The only page that will be designed differently is the opening screen as there is only one of them and it needs to look appealing as it is the first page people will see. All navigation buttons will be made clear and easily accessible.

Development Development is considered one of the main parts when creating a multimedia product. It is vital that the development of the product is correct and at the best possible standard. The development stage is where all of the designing and planning come together. The development stage includes documents that have been produced. The documents would have been created before the actual production of the multimedia product. Development documents such as storyboards will show all of the final elements of the product. The advantage of using storyboards are the different elements can be sketched and yet even at this stage they can be changed. If required you could change things like: Colours Text Graphics All over design of the product

Production Production is the stage in which I will be creating and completing my final product. The stage includes bringing it all my assets and skills that I have learned and collected over time together and making it all into a product. During the production of my product all I will be required to do is put everything that I have done and make it into my final product and test it as I go along so that is completely to the clients requirements.

Applications

Uses An application is a program that a user can access for numerous reasons whether that is: Entertainment Presentations Games Education Computer based training Assessment etc. The user can use applications whether they want to learn new things, be entertained, and many more reasons. An application is a good way for the user to do what they want because they can be downloaded onto your Mobil device and you can access it anywhere. Some applications will require you to have an internet connection but most don’t. Above are some examples of the layout of applications on a phone. Applications can be received from a another larger app like Google play. Or the app can be downloaded from a website.

Entertainment The purpose a entrainment application is to get the user engrossed and entertained. Entertainment sources can come I many different forms and verities. Theses include:

 Games  Video  DVDs  Audio tapes  CDs The ways we view media is constantly changing as technology grows. Digital versatile disk or DVD disk. A single sided DVD can store up 4.7 GB od data and duel layer DVD can hold 8.4 GB. DVD are especially useful for storing data that contains video footage because it will require a large capacity. Blu-ray discs are designed to store high definition video so the disc has as much 50 GB of storage.

Marketing Applications can be used in marketing in the form of online shopping with apps on the market such as Amazon and ebay. It is easy to make purchases straight from your phone. There are also apps that have been created by other retail companies such as Topman and asos. There are many different types of retail and most of them have apps for each company which in turn makes the company more money.

Presentations This type of application software sometimes called presentational graphics is used to create a sequence of words, pictures that can tell a story or assist a speech or public presentation with portraying information. Presentation software can be divided into business presentation software and the more general multimedia authoring tools. Some products often have characteristics of both. They are many types of presentational software applications such as Microsoft PowerPoint and lotus’s freelance graphics. They are sold stand-alone or can come as part of office-oriented suites or packages of software. There are many other popular software applications such as adobe persuasion, astound, Asymetrix compel, Corel presentations etc. Business presentation software is quick and easy to learn and use. Multimedia authoring software will enable me to create a presentation which includes audio and video as well as the obvious information and graphics.

Games Games are a vital type of interactive media. Games are so often used as ways of education because it is something that young people enjoy. Where games are most often used for entertainment purposes they can be used to educate people. When the person is able to interact with the software then learning the important information becomes fun and the user will be more persuaded to use it. When they enjoy learning then they will be able to learn better. Virtual reality  A virtual reality programme presents you with multi-sensory information and 3D effects in real-time. When you interact with a virtual reality program you have a sense of being completely immersed in it. Many museums and institutions now offer virtual tours of their buildings on their websites and these give you the impression of walking through the actual museums, making your own decisions about where to go. Virtual reality can be used to simulate real events, such as flying an aeroplane. The main advantage of this is that pilots can be presented with what look like dangerous situations, and learn how to deal with them, but their lives are not at risk.

Education There are many applications that are made with full purpose of education. Apps like Gojimo use facts and question to help teenagers revise for specific GCSE exams and keeps a score on how many questions they have got correct so that it can motivate them to do more questions. Usually in multimedia product nowadays programs are user-drive(the user can control what they do in the program)and they will not have any time restrictions giving them as much time as they need to learn. Through out the existents of educational applications it has been proven that multimedia teaching resources have helped many student to understand the subjects they are studying better. It has also been proven that the students that use the applications remember a lot of the information as well.

Computer-based Training Computer based training is an interactive method of learning that will provide the learner with a series of self paced, hands-on, web-based courses. Computer-based training offers a range of skill which are:

Technology Managerial Supervisory curricula Technology curricula contain courses for people like IT beginners and IT professionals. Technology courses include training in Microsoft office software, macromedia, adobe, security, internet basics, how to create a web page etc.

Managerial and supervisory curricula contain courses that offer business skills, human resources and workplace compliance. Some of the courses that are offered include Communication Diversity Leadership Team building

Assessment There are many types of assessment types that can be done whether that’s physical or mental assessment. A good example is a driving assessment. Students when learning to drive are required to undertake physical assessment when they are actually behind the wheel or mental assessment when they are online and completing questions about what they should do in situations and what to look for. Assessments are a good way to analyse and test a persons ability when doing something. There are many more examples of assessment are: Educational assessment

Health assessment Nursing assessment Risk assessment Tax assessment Etc.

Format

Website Websites are used worldwide by millions of people everyday. Lots of businesses use websites as they are so popular with the public and easily accessible. Websites can be used for everything from education, leisure and shopping. A website is hosted on a web server like Google and Bing. Theses are accessible via a network such as the internet or a private local area network through an internet address known as a uniform resources locator. A website can give the user access to: Information Graphics Video Audio Web links

Purchase produce etc.

Example of Topman.co.uk and MyMaths.co.uk.

Information Kiosks An information kiosk is a computer terminal that provides access to information and applications for communication, commerce, entertainment and education. Early information kiosks sometimes resembled a telephone booth but can also be used while sitting on a bench or chair. Information kiosks are typically placed in very busy places such as hotels lobbies, airports and large shopping centres. An example of this is the Trafford centre uses information kiosks to help customers locate the shops that they want to go in. Information kiosks are very useful because they can be used to give information of any kind to the recipients that wants it.

Example of an information kiosk within an airport.

Interactive TV Interactive TV is an application that allows the user to interact with the television content as they view it. A well known company example is MX telecom. MX telecom provides it customers with unified interfaces to the full spectrum of modern telecommunication, from SMS to MMS to Voice and Video. For those wishing to couple the interactive potential of these gateway platforms with the unique medium of television, MX telecom offers the MX telecom interactive television platform.

Handheld Devices A handheld device is a mobile device that allows you to access internet, games etc. Some example of handheld devices are a mobile phone, IPod, mp3 player, IPad. The main feature of most handheld devices is the ability to make contact with other people elsewhere. The most common, mobile phones allow you ring the person so you can have a physical conversation with them without them actually being there, text allows you to type the words and then send it to someone. The best thing about text is you are not forced to respond immediately. Hand held devices can also allow you to play games, watch videos, listen to audio tracks etc. handheld devices allow you to download other main applications which will allow you to do various other things like keep track of a document, access social media sites and so on. Some handheld devices are made for a specific reason for example a PS Vita as shown on the bottom is made purposely for gaming.

Assets

Sound Sound can be used in a lot of different ways when it comes to creating my product whether that be, in the form of music, sound clips, sound effects, or just sound that is on a video. If I am going to use music I would need to make the product so that the user can mute and un-mute the music if needed. I also need to take into consideration the fact that my music might not be appropriate for my product therefore the user might not enjoy the product as much if they don’t enjoy the music. Including sound in the product makes it just that bit more fun and interactive but if the music or sounds that you use are not that enjoyable then the product no longer possess that ability to be fun and attractive to the target audience. Example sound icon that you can press to play button

An example mute button that you can use to stop the music from playing

Text Text can be used in various ways. Text can come across as information, titles, sub-headings, etc. Text can also come in a range of different sizes, fonts and colours. There are lots of different styles of fonts, these allow the user to put there own spin on whatever they are writing/creating. Text is mainly used to give any information that is required for a specific subject. In my product I will be using text in all of my headers, subheading and titles that I may have. The main thing that I will be using it for is to give the user information about each of the individual activities that the user can take part in.

Video Video =s can be used for many different things e.g. advertisement, entertainment etc. In my product I will be using videos to show what a select number of my chosen activities will consist of, for example how on the swimming with dolphins page I will have a video of someone swimming with dolphins to make the activity look enjoyable and make the user want to do it. I will be using 3 videos within my product and I will need to make sure that each video is the correct size so that they are not too big, I will need to check that all videos and button controls run smoothly within my product, I will do this during the testing stage after the completion of my product.

Vector Graphics Vector graphics are pictures made up of just solid lines. Graphics are different from images because an image that you take with a camera but a graphic is something that you designed and created. I will include many different vector graphics in my product to give it that bit more fun. Often vector graphics will make it just that little bit more aesthetically pleasing.

Animations Animations are moving pictures that can make a product look even better as it isn’t just plain and simple. I will be using 3-4 different animations within my product, they will be either animated GIFs or slideshows. Animations can be recorded on either analogue media, such as a flip book, motion picture film, video tape, or on digital media, including formats such as animated GIF, Flash animation or digital video. To display it, a digital camera, computer, or projector are used.

Images Images are pictures that have been taken by a camera. I will be using lots of images on each page of my product to make the product aesthetically pleasing.

Interactivity and Control

Buttons In my product I used buttons to allow the user to locate and navigate their way around my product. Buttons will allow the user to move around the product easily and quickly. To make sure that my product looks professional enough and to ensure that the user enjoys the aesthetics of the product I need to make sure that I design the buttons so that they look nice and fit in with the overall design of the product and also I will need to place the buttons in a place so that the user can clearly see them and where the buttons will take them. Within my product I have used both an array of premade buttons and buttons that I created myself using Photoshop. I made sure to create the buttons so that they don’t look to bold and take up too much of the page so that it look aesthetically pleasing to the user.

Events An event is a certain thing that happens within the product that allows the user to do things that animations don’t e.g. using the “hide from cursor” behaviour. Within my product I didn’t use any events as I didn’t feel they made the product look any better and they were not in the client’s brief.

Hotspots An image map is a graphic that has many hotspots or transparent hyperlinks to other objects or websites. For example in a photograph showing a variety of different items. When you click on the specific item it will take you a page separate for that specific product that you many want to view. Hotspots are a very effective means of concealing the links between each of the pages. Advantages Hotspots are very useful so that you have no visible buttons. Sometimes buttons can make a page look less aesthetically pleasing therefore getting rid of the buttons will mean that it looks better. Disadvantages the user may not be able to locate the way of accessing if you don’t include a indication of how they will be able to access the information that they will want to know.

Scripting I have used scripting all the way through my product. Scripting is when you programme certain things within the product to do different things. E.g. Programming a close button to close down the whole product. I will be scripting my whole product so that it runs smoothly without any errors. I will programme each pages with a “go to the Frame” code which will make the product stop on that page until the next button Is pressed.

Timelines During the creation of my product I used a timeline to make sure that all of my assets were in the right places and had all of the correct effects and times on them. A timeline within Director is made up of things called sprites, sprites are basically each different objects you have placed onto the stage in a bar form and it shows you when that asset is due to leave the stage by how the bar is placed on the screen. Example of a cluster of sprites with the red line.

Slideshows A slide show is a presentation of a series of still images on a projection screen or electronic display device, typically in a prearranged sequence. Each image is usually displayed for at least a few seconds, and sometimes for several minutes, before it is replaced by the next image. The changes may be automatic and at regular intervals or they may be manually controlled by a presenter. The current software I am using to create this slideshow is Microsoft PowerPoint.

Effects There are many different effects and transitions hat can be added to my product to make a sprite look better e.g. the way it enters onto the stage or exits off it. Effects make the product look even more professional and some can even make the product interactive like a rollover member change which changes the picture your mouse is hovered over to a different picture.

Limitations

Size and Download Time Size is how big a file is. The size of a file is very important during the making of my product because if a file is too large it could make the whole product crash, videos are the files that can mainly take up a lot of space as they are usually the bigger files. I will need to use Premier to edit the videos I download to a shorter length so they have a smaller file size. Download time is the amount of time taken for you to download the product, the larger the product size the longer it will take to download.

Type of Content

The type of content I will be using in my product is images, videos, animations and text. The reason I am using all of these is because my product s to be a multimedia product therefore would have met the criteria by using the different types of media. I will collect all of my assets on a set date in the future.

Requirement for Plug-ins

Employer Expectations

Maths and English I have used Maths in different aspects of this unit. The places I have used maths the most are on tasks like spreadsheets when we made our budget document in assignment 2 we had to use maths to be able to work out our prices and data for the assignment. I also used maths when I had to set the dimensions for the stage within Director and within dope sheets to work out the frame rate and when the frames end.

When using English I have constantly been using it because it is what makes up everything but the main places I concentrated more on English was when using the spell checking software on the computer to check my spelling and punctuation. Proof-reading is where you re-read something and make any changes to things like; spelling, grammar, punctuation etc. I used peer reviews when finishing a piece of work to get someone else's input on things like my use of English and any other problems with the task so that I could change it.

ICT and Communication ICT is a very big part of any unit as it is the main part of creative media. I concentrated my ICT skills on task like planning and designs during assignment 2, planning and designs were usually done on software like Photoshop or PowerPoint when creating mood boards and graphics. File management is where I placed all relevant files into folders to group them together to be able to find a certain file a lot easier. After each assignment we gave each other some peer feedback on our assignments, after this we read the feedback and make any relevant changes to our assignment and this usually consists of the use of ICT skills. Communication skills consist of things like research completed, and designs. Designs are storyboards and dope-sheets, both of these help with the designs of the product as they allow you to sketch up whatever you want to see what it would look like on screen and you can make any changes onto the storyboards until you like it so that it saves time on the actual creation of product. PowerPoints are used to make things like mood boards or reports like this one. A pitch is a presentation you give to someone e.g. the client where you explain all aspects of your research into things like budget and competitor research, we didn’t do a pitch for this unit but we have on unit 3.

Punctuality and Work-Placement To extend my punctuality skills and make sure I kept to the time limit I made things like timelines, Gantt charts and a ILP. A timeline is where you write up every task that needs to be done and by what date. A Gantt chart is a chart made within Excel to help set out how long each task will take to complete. An ILP (Independent Learning Plan) set out what each task is and which lesson I need to start and complete them by. By attending lessons I will be punctual and have more chance of meeting deadlines. A client meeting is where you speak with the client and find all the small details of the task they want you to complete, by doing this it allows you to finish a task more smoothly as you should know everything you need to do. If I get relevant work placement for what I would like to do in the future it will be very good work experience and should teach me many things I would need to know for the future. I should learn a lot of new skills as I haven’t worked before so I may learn things like how to deal with problems within the workplace and customer service and attitude. Work placement will help me with personal development as well as it help me to learn new things.

Legal and Ethical To make sure that the picture I have used were not copyrighted by anyone so that I don’t get into trouble for using them within my product. Ethical considerations I had to stick to were things like making sure that I try to include many different nationalities and disabilities within my product as if I didn’t people may feel like I'm being prejudice. I had to make sure I represented all different types of people in a good light so that no one could get offended.

Conclusion From all of the skills stated above I feel that these make me highly employable as I have a new wide range of skills which employers would be looking for. After this course I will also have my qualification which would help a lot more in finding a job along with my work experience.