1. Hardware
1.1. Production platforms
1.1.1. The most significant platforms for producing and delivering multimedia projects are the Macintosh operating system and Microsoft Windows
1.2. Windows vs. Macintosh
1.2.1. The Microsoft Windows operating system can run on assemblages of hardware from countless manufacturers
1.3. Connections
1.3.1. Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)
1.3.2. Universal Serial Bus (USB)
1.3.3. FireWire (IEEE 1394)
1.4. IDE
1.4.1. is a standard interface for connecting a motherboard to storage devices such as hard drives and CD-ROM/DVD drives
1.5. USB (Universal Serial Bus)
1.5.1. most popular connection used to connect a computer to devices such as digital cameras, printers, scanners, and external hard drives
1.6. FireWire
1.6.1. For connecting devices to personal computer
1.7. Memory and storage devices
1.7.1. The two types of memory are random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM)
1.7.1.1. RAM
1.7.1.1.1. Volatile storage
1.7.1.1.2. enables the simultaneous running of many applications
1.7.1.1.3. Storage that allows to read and write data as many time as needed
1.7.1.2. ROM
1.7.1.2.1. is nonvolatile storage. The BIOS program that boots up the computer resides in the ROM
1.7.1.3. Hard disks
1.7.1.3.1. Hard disks
1.7.1.3.2. Is rewriteable permanent memory
1.7.1.3.3. have a high data storage capacity and data transfer speed
1.8. Input devices
1.8.1. An optical character recognition (OCR) device is used to convert printed matter into ASCII text files
1.9. Output devices
1.9.1. Stereo
1.9.2. Monitor
1.9.3. Projector
1.9.4. Printer
2. Software
2.1. Text editing and word processing tools
2.2. OCR software
2.2.1. OCR software
2.3. Painting tools allow you to create and modify bitmap images
2.3.1. Photoshop, Fireworks, and Painter are examples
2.4. Drawing tools allow you to create and modify vector graphics
2.4.1. CorelDraw, Illustrator, and Canvas are examples
2.4.2. Vector graphics are used by Adobe Flash to reduce download time and scaling problems with web graphics
2.5. Painting and drawing software features include
2.5.1. An intuitive graphical user interface
2.5.2. Scalable dimensions
2.5.3. Multiple undo capability
2.5.4. Scalable text font support
2.5.5. Support for third-party special effect plug-ins
2.5.6. Layering capability
2.5.7. Painting features such as smoothing coarse-edged objects into the background with anti-aliasing
3. Multimedia Development process
3.1. Planning and costing
3.1.1. Define the objectives and scope.
3.1.2. Target users
3.1.3. Set the contents
3.1.4. Prepare time estimate and a budget
3.1.5. Prepare a short prototype or proof-of-concept
3.2. Designing and Producing
3.2.1. Perform each of the planned tasks to create a finished product
3.3. Testing
3.3.1. Test your programs to make sure that they meet the objectives of your project
3.3.2. Two Phases of testing:
3.3.2.1. Alpha Testing
3.3.2.1.1. Often performed only by users within the organization developing the software as a form of internal acceptance testing
3.3.2.1.2. The application may be missing part of the content or functionality
3.3.2.1.3. The main interest is to review the concept, format, user interface and the layout
3.3.2.2. Beta Testing
3.3.2.2.1. The product is evaluated just before the final release
3.3.2.2.2. It is a fully functioning product and should be relative bug free
3.3.2.2.3. Main interest is to find bugs or content errors
3.3.2.2.4. The testing group should be represented by the real users and should not include the people who have been involved in the project
3.4. Delivering
3.4.1. Final stage
3.4.2. Package and deliver the project to the end user
3.4.3. Be prepared to follow up over time with tweaks, repairs, and upgrades
4. The Intangibles
4.1. Creativity
4.1.1. In a multimedia project, being creative implies knowledge of hardware and software
4.1.2. Most precious asset
4.2. Organization
4.2.1. It is essential to develop an organized outline detailing the skills, time, budget, tools, and resources needed for the project
4.3. Communication
4.3.1. Communication among the workgroup and client is essential to the efficient and accurate completion of your project
5. Multimedia Skills
5.1. Main roles in the team
5.1.1. Project Manager
5.1.1.1. The leader of a project
5.1.2. Multimedia Designer
5.1.2.1. Looks at the overall content of a project, creates a structure for the content
5.1.3. Interface Designer
5.1.3.1. in charge of designing each screen or page interface that lets the user access or modify the content – simplicity
5.1.4. Writer
5.1.4.1. Create characters and actors’ narrations
5.1.5. Audio/Video Specialist
5.1.5.1. Focus on the audio and video production - shooting, capturing and editing video, digitizing and audio recording
5.1.6. Multimedia Programmer
5.1.6.1. Multimedia programmers integrate all the elements of the project using an authoring system or programming language
6. Authoring systems
6.1. An authoring tool is a software package which allow developers to
6.1.1. Organize and edit the multimedia elements of multimedia project
6.1.2. Design screen layouts(interface) using templates
6.1.3. Create interactivity
6.1.4. assembling diverse multimedia elements into a single, cohesive product
6.2. Types of authoring tools
6.2.1. Card- and page-based authoring tools
6.2.1.1. Elements are arranged like pages of a book or cards in a stack
6.2.1.2. These tools contain media objects such as buttons, text fields, and graphic objects
6.2.1.3. It is easy to move from page to page because most programs use buttons and hot spots which allow the user to choose their own path
6.2.1.4. LiveCode is an example of a card-based system
6.2.2. Icon- and object-based authoring tools
6.2.2.1. Icon-based and object-based tools provide a visual programming approach to organizing and presenting multimedia application
6.2.2.2. Multimedia elements and interaction cues are organized as objects in a flow chart
6.2.2.3. Flow charts can be built by dragging appropriate icons from a library and then adding the content
6.2.3. Time-based authoring tools
6.2.3.1. The elements of the program are organized along a time line
6.2.3.2. Best suited for messages with a beginning and an end
6.2.3.3. Developer can coordinate the time, speed and display length of each elements
6.2.3.4. Adobe Flash and Adobe Director are time-based development environments
6.2.4. Choosing an authoring tool
6.2.4.1. Editing and organizing features
6.2.4.1.1. Authoring systems include editing tools to create, edit, and convert multimedia elements such as animation and video clips
6.2.4.2. Programming features
6.2.4.2.1. Visual programming with icons or objects is the simplest and easiest authoring process
6.2.4.3. Interactivity features
6.2.4.3.1. Interactivity gives the end user control over the content and flow of information in a project
6.2.4.4. Performance tuning and playback features
6.2.4.4.1. Achieving synchronization is difficult, authoring system should facilitate precise timing of events
6.2.4.4.2. These features should enable developers to build part of a project and then test it immediately
6.2.4.5. Delivery, cross-platform, and Internet playability features
6.2.4.5.1. These features should enable developers to build part of a project and then test it immediately
6.2.4.5.2. It is important to use tools that facilitate easy transfer across platforms(example from Macintosh to Windows).
6.2.4.5.3. Authoring systems provide a means for converting their output to be delivered within the context of HTML or DHTML