SCA 3103 - Introduction to Multimedia Semester II 2003/04 LECTURE 10 MEDIA INTEGRATION (Multimedia Authoring Packages) Lecture 10

SCA 3103 - Introduction to Multimedia Objective SCA 3103 - Introduction to Multimedia Semester II 2003/04 The difference between authoring and programming The components of an authoring tool Types of authoring system Examples of PC products Programming systems Lecture 10

Authoring versus Programming Authoring tools are what we call high level tools A lot of the technical details of how things are done is hidden from the developer. The developer can concentrate on the functionality instead of how to make the hardware work Can be used by non-programmers Programming tools are low level tools They provide access to the low level hardware features for those who want to get the most out of the computer Are used by programmers or software engineers

The Components of an Authoring Tool Most authoring systems provide facilities for: Loading and saving media assets (graphics, sounds, videos, text, etc.) Creating or editing audio and graphic images Page or slide building (layering multimedia data to create a single page) Animation / transition effects Specifying the sequence of the application Adding interactive controls for navigation and actions at run-time Creation of CD-ROM or web-based distributions

Types of Authoring System There are numerous development models that can be used for multimedia applications Authoring systems generally fall into one or more of the following categories: Slide, card or frame based Icon based The score model Object-oriented models Scripting language based Some systems combine one or more of these to create more sophisticated tools

Slide, Card or Frame Based Each part of the application is self-contained in a single page Each page is created separately and then integrated into the final application A page may contain hyperlinks to other pages to provide navigation or pages may be sequentially viewed There may be global parameters that can be set to affect the entire application e.g. background colour, default font, etc.

Icon-Based Authoring Each part is represented an icon (symbolic picture) Each icon does a specific task, e.g. plays a sound Icons are then linked together to form complete applications Can easily visualise the structure and navigation of the final application A screenshot of Macromedia Authorware

The Score Model This model has an analogy with a musical score Instead of musical instruments playing notes we have multimedia objects (sounds, images, video, text, etc.) that do something at specific points (times) in the score There is usually some way to animate the objects (e.g. rotation, scaling, colour changes, etc.) between each transition (i.e. when they start and when they finish) Each multimedia object lives in a track A score has one or more tracks

Voice over (narration) Scores and Timelines Timelines are a useful way of representing multimedia data during the course of a presentation or application Time is represented along the x-axis Tracks are represented along the y-axis The developer can move objects left and right to change the order of the information and can lengthen or shorten the bars to change their duration 5 seconds 0 seconds 10 seconds 15 seconds Animation Voice over (narration) Video Background music Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4

Scripting Language Based Models Scripting languages are cut-down versions of complete programming languages They tend to have less features and are therefore easier to learn Scripting models allow the developer to write small scripts (programs) which can be associated with a multimedia object e.g. you may write a script to make a graphic image move across the screen or to make a window pop up when an item is clicked

Object-oriented models SCA 3103 - Introduction to Multimedia Semester II 2003/04 In an object-oriented model, everything that can be put in an application is considered an object Every object has: State - A description of its unique properties e.g. a graphic image’s state would describe its size, colour depth, author’s name, etc. Behaviour - The things that the object can do e.g. a video can be played, stopped or rewound Icon and score-based models usually have object-oriented features also Objects are self contained and can be reused in later projects Lecture 10

Microsoft PowerPoint http://www.microsoft.com/office/powerpoint/ PowerPoint is: a “business graphics” package a slide-based multimedia tool Supports vector graphics, bitmapped images, sound, video and hyperlinks Supports many slide transitions and animations (see right) Developers can script objects to make them display at specific times or events The events are represented by a limited number of presets and cannot be altered

Sound Forge 6. 0 http://www. sonicfoundry. com/products/showproduct Audio editing, audio recording, effects processing, and rich media encoding. Powerful and fast non-destructive audio editing Supports a wide range of audio formats, including 15 import formats and 17 export formats, such as WAV, Windows Media™ Audio and Video, MPEG-1&2*, RealAudio® and MP3 http://www.sonicfoundry.com/products/showproduct.asp?PID=668&FeatureID=5775

Macromedia Flash http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/ Flash is a tool for creating animated vector graphics and multimedia It uses a timeline and object-oriented model Has a very useful feature called tweening which can be used to create animations You specify a start and end point and Flash calculates all the in-between frames of the animation Flash is a popular format on websites. See http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/productinfo/features/

Macromedia Flash Screenshot Tracks Timeline Tweening

Macromedia Director http://www.macromedia.com/software/director/ Director is a package with many features Sound and audio editing Bitmap and vector graphics editing Asset management Uses a metaphor of cast, stage and score The Cast are the media assets The Stage is the screen or individual page The Score is the sequence of events Director has its own programming language called Lingo which can be used to add new functionality Director is one of the most widely used PC tools

Multimedia Programming Tools Programming tools differ from authoring tools in that they tend to be much lower level and require the developer to have more knowledge of the underlying hardware and programming language Programming tools give the developer access to much more functionality than authoring tools but require much more effort (and money!)

Summary Today we have looked at the two types of tools that can be used to create multimedia applications: Authoring tools Programming tools Each has their own set of pros and cons: Authoring tools are generally quicker to learn and can be used by non-programmers but may have limited flexibility Programming tools are more difficult to use and require good programming knowledge but can be much more flexible