Lesson 3-Multimedia Skills

Overview Members of a multimedia team. Roles and responsibilities in a multimedia team.

Members of a Multimedia Team A team of skilled individuals is required to create a good multimedia project. Team building refers to activities that help a group and its members function at optimum levels. The diverse range of skills required for a project is called the multimedia skillset.

Members of a Multimedia Team A multimedia team consists of the following: Project manager. Multimedia designer. Interface designer. Writer. Video specialist.

Members of a Multimedia Team A multimedia team consists of the following (continued): Audio specialist. Multimedia programmer. Producer for the Web. Computer programmers.

Roles and Responsibilities in a Multimedia Team The project manager is responsible for: The overall development, implementation, and day-to-day operations of the project. The design and management of a project. Understanding the strengths and limitations of hardware and software. Ensuring people skills and organizational skills. Conveying information between the team and the client.

The project manager is responsible for: Coordinates initial start up meetings between all parties; Schedules additional meeting throughout the project; Clarify, publish, and communicate timelines and milestones (establish deadlines); Breakdown the allocation of tasks and ensure all agencies are aware of their schedule and responsibilities; Monitor the allocation of tasks and the use of resources; Monitor progress; Manage the allocation of financial resources; Ensure quality control throughout the project and sign off the final deliverable; Evaluate the process and produce a project completion report; and Market the final product; ensure the product reaches the target audience.

Multimedia designer - This team consists of: Graphics designers, animators, and image processing specialists who deal with visuals, thereby making the project appealing. Instructional designers, who make sure that the subject matter is presented clearly for the target audience. Roles and Responsibilities in a Multimedia Team

It is the instructional designer's responsibility To make sure that the subject matter is clear and properly presented to the target audience. To conduct high-level analysis of performance goals, technology limitations. In concert with the sponsor, project manager, he creates the design document, specifies objectives, In the early design phases, this person may have to create script and screen templates and often will be the lead scriptwriter. Borrowing an analogy from movies, the project manager is the producer; the instructional designer is the director.

Multimedia designer - This team consists of (continued): Interface designers, who devise the navigational pathways and content maps. Information designers, who structure content, determine user pathways and feedback, and select presentation media. Roles and Responsibilities in a Multimedia Team

An interface designer is responsible for: Creating a software device that organizes content, allows users to access or modify content, and presents that content on the screen. Building a user-friendly interface. Roles and Responsibilities in a Multimedia Team

A multimedia writer is responsible for: Creating characters, actions, point of view, and interactivity. Writing proposals and test screens. Scripting voice-overs and actors' narrations. Roles and Responsibilities in a Multimedia Team

A video specialist needs to understand: The delivery of video files on CD, DVD, or the Web. How to shoot quality video. How to transfer the video footage to a computer. How to edit the footage down to a final product using digital nonlinear editing system (NLE). Roles and Responsibilities in a Multimedia Team

An audio specialist is responsible for: Locating and selecting suitable music talent. Scheduling recording sessions. Digitizing and editing recorded material into computer files. Roles and Responsibilities in a Multimedia Team

Multimedia programmer, also called a software engineer: Integrates all the multimedia elements into a seamless project, using authoring systems or programming language. Writes codes for the display of multimedia elements, and to control various peripheral devices. Manages timings, transitions, and record keeping. Roles and Responsibilities in a Multimedia Team

Multimedia producer for the Web: Web site producers put together a coordinated set of pages for the Web. They also co-ordinate updates and changes. Roles and Responsibilities in a Multimedia Team

Summary The diverse skills required to create a multimedia project is called the multimedia skillset. Team building refers to activities that help a group and its members function at optimum levels of performance. Roles and responsibilities are assigned to each team member in a multimedia project.

Multimedia Authoring Software A multimedia authoring tool is a program that helps you write multimedia applications. A multimedia authoring tool enables you to create a final application merely by linking together objects, such as a paragraph of text, or a song. They are used exclusively for applications that present a mixture of textual, graphical, and audio data.

Types Of Authoring Tools Card- or Page-based Tools Icon-based Tools Time-based Tools

Card- or Page-based Tools In these authoring systems, elements are organized as pages of a book or stack of cards. The authoring system lets you link these pages or cards into organized sequence and they also allow you to play sound elements and launch animations and digital videos. Page-based authoring systems are object- oriented: the objects are the buttons, graphics and etc. Each object may contain a programming script activated when an event related to that object occurs. EX: Visual Basic

Icon-based Authoring Tools Icon-based, event-driven tools provide a visual programming approach to organizing and presenting multimedia. First you build the flowchart of events, tasks and decisions by using appropriate icons from a library. These icons can include menu choices, graphic images and sounds. When the flowchart is built, you can add your content: text, graphics, animations, sounds and video movies. EX: Authoware Professional

Time-based Authoring Tools Time-based authoring tools are the most common of multimedia authoring tools. In these authoring systems, elements are organized along a time line. They are the best to use when you have message with the beginning and an end. Sequentially organized graphic frames are played back at the speed that you can set. Other elements (such as audio events) are triggered at the given time or location in the sequence of events. EX: Animation Works Interactive