Hardware
In order to run and create multimedia applications a powerful development computer is required to run the latest image manipulation and multimedia authoring programs. A fast processor, decent amount of RAM and a large hard disk are essential for a development platform. A good soundcard and graphics card and input/output ports are required to connect other hardware.
Other hardware that can be used to develop create multimedia applications include scanners, digital cameras, video cameras and CD/DVD burners.
Scanners are available at a range of price and quality. They can be used to scan pictures and photos to be saved on the computer for use in image manipulation and then multimedia authoring software to add it to a final multimedia application.
The most important specification that varies between scanners and the quality of the output is the resolution. Resolution is represented by dpi (dots per inch) the higher the resolution the better the final picture will be. Scanners are also available for scanning film and negatives these scanners often have high resolutions for scanning small pictures like negatives. However, higher resolution scanners cost more than lower resolution scanners.
The most popular scanners are flat bed scanners that scan one sheet or picture at a time, other scanners have automatic feeds for scanning multiple pages and some are multi function with printers and or fax machines as part of the unit.
LCD projectors are available to use for presenting work to large audiences. LCD projectors work using a combination of Red, Green and Blue light to create individual pixels on a large screen. LCD projectors produce a bright picture with strong, vibrant colours but are very expensive.
Digital Cameras. There are many different digital and video cameras available for developing multimedia applications.
Mobile Phone Camera. Many of today’s mobile phones have simple cameras built in. These cameras are generally not very many mega pixels meaning the quality of the picture is not great compared to a digital camera. These phone cameras often have no optical zoom which gives a better picture than digital zoom.
Canon PowerShot A495. Canon’s budget camera is a good entry level camera producing great pictures for the price. The 10 mega pixel camera has simple controls with an easy to use menu and a 2.4 inch LCD screen. It has an optical zoom of 3.3 which is standard for cameras in its range. The shooting features on the camera are limited but the auto mode is good at picking the correct settings for a good picture. The camera also features a VGA video mode which works well for short clips but not much else. The slow shutter speeds means that this camera is not suitable for taking action shots.
Nikon D5000. The Nikon D5000 is a digital SLR camera. The price of SLR cameras makes them more suitable for the serious photographer. SLR cameras have bigger sensors than compact digital cameras producing better quality pictures and have more advanced features. The Nikon5000 has 12.3 mega-pixels. The shutter speed is fast allowing for action pictures and the camera is ready to take photos from off very fast. The video function on the camera is slightly slow frame rate meaning the video playback is not as smooth as it could be.
Samsung PL80 compact camera. Another budget camera at less than £100 while having basic features this camera has 12 megapixels and a 5 times optical zoom. The slim and stylish design gives this camera a more expensive feel. The Samsung PL80 isn’t packed with features like more expensive cameras but does have a wide angel lens and picture stabilisation features. A decent picture quality makes this camera a great budget choice.
Canon EOS 60D. This Canon SLR camera is the replacement for the EOS 50D, one of the most popular DSLR cameras among amateur photographers. This model has 18 megapixels and a fantastic resolution. The variable angle LCD screen also has a high resolution and is 3 inches allowing it be viewed from almost any angle. Features include face recognition and Canons scene mode making it easy to pick the right settings for a picture. This is a great camera for more serious photographers and will allow the taking of some excellent shots.
CD/DVD burners can be used to deliver the final multimedia product to it final audience. DVDs can be used to hold larger files and applications than CDs but are more expensive. Burners come at a variety of speeds with the faster ones being more expensive.
Editing Software
Image Manipulation
There is a variety of image manipulation and authoring software available. Image manipulation software allows the user to create and optimise images for a final multimedia application. Authoring software is used to bring the final multimedia together.
Image manipulation software is available at different prices with different tools and functions available. Some image manipulation software is bitmap based making it best for editing photographs. Other image manipulation is best for working with vectors and creating designs like logos and buttons.
Photoshop is a raster editing program and is one of the most popular image manipulation packages available. The program has lots of built in effects that can easily be applied to create appealing images. Photoshop is best used for editing and optimizing photos and bitmap images. However the price of the software means that Photoshop is not available for everyone.
Gimp is free image manipulation software, like Photoshop, it is a raster editing programme best used for editing and retouching photos. It is a good free open source replacement for Photoshop but does not feature as many built-in effects.
Fireworks is a bitmap and vector image manipulator aimed at web designers. It has a good optimisation feature. Using vectors makes Fireworks good for creating shapes like logos and buttons. As it is part of the Adobe suite it ingrates well with Dreamweaver for designing and developing websites. While Fireworks does not feature as many built-in effects as Photoshop it is still a very powerful piece of software for designers.
Inkscape is open source vector based image manipulation software. It is a free alternative to Fireworks.
Authoring software.
Authoring software is required to bring all parts of a multimedia application together. In the past this would have required the services of a professional programmer. Media including text, graphics, animation, sound and video is imported from the different applications used to create them to create a final multimedia presentation. Once media has been imported the software allows the user to assign different relationships and actions to elements to add interactivity. Interactive movies can be created using buttons, key frames and markers. To speed up the process of translating commands into binary authoring software includes binary code adding speed and functionality to a program.
Authoring software includes Flash, Director, Dreamweaver and Kompozer. These software applications use user friendly interfaces making it easy to add effects and interactivity using actions and scripts and see how the presentation looks as it develops. Most authoring software is WISIWIG (What I See Is What I Get) that allows the user to see how the finished item will look. This makes the process of writing complex files much easier and without the need of programming skills allowing novices to create professional looking content.
While there are many advantages to using authoring software to write web pages there are time when a simple text editor will be preferred. The main reason is that every browser and program displays the mark-up language differently. Also like all other computer programs web browsers have bugs that need to be fixed, many web developers and designers prefer to use a simple text editor for the debugging process as these programs don’t add any other code to the file making it easier to find problem code.
Flash was created by Macromedia in 1996 and is now developed by Adobe Studios. Flash is a popular program for creating animations and movies for web pages without the need of a programmer. Interactivity is one of the main benefits of Flash allowing the user to integrate sound and video to movies and animations. Flash is better than other forms of animated images as it allows much more interactivity meaning that Flash can also be used for the production of websites. Many web developers and designers rely on Flash animations and movies to reach the widest possible audience. Most browsers require plug-ins to allow the user to view the file. Flash files (.fla) are embedded into the html code on a web page to tell the browser how and where to display the file. The file must then be played using the Flash Player plug-in.
PowerPoint is probably the most widely used authoring software used the create presentations. It is a powerful piece of software allowing the user to import movies, images, and audio and diagrams to create professional slides easily. The WISIWIG interface allows the user to see the slides as they are created. PowerPoint is part of Microsoft’s Office suite and can be expensive for the average user.
Dreamweaver is currently the industry leading web design and development program. It was created by Macromedia in 1997 and Adobe acquired the company in 2007. Dreamweaver is a WISIWIG tool using a GUI meaning the user can hide the code and see only how the page will look in a browser. This allows novices at html to create good looking pages. The user can create add elements to a page and Dreamweaver will automatically create the code that complies with W3C standards. Behaviours and other actions can be easily added to elements to add interactivity and usability to web pages. As with most HTML editors Dreamweaver edits files locally (on the computer) before the user must upload to the internet using a FTP client. Because Dreamweaver creates the code for the user this means they have less control over it and excess code may be created that can cause slow loading and poor performance of the page.
Kompozer is an Open-Source program meaning that it is available to download, use and improve for free. Open-Source software is programs that are open to the public domain for programmers to upgrade the code to enhance the software. It is a good alternative to Dreamweaver which is very expensive. Kompozer was originally created as a debugged version of Nvu, another open-source WISIWIG authoring program.
No comments:
Post a Comment