Media Player Accessibility

When delivering multimedia content for the three major media players (Windows Media Player, Quicktime and RealMedia Player), the developer must choose whether to have the viewer access the content through a player embedded in a Web page or through a standalone player. Both methods have their advantages. Embedding the player in a Web page allows the user to access the content without another application opening. The standalone players usually have more control options.

WebAIM. Design>Multimedia>Accessibility>Video

Media Selection Chart

Guidelines to choose the best media for presenting your course Web site content.

Barnum, Carol M. and Saul Carliner. University of Minnesota (1993). Design>Multimedia>Assessment

Meet the Future: Leveraging Multimedia for Professional and Educational Outreach  

This article, as well as the conference presentation, recounts the trials, tribulations, and ultimate triumph of a dedicated research team in the Orlando Chapter and at the University of Central Florida who parlayed an $8K STC Special Opportunities grant into 55 minutes of fully narrated, animated multimedia in support of the chapter’s and the Society’s outreach initiative to secondary education. The grant was performed by current and former technical communication students at UCF, under the oversight of Dr. Dan Jones and Dan Voss. Four research assistants contributed to the project: Cindy Hauptner, Bob Stultz, Suzanne Shomate, and John Donovan. Cindy and Bob created the immortal Shanna the Hip and Dan the Nerd.

Hauptner, Cindy, Bob Stultz, Dan Jones and Daniel W. Voss. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>Multimedia

Merging Business Communication with Technology: Developing Successful Multimedia Modes for Distance Delivery  

Learning no longer has to depend solely on text resources when learners have access to multimedia resources and developing technologies. The lecture is now encapsulated and available for replay and, like a novel, provides the user with direction not just destination. This paper highlights how technology adds value to the academic learning experience/environment for business communication with a focus upon televised courses, streaming videos, instant messaging and Web-based resources. Implications for the learning experience are: (1) oral and written language use become more dynamic; (2) learner outcomes are audience- and message-centered; and, (3) content instruction is analytical.

Fortune, Mary F. and John J. Staczek. Association for Business Communication (2004). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Multimedia

Miniature Movies, Big Ideas  

Hundreds of filmmakers, huge audiences, instant reviews, and a door to Hollywood - the cinema comes to the Web.

Brunette, Peter. Adobe Magazine (2000). Design>Multimedia>Video

Mode, Medium, and Genre: A Case Study of Decisions in New-Media Design    

Recently, scholars of new media have been exploring the relationships between genre theory and new media. While these scholars have provided a great deal of insight into the nature of e-genres and how they function in professional contexts, few address the relationship between genre and new-media theories from a designer's perspective. This article presents the results of an ethnographic-style case study exploring the practice of a professional new-media designer. These results (a) confirm the role of dynamic rhetorical situations and hybridity during the new-media design process; (b) suggest that current genre and new-media theories underestimate the complexity of the relationships between mode, medium, genre, and rhetorical exigencies; and (c) indicate that a previously unrecognized form of hybridity exists in contemporary e-genres.

Graham, S. Scott. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2008). Articles>Multimedia>Genre>Theory

Multimedia

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of computing technology is the ability to combine text, graphics, sounds, and moving images in meaningful ways. The promise of multimedia has been slow to reach the Web because of bandwidth limitations, but each day brings new solutions. Although there are numerous methods for creating Web multimedia, we recommend using stable technology that works for the great majority of client machines. Plug-ins that extend the capabilities of your Web pages are a mixed blessing. You risk losing your audience if you require them to jump through hoops to view your content.

Lynch, Patrick J. and Sarah Horton. Yale University (1999). Design>Web Design>Multimedia

Multimedia Advice from a High School Essay  

Demonstrates how designers of multimedia can improve their products through examination of the simple structure of a high school essay.

Bunn, Bill E. Intercom (2002). Design>Multimedia

Multimedia and Interactive Marketing in the Digital Age  

What is interactive marketing? How is it different from traditional marketing function? What part does multimedia play in it? Who’s currently doing it and why? Does it replace traditional marketing? Will interactive marketing help companies to better market products and reach customers? These are the questions many companies and individuals are asking. During this panel discussion I will attempt to answer these questions by sharing my thesis research findings on the topic. I will also discuss the future of interactive marketing and the products that will be used to deliver it.

Gibbs, Bruce R. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Multimedia>Marketing

Multimedia, Beyond the Language Barrier Building Better Communication Bridges Across the Pacific Ocean  

While multimedia is a very popular tool today, simple animation and sound no longer have the pull they did. Effective use of multimedia technology depends on matching it to your overall purpose. Depending on the combination of media, you can reduce the cost of localization and speed-up information delivery. In this presentation, I will introduce two multimediarelated projects for considering the possibilities and limitations of multimedia.

Kobayashi, Norio. STC Proceedings (1998). Design>Multimedia>Localization

Multimedia Design in Professional Communication

This course will focus on the fundamentals of developing digital multimedia using a range of software, hardware, and electronic equipment. Solid computer skills, knowledge of rhetoric, and basic web design skills are assumed, but no specific experience with multimedia technologies is prerequisite. Be prepared to approach multimedia vigorously and immersively.

Payne, Don. Iowa State University (2003). Academic>Courses>Multimedia

Multimedia Design in Professional Communication

This course will focus on the fundamentals of developing digital multimedia using a range of software, hardware, and electronic equipment. Through readings, class discussion and multimedia projects, you'll learn to apply rhetorical principles (audience analysis, invention, organization, style, design) to multimedia authoring; to learn production techniques for multimedia development (including CD-ROM, streaming video, DVD video and Flash interactivity), from storyboarding to nonlinear editing; to plan and manage collaborative multimedia projects; to master software genres commonly used for multimedia training program in education and industry.

Sauer, Geoffrey. Iowa State University (2004). Academic>Courses>Multimedia

Multimedia Doesn't Mean Multimillionaire: Keeping Costs Down  

This workshop delves into the unconventional idea that multimedia doesn't have to cost a fortune to create or implement. Using a process-oriented focus, workshop leaders will address authoring tools and equipment choices, information organization and presentation, and screen design to illustrate the power of making cost-effective decisions throughout the multimedia development process. Our goal is to teach you how to make choices, ask the right questions, and be aware of the options that affect the bottom line cost of producing multimedia applications.

Bass, David, Caroline N. McLester and Carol Nix. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Multimedia

Multimedia Resources: A Selected Interdisciplinary Guide    

The guide below assembles and connects a selected interdisciplinary resource base for practitioners, educators, and researchers. The print and online sources it reviews cover a wide range of practical and theoretical information related to multimedia theory, design, development, and production from the past decade. Unlike other annotated bibliographies that review and critique the literature related to a single issue or thematic topic, the focus and scope of this guide is broader, and it is intended to be browsed. While not a comprehensive guide by any means, it constitutes a representative slice of the current research and resources available. Full bibliographic information is included for print items, and URLs are provided for online sources. For periodicals, I have included contact information for subscriptions.

Heba, Gary M. Technical Communication Online (1997). Resources>Multimedia

Multimedia Scripting  

Bunn offers an overview of the multimedia development process from the writer's perspective. He uses a film analogy to help readers develop a multimedia mindset, outlines the elements of multimedia production, and guides the reader through the stages of the production phase.

Bunn, Bill E. Intercom (2000). Design>Multimedia>Writing

Multimedia Scripting: A Guide to the Process  

Beneath the glitz and glamour of multimedia technology is the need for well-written concepts and scripts to aid in the development and production process. Many who have written primarily for printed documents, however, often having difficulty adjusting to writing for a multimedia environment. To help make the transition clear, this workshop focuses on explaining the theory, concepts, and strategies for planning and writing multimedia scripts.

Heba, Gary M. STC Proceedings (1996). Design>Multimedia>Workflow

Multimedia Scripting: Starting Off Right  

Bunn discusses the art of preparing scripts for different media.

Bunn, Bill E. Intercom (2000). Design>Multimedia>Programming

Multimedia Theater: The Roles of Audience in Multimedia  

Creating a multimedia title is much like creating a movie. The multimedia team has to work with many of the same components (sound, animation, graphics, and text) as a movie production team. Many multimedia developers see their work not as a product but as a production. Some developers no longer work in offices but in “studios,” Given this cinematic atmosphere and similarities in drama and multimedia, one can see how literary or dramatic terms can be used to describe reader (audience) roles in multimedia. In multimedia, the audience can become several different roles. This paper discusses these roles and how or if multimedia teams should react to them.

Gibbs, Bruce R. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Multimedia>Audience Analysis

Multimedia Writing

A blog about issues in content development for multimedia by a Ph.D. candidate researching these issues.

Stolley, Karl. MultimediaWriting.com. Resources>Writing>Multimedia>Blogs

The Mysteries of Light

Introduces lighting digital video, particularly when using the OmniPro Lighting Kit.

Bergeland, Erik and Paul Friemel. Studio for New Media (2004). Articles>Documentation>Multimedia

New Media for Technical Communicators

For more than forty years, the Society for Technical Communication (STC) has helped its members explore new ways to communicate. The theme of the STC's 41st annual conference held recently in Minneapolis, 'Explore Communication,' was therefore apt. Participants at the conference discussed new ideas for communication via computer, and charted the beginnings of STC's foray into Internet-based scholarship.

December, John A. Computer-Mediated Communication (1995). Articles>TC>Multimedia

New Media Technology II

Two collaborative presentations about the status and factors that influence technology adoption within research in technical communication programs.

Amidon, Stevens R., Stuart Blythe, Libby Allison, Miriam Williams and Meloni McMichael. CPTSC (2005). Presentations>Multimedia>Technology

North Bay Multimedia Association

NBMA is an open community of new media professionals. Since 1992, it's been a meeting ground to explore the present and future of new media; a place to exchange ideas, learn about new techniques and technologies, be inspired, and find business support in a friendly and productive atmosphere.

North Bay Multimedia Association. Organizations>Information Design>Multimedia>California

Offset and Displace

Creating an interesting title sequence can involve many different techniques. But here's one simple trick that can be used for almost any type of project--Offset. Used in conjunction with the Displacement Map fi lter, it can also add much reality to a shot.

Holmes, Steve. Mac Design Magazine (2005). Design>Multimedia>Video