Vision 2000: Multimedia Electronic Performance Support Systems  

Multimedia Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS) are becoming a driving force in information technology. The purpose of an EPSS is to replace or supplement human experts, paperbased documentation, and costly training programs. A multimedia EPSS provides resources for employees to do their jobs better and faster.

Myers Cantando, Mary. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Multimedia>EPSS

Voice XML 2.0 Nears Final W3C Standard

It may already be the de facto voice platform for the Internet, but this week the Voice XML 2.0 specification has moved closer to becoming an official World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard. The W3C, the body responsible for maintainin many of the core standards and protocols at the heart of the Internet, has publishe the new Voice XML 2.0 specification as a Proposed Recommendation

Lyman, Jay. TechNewsWorld. Articles>Multimedia>XML>Voice

The W3C Multimodal Architecture, Part 2: The XML Specification Stack

Gerald McCobb continues his introduction to the forthcoming W3C Multimodal Architecture with a survey of the many XML languages that you can use to author multimodal applications. He then shows how several specifications -- SCXML, XHTML, REX, and XML Events -- could work together in a complete multimodal application.

McCobb, Gerald. IBM (2007). Design>Multimedia>Standards>XML

Walking the Intellectual Property Law Labyrinth on Multimedia Projects  

With the advent of new technology, we can quickly combine video, text, sound and other media in exciting ways. But, because of intellectual property laws, there can be limits to what we can do. In developing multimedia products, we need to be careful not to infringe on existing rights and patents. We can do this by discovering and documenting the origins of each work used in our products to ensure that we hold the appropriate rights. When we use works that weren’t created by our company, we need to work with company counsel to ensure that all requisite licenses, releases and other documents are obtained.

Doudnikoff, Gregory M. and Pamela S. Helyar. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Multimedia>Intellectual Property

Walking the Labyrinth of Multimedia Law    

Recommends discovering and documenting the origins of each work used in our products to ensure that we hold the appropriate rights. Advises working with counsel and contract negotiators to ensure that all requisite licenses, releases, and other documents are obtained.

Helyar, Pamela S. and Gregory M. Doudnikoff. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Multimedia

Web Animation Tutorial

In these modern days, Web animators may not have to spend 17 hours hand painting cells to make Dopey wink, but bandwidth, platform, and browser issues make animation for the Web its own special hell. Anna and Emily have navigated many circles of this hell, and they make animation ... well, if not easy, then easier.

McMillan, Anna and Emily Hobson. Webmonkey (2001). Design>Multimedia>Interactive

Welcome to the Lab: Making the Transition to Multimedia  

You’re an experienced technical communicator. Recently you’ve been assigned a multimedia project. What is involved, and how do you get started? This demonstration utilizes audio, video text, graphics, animation and a computer-generated, 3-dimensional multimedia lab as an interface to discuss these and related issues.

Hiett, Malcolm D. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Multimedia

Why Flash Will Never Die

In this article we will look at the strengths and weaknesses of one of the most controversial products in the web development world, Macromedia Flash. We will take a close look at what Flash can do and what Flash can't or shouldn't do. And while in the process we will be comparing Flash to its counterparts HTML and CSS.

Angeletti, Mark. Search-This (2003). Design>Web Design>Multimedia>Flash

Why We Need Technical Communicators

A YouTube video of a terrible (!) presenter discussing the technical intricacies of a product, using the worst possible language.

Harkness, Holly E. Don't Call Me Tina (2008). Humor>TC>Multimedia>Video

Working with Cameras

Creating visual depth in a project can really catapult an animation from boring to captivating. After Effects does 3D very well, but there's more to it than simply moving layers or objects around in 3D space.

Anderson, Chad J.W. Mac Design Magazine (2005). Design>Multimedia>Video>Adobe After Effects

Writing for Multimedia: A Guide

As we stand here at the edge of the new millennium, the same can be said for the current state of multimedia. There are thousands of computer programs, millions of Web pages, and countless PowerPoint presentations. And unlike material in books and magazines, the vast majority of these items are untouched by editors. While new media offers an unprecedented means for sharing ideas with the rest of the world, it is also becoming that much harder to stand out from an ever-growing crowd. That’s where effective writing comes in. By planning and focusing what you want to say, you can better connect with your audience, whether you’re designing a Web site for your family, or promoting your company’s image. This guide is designed to help you effectively use new media to communicate your message with clarity and focus.

Butzgy, Michael. Earthlink (1999). Resources>Multimedia>Writing

Writing in Multimodal Texts    

Frequently writing is now no longer the central mode of representation in learning materials--textbooks, Web-based resources, teacher-produced materials. Still (as well as moving) images are increasingly prominent as carriers of meaning. Uses and forms of writing have undergone profound changes over the last decades, which calls for a social, pedagogical, and semiotic explanation. Two trends mark that history. The digital media, rather than the (text) book, are more and more the site of appearance and distribution of learning resources, and writing is being displaced by image as the central mode for representation. This poses sharp questions about present and future roles and forms of writing. For text, design and principles of composition move into the foreground. Here we sketch a social semiotic account that aims to elucidate such principles and permits consideration of their epistemological as well as social/pedagogic significance. Linking representation with social factors, we put forward terms to explore two issues: the principles underlying the design of multimodal ensembles and the potential epistemological and pedagogic effects of multimodal designs. Our investigation is set within a research project with a corpus of learning resources for secondary school in Science, Mathematics, and English from the 1930s, the 1980s, and from the first decade of the 21st century, as well as digitally represented and online learning resources from the year 2000 onward.

Bezemer, Jeff and Gunther Kress. Written Communication (2008). Articles>Writing>Multimedia

XHTML+SMIL Profile

This page was made to help others and myself, become more familiarized with the features under consideration, for the next version of XHTML+SMIL.

Ramirez, Jose. EmpireNet (2002). Design>Web Design>Multimedia>SMIL

Multimedia Writing

English 419 introduces students to the fundamental rhetorical theories, principles, and practices of multimedia design, implementation, and publishing. The main objective for the course is for students to understand critical theories of multimedia and the new media technologies that create and publish multimedia content, with a particular emphasis on visual rhetoric and usability. Since multimedia is, by nature, interactive, we will cover the rhetorical nature of interactivity, the relationship of the audience—or users—to interactivity, and the discovery of innovative methods for successfully interacting with others through multimedia. Students will explore these theories through projects that require creative engagements with a variety of technologies and users.

Bay, Jennifer. Purdue University (2003). Academic>Courses>Multimedia>Writing

English 680N: New Media

What is "new media?" English 680N will examine this question from a variety of perspectives, investigating forms and examples of new media as well as the theories that underlie and emerge from these forms.

Bay, Jennifer. Purdue University (2008). Academic>Courses>Multimedia>Theory

Pushing the Boundaries of Traditional Heritage Policy: Maintaining Long-Term Access to Multimedia Content    

This paper will address the direction chosen by the Audiovisual Department of the Bibliotheque nationale de France (BnF) in order to maintain access to a comprehensive collection of multimedia and electronic documents. It will describe several experimental technical solutions for preservation, emphasizing the consequences of a requirement for future users to be able to use these documents for research purposes. These result in the use of emulation solutions as well as new practices of collection development policy with regard to the specific structure of information within a multimedia context.

Miura, Gregory. IFLA Journal (2007). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Multimedia

Storyboarding PowerPoint 2003 Presentations to Video and DVD

More and more people are asking how to burn their Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 presentations to DVD. Using PowerPoint and a DVD, you have an easy method of getting your message out, whether as a training video or a digital business card promoting your products or services. And your audience can view your material at home as well as in their offices.

Microsoft (2006). Articles>Presentations>Multimedia>DVD

How I Create Video Tutorials

Creating video tutorials is no trivial task. When you sit down to create 20+ video tutorials for a project, you’re faced with dozens of questions. What screen size should the videos be, what recording tool should you use, what microphone is best, how long should the videos be, what file size is acceptable? Should you use voice or captions? Where will you create the recording? You can create video tutorials using dozens of different methods. There are no official steps to create videos, because situations and audiences vary so widely.

Johnson, Tom H. I'd Rather Be Writing (2008). Articles>Documentation>Multimedia>Video

Multimedia Writing Workshop

The last decade has seen an explosion in digital media in numerous outlets of contemporary culture. During English 289.22 Multimedia Writing Workshop we will explore various media, genres, and technologies we use everyday. We will examine the communication, creative expression, interactivity and design of multimedia composition for the purposes of persuading, negotiating, contesting, and creating narratives as well as individual and community identities. In other words, we will ask: How does this multimedia text tell a story? What elements help tell the story? In what ways does it reflect who I am or want to be? In what ways is it trying to persuade me to socially identify? We will interrogate our cultural practices as they relate to the cultural and technological underpinnings of our use of media such as blogs, podcasts,wikis, text messages, chats, MySpace, Facebook, film, videogames, etc. to tell stories and convey our identities.

Fitzgerald, Devon. Illinois State University (2008). Academic>Courses>Multimedia>Writing

The Education of Geeks and Freaks

if Post Secondary Educators don’t change their attitude towards you—and soon—you are going to find it really hard to find trained staff for your businesses.

Green, Tom. Digital Web Magazine (2008). Articles>Education>Technology>Multimedia

Lessons from the Death of HD-DVD

Over the last few months, HD-DVD appeared to rapidly fall from its apparent position as promising new disc format–touted by supporters as being technically superior, significantly cheaper, and less restrictive–down to a harsh new reality of scheduled death. However, the fate of HD-DVD wasn’t nearly as unpredictable as some seemed to think. Here’s why HD-DVD’s end should not have been a surprise, what lessons can be learned from its death, and what its demise means for Microsoft.

Dilger, Daniel Eran. RoughlyDrafted (2008). Articles>Multimedia>Standards>DVD

Microsoft's Plot to Kill QuickTime

While almost completely invisible for years, Apple’s progress in media has resulted in overturning Microsoft’s domination of the entertainment industry, established a resistance to unchecked DRM, and has extinguished Microsoft’s efforts to establish new proprietary technologies as de facto industry standards.

RoughlyDrafted (2007). Articles>Multimedia>Standards>Video

How Microsoft Pushed QuickTime's Final Cut

Apple's work to aggressively build upon QuickTime and compete in the market against Microsoft--rather than just handing its technology over and “partnering” with the company--launched Apple ahead and established major new markets for the Mac platform. Final Cut Pro initially established the Mac as an essential tool among editors.

RoughlyDrafted (2007). Articles>Multimedia>Editing>Video