Research-Based Guidelines For Visual Interface Design  

Whether it is for a help system, a multimedia training product, or a software application, there are two key elements needed for good screen design: knowledge of the applicable research, and the ability to balance aesthetic appeal with functionality. This paper focuses on research into the specific human factors that affect how users interact with the visual display of information, and provides guidelines for how to apply the research results. The author adds information from his own interface design and usability testing experiences at Microsoft.

Prekeges, James G. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>User Interface>Multimedia>Visual Rhetoric

Tips and Tricks for Including AVI (Video) Demos in Your Online Tutorial  

This presentation focuses on creating video demonstrations of software for online tutorials, using AVI files, and Inserting these files into Windows Help or HTML.

Rosenberg, Nad. STC Orange County (1998). Presentations>Documentation>Multimedia>Video

Transactional Literacy  

Ever wonder why we find graphical user interfaces, hypertext, and multimedia so appealing? Some of the appeal has to do with language itself which is the basis of human transactions, and some of it has to do with our conditioning as a literate society. Literacy builds on visual as well as verbal skills. This paper traces the roots of language to the ascendancy of print technology to explain how visualization is the foundation of literacy.

Hawkes, Lory. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Human Computer Interaction>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

Have Demo, Will Travel: Presenting Demos Outside the Studio

When I was asked to write about the process in which I show demos of my company’s work, I initially thought of what I used several years ago to show clients my samples—a time when DVDs didn't even exist and my home office setup was not such that I could do demos effectively there. Those were days when I had to travel to a meeting with a VCR deck, a tube-style TV, a bunch of cables, a cart to carry everything on, and, of course, VHS tapes, all properly rewound to the correct starting points.

Levy, Marshall. Event DV (2008). Articles>Presentations>Multimedia>Video

The Ears Have It (Notes)

Some people call it blogging out loud. Podcasting is a fairly easy and fairly inexpensive way of presenting your ideas and opinions. But podcasting is more than a platform for reviews or polemic. It's also a powerful tool within the enterprise for training, for marketing, and for documentation. Imagine being able to carry product information or supplementary material with you and not have to worry about stacks of paper? You can do that with a podcast.

Davis, Aaron and Scott Nesbitt. SlideShare (2008). Presentations>Multimedia>Audio>Podcasting

Editing Audio Using Audacity

TechSmith asked me to create a video on using Audacity to edit narrations. Since the use of Audacity will be useful to many I've uploaded it here too. The screencast covers removing background noise, breathing and lip smacks, dynamic range compression, volume normalisation, fades and de-essing using the volume control.

Ozsvald, Ian. ShowMeDo (2009). Presentations>Multimedia>Audio>Screencasts

Preparing for Screencasting

Advice on how to get started giving screencasts, why you might want to do it and how to establish your recording studio. Then we move into planning the capture of your screencast and a few tips on using some presentation tools.

Rush, Jeff. ShowMeDo (2009). Presentations>Multimedia>Video>Screencasting

Giving Your Screencast

Covers how to begin and conclude your cast and a bit about postprocessing. Then we cover your behavior during your talk and how to get your screencast distributed to others.

Rush, Jeff. ShowMeDo (2009). Presentations>Multimedia>Video>Screencasting

Screencasting in Linux

In this series of videos we'll demonstrate some of the basics of making screencasts in Linux. In addition, we'll show how to encode your original video file into another video type and illustrate some basic editing techniques.

ShowMeDo (2009). Presentations>Multimedia>Presentations>Screencasting

Challenges of Multimedia Self-Presentation: Taking, and Mistaking, the Show on the Road    

One privilege enjoyed by new-media authors is the opportunity to realize representations of Self that are rich textual worlds in themselves and also to engage the wider world, with a voice, a smile, imagery, and sound. Still, closer investigation of multimedia composition practices reveals levels of complexity with which the verbal virtuoso is unconcerned. This article argues that while technology-afforded multimedia tools make it comparatively easy to author a vivid text, it is a multiplicatively more complicated matter to vividly realize and publicize an authorial intention. Based on analysis of the digital story creation process of a youth named 'Steven,' the authors attempt to demonstrate the operation of two forces upon which the successful multimodal realization of the author's intention may hinge: 'fixity' and 'fluidity.' The authors show how, within the process of digital self-representation, these forces can intersect to influence multimodal meaning making, and an author's life, in consequential ways.

Nelson, Mark Evan, Glynda A. Hull and Jeeva Roche-Smith. Written Communication (2008). Articles>Presentations>Education>Multimedia

Move Over Text: Video Documentation Meets DITA

In the US today, there are 82.5 Million Content Creators 13.9% create content in virtual worlds 18.1% create video content 23.9% create blog content 79.7% create content on a social network. All we need is a standard that will support the topic- based nature of “how to” video content XML, and by extension, DITA, seemed to be a perfect fit.

Abel, Scott and Sean Healy. SlideShare (2009). Presentations>Documentation>Multimedia>Video

Screencasting for Dummies (and Smarties)

With so much training being done on computers (along with other tasks being done while training is taking place on that same computer), it’s important to know some best practices for developing training and other modules with screencasts. Amy Tehan demonstrates tips and tricks for making an effective screencast that will hold the viewer’s attention and get the message across.

Tehan, Amy. EServer (2009). Presentations>Multimedia>Video>Screencasting

What Technical Communicators Need to Know About Flash 

What is Flash? It's a vector-based format for moving images. Adobe technology via Macromedia Proprietary FLA for Flash development files. SWF for compressed files.

O'Keefe, Sarah. SlideShare (2008). Presentations>TC>Multimedia>Flash

Adding Style To Your Microsoft Wpf And Silverlight Applications 

Windows Presentation Foundation is a cross-browser cross-platform cross-device implementation of .NET for building and delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web.

Koenig, Chris. SlideShare (2007). Presentations>Multimedia>Interaction Design>Silverlight