Chapter 1

Multimedia - combination of text, graphic, sound, animation and video presented in a

digital environment

Temporal – dynamic (continuous) e.g. GIF, animation, video, audio

Non-temporal – static e.g. image, text, graphics

Interactivity

● Must have:
○ User interaction
○ Two-way conversation between the user and the system

● Allows user to control the flow of the content (non-linear experience)

Multimedia system
● Encompass the computer & software system within a single digital
environment.
● Distributed – operate over some form of network infrastructure
● Standalone – using 1 computer that is not connected to any network.
Advantages
- Convey information to avoid confusion
- Likely to remember the message
- Multi-sensory experience

Barriers
- Platform delivery choices (different OS might have different output)
- Different hardware on each type of machine (user hardware ++ == output ++)
Chapter 2
Text - form of visual representation of language

Type – character or letterform created for communicating written information through

printing or electronic means.

Letterform – implies letters, punctuation, symbols and numbers

Typeface – family of graphic character e.g. Times New Roman

Font – collection of characters of a single size, style and typeface family

Symbol and icons

- Concentrated text (stand-alone graphic constructs)
- Blend both text and icons → enhance overall impact + value of message

Types of TEXT
- Printed texts – appears on paper (hard-copy)
- Scanned texts – scanned from printed text (scanner + Optical Character
Recognition (OCR) software)
- Electronic texts – read by computer and transmitted electronically
- Hypertexts – text that has been linked
- Animated texts – with motion behaviours
- 3D texts – rendered in x, y and z dimension

- ASCII (7-bit encoding system – 128 characters)

- UNICODE (16-bits characters sets – 65,536 characters)

Plain text (text without style) vs Rich text (text with bold, italic)
Spacing
● Monospaced (has fixed width between each characters)
● Proportional (different width between characters)
● Kerning (width between each character)

Font Design
● Serif (little curves on the end of a character shape)
● Sans serif == without serif
● Decorative (stylish design for decoration purpose)
● Script typefaces (cursive style of handwriting)
● Symbol typefaces (special character not found on keyboard)

Shape
● Upright (vertical strokes are indeed vertical)
● Italic (slanted to the right)
● Weight (thickness of each strokes)

Rendering type
● Bitmap (stores each character as an array of black dots)
○ “Staircase” when up-scaled (aka jaggies)
○ Anti-aliasing to eliminate the jagged edges
● Vector (mathematical equations to represent curves and lines)

Best practice
● Consider these:
○ Colour
○ Background
○ Font size
○ Spacing
○ Appropriateness
○ Legibility
○ Readability
● Mapping text across platforms

Styles of writing text

● Persuasive writing (convince someone)
● Instructional writing (teach someone to do smtg)
● Efficient writing (have limited attention span)
● Wiring to show personality and build connections (with distinct voice)
● Search engine friendly writing (allow website to be found [targeted keyword])
Chapter 3
Image - two or three-dimensional representation object/scene in natural world
(scanner or camera)

Graphic – any type of visual representation that can be displayed on a physical

surface (painting or drawing process)

- Image provide visual representation of spaces

- Imagery information is much easy to recall
- “A picture is worth a thousand words”

Image and graphic == collection of colours occupying spaces in a plane

Computer Graphic

Bitmap Graphic
● Matrix of dots (aka pixels) to represent pictures
● map(matrix) of bits (dots) representing colour code
● Enlarged too much → photorealism is lost (individual pixels become apparent)
Vector Graphic
● Mathematical approach to represent and render the pixels
● Coordinate system, a mathematical representation of points in a grid

● Mathematical equations to construct vectors

● Bézier curves – curves in mathematical equations based on 2 end points + 2
directional points
● Vector Graphic possess:
○ Stroke – outline of the vector graphic

○ Fill – inner compound of a closed-eye vector graphic

● Vector graphic can:

○ Translated – move in the given axes
○ Scaled – resizing
○ Rotated – based on coordinates of a given circumferences
○ Reflected – based on mirrored points
○ Sheared – distortion of angles of the axes
Converting between bitmap & vector

Vector VS Bitmap
1) Vector graphic
a) Pros:
■ Requires less data representation for recreation
■ Scalable without loss of quality
■ Easy to edit
■ Resolution independent
■ Mandatory for 3D
b) Cons:
■ Absence of any standard format (Web usage)
■ Require software to display
■ Limited level of detail

2) Bitmap graphic
a) Pros:
■ Create photos / photo-realistic graphics + background textures
■ Does not require special software interpreter
■ Many software tools support Bitmap graphic (GIF and JPEG)
■ Very little processing is required before displaying
b) Cons:
■ Larger file size (depend colours usage)
■ Represent 2D
■ Resolution dependent

Bitmap Vector

Image Structure Matrix of dots (pixels) Mathematical approach to

render pixels

Editing software Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator

Primary output Direct mapping of colours Requires computation to

channel values generate points before
mapping
Ideal for 2D graphic 3D graphic

Scalability Low High

Common file JPEG, GIF SVG, HPGL

formats

File Size Normall larger, depends on the Normally smaller, depends on

colour usage, height and complexity of shapes
weight
Chapter 4
Video – captured moving pictures played back on the order which it is being
captured (does not include audio)

Analogue video
❖ Composite video being stored in analogue medium
❖ Each frame is represented by analogue waveform
❖ 4 standards:
➢ NTSC
■ Picture consists of 525 scan lines drawn every 1/30th second
(30fps)
➢ PAL
■ 625 rows drawn every 1/25th second
➢ SECAM
■ Picture consists of 625 rows
➢ HDTV
■ High resolution (16:9 aspect ratio)

Digital video
❖ Characteristics
➢ Frame (single still image)
➢ Frame-rate (number of frame in 1 second)
■ Jerky image does not looks smooth (low for scenery and high
for motion)
➢ Frame-size (dimension of frame in pixel)
■ Smaller viewpoint == harder to see the motion clearly
➢ Colour-depth (amount of colour required in 1 frame)
■ Low == loses all image details
Compressing video
● Representing repeating information in a new format as a information
● Reducing redundant information where some colours cannot be differentiated
by the human eye are replaced
● Two techniques:
○ Lossless Compression – suppress redundant information by
representing information using codes
○ Lossy Compression – permanent removes unwanted information

MPEG Compression – differences between current frame and next frame is stored.

Digital Video
1) Advantages
○ Randomly access to any part of the video
○ Able to compress the video
○ Copied and reproduced without loss of quality
○ Easily manipulated and edited
○ Easier to transmit over networks
2) Disadvantages
○ Require computer storage space
○ Require powerful processors
○ Require high transfer rates
○ Expensive to produce
○ Require special equipments
3) Practices
○ Sufficient light and object has contrast
○ Use tripod when zoom in
○ Move slowly when capturing panoramic scene
○ Always work with uncompressed video file
4) 4:3 to 16:9
○ Stretch 4:3 to fill 16:9 frame
 ○ Zoom the width
○ Place the image to the centre, leaving empty pillars right and left
5) 16:9 to 4:3
○ Letterbox
○ Pan and Scan (loses both sides of the ori image)
Chapter 5
Animation – series of graphical object in a sequence to be appeared with “motion”

Categories of animation
1. 2D
2. 2 ½ D
○ an illusion of depth (the z axis) is added to an image through
shadowing and highlighting, but the image itself still rests on the flat x
and y axes in two dimensions.
3. 3D

3 types of 2D animation
1. Cel animation
○ Objects in a scene are drawn separately from background (laid over a
background)
○ No need redraw fixed part of the scene, only redraw the moving objects
○ The smaller the object, the fastest it can move

2. Path animation
○ Objects move along a predetermined path on the screen

3. Screen or Object transitions

○ Transfer from one page to another with a pleasant visual effect (mcm
powerpoint slide transition)

Principles of traditional animations

● Squash & Stretch (rigidity and mass of an object → distorting its shape)
● Timing & motion (space between the time indicate the motion)
● Anticipation (preparation for an action)
● Staging
● Follow-through & overlapping (terminate an action + establish relationship to
next action)
● Straight Ahead Action & Pose to Pose Action
● Slow-in & Slow-out (rather than uniform velocity)
● Arcs (visual path of action)
● Exaggeration (show an idea via design and action)
● Secondary Action
● Appeal
● Personality
3D animation
- Add a z-dimension
- Uses 3D graphics represented in vector form

Developing 3D animation
- Modelling (create broad contours and structures of the 3D objects and
scenes)
- Surface definition (specifying the look of the 3D object)
- Scene composition (positioning 3D objects, lights and cameras in an
environment)
- Final render (pictures of the scene from the camera positioned within it)

Methods for controlling animation

- Full explicit control – clear description of the animation (translation, rotation,
scaling etc)
- Procedural control – communicate with objects to react accordingly
- Motion capture – record human motions into computer
Chapter 6
Audio – aural representation of information

Effect:
● Reinforcing a message
● Setting the mood
● Catching the interest of and alerting
● Effective in narration/explanation
● Enhancing understanding

Sound wave
- Amplitude – loudness
- Frequency – pitch

Wavelength
- Distance travelled during one complete vibration cycle

Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC)

- Analogue sound → digital sound
- Representation of the signal fluctuation over time

Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC)

- Digital sound → Analogue sound

Two steps from analogue to digital

1) Sampling
- Sound are grabbed into small increments with a fixed interval
- Sampling rate must be at least twice the highest analog frequency

2) Quantization
- Assign discrete numerical value to each voltage measurement

Sample rate – number of samples recorded every second

Bit depth – how many 0s and 1s are assigned to each sampling interval (number of
bits used) (common – 16 bits and 24 bits)

Bit rate – number of bits per second transmitted during playback

Clipping – when too much amplification → waveform distortion → clipping

Sources of digital audio

- Capture – microphone , CR-ROM, DVD-Rom
- Electric piano keyboard
Audio in interactive digital media
- Ambient sounds (create a mode)
- Sound effects (emphasise an important movement)
- Auditory feedback (communicates that the user’s action is received)
- Music
- Speech

Recording and editing audio

- Record sound in a quiet space
- Decent microphone
- Keep it away from computer → avoid picking up noise from PC’s fan
- Remove as much ambient noise as possible
- Leave the recording run for a few seconds

Manipulation audio
- Splitting and trimming – extract parts of an audio track (remain useful sound
or remove undesirable sounds)
- Noise removal
- Normalisation → volume range more consistent
- Format conversion – save files in many formats
- Resampling or Downsampling – reduce the number of samples
- Fade-ins and Fade-outs
- Frequency adjustment – making the pitch higher or lower
- Time stretching – slowing down / speeding up
- Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
- Reversing sounds
- Multiple tracks – edit and combine multiple tasks, merge and export