DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

PROCESS
 MODULE 2

Planning and Research

 Module 2
Planning and Research

Planning
Problem
Brainstorming
Planning a Successful Multimedia Project
Intended Learning Outcome
• To understand the general process of creating multimedia
output
• To identify the problems and provide solutions
• To collaborate and come up with ideas from other sources
• To determine on how to make a successful multimedia project
Planning
Planning
• Planning is defined as the formulation
of a scheme of program for the
accomplishment or attainment of a goal
of purpose.
• All the activities to be implemented and
executed as part of the plan must be http://maximpactblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Strategic-Planning_Project-

related to the goal of the project. Support-and-M_E.jpg

• The planner needs to have the ability to break a problem into its
components to seek for step-by-step solutions or processes to attain the
goals.
• The planner need to fore-see problems and potential conflicts in order to
avoid them.
Problem
Problem
First of all try to articulate your problem.
• Why do you want to do anything at all?
What prompted you? http://www.bestsampleresume.com/advice/wp-
content/uploads/2015/10/Plan-and-Schedule.jpg

• Do you have any evidence or data? What is your intuition about the need
for the project based on?
• What is the expected learning outcome you want your students to
achieve? If that's not the motivation then try to articulate the desired
outcome (such as saving time, trying something new, etc.).
• How will you know you have achieved your goal?
Solution
• Now that you have articulated
your problem, you can start to
design a solution.
• You may already have some
ideas, but in case you need
some inspiration have a look at
existing case studies or other
examples. https://fthmb.tqn.com/sWahXPZT8p8NelP0HCYlzIjoJDY=/5900x3676/filters:fill(auto,1)/project-
manager-making-a-gantt-chart-for-future-events-155278848-57cae8b53df78c71b63dd36f.jpg
Logistics

With a clear description of the problem and an

idea for a solution, you now need to plan how
you will make it a reality.

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eL5WHa5wHaFj&pid=Api&P=0&w=207&h=156
Logistics
• Multimedia: what kind, how many, how long, who will create
• Documentation: project description, schedule, scripts, shooting
plans, ethics approval, participant consent, copyright
• Guidance: written guides, training sessions, in-person support
• Equipment: cameras, mics, props, costumes, software, file
storage
• Personnel: actors, specialists, sponsors, line managers
• Locations: room booking, scouting locations, permissions
Actions and Deadlines

Having identified the outputs, now

identify who is responsible for
delivering each one and agree on
deadlines to keep everyone on track.

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Communications
• Agree on a method and frequency of
communication between project
members.
• For smaller projects this may be little
more than email, or sharing a document
through OneDrive.
• For larger projects this may be more
involved. https://blog.vantagecircle.com/content/images/2019/04/7-Reasons-
Why-Internal-Communication-is-Important-in-the-Workplace.png
Brainstorming
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a method for generating ideas to solve a design
problem. It usually involves a group, under the direction of a facilitator.

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Brainstorming
• The strength of brainstorming is the potential participants have in
drawing associations between their ideas in a free-thinking
environment, thereby broadening the solution space.

• Brainstorming may seem to lack constraints, but success depends on

the observance of eight house rules and someone acting as facilitator.
Brainstorming
• Capturing ideas in brainstorming sessions means someone plays
“scribe”, marking every idea on the board. Alternatively, write down
your own ideas as they come, and share these with the group. Often,
design problems demand mixed tactics: brainstorming and its sibling
approaches – braindumping (for individuals), and brainwriting and
brainwalking (for group-and-individual mixes).
Brainstorming
Taking Care with Brainstorming
Brainstorming involves harnessing synergy – we leverage our collective
thinking towards a variety of potential solutions. However, having
boundless freedom presents challenges.
• In groups, introverts may stay quiet while extroverts dominate.
• Whoever’s leading the session must “police” the team to ensure a
healthy, solution-focused atmosphere where even the shiest participants
feel fearless about speaking up.
• Likewise, a warm-up activity can cure brainstorming “constipation”
– e.g., asking participants to list ways the world would be different if
metal were like rubber.
Brainstorming
Taking Care with Brainstorming

Another risk is letting the team stray off topic and/or address other
problems. As we may use brainstorming in any part of our design
process—including areas related to a project’s main scope—sticking to
the problem relevant to that part (what Osborn called the “Point of View”)
is vital. Similarly, framing problems with “How Might We” questions helps
us remember brainstorming is organic and free of boundaries.
Brainstorming
Taking Care with Brainstorming

Overall, brainstorming involves staying fluid in our search for ways we

might resolve an issue, not chasing a “holy grail” solution developed
elsewhere. The idea is to mine idea “ore” and refine “golden” solutions
from it later.
Brainstorming
1. Set a time limit – depending on the problem’s complexity, 15–60
minutes is normal.
2. Begin with a target problem/brief – members should approach this
sharply defined question, plan or goal and stay on topic.
3. Refrain from judgment/criticism – no-one should be negative
(including via body language) about any idea.
4. Encourage weird and wacky ideas – further to the ban on killer
phrases like “too expensive”, keep the floodgates open so everyone
feels free to blurt out ideas, as long as they’re on topic.
5. Aim for quantity – remember, “quantity breeds quality”; the sifting-and-
sorting process comes later.
Brainstorming
6. Build on others’ ideas – it’s a process of association where members
expand on others’ notions and reach new insights, allowing these
ideas to trigger their own. Say “and”—rather than discourage with
“but”—to get ideas closer to the problem.
7. Stay visual – diagrams and Post-Its help bring ideas to life and help
others see things in different ways.
8. Allow one conversation at a time – keeping on track this way and
showing respect for everyone’s ideas is essential for arriving at
concrete results.
Brainstorming Techniques

With every method of brainstorming, the most important thing to

remember is to follow the rule of quantity over quality. Brainstorming is
aided by accepting all ideas, however seemingly unrealistic or irrelevant
they might be. The goal is to create a large enough pool from which to
pull the best ideas or combine ideas for the best solution or strategy.
Brainstorming Techniques
Brainwriting Each group member is told to
anonymously write down several ideas
on post-it notes or index cards.
Keeping ideas anonymous serves two
important purposes: First, it prevents
idea anchoring and any personality
bias that may arise. Second, it
provides a way for more introverted
http://www.innovationmatrix.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/brainstorming-2019.jpg
teammates to still contribute to
ideation.
Brainstorming Techniques
Brainwriting

The result is a broader range of ideas that may not have surfaced if
teammates were to brainstorm collectively. Ideas are then shared at
random with the rest of the group, who offer feedback and critique each
idea. As an alternative, ideas can also be collected and sorted by a
team leader or management team. The overlying goal of brainwriting is
to separate idea generation from discussion.
Brainstorming Storming
Six Thinking Hats

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dyiV39hPBtA/hqdefault.jpg

The Six Thinking Hats technique relies on our cognitive ability to consider
alternative perspectives. It begins with six different hats of varying colors with
corresponding purposes or perspectives:
Brainstorming Techniques
Six Thinking Hats

White Hat: The neutral White Hat considers

objective facts and figures and is used at the
meeting’s commencement to secure
everyone’s understanding of all relevant
information about the problem or issue at
hand.

Red Hat: The passionate Red Hat is used to check

the group’s gut reaction to an idea or to
encourage the team to express emotions
freely.
Brainstorming Techniques
Six Thinking Hats

Black Hat: This critical and skeptical hat

reveal the cautionary aspects of an idea
or solution. Think of it as the “devil’s
advocate,” whose role is to expose and
mitigate risk.

Yellow Hat: This warm and positive hat

focuses on the value of ideas. It acts as
a counterbalance to the skeptical
thinking of the Black Hat.
Brainstorming Techniques
Six Thinking Hats

Green Hat: This hat is all about creativity and

generating new ideas.

Blue Hat: The pragmatic Blue Hat sets agendas

and maps out the situation at the beginning
of the meeting. It also returns at meeting’s
end to summarize and formulate
conclusions and insights.
Brainstorming Techniques

5 Whys Analysis

If you’ve ever been interrogated by a toddler,

you know what the 5 Whys might sound like.
You give an answer to a question, only for it to
be followed by an increasingly urgent series of
“Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?”
https://www.taproot.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2245FC38580D539E1A.png

Truth be told, that toddler is onto something. Created by Taiichi Ohno, the 5
Whys analysis was made popular at Toyota as a standard process for root cause
analysis—getting to the heart of a problem.
Brainstorming Techniques

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Brainstorming Techniques
Starbursting

Like a reporter trying to discover the

pivotal information to a story, the
starbursting method of brainstorming
requires you to think about the who,
what, where, when, why, and how for
any new idea.

https://d2myx53yhj7u4b.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/IC-Starbursting.jpg
Brainstorming Techniques

Starbursting

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Brainstorming Techniques

Starbursting
Place your main idea at the center of a star diagram, labeling each point of
the star with those 5WH questions.

Next, develop a series of questions about your idea for each point.
Starbursting is popular among brainstorming methods because of its
exploratory nature: One question triggers another question, and before you
know it, you have the beginnings of a solid strategy within the answers to
those questions.
Brainstorming Techniques

Mind Mapping

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Brainstorming Techniques

Mind mapping

• Part of the challenge of brainstorming is trying to catch every idea

swirling through the air.
• Mind maps are a creative, non-linear diagram used to capture that
influx of ideas so you don’t miss anything.
• Start with a topic or question in the center of the mind map, and branch
off to include every participant’s thoughts.
Brainstorming Techniques
Rolestorming / Figure storming

Sometimes it’s best to consider

someone else’s point of view.
Considering how someone else
might approach a challenge is the
central concept behind rolestorming.
A related practice, figure storming
asks you to put yourself in the shoes
of a famous historical figure.
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Brainstorming Techniques
Gap filling
• Gap filling, also known as gap analysis, requires you to
identify your current state and your end goal and then
find gaps between the two states. It asks the question,
“How do we get from here to there?” Gap analysis is
especially helpful when it comes to problem solving
because it requires you to find workable solutions. https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.sK3Kr_81Y_Ha
UeoO_TI-6QAAAA&pid=Api&P=0&w=300&h=300

• Flowcharts or mind maps can help you grid out your gap analysis. Mark the
current state on one end and the ideal state on the other. Then team members
will understand what they're working toward and start contributing ideas in the
middle to fill the gap.
Brainstorming Techniques

Brain-netting

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Brainstorming Techniques
Brain-netting
• Brain-netting has become a popular brainstorming technique in the
modern workspace, where virtual collaboration and remote teams are
much more common. Email communication can be effective but can
take too much time and can be more formal than needed.

• The way teams go about virtual collaboration can vary—team leaders

may ask a general question like “What do we want our customers to
experience?” and have teammates contribute their responses, or teams
may engage in other techniques mentioned in this piece including
rolestorming, reverse brainstorming, and rapid ideation.
Brainstorming Techniques

Round Robin
To engage in this brainstorming technique,
begin with having everyone sit in a circle. A
team leader or facilitator will then pose a
question or offer a request for ideas and have
everyone in the circle contribute one by one.
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BxHN43gNzIgHaDt&pid=Api&P=0&w=366&h=183

This strategy is great for middle- to large-sized teams who may have quieter
team members or for any team with noticeable imbalance in creative
contribution.
Brainstorming Techniques
Rapid Ideation
Operating within a time limitation can often
produce higher quality work. Indeed,
Parkinson’s Law teaches us that “work
expands so as to fill the time available for its
completion.” Rapid ideation uses this
phenomenon to its advantage: By setting a
time limit on team members to contribute as https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.fGFpGBgkK0Q
Wrid0hj5XBQAAAA&pid=Api&P=0&w=321&h=161

many ideas or solutions as possible, team

managers can maximize productivity and
results.
Brainstorming Techniques
Rapid Ideation
Rapid ideation works well for a few different types of workers—for teams
who dislike meetings, or who tend to get sidetracked, rapid ideation is a
great way to approach the brainstorming stage of project execution.
Brainstorming Techniques

Reverse
Brainstorming

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Most brainstorming techniques ask participants to solve a problem. Reverse

brainstorming has participants cause a problem. Rather than forming solutions to a
problem, reverse brainstorming has a facilitator ask a question like “How can we
cause this problem?” Responses are then recorded and used as springboards to
ideate a solution by working through the responses backwards.
Brainstorming Techniques

Reverse Brainstorming
Reverse brainstorming is a powerful way to open up new solutions to
recurring problems: By challenging participants to work backwards,
certain insights that may have been hard to imagine normally become
crystal clear from a new perspective.
Brainstorming Techniques

Stepladder Brainstorming
This interesting style of
brainstorming was developed in
1992 and involves teammates
sharing their ideas individually
before being influenced by the https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.EQauorak4hLBzHd_s7u6IgHaCz&pid=Api&P=0&w=409&h=156

group.

The process starts with a facilitator posing a question or problem to

the entire group and then having almost every group member exit
the room, leaving two members present.
Brainstorming Techniques
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis isn't exclusively a brainstorming technique: It's a strategic
planning exercise that you can use to evaluate a product, project, person,
or business.

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Brainstorming Techniques
SWOT Analysis
However, it may be valuable to focus your brainstorm with this mindset.
SWOT stands for:
• Strengths: How does the product, project, or business dominate and stand
out from its competitors?
• Weaknesses: What are the flaws that can hurt or put the product, project, or
business in jeopardy?
• Opportunities: What opportunities could the business capitalize on?
• Threats: What are the possible downfalls lurking for the product, project, or
business?
Planning a Successful
Multimedia Project
Planning a Successful Multimedia Project
Have you ever considered working on a multimedia project, but
didn’t know where to get started? Or how to finish?

Here are some tips for how to go about planning and creating
an effective project
Planning a Successful Multimedia Project
Plan early, plan often: Things to consider.
The first keys to a successful project are to know where you are
starting from, and what the project should accomplish when it’s
completed. Here are the considerations you may wish to make
when planning your project.
Planning a Successful Multimedia Project
Plan early, plan often: Things to consider.
1) Who is the audience for your project?

Think about your target age range, and how it affects the complexity of
visuals and vocabulary. Consider the background of people who might see
your project, and the types of references that will be well-understood. Also,
think about any special interest groups who your project might be targeted
towards, and the sort of information those groups might find important.
Planning a Successful Multimedia Project
Plan early, plan often: Things to consider.

2) Consider the circumstances for your project

. Multimedia takes time, and usually, quite a lot of it, so be sure that you
are thinking about a project that you will be able to accomplish in the time
frame that you have. In general, still images and video with relatively few
cuts and trims can be done in a short time-frame.
Planning a Successful Multimedia Project
Plan early, plan often: Things to consider.
3) Write down the message, or intended take-away point, for
your project.

This may require a bit of thinking, but ultimately, when someone is done
experiencing your work, there ought to be something that they are thinking. It
could be as simple as “Wow, I wish I was there,” or “I really ought to recycle,”
or “So that’s how that works.” Or maybe, you want to create a certain specific
feeling, give the user a certain experience, or open up avenues for thought
and discussion.
Project Planning
Working as a Team
• Rule No. 1: Working in a team does not have
to be contentious.

• “Disagreement is different from disrespect.”

• (Credit: Jennifer George-Palilonis, The Mulimedia Journalist)
Project Planning
Where to Start: Organize
• Configure collaboration tools to make your lives easier.
• Share deadlines, documents, schedules.
- Google Drive offers: Calendar, documents,
spreadsheets, forms & more.
Virtual Meetings: Skype, Google Hangouts
Project Planning
Where to Start
• Pick a great story. (Easy, right?)
• Pick something that lends itself to multimedia treatment: text,
video, photo, audio, interactive.
• Decide on Your Focus (This may change!)
• What’s your story?
• Why would your audience care?
• What’s the goal?: Inform, enlighten, educate, “edutainment,” or
just tell a powerful/interesting story.
Project Planning
Good Multimedia Stories:
• Usually include strong visuals, action.
• Have something that can be illustrated with an interactive
graphic or animation
• Have compelling character(s):
• People who can tell their story.
• Have an emotional component (great for photos, audio,
video.)
Project Planning
Good MM: Not Redundant
• No: Text version of a story • Yes!: Elements should
accompanied by a video complement and support
clip that essentially tells the story.
the same story.
Project Planning
Best MM Packages: Non-linear
• User choose how to navigate the story.

Where to Start: Next…

• Identify what you need to produce to tell the story.
• Text, Video, Photos, Map, Data Visualization
• Decide who will produce all of this stuff
• Divide up the jobs
Project Planning
Where to Start: Next…
Reality Check
This will help you:
1. Set deadlines, identify holes, be realistic.
2. Identify equipment, software, etc. required.
ARTICLES AND REFERENCES
• Almarabeh, H. & Amer, E. (2015). The Effectiveness of Multimedia Learning Tools in
Education. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290429349
• Annan, N.K. (n.d.) Introduction to Multimedia
• Collington, M (2016). Animation in Context: A Practical Guide to Theory and Making. Fairchild
Books. USA
• Costello, V (2017) Multimedia Foundations: Core Concepts for Digital Design / New York :
Routledge
• Frederiksen, D. (2012). The Online Vide Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Start
Promoting Your Business with Video. Emeryville, CA
• Godfrey, R. (n.d.) New Wine in Old Bottles: Multimedia Design Methodology.
• Hodges, P. etal. (2017). Four Criteria for Design Theories. She Ji. Retrieved from:
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/she-ji-the-journal-of-design-economics-and-innovation
ARTICLES AND REFERENCES
• Irving, D.K (2016). Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses
• Lidwell, W. (2013) Universal Principles of Design. 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence
Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design.
RockPort Publishers, Massachusetts.
• Liu, M, Jones, C. & Hemstreet, S. Interactive Multimedia Design and Production Process.
Research on Computing in Education, 088886504, Spring98, Vol. 30, Issue 3
• Mou, T. (January, 2015). Creative Story Design Method in Animation Production Pipeline.
Retrieved from : https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296089619
• Pollard, N. (n.d.).How to Pitch a project. Retrieved from:
http://njoubert.com/assets/thirdparty/pollard-howtopitchaproject.pdf
• Shiratuddin, N, & Supian, J.J. (2008). Multimedia Development Methodologies Matrix,
Knowledge Management International Conference, KMICE, Malaysia. 10-12 June 2008.
• Wales, L. (2017). The Complete Guide to Film and Digital Production: The People and The
Process. Talor and Francis