Essentials for Multimedia Delivery - Software

With your delivery it is also important to consider the software required for the client to view your application.

If your application is saved as a .swf file, then the user will require Flash Player to view it. This is more of a problem with mobile devices, as mobile devices often do not have flash, and even when they do it has limited functionality. So the .swf file cannot then contain any media which is beyond the flash player that the client will have.

Will the user require a web browser to view them, and will it have to be a specific browser? It would be more convenient to open it to all browsers, or certainly provide an easy method to download the latest version of the required browser, a hyper link for example.

The best solution if you should require specific software to run it would be something built into your application that will download and install all required software to view the content. A hyper link is easier to develop, but user's appreciate when the legwork is done for them, and are generally put off using an application if it means having to do a lot of maintenance before they can even use it.

So it is important to either try and make the application ready compatible with the clients software, or instead implement a method of updating their software for them.

Essential for Multimedia Delivery - Hardware

Even before the development of your application it is important to think about the delivery.

Will you be delivering to a mobile device, or to a desktop computer, a DVD or Blu-Ray player or a touch screen terminal.

It has to be made with that delivery in mind, and if there are multiple delivery platforms then you have to decide if the program will be scalable so one application works on all platforms, or if separate applications need to be constructed with common content where possible.

The reasons why this is so important is firstly because of the method of interaction the user will have with the application. A mobile phone may not use a touch screen interface, so you have to program it for whatever interaction method that phone uses, whether it be joystick, touch pad or digital keys. If developing for a desktop computer how many mouse buttons is a user likely to have? Would it be 2 or 3 buttons? Is it really necessary to make all these interactions with the mouse? Especially if the user is unlikely to have so many buttons.

The 2nd issue is what resolution is the interface going to fit into? If you're interface is too big the user will have to pan to see all the content and buttons. So all these questions are important to ask a client so you can decide

Another scenario, is when it is possible to know the exact hardware the application will be delivered on. If you are making an application for a school the computer hardware will usually have a common specification. So you can develop your application with a common resolution and interaction in mind.

The Essentials for Multimedia Development - Software

It is very important to have capable software when developing multimedia applications.

When developing, whether it be an application, website or CD ROM, it is very rare to be able to do so with only 1 program. It is most common to have several different types of application to produce all the different types of media.

For an example you may use Photoshop for images, and Premiere to edit videos.

Typically you would need at least 3 programs depending on your end product. Lets say for a moment that you are designing a CD ROM application. In this application you are showing information about your local town, but you want to show as many aspects to your town as possible. This will firstly require text. This can be typed in a word processor prior to entering in the final product. So that as you edit the application your text is backed up separately. Then to add images of the area, you would use image editing software like Photoshop, GIMP or Corel Photopaint to adjust colours or whatever other editions you would like to make. If you wanted to add video, lets say of local events, then you would use Adobe Premiere or Final Cut. If you wanted to add sound and wish to edit that in some way then there are programs like Adobe Soundbooth and Logik for that. Most importantly you need a program to create the application with, Adobe Flash is one of the best options for this. Finally you need software to burn the application onto the CD such as Roxio or Nero.

So already you have a whole list of software you may need to create a CD ROM application.

Application Creation - Flash
Image Editing - GIMP
Video Editing - Premiere
Audio Editing - Soundbooth
Word Processing - Open Office
CD Burning - Roxio

It is important to think about this before you begin creating an application, so you do not hit a wall and have to buy software in mid production. It is also a budget issue if you have to buy software you didn't originally budget for.

This is why it's helpful to use free software where possible, such as GIMP and Open Office.They are powerful programs that are completely free, and may be better for your purpose than high priced alternatives.

The Essentials for Multimedia Development - Hardware

There are various piece of hardware that can be used for multimedia development. First of all a computer is a very essential piece of equipment these days in multimedia. The majority of work is done digitally via a computer.

Other pieces of hardware that can be important are camera's. That could be in the form of a digital photo camera or digital video camera. Which then allows you to include both images and video to your work.

Scanners can also help you to add images that you have hard copies of images you would like to use. They can also be used to add text from a hard copy to your work without the need to retype it, providing you have software that will do that.

Keyboards are also essential in entering text, which even despite shifts in computing power, text is still one of the most effective elements.