Principles of Interactive

Media Authoring
U N I T 6 0 & 1 - H A R RY L I S T E R

Authoring

Definition
Web authoring is a category of software that allows the user to develop a website in a desktop publishing format. The
software will generate the required HTML coding for the layout of the web pages based on what the user designs.
Typically, the user can toggle back and forth between the graphical design and the HTML code and make changes to the
web page in either the design of the accompanying code.
Web authoring can be done either online or offline depending on what applications you use. Some online applications
include sites like weebly.com, squarespace.com, and wix.com. Some of the offline authoring applications that are
available are applications like Dreamweaver, and Director.

Example of Weebly.com and the Dreamweaver programme logo.

Interactive Media Authoring Tools

Typically authoring tools require less technical knowledge to master and are used exclusively for applications present a
mixture of textual, graphical and audio data. Multimedia authoring tools are tools for making a complete multimedia
presentation where users usually have a lot of interactive controls.
Director is a multimedia authoring tool that allows you to create interactive CD-ROM presentations, dynamic HTML
pages and flash projects.
Examples of other Authoring programmes:
Microcosm

Question Mark
Emblaze Creator
Flash
Flash 3.0
Hyper Studio
Example of the Director programme running.

Planning
When planning my multimedia product there are numerous things that I need to take into consideration. These include:
What I have done in
each part of the
creation of the product.
Software skills
diary

Where have I
retrieved the images
and GIF animations
from

Sources diary

What piece of
software I will use
to create my
product

planning

12 different activities to
chose
What I will include in
my product (what
activities will be
offered, what the
name of the 3 sub
headings will be etc.)

3 different
subheadings
with 4 activities
to each
subheading

Where I will
collect my
information
from

Assets collection
What type images I will
be using in the product

What animations will

be used in the product.
What website I have
visited with web links

What buttons I will include

in my product for
navigation around my
product

What video I will use in

the product and where
in the product I will be
using them

Design
My product will use the colours:

Blue
Green
Yellow
My background will be plain light blue as I dont want it to take the attention away from the main
product. Each heading will be at the top of each page in the middle to make the product look
centred.
Each of my pages will be designed and laid out in the same way to make the product look more
professional and tidy. The only page that will be designed differently is the opening screen as
there is only one of them and it needs to look appealing as it is the first page people will see. All
navigation buttons will be made clear and easily accessible.

Development
Development is considered one of the main parts when creating a multimedia product. It is vital
that the development of the product is correct and at the best possible standard. The
development stage is where all of the designing and planning come together. The development
stage includes documents that have been produced. The documents would have been created
before the actual production of the multimedia product. Development documents such as
storyboards will show all of the final elements of the product.
The advantage of using storyboards are the different elements can be sketched and yet even at
this stage they can be changed. If required you could change things like:
Colours
Text
Graphics
All over design of the product

Production
Production is the stage in which I will be creating and completing my final product. The stage
includes bringing it all my assets and skills that I have learned and collected over time together
and making it all into a product. During the production of my product all I will be required to do is
put everything that I have done and make it into my final product and test it as I go along so that
is completely to the clients requirements.

Applications

Uses
An application is a program that a user can access for numerous reasons whether that is:
Entertainment
Presentations
Games
Education
Computer based training
Assessment etc.
The user can use applications whether they want to learn new things, be entertained, and many more
reasons. An application is a good way for the user to do what they want because they can be
downloaded onto your Mobil device and you can access it anywhere. Some applications will require
you to have an internet connection but most dont. Above are some examples of the layout of
applications on a phone. Applications can be received from a another larger app like Google play. Or
the app can be downloaded from a website.

Entertainment
The purpose a entrainment application is to get the user engrossed and entertained. Entertainment
sources can come I many different forms and verities. Theses include:

Games
Video
DVDs
Audio tapes
CDs
The ways we view media is constantly changing as technology grows. Digital versatile disk or DVD
disk. A single sided DVD can store up 4.7 GB od data and duel layer DVD can hold 8.4 GB. DVD are
especially useful for storing data that contains video footage because it will require a large capacity.
Blu-ray discs are designed to store high definition video so the disc has as much 50 GB of storage.

Marketing
Applications can be used in marketing in the form of online shopping with apps on the market
such as Amazon and ebay. It is easy to make purchases straight from your phone. There are also
apps that have been created by other retail companies such as Topman and asos. There are many
different types of retail and most of them have apps for each company which in turn makes the
company more money.

Presentations
This type of application software sometimes called presentational graphics is used to create a sequence of words, pictures
that can tell a story or assist a speech or public presentation with portraying information. Presentation software can be
divided into business presentation software and the more general multimedia authoring tools. Some products often have
characteristics of both.
They are many types of presentational software applications such as Microsoft PowerPoint and lotuss freelance graphics.
They are sold stand-alone or can come as part of office-oriented suites or packages of software. There are many other
popular software applications such as adobe persuasion, astound, Asymetrix compel, Corel presentations etc.
Business presentation software is quick and easy to learn and use. Multimedia authoring software will enable me to
create a presentation which includes audio and video as well as the obvious information and graphics.

Games
Games are a vital type of interactive media. Games are so often used as ways of education because it is something that young people
enjoy. Where games are most often used for entertainment purposes they can be used to educate people. When the person is able to
interact with the software then learning the important information becomes fun and the user will be more persuaded to use it. When they
enjoy learning then they will be able to learn better.
Virtual reality
A virtual reality programme presents you with multi-sensory information and 3D effects in real-time. When you interact with a virtual
reality program you have a sense of being completely immersed in it. Many museums and institutions now offer virtual tours of their
buildings on their websites and these give you the impression of walking through the actual museums, making your own decisions about
where to go.
Virtual reality can be used to simulate real events, such as flying an aeroplane. The main advantage of this is that pilots can be presented
with what look like dangerous situations, and learn how to deal with them, but their lives are not at risk.

Education
There are many applications that are made with full purpose of education. Apps like Gojimo use
facts and question to help teenagers revise for specific GCSE exams and keeps a score on how
many questions they have got correct so that it can motivate them to do more questions. Usually
in multimedia product nowadays programs are user-drive(the user can control what they do in
the program)and they will not have any time restrictions giving them as much time as they need
to learn. Through out the existents of educational applications it has been proven that
multimedia teaching resources have helped many student to understand the subjects they are
studying better. It has also been proven that the students that use the applications remember a
lot of the information as well.

Computer-based Training
Computer based training is an interactive method of learning that will provide the learner with a series of self paced,
hands-on, web-based courses. Computer-based training offers a range of skill which are:

Technology
Managerial
Supervisory curricula
Technology curricula contain courses for people like IT beginners and IT professionals. Technology courses include
training in Microsoft office software, macromedia, adobe, security, internet basics, how to create a web page etc.

Managerial and supervisory curricula contain courses that offer business skills, human resources and workplace
compliance. Some of the courses that are offered include
Communication
Diversity
Leadership
Team building

Assessment
There are many types of assessment types that can be done whether thats physical or mental
assessment. A good example is a driving assessment. Students when learning to drive are required to
undertake physical assessment when they are actually behind the wheel or mental assessment when
they are online and completing questions about what they should do in situations and what to look
for. Assessments are a good way to analyse and test a persons ability when doing something. There are
many more examples of assessment are:
Educational assessment

Health assessment
Nursing assessment
Risk assessment
Tax assessment
Etc.

Format

Website
Websites are used worldwide by millions of people everyday. Lots of businesses use websites as they are so popular with
the public and easily accessible. Websites can be used for everything from education, leisure and shopping. A website is
hosted on a web server like Google and Bing. Theses are accessible via a network such as the internet or a private local
area network through an internet address known as a uniform resources locator.
A website can give the user access to:
Information
Graphics
Video
Audio
Web links

Purchase produce etc.

Example of Topman.co.uk and MyMaths.co.uk.

Information Kiosks
An information kiosk is a computer terminal that provides access to information and applications for
communication, commerce, entertainment and education. Early information kiosks sometimes resembled a
telephone booth but can also be used while sitting on a bench or chair. Information kiosks are typically
placed in very busy places such as hotels lobbies, airports and large shopping centres.
An example of this is the Trafford centre uses information kiosks to help customers locate the shops that
they want to go in.
Information kiosks are very useful because they can be used to give information of any kind to the recipients
that wants it.

Example of an information kiosk within an airport.

Interactive TV
Interactive TV is an application that allows the user to interact with the television content as
they view it. A well known company example is MX telecom. MX telecom provides it customers
with unified interfaces to the full spectrum of modern telecommunication, from SMS to MMS to
Voice and Video. For those wishing to couple the interactive potential of these gateway
platforms with the unique medium of television, MX telecom offers the MX telecom interactive
television platform.

Handheld Devices
A handheld device is a mobile device that allows you to access internet, games etc. Some example of
handheld devices are a mobile phone, IPod, mp3 player, IPad. The main feature of most handheld
devices is the ability to make contact with other people elsewhere. The most common, mobile
phones allow you ring the person so you can have a physical conversation with them without them
actually being there, text allows you to type the words and then send it to someone. The best thing
about text is you are not forced to respond immediately. Hand held devices can also allow you to play
games, watch videos, listen to audio tracks etc. handheld devices allow you to download other main
applications which will allow you to do various other things like keep track of a document, access
social media sites and so on. Some handheld devices are made for a specific reason for example a PS
Vita as shown on the bottom is made purposely for gaming.

Assets

Sound
Sound can be used in a lot of different ways when it comes to creating my product whether that
be, in the form of music, sound clips, sound effects, or just sound that is on a video. If I am going
to use music I would need to make the product so that the user can mute and un-mute the music
if needed. I also need to take into consideration the fact that my music might not be appropriate
for my product therefore the user might not enjoy the product as much if they dont enjoy the
music. Including sound in the product makes it just that bit more fun and interactive but if the
music or sounds that you use are not that enjoyable then the product no longer possess that
ability to be fun and attractive to the target audience.
Example sound
icon that you
can press to play
button

An example mute button

that you can use to stop
the music from playing

Text
Text can be used in various ways. Text can come across as information,
titles, sub-headings, etc. Text can also come in a range of different sizes,
fonts and colours. There are lots of different styles of fonts, these allow
the user to put there own spin on whatever they are writing/creating. Text
is mainly used to give any information that is required for a specific subject.
In my product I will be using text in all of my headers, subheading and titles
that I may have. The main thing that I will be using it for is to give the user
information about each of the individual activities that the user can take
part in.

Video
Video =s can be used for many different things e.g. advertisement, entertainment etc. In my
product I will be using videos to show what a select number of my chosen activities will consist
of, for example how on the swimming with dolphins page I will have a video of someone
swimming with dolphins to make the activity look enjoyable and make the user want to do it. I
will be using 3 videos within my product and I will need to make sure that each video is the
correct size so that they are not too big, I will need to check that all videos and button controls
run smoothly within my product, I will do this during the testing stage after the completion of
my product.

Vector Graphics
Vector graphics are pictures made up of just solid lines. Graphics are different
from images because an image that you take with a camera but a graphic is
something that you designed and created. I will include many different vector
graphics in my product to give it that bit more fun.
Often vector graphics will make it just that little bit more aesthetically pleasing.

Animations
Animations are moving pictures that can make a product look even better as it
isnt just plain and simple. I will be using 3-4 different animations within my
product, they will be either animated GIFs or slideshows. Animations can be
recorded on either analogue media, such as a flip book, motion picture film,
video tape, or on digital media, including formats such as animated GIF, Flash
animation or digital video. To display it, a digital camera, computer, or projector
are used.

Images
Images are pictures that have been taken by a camera. I will be using
lots of images on each page of my product to make the product
aesthetically pleasing.

Interactivity and Control

Buttons
In my product I used buttons to allow the user to locate and navigate their way around my
product. Buttons will allow the user to move around the product easily and quickly. To make
sure that my product looks professional enough and to ensure that the user enjoys the
aesthetics of the product I need to make sure that I design the buttons so that they look nice
and fit in with the overall design of the product and also I will need to place the buttons in a
place so that the user can clearly see them and where the buttons will take them.
Within my product I have used both an array of premade buttons and buttons that I created
myself using Photoshop. I made sure to create the buttons so that they dont look to bold and
take up too much of the page so that it look aesthetically pleasing to the user.

Events
An event is a certain thing that happens within the product that allows the user to do things that
animations dont e.g. using the hide from cursor behaviour.
Within my product I didnt use any events as I didnt feel they made the product look any better
and they were not in the clients brief.

Hotspots
An image map is a graphic that has many hotspots or transparent hyperlinks to other objects or
websites. For example in a photograph showing a variety of different items. When you click on the
specific item it will take you a page separate for that specific product that you many want to view.
Hotspots are a very effective means of concealing the links between
each of the pages.
Advantages
Hotspots are very useful so that you have no visible buttons.
Sometimes buttons can make a page look less aesthetically pleasing
therefore getting rid of the buttons will mean that it looks better.
Disadvantages
the user may not be able to locate the way of accessing if you dont
include a indication of how they will be able to access the information
that they will want to know.

Scripting
I have used scripting all the way through my product. Scripting is when you
programme certain things within the product to do different things. E.g.
Programming a close button to close down the whole product. I will be scripting
my whole product so that it runs smoothly without any errors. I will programme
each pages with a go to the Frame code which will make the product stop on
that page until the next button Is pressed.

Timelines
During the creation of my product I used a timeline to make sure that all of my
assets were in the right places and had all of the correct effects and times on
them. A timeline within Director is made up of things called sprites, sprites are
basically each different objects you have placed onto the stage in a bar form and
it shows you when that asset is due to leave the stage by how the bar is placed
on the screen.
Example of a
cluster of sprites
with the red line.

Slideshows
A slide show is a presentation of a series of still images on a projection screen or
electronic display device, typically in a prearranged sequence. Each image is
usually displayed for at least a few seconds, and sometimes for several minutes,
before it is replaced by the next image. The changes may be automatic and at
regular intervals or they may be manually controlled by a presenter. The current
software I am using to create this slideshow is Microsoft PowerPoint.

Effects
There are many different effects and transitions hat can be added to my product
to make a sprite look better e.g. the way it enters onto the stage or exits off it.
Effects make the product look even more professional and some can even make
the product interactive like a rollover member change which changes the picture
your mouse is hovered over to a different picture.

Limitations

Size and Download Time

Size is how big a file is. The size of a file is very important during the making of
my product because if a file is too large it could make the whole product crash,
videos are the files that can mainly take up a lot of space as they are usually the
bigger files. I will need to use Premier to edit the videos I download to a shorter
length so they have a smaller file size.
Download time is the amount of time taken for you to download the product,
the larger the product size the longer it will take to download.

Type of Content

The type of content I will be using in my product is images, videos, animations

and text. The reason I am using all of these is because my product s to be a
multimedia product therefore would have met the criteria by using the different
types of media. I will collect all of my assets on a set date in the future.

Requirement for Plug-ins

Employer Expectations

Maths and English

I have used Maths in different aspects of this unit. The places I have used maths the most are on
tasks like spreadsheets when we made our budget document in assignment 2 we had to use
maths to be able to work out our prices and data for the assignment. I also used maths when I
had to set the dimensions for the stage within Director and within dope sheets to work out the
frame rate and when the frames end.

When using English I have constantly been using it because it is what makes up everything but
the main places I concentrated more on English was when using the spell checking software on
the computer to check my spelling and punctuation. Proof-reading is where you re-read
something and make any changes to things like; spelling, grammar, punctuation etc. I used peer
reviews when finishing a piece of work to get someone else's input on things like my use of
English and any other problems with the task so that I could change it.

ICT and Communication

ICT is a very big part of any unit as it is the main part of creative media. I concentrated my ICT skills on
task like planning and designs during assignment 2, planning and designs were usually done on
software like Photoshop or PowerPoint when creating mood boards and graphics. File management is
where I placed all relevant files into folders to group them together to be able to find a certain file a
lot easier. After each assignment we gave each other some peer feedback on our assignments, after
this we read the feedback and make any relevant changes to our assignment and this usually consists
of the use of ICT skills.
Communication skills consist of things like research completed, and designs. Designs are storyboards
and dope-sheets, both of these help with the designs of the product as they allow you to sketch up
whatever you want to see what it would look like on screen and you can make any changes onto the
storyboards until you like it so that it saves time on the actual creation of product. PowerPoints are
used to make things like mood boards or reports like this one. A pitch is a presentation you give to
someone e.g. the client where you explain all aspects of your research into things like budget and
competitor research, we didnt do a pitch for this unit but we have on unit 3.

Punctuality and Work-Placement

To extend my punctuality skills and make sure I kept to the time limit I made things like
timelines, Gantt charts and a ILP. A timeline is where you write up every task that needs to be
done and by what date. A Gantt chart is a chart made within Excel to help set out how long each
task will take to complete. An ILP (Independent Learning Plan) set out what each task is and
which lesson I need to start and complete them by. By attending lessons I will be punctual and
have more chance of meeting deadlines. A client meeting is where you speak with the client and
find all the small details of the task they want you to complete, by doing this it allows you to
finish a task more smoothly as you should know everything you need to do.
If I get relevant work placement for what I would like to do in the future it will be very good work
experience and should teach me many things I would need to know for the future. I should learn
a lot of new skills as I havent worked before so I may learn things like how to deal with
problems within the workplace and customer service and attitude. Work placement will help me
with personal development as well as it help me to learn new things.

Legal and Ethical

To make sure that the picture I have used were not copyrighted by anyone so
that I dont get into trouble for using them within my product. Ethical
considerations I had to stick to were things like making sure that I try to include
many different nationalities and disabilities within my product as if I didnt
people may feel like I'm being prejudice. I had to make sure I represented all
different types of people in a good light so that no one could get offended.

Conclusion
From all of the skills stated above I feel that these make me highly employable
as I have a new wide range of skills which employers would be looking for. After
this course I will also have my qualification which would help a lot more in
finding a job along with my work experience.