Multimedia is content that uses a combination of various forms of content (such as text, audio, images, animation, video, and interactive data). It contrasts with media that uses only rudimentary computer displays, such as text or traditional forms of printed material.
Multimedia can be recorded and played back, displayed, interacted or processed by various devices (computerized and electronic), and can also be part of a live performance. Multimedia devices are electronic multimedia gadgets used to store and play such content.
Terminology
The term multimedia was coined by singer and artist Bob Goldstein to promote the opening of his LightWorks at L'Oursin show in Southampton, Long Island in July 1966.
On August 10, 1966, Richard Albarino of Variety borrowed terminology by creating an ad for the latest music show. Two years later, in 1968, the concept of “multimedia” was reiterated in the documents.
Over the years, the word has acquired different meanings. In the late 1970s, this term, referring to presentations consisting of multi-projection slide shows, was confined to the soundtrack. However, in the 1990s, the concept of multimedia technology acquired its current meaning.
In 1993, in the first edition of Multimedia: Creating This Work, Thay Wogan determined that it was any combination of text, graphics, sound, animation, and video that a computer plays. When you allow the user viewing these files to control this content, this is interactive multimedia. When a structure of related elements that a user can navigate through is provided, interactive multimedia becomes hypermedia.
The basic concepts of multimedia technology are as follows. In general use, the term refers to an electronically delivered combination of storage media, including video, still images, audio, and text so that they can be accessed interactively. Most of the content on the Internet today is included in this definition, understood by millions. Some computers that went on sale in the 1990s were called "multimedia" because they included a CD-ROM drive that allowed several hundred megabytes of video, image and audio data to be transferred. This era also contributed to the creation of multimedia CDs.
The term "video", if it is not used solely to describe a moving photograph, is ambiguous in multimedia terminology. This name is often used to describe a file format or presentation instead of “frames,” which indicate highlighted moving photos from an “animation” (rendered image in motion). The essence of the concept of multimedia sometimes causes some controversy.
Thus, multiple forms of information content are often not considered modern forms of audio or video. Similarly, individual forms of information content with common information processing methods (for example, non-interactive sound) are often called multimedia, possibly to distinguish between active and static media.
Main characteristics
A more detailed concept of multimedia and multimedia technologies may be as follows. The following types of content fall into this category.
Multimedia presentations can be viewed through a projector, as well as transmitted or played locally using a media player. The broadcast can be a live or recorded presentation. Broadcasts and recordings can be analog or digital electronic technologies. Digital online multimedia can be uploaded or streamed. Streaming data can be broadcast live or at the request of the user.
Multimedia games and simulations can be used in a physical environment with special effects, with the participation of several users on an online network or locally with a standalone computer, game system or simulator.
Various formats of technological or digital multimedia can be designed to improve user experience, for example, to simplify and accelerate the transfer of information.
Increased levels of interactivity are made possible by combining several forms of media content. Internet multimedia, the concept and definition of which is still ambiguous, is becoming more and more object-oriented and manageable. This allows you to use applications with innovation and personalization through collaboration with several forms of content over time. Examples of these options range from several forms of data on websites, such as photo galleries with images and headers (text) updated by the user, to animations or videos. This makes it clear why the concept of multimedia is ambiguous.
Categorization
Multimedia can be generally divided into linear and non-linear categories:
- Linear active content often develops without any navigation control for the user (for example, a movie presentation);
- Non-linear data uses interactivity to control loading and viewing (in video games or automatic learning on a computer). Hypermedia is an example of non-linear content.
Use and application
The concept of multimedia technology and its scope can be described as follows. It finds its use in various fields, including, but not limited to, advertising, art, education, entertainment, engineering, medicine, mathematics, business, research and spatial temporal applications. A few examples include the following areas.
Creative industry
Creative industries use the concept of multimedia for various purposes: from fine arts to entertainment, from journalism and the media to software services provided for any industry. An individual multimedia designer can cover a wide range of activities throughout his career.
Commercial use
A significant portion of the electronic old and new products used by commercial artists and graphic designers is multimedia. The basic concepts of this technology can be traced back to these works. So, bright presentations are used to attract attention to advertising. Business and network communications often develop creative services for their own promotion. Advanced multimedia presentations have long gone beyond simple slide shows for selling ideas or organizing training. Commercial multimedia developers can even be hired to develop applications for government and non-profit services.
Entertainment and Fine Arts
The concept of multimedia is widely used in the entertainment industry, especially for the development of special effects in films and animations (VFX, 3D animation, etc.) Multimedia games are a popular pastime today. They are software products available both on CD-ROM and on the Internet. Some video games constantly use multimedia features.
Applications that allow users to actively participate, and not just remain as passive recipients of information, are called interactive computer multimedia. The concept and examples of such content are ubiquitous. In contemporary art, multimedia artists work who are able to mix the use of different media, thereby ensuring interaction with the viewer. One of the most interesting examples is Peter Greenaway, who combines cinema with opera music and all kinds of digital media.
Another approach involves the creation of multimedia, which can be displayed in the traditional arena of fine art, for example, in a gallery. Although such display material may be unstable, the integrity of the content is as strong as on any traditional media. Digital recording material can be just as durable and infinitely reproducible with perfect copies every time.
Education
In education, the concept of multimedia technology is used to create computer-based training courses (mainly called CBTs) and reference books such as encyclopedias and almanacs. CBT allows the user to view a series of presentations, text on a specific topic and related illustrations in various information formats. Edutainment is a combination of education with entertainment, especially with multimedia.
Learning theory has expanded significantly over the last decade due to the introduction of multimedia. Several lines of research have evolved greatly. For example, the combination of cognitive load and multimedia learning has been recommended by many experts.
Using the theory of multimedia learning (MML), David Roberts developed a great practice of group lectures using PowerPoint, based on the use of full-size images in combination with the reduction of visible text (all text can be placed in the PowerPoint notes section). The method has been applied and evaluated in 9 disciplines. In each experiment, active learning was approximately 66% more effective than presenting the same material using only text and speech.
Education technology
The concept of multimedia and multimedia technologies can be expanded, especially in modern conditions. They provide students with alternative ways to acquire knowledge designed for learning across a variety of environments and platforms. This technology allows you to learn at your own pace, and at the same time gives teachers and teachers the opportunity to observe the individual abilities of each student. The ability of multimedia to be used in a multidisciplinary environment is structured around creating a practical learning environment using technology.
Lessons can be adapted to a specific subject, as well as personalized for different levels of students' knowledge on this topic. Learning content can be controlled using actions that use multimedia platforms. This type of training encourages interactive communication between students and teachers and opens up feedback channels, introducing an active learning process, especially with the predominance of new media and social networks. This technology has greatly influenced multimedia, since it is largely associated with the use of computers or other electronic devices and digital media, due to its capabilities in research, communication, problem solving through simulations and feedback capabilities.
Language communication
With the spread and development of international communication throughout the world, foreign languages have become an important way of communication between different people and cultures. Multimedia technology creates a platform on which to teach the language. The traditional form of teaching English as a second language (ESL) has changed dramatically with the predominance of new technologies, which facilitates the acquisition of skills. So, the latest tools and concepts have appeared.
Multimedia encourages users to learn more languages with audio, video and animation support. It also helps to create original contexts, since an important aspect of language learning is the development of grammar, vocabulary, and knowledge of pragmatics and genres. By improving thinking patterns, multimedia develops students' communicative competence, improving their ability to understand the language.
Journalism
Media companies around the world are trying to embrace a new phenomenon by introducing this practice in their work. Many major newspapers set a precedent for positioning in a globalized world.
News reports are not limited to traditional media. Freelance journalists can use various new media to produce multimedia materials. This attracts a global audience and allows the development of new methods of communication for both media producers and consumers. The concept and essence of multimedia tools can be studied with specific examples. Thus, the Common Language project, later renamed the Seattle Globalist, is an example of this type of multimedia journalism.
Engineering
Software engineers can use multimedia in computer simulations for anything from entertainment to learning. Multimedia for software interfaces is often performed in collaboration with creative professionals and software engineers.
Mathematical and scientific research
In mathematical and scientific research, multimedia is mainly used for modeling. For example, a scientist can look at the molecular model of a particular substance and manipulate it on the screen to arrive at a new substance.
Healthcare
In the field of medicine, doctors can study by looking at virtual manuals on surgery, and also using computers can predict how the diseases spread by viruses and bacteria affect the human body, and then develop methods to prevent this. Multimedia applications such as virtual operations also help doctors practice and gain experience.