Chapter 4

Multimedia Authoring
Tools

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Chapter contents
Authoring System
use of authoring system
Multimedia Authoring Paradigms
Features of Authoring Tools
Types of Authoring Tools
Issues in Multimedia Application
Design

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What is Authoring System?

• Authoring is the process of creating

multimedia applications.
 It is assembly and synchronization of all the
media components that have been
prepared for final multimedia application.
 Two basic features:
Ability to create and edit a product
Presentation scheme for delivering product

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What is an Authoring Tools
• The tools by which various media
components are brought together
(integrated) into a structure and flow.

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• Authoring tools provide an integrated
environment for binding together different
elements of a Multimedia production
• An authoring system: is a program which has
pre-programmed elements for the development
of interactive multimedia software titles.

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Why should you use an authoring system?
• It Can speed up programming i.e. content development
and delivery
• Time gains i.e. accelerated prototyping
• The content creation (graphics, text, video, audio,
animation) is not affected by choice of authoring
system.
Authoring systems for multimedia applications are
designed for two primary target user groups:
• Professionals: who prepare documents, images,
audio and full-motion video clips for wide distribution.
• average users: who prepare documents and other
multimedia objects for stored messages or
presentations. 6
Authoring Tools
3-D and Animation Tools:
• These software provide 3D clip art object such as people,
furniture, building, car, airplane, tree, etc.
A good 3D modeling tool should include the following features:
• Ability to drag and drop primitive shape into screen
• Ability to create objects from scratch
• Ability to add realistic effects such as transparency, shadowing, etc.
• Multiple window that allow user to view model in each dimension
• Color and texture mapping
Examples:
-3Ds Max -Maya -Tinkercad
-Logo motion -Soft Image -Blender
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Sound Editing Tools
• They are used to edit sound (music, speech, etc).The user
can see the representation of sound in fine increment, score
or wave form.
• User can cut, copy, and paste any portion of the sound to
edit it.
• You can also add other effects such as distort, echo, pitch,
etc.
• Examples:
-sound forge
-Audacity
- Adobe Audition
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OCR Software
• These software convert printed document into
electronically recognizable ASCII character.
• It is used with scanners. Scanners convert printed
document into bitmap.
• Text area  ASCII text
• Bitmap area bitmap image

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Con’t…
Drawing Tool: used to create vector based graphics.
Examples:
-Adobe Illustrator
-Inkscape
-CorelDraw
Video Editing
• Animation and digital video movie are sequence of bitmapped graphic frames
rapidly played back. Some of the tools to edit video include:
-Adobe premier
- Canva Video Editor
- Cap cut
- OBS Studio
- Video shop
-Movavi Video Suite 17
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Multimedia Authoring Paradigms
• The authoring paradigm, or authoring
metaphor: is the methodology by which the authoring
system accomplishes its task.
• Most media integration tools will take or
use one of the following metaphors:
a) Movie screen metaphor
b) Slide show metaphor
c) Linked screens

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A. Movie screen metaphor
• Movie refers to the product of the
authoring:
• Linear/Interactive movie
• Also refers to authoring tools paradigm that
contains Cast/Score/Scripting
• Example: Macromedia Director
B. Slide show metaphor
• A linear presentation
• Example: PowerPoint
C. Linked Screens
• A group of scene(pictures) linked together

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Features of Authoring Tools
• Editing and organizing features.
• Programming features.
• Interactivity features.
• playback features.
• Delivery, cross-platform, and Internet playability
features.

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Editing and Organizing Features

• Authoring systems include editing tools to

create, edit, and convert multimedia
elements such as animation and video clips.
• The organization, design, and production
process for multimedia involves
storyboarding and flowcharting.

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Programming Features

• Visual programming with icons or objects is

the simplest and easiest authoring process.
• Visual authoring tools such as Author ware
and Icon Author are suitable for slide shows
and presentations.
• Authoring tools offer ‘very high level
language’ (VHLL) or interpreted scripting
environment.

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Interactivity Features
• Interactivity gives the end user control over
the content and flow of information in a
project.
• Simple branching:- is the ability to go to
another section of the multimedia production.
• Conditional branching:- is an activity
based on the results of IF-THEN decisions or
events.

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Playback features
• Ability to see and to test the ongoing or
the completed project.
Delivery, Cross-Platform, and Internet
Playability Features
• Delivering the project may require building a run-
time version of the project, using the multimedia
authoring software.
• Run-time version or standalone allows a project
to play back without the complete authoring
software and all its tools and editors.
Cross Platform:
• Ability to perform on all platforms including MAC and
Windows. 17
Types of Authoring Tools
• Card- and page-based tools.
• Icon-based, event-driven tools.
• Time-based tools.
• Object based tools.

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Card- and Page-Based Tools
• Card- and page-based authoring systems
provide a simple and easily understood
metaphor for organizing multimedia
elements.
• It contains media objects such as buttons,
text fields, and graphic objects.
• It provides a facility for linking objects to
pages or cards.
• Cards or pages combine to make up a book.
• Example Of Authoring Tools:
• HyperCard (Mac)
• Tool Book (Mac / Windows)
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Icon-Based, Event-Driven Tools
• Icons are gathered along the line.
• Provide visual development.
• Flow chart is created to show the organisation of
icons or elements:
 including activity list, results and done with dragging
the icon/elements along the lines
 each Icon represents a particular event – button,
graphics, text, video
• examples of authoring tools:
• Author ware(Mac/Windows)
• Icon Author (Windows)

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 Time-Based Tools
• Time-based tools are best suited for messages with
a beginning and an end.
• Some time-based tools facilitate navigation and
interactive control.
• The most popularly used.
• Using “timeline” for organizing activities
• Also using “framing” – timely adjusted depending
on the frame size
• Macromedia’s Director and Flash are time-based
development environments.

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Macromedia Director:
• Three important things that Director uses to
arrange and synchronize media elements:
• Cast: A multimedia database, contains still images,
sound files, text, shapes, scripts, movies, and other
Director files.
• Score : is a sequencer for displaying, animating,
and playing Cast members. Score is made of frames
and frames contain cast member.
• Lingo: is an object-oriented scripting language that
enables interactivity and programmed control.
It enables to control external sound and
video devices.
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• Macromedia Flash
• Can accept both vector and bitmap graphics
• Uses a scripting language called Action Script which
gives greater capability to control the movie.
• Flash is commonly used to create animations,
advertisements, to design web-page elements, to
add video to web pages, and more recently, to
develop Rich Internet Applications.

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Flash uses:
• Library: a place where objects that are to be re-
used are stored.
• Timeline: used to organize and control a movie
content over time.
• Layer: helps to organize contents. Timeline is
divided into layers.
• Action Script: enables interactivity and control of
movies

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 Object Based

• Support environment based on object.

• Every object is modified using properties &
modifiers
• The environment is based on ‘Hierarchy’ (section
and sub-section).
Cross-Platform Authoring tool
• Macintosh and Windows computers use different
schemes to manage text and colors.
• Text and color compatibility must be verified before
moving multimedia projects across platforms.

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 Issues in Multimedia Application Design
There are various issues in Multimedia
authoring:
1. Content design
2. Technical design
3. Visual design
1.Content Design:
• In multimedia, there are five ways to format and
deliver your message.
• You can write it, illustrate it, wiggle it, hear it,
and interact with it.
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Content design involve:
• Scripting (Writing)
• Graphics (Illustrating)
• Animation (Wiggling)
• Audio (Hearing)
• Interactivity (Interacting)

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 Scripting (Writing):

 Understand your audience and correctly

address them.
 Keep your writing as simple as possible.
(e.g., write out the full message(s) first,
then shorten it.)
 Make sure technologies used complement
each other

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Graphics (Illustrating):
 Make use of pictures to effectively deliver your
messages.
 Create your own (draw, (color) scanner, Photo
CD, ...), or keep "copy files" of art works.
 Color Themes - be consistent with the contents.

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Animation (Wiggling):
Types of animation:
• Character Animation - humanize an
object
• Highlights and Sparkles
• Moving Text
• Video - live video or digitized video

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Audio (Hearing):
 Types of Audio:
Music - set the mood of the presentation,
enhance the emotion, illustrate points
Sound effects - to make specific points,
e.g., squeaky doors, explosions, wind, ...
Narration - most direct message, often
effective

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Interactivity (Interacting):
• Types of Interactive Multimedia
Application:
• Menu driven
programs/presentations
• Hypermedia
• Simulations / Performance-
dependent Simulations

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2. Technical Design:
• Video Mode and Computer Platform
• Memory and Disk Space Requirement
• Delivery
3.Visual Design:
 Some factors that should be considers in
the visual design:
• Themes and Styles
• Pace and Running length
• Basic Layout

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Themes and Styles:
• Cartoon theme
• Traditional theme
• High tech theme
• Technical theme
Pace and Running length:
• Allow a block of text to be slowly read twice.
• Transition time should be an indication of real-
time.
• Running length.

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Basic layouts:
• make sure that the information delivery path in
the layout is smooth, not irregular/jumpy
• use headlines/subtitles, additional shapes,
buttons, fonts, backgrounds and textures to
enhance the visual appearance.

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THANK YOU

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