Digital Media

1. Digital Media Dr. Jim Rowan ITEC 2110

2. Open Book Question! • What is one book that is meant to be read in a non-linear form?

3. But first…How to make a pdf on a Mac! Any file that is open on a Mac Pull File down to Print In the lower left hand corner of the print window Click “PDF” Then select “Save as pdf”

4. On the wiki… • You can save (and later download) • word files (.doc ) • powerpoint files (.ppt) • pdf files (.pdf) • audio files (.au .mpg & others; but not aiff) • video files (.mov & others) • image files (.jpg .png & others)

5. On the wiki… • You can display • Text (just type into the edit window) • image files (.jpg .png & others) • shortFormatHelp • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cheatsheet • longerFormatHelp • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_edit_a_page

6. Now for Chapter 1!

7. Telling a story • The telling of stories has existed as long as humans have been on earth. • So… how do you tell a story? • It depends on what media you are going to use… • Is it spoken to a live audience around a campfire? • Is it an audio recording that is played? • Is it written as text in a book or magazine? • Is it captured in a painting? • Is it told using pictures in a photo album? • Is it performed as a play on stage? • Is it recorded on video and played back? • Is it video that is streaming over the web? • Is it captured in the form of a video game?

8. The media you choose affects the way the story is told • If you are using printed text… • you must describe things well • If you are using still images… • you have to tell it visually by setting the scene • using Film/Video? • you have movingimages and sound... does the sound emphasize the moving image… • or the other way around? • Video game? • moving images accented with sound?

9. New Media/New Technology Consider if you had spent your life working with the SCROLL… and you were asked to change to the BOUND BOOK... HMMMmmmm... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek

10. So…Different Media?Different Affordances! • Affordances… a term from ecological psychology borrowed by Don Norman • different things afford different interaction • handles to pull door open • push plates to push door open • door levers rotate to open • door knobs… twist? hmmm… I hate fake door knobs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_psychology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Norman

11. Consider…the Scroll & the Book • The Scroll • can’t stack scrolls like books • can’t skip around except to beginning or end • but… reading flows without the interruption of pages • The Book • you can stack them • you can level a table leg with them! • but… the reading is interrupted by page turns • add a TOC & page numbers you can skip around • with index & page #s you can go to a specific place

12. the Scroll, the Book and now... • Web-based media • you can consume it in any order you like • links take you to a place (and back!) • does a book do this? • each page is in only one place… one change changes everyone’s version • Compare that to the Book • doesn’t allow this universal change • doesn’t take you back (no back button) • but you can stick a piece of paper or a finger in it to hold your place… or fold down the corner of the page • you can take notes in the margins

13. Web-based vs Book • yes, it does allow corrections immediately to everyone… • but no history is kept like you would have with book editions • you go back to “the same place” and it’s different... were you mistaken or did it change? • http://www.archive.org/index.php

14. Web-based vs Book • Did you read everything? • A book is easy just read from front to back • Hyperlinked web pages… no • Web-based also affords searching • You can Google it and find it!

15. Web-based vsBook • A book? Not so much.. • the Index will help… if the thing you are looking for is in the index • Ever read a book and think... where did I see this before? …and then reach for the search tool? …and then you feel kinda foolish?

16. New Media/New Technology Adoption • It takes time for conventions concerning usage to be formed… • Consider the history of Film... • At first there was no sound • then the sound was performed • then recorded sound was played with the film • With time… film developed its own unique forms Hitchcock told the story visually, long sweeping scenes Tarrentino accents the violence with rapid, quick cuts

17. New Media usage follows a predictable path • At first the new form tries to act like the old form… to make the new stuff look more familiar • With movies, Newsreels “copied” newspaper-like layouts • With computers, the desktop metaphor “copied” the office desk • Alan Kay, XEROX PARC • “The best way to predict the future is to invent it” • personal computer usage exploded • before desktop metaphor C:/ is all you got & few people used personal computers

18. So…What is Multimedia? • A mix of audio, film, graphics • these each address different senses • We are just beginning to understand what the possibilities are... • We are just beginning to understand how to best build multimedia stuff • A mix of animation and live action • 300, Sin City, Christmas Carol, Avatar • TV series 24 and the movie Phone Booth? • several scenes are played simultaneously

19. In this class • We are interested in media forms found on and transmitted across the Internet, how they work and how to manipulate them • We will build them as projects • audio • still images • bitmapped • vector graphics • moving images • video camera • 3D animation

20. Static vs Time-based media • Time-based • Media that changes over time • Film • Video • Audio • Static media • Media that doesn’t change over time • Pages in a book • Photos in an album • Images on a webpage

21. Media Linearity • Scroll - linear • Book – linear… broken, but linear • Must turn the pages • but… Table of Contents and Index allow some non-linearity • encyclopedia and dictionaries are media that are meant to be used in a non-linear manner • Film/Videotape - linear • DVD – primarily linear • Chapters allow some non-linearity

23. Media Nonlinearity • Supported through computer-based media • Takes the form of hypermedia • Web pages • links to other pages, other parts of pages • Interactive video games • you go to different parts of the game depending on your input

26. But is hypermedia interactive? • Yes… and No • Yes: Programs appear interactive, but only within the constraints placed on the interaction by the programmer and the interaction designer • Myst looked like a real world but you only had a few choices you could make • No: Improvisation (on the part of the user) can’t happen unless it is planned and provided for in advance by the interaction designer and the programmer

27. Interaction with computer-based media is through a user interface • Human Computer Interaction • This is my academic field • Taught here as ITEC 4130 • There are standard ways to interact with computer-based media • buttons • sliders • radio buttons • check boxes • pull-down menus • pop-up menus

28. Internet has broadened its scope • In the ’90s the internet was seen as a source... • you go to the internet to “look something up” • its use was seen to have an economic advantage… • you only have to put stuff in one place and everybody can get to it • Now it is also a transmission medium • streaming content: live radio • streaming content: view tv shows online

29. In Summary • Media is changing • Internet is changing • Affecting us socially • we send email to people who are in the same room • Giving us new capabilities ways to interact • mosquito ring tones • Challenging our views of legality • it’s on the web, can I use it without permission? • Challenging our view of appropriate behavior • spam for instance • Providing new uses and new interactions • This class is about media and how it works

30. Questions?