Chapter 3 Getting Started In Multimedia
Chapter Overview
Finding your place in the field
   Whart area of Multimedia am I good at, what tools do I have the most fun with? What creative areas am I good at? Hands on or manage others? Of what I am good at, what makes most money
   Tools of the trade
      What do I need to do the job right?
      Monitors
         Bigger is better.
            17 inch and .28 dot pitch is minimum
            When possible buy multisync so that you can change screen resolutions
      Sound Cards
         Buy Sound Blaster
               Since they are the standard there will be no compatability problems on your part
      Scanners
         Bigger is not better, in fact it is just more expensive
               300 DPI should be more thatn enough unless you are doing printing press output
               Optical resolution how many DPI it has
               Interpolated resolution - what the software will convert it to for higher quality work.
      Digital Cameras
         Do research on the best that is available
               Look for different ways to transfer the files (memry stick, cable, floppy)
               minimum size for pictures is 640x480
      Video Capture Cards
         Look for 640x480 as minimum with 30 frames per second video capture as well as video playback
             Make sure it has print to video capability.
             Make sure the software will capture or export to a non proprietery format
      Hard Disk Drive Space and Removable Large-Capicity Storage
        Multimedia eats up sapce so the more hard drive space the better.
             needs to have fast data-transfer rates
            Zip drives are common, make sure to get one, larger capicity one if possible
            Jaz drives hold 2 Gig, but are not common, make sure people you work with would have one.
            Re-writale CD-ROMS good idea but make sure formats compatable.  
      CD-ROM Burners
         Prices are droping
         get them
The Mutimedia Computer - The Promised Fulfilled
   Mac or PC - Does it Really Matter?
   NO
   Which one are you more familiar with?
   each has advantages and disadvatages.
The Multimedia Production Cycle
   Multimedia Project Planning
      Use a tool that will allow you to bring all the different parts of the project together
      This will keep "feature creep" from entering in
      A good example would be Allen Communications's Designer's Edge Pro
      Project planning software like Microsoft roject series is good also
      Get the customer to commit finacially before you start work
      Set milstones that you and the customer can agree on (make sure to estimates in case of problems
   Storyboarding
      Draw out what the project will look like and post it on corkboard or wall
   Media Components
      Put your pieces of the project out
         See which one relies on the others to be done.
         keep them in an organized system on your hard drive.
   preproduction
      Evaluate what you will need to do
      get the tools lined up for it.
   Production and Postproduction
      Postproduction is the art of taking what you have produced and taking the flatness out of it.
   Testing
   Do not test project yourself
      you will anticipate the problems and overlook them
      do not have customer test this could ruin your repuatation
      Have someone look at the project.
   Product Delivery
   Deliver the project how the customer wants it.
Multimedia Delivery Systems
   What methods available
         Floppy slow, to small,
         Hard disk, fastest, limited to sapce availble on HD
         CD ROM 650 MB FAST cannot update
         DVD-ROM 14 GB same as CD ROM
         Internet Infnite capcity (??) - variable speed. easily change the material
         Intranet - same as Internet
The Internet
   Connects to millions of computers
   Infinte storage and retrival capacity
   Uniform graphical enviornment
   Playform independant
   Publishing power in the hands of the masses.
   Multimedia on tap
   Built in redundency-proofing
Working in the Industry
   The industry needs people with the ability to put it together to work
   Where are the exciting jobs?
      Promotional CD-ROM production
      Multimedia Web Site Development
      Multimedia supplement to cretive industries
      Working for a multimedia company
   Going it Alone
Avoiding Pitfalls