Multimedia Basics
Time
1.4 hrs
Difficulty
Intermediate
Prerequisites
Epic Wallpaper
Departments
Human Technologies
Authors
Ross Parker
Groupings
Individual
Pairs
Threes
Fours
Fives
Pairs
Threes
Fours
Fives
Minimum Year Group
None
Blurb
This unit will introduce you to a few vital multimedia terms and ideas, and acts as a foundation that you can later build into a set of skills around text, image, video and music editing and creation.
License
This work is shared under the following license: Creative Commons BY-SA-NC
Outline
| Credits Any CC attribution, thanks, credit, etc.
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5 mins
What Is Multimedia?
Theory
- In this unit you will learn what multimedia is.
- This will help you in later units.
- According to Wikipedia, multimedia is "content that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animation, video and interactive content. Multimedia contrasts with media that use only rudimentary computer displays such as text-only or traditional forms of printed or hand-produced material."
- In this sense, this unit will deal with three of the basic building blocks of multimedia:
- text
- images
- audio
- ...as well as the result of combining these into video, and how these are stored in computer systems.
20 mins
Text
Can you read it?
- Text, or writing, is what you are reading on this page.
- Computers can store text in many ways, but the simplest file type for storing text is the TXT file.
- Click on this link to load an example TXT file, which should look something like this:
- Some interesting facts about your new text file:
- It has a storage size (in KB), which you can find out by right-clicking on the file and selecting Get Info in the drop down menu that appears.
- It has a file format (.txt), which describes how the computer has stored the text.
- TXT files have no formatting (bold, underline, font size, font style).
- This is what we call plain text.
- Files like Google Docs offer us rich text (with lots of formatting).
- Download the example text file, and save it for later on.
20 mins
Images
Can you see it?
- Computers store images as grids of pixels (which are coloured dots of light). Look closely enough at a screen, and you can see the individual elements of an image:
- Your computer screen is designed to display a certain number of pixels, which is known as the screen resolution.
- An example resolution would be 1280 pixels wide by 800 pixels high, or more succinctly 1280 x 800px.
- Take some time now to discover your screen's resolution by:
- Mac
- Clicking on the icon at the top left of your screen.
- Then select About This Mac:
- Now look for the Displays heading in the new window that appears, and you will see the size of your screen:
- Take a screenshot of this screen to use later, by:
- Pressing Cmd-Shift-4 on your keyboard
- Then pressing the Space bar on your keyboard
- Then click on the About This Mac window
- Your screenshot will be saved on your desktop
- Chromebook
- Clicking on the menu box in the bottom right corner of your screen
- Selecting Settings
- Now search for Displays in the search bar and look at Display Size
- Take a screenshot of your Display Settings window by:
- Pressing Ctrl-Shift-Switch Window on your keyboard
- Hovering over the Settings window and clicking
- Your screenshot will be saved in your files
- Some interesting facts about your screenshot:
- It has a display size (in pixels), which you can find out by right-clicking on the file and selecting Get Info in the drop down menu that appears.
- It has a storage size (in KB or MB), which you can also find in Get Info
- It has a file format (.png), which describes how the computer has stored the image. There are many ways to store images, each with different pros and cons: PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, etc.
- We will return to your screenshot later, so keep it safe.
15 mins
Audio
Can you hear it?
- Computers store audio by converting analog sounds into digital codes: this process can be reversed into order to play the music back.
- Audio can be represented in different ways (file formats), each with its own pros and cons: MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, ACC, AIFF, etc.
- Audio files generally take more storage space than images, as they encode more information (MP3 uses much less space than WAV, which is why it is so popular).
- Audio files can come in different quality levels: the higher the quality, the more space it takes.
- Now try the following:
- Download the song Balança by Fluxo (You may have to click File > Save File As to save the MP3. The song is from Jamendo under Creative Commons, so it's free and legal to use)
- Listen to the song
- Note the file format of the downloaded song
- Right-click on the downloaded file, and select Get Info
- Note the storage size of the file.
15 mins
Video
Can you feel it?
- Video consists of multiple images, played quickly, combined with an audio track.
- Video can be represented in different ways (file formats), each with its own pros and cons: MP4, M4V, OGV, WEBM, MWV, AVI, etc.
- Video files generally take much more storage space than images and audio, as they encode much more information.
- Video files can come in different quality levels and display sizes: the higher the quality and the bigger the display size, the more space it takes.
- Now try the following:
- Download the video Waterfall Bluff from Wikimedia Commons, which might take a few minutes (it's under Creative Commons, so it's free and legal to use)
- Watch the video
- Note the file format of the downloaded video
- Right-click on the downloaded video, and select Get Info
- Note the storage size of the file.
10 mins
Finishing Up
Evidence
- Take some time now to do the following:
- Open and save a new document (e.g. Google Doc, Word, Pages).
- Add your name and a title to the top of the document.
- Add the following section headers and content:
- Text
- Insert a screenshot of the saved example text file.
- Note the file format and storage size of your file.
- Images
- Insert your About This Mac or Chromebook Settings display screenshot into your document.
- Note the file format, display and storage sizes of your screenshot in pixels (width and height).
- Audio
- Note the file format and storage size of Balança by Fluxo which you downloaded from Jamendo.
- Video
- Note the file format and storage size of Waterfull Bluff video which you downloaded from Jamendo.
- Now save and submit your work as evidence of your learning in this unit.
Links
- right-clicking
- content
- content forms
- interactive
- According to Wikipedia
- Balança by Fluxo
- this link to load an example TXT file
- Waterfall Bluff
- Jamendo
Images
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