Multimedia in computer graphics

The word multimedia is made up of two separate words, with multiple meanings, and media, which signify ways through which information can be transmitted. Therefore, multimedia can be described as an integration of multiple elements of the media together to influence the information given so that it can be presented in an attractive and interactive way. In simple words, multimedia means being able to communicate in more than one way. Traditionally, information was presented in a single medium, be it newspaper, radio or television. With the development of computers, the presentation of data has taken on a whole new meaning. Multimedia is a computerized method of presenting information by combining audio, video, graphics, text, or animation components. For example, a multimedia musical instrument database may allow a user not only to search and retrieve text about a particular instrument, but also to view its images and play a piece of music. The advent of high resolution displays and sound and video reproduction facilities for computers has resulted in increased use of multimedia applications.

A typical multimedia application is characterized by some characteristics that are the following:

Uses of digital technology

Request user interaction.

Integrate sound, images, text and data in integrated applications.

As we know, multimedia is mainly concerned with the computer controlled integration of text, graphics, drawings, still or moving images (video), animation and audio where all kinds of information can be digitally represented, stored, transmitted and processed. The various elements that together constitute multimedia are the following:

Text

The on-screen display of words, that is, text, is the foundation of most applications. Humanity developed texts and symbols to be able to communicate. Writing helped the human being to remember things for a much longer period than is possible with the help of memory (brain). Words and symbols in any form, spoken or written, are the most common means of communication. These days, text is not only capable of displaying information, but it has also gained interactivity; things like an electronic annotation, which helps to navigate through all the information presented on the Web by means of hypertext. A hypertext can be defined as an object in the text that allows the user to jump from one web page to another with a click of the mouse button. It acts as electronic footnotes and helps to navigate through all the information. Files can contain plain text or formatted text. For example, hypertext markup language (HTML), a program language font (C, Pascal), or rich text format (RTF) – a file format for text files that includes formats such as different font styles and types lyrics, etc. Basic text storage is 1 byte per character (text or format character). For other forms of data, such as spreadsheet files, some may store format as text (formatted), others may use binary encoding. Text can be written using various word processing and editing tools, such as word processing software such as Microsoft Word and Word Perfect, where the text file can be developed and then imported into multimedia authoring tools for integration with other multimedia elements.

Graphics

It is a generic term used to describe the pictorial representation of data. When talking about graphics, we generally tend to refer to those pictorial representations that are created by primitive objects such as lines, polygons, circles, curves, and arcs. For example, an image of a cube can be drawn using lines and a pie chart using lines and arcs. Images are still images that are rendered as a bitmap (a grid of pixels), but graphics are typically editable or reviewable (unlike images). Generally, graphical input devices include a keyboard, mouse, trackball, or glow-in-the-dark pens. An image is said to be worth a thousand words, so adding a graphic element to a text-based document can change the user’s perception of the document. The integration of the graphic element in the application makes it more elegant and understandable. Increasing technology has produced a great deal of graphics and visual images for a multimedia project. For the development of the multimedia project, several images are captured from different sources such as scanners, digital cameras and through the Internet. Once the images are transformed into digitized form, they can be edited and modified with image editing software, namely Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw, and Freehand.

Audio

It means the sensation resulting from the stimulation of the auditory mechanism by air waves or vibrations. It is the vibration of air molecules in the atmosphere that the ear can perceive. It involves the transmission of mechanical vibrations by an elastic medium that is capable of being detected by the human ear. Computers and digital technology have changed the face of the music industry. Today, digital music is used to produce special effects on televisions, movies, recording studios, and games. Music and sound effects not only add interactivity with the user, but also play with the perception and emotions of the user. Audio can also be used to provide a sense of location or mood as is done perfectly in the game. Music is probably the most obvious form of sound. It can be used to create a mood, convey an idea, and even tell a story. Speech is also a perfect way to teach users how to pronounce words just like speech learning software does. Non-speech sound effects can be used in the user interface to inform users of background events. For example, the sound of a file download progress could be signaled by the sound of water being poured into a glass gradually filling. These types of background sounds should not be intrusive. Also, sounds can be embedded in a web page and can be played.

Video

It refers to the moving image accompanied by sound, like a movie on television. It is a medium as direct as print and that attracts more attention. Add richness to content and improve user experience. Dramatize and impact the multimedia application. Integrating a video element into a multimedia application provides a wealth of information in a short time. Used in a planned and well-executed manner, it can make a dramatic difference in your multimedia presentation. Digital video is useful in multimedia applications to show real-life objects, such as people speaking or illustrations of real-life concepts. Video places the greatest performance demand on computer memory and bandwidth if placed on the Internet. In terms of computers and the Internet, the main problems with most videos are that their production quality is too low and they have a very large file size. For the video to be usable, the video files must be compressed into different file formats.

Animation

It is the process of sequencing still images in rapid succession to give the effect of live motion. The sequence of images is displayed one after the other very quickly so that the human eye and brain combine the images to produce the effect of movement. It is a powerful tool capable of communicating complex ideas. It is often much easier to show someone how things work than to try to explain it. Animation is viable due to a natural phenomenon known as persistence of vision. An object seen by the human eye remains mapped on the retina of the eye for a short time after viewing. This makes it possible for a series of images that change very slightly and very quickly, one after the other, to apparently merge into a visual illusion of movement. In other words, if one slightly changes the location or shape of an object quickly enough, the eye will perceive the changes as movement. An animated sequence has to display a certain number of frames per second. For professional animation, you need to have at least 30 frames per second.

In today’s challenging world, if the ideas in the presentation are not expressed effectively, the presentation is a failure. One way to express imaginative ideas is through the use of graphics. Graphics can be presented in various modes described below:

Background – Sets the tone and theme of the presentation. It should be based on the type of information to be transmitted. For example, if the information is more text-oriented, simple background images should be used. In case the information is passed on to young children, the background should be more lively and colorful.

Two-dimensional (2D) graphics: Generally, when you are looking at a computer screen, then you are looking at a two-dimensional image. The image stretches from left to right and top to bottom, but usually does not go in or out of the computer screen. A 2D image definition contains only information about how a scene appears from a particular point.

Three-dimensional (3D) graphics: A 3D image contains information about the scene in three dimensions (x, y, z coordinates). However, this 3D data cannot be viewed directly. To view it, the computer must first convert the 3D data into a 2D image using a process known as rendering. The rendering process takes as input the 3D scene and the location and attributes of a camera and outputs the 2D image that the camera sees from that particular point in space. The process is done by mathematically projecting a 3D scene onto a 2D surface. In photography, this is done by the camera lens, but in computer graphics, this is accomplished by solving mathematical equations. In both cases, the result is a 2D image that has been generated from a 3D scene.

Charts and Graphs – In commercial and training-related multimedia projects, charts and graphs are the most appropriate forms of graphs used to present information related to facts and figures.

Flowcharts: The use of flowcharts expresses the systematic order of an event. They are primarily developed to break complex troubleshooting steps into smaller, less complicated steps to make logic development easier. They are also used to represent 2D graphics.