Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term
can be used as a noun (a medium with multiple content forms) or as an adjective describing a
medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which only use
traditional forms of printed or hand-produced material. Multimedia includes a combination of
text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactivity content forms.
Multimedia is usually recorded and played, displayed or accessed by information content
processing devices, such as computerized and electronic devices, but can also be part of a live
performance. Multimedia (as an adjective) also describes electronic media devices used to store
and experience multimedia content. Multimedia is distinguished from mixed media in fine art; by
including audio, for example, it has a broader scope. The term "rich media" is synonymous for
interactive multimedia. Hypermedia can be considered one particular multimedia application.
Application
Multimedia finds its application in various areas including, but not limited to, advertisements,
art, education, entertainment, engineering, medicine, mathematics, business, scientific research
and spatial temporal applications. Several examples are as follows:
Creative industries
Creative industries use multimedia for a variety of purposes ranging from fine arts, to
entertainment, to commercial art, to journalism, to media and software services provided for any
of the industries listed below. An individual multimedia designer may cover the spectrum
throughout their career. Request for their skills range from technical, to analytical, to creative.
Commercial
Much of the electronic old and new media used by commercial artists is multimedia. Exciting
presentations are used to grab and keep attention in advertising. Business to business, and
interoffice communications are often developed by creative services firms for advanced
multimedia presentations beyond simple slide shows to sell ideas or liven-up training.
Commercial multimedia developers may be hired to design for governmental services and
nonprofit services applications as well.
Entertainment and fine arts
In addition, multimedia is heavily used in the entertainment industry, especially to develop
special effects in movies and animations. Multimedia games are a popular pastime and are
software programs available either as CD-ROMs or online. Some video games also use
multimedia features. Multimedia applications that allow users to actively participate instead of
just sitting by as passive recipients of information are called Interactive Multimedia. In the Arts
there are multimedia artists, whose minds are able to blend techniques using different media that
in some way incorporates interaction with the viewer. One of the most relevant could be Peter
Greenaway who is melding Cinema with Opera and all sorts of digital media.
Education
In Education, multimedia is used to produce computer-based training courses (popularly called
CBTs) and reference books like encyclopedia and almanacs. A CBT lets the user go through a
series of presentations, text about a particular topic, and associated illustrations in various
information formats. Edutainment is an informal term used to describe combining education with
entertainment, especially multimedia entertainment.
Learning theory in the past decade has expanded dramatically because of the introduction of
multimedia. Several lines of research have evolved (e.g. Cognitive load, Multimedia learning,
and the list goes on). The possibilities for learning and instruction are nearly endless.
Journalism
Newspaper companies all over are also trying to embrace the new phenomenon by implementing
its practices in their work. While some have been slow to come around, other major newspapers
like The New York Times, USA Today and The Washington Post are setting the precedent for
the positioning of the newspaper industry in a globalized world.
Engineering
Software engineers may use multimedia in Computer Simulations for anything from
entertainment to training such as military or industrial training. Multimedia for software
interfaces are often done as a collaboration between creative professionals and software
engineers.
Industry
In the Industrial sector, multimedia is used as a way to help present information to shareholders,
superiors and coworkers. Multimedia is also helpful for providing employee training, advertising
and selling products all over the world via virtually unlimited web-based technology
Mathematical and scientific research
In mathematical and scientific research, multimedia is mainly used for modeling and simulation.
For example, a scientist can look at a molecular model of a particular substance and manipulate
it to arrive at a new substance. Representative research can be found in journals such as the
Journal of Multimedia.
Medicine
In Medicine, doctors can get trained by looking at a virtual surgery or they can simulate how the
human body is affected by diseases spread by viruses and bacteria and then develop techniques
to prevent it.
