Creating a multimedia project is easier than you think
What is Multimedia?
In today's modern technology world, multimedia projects have become a great way to teach, communicate, and show off creativity. By combining text, images, audio, video, and interaction, multimedia allows people to fully engage their audience in a powerful manner. It provides an interaction between users and digital information (tutorialspoint, n.d.).
Multimedia also refers to the uses of computer technology to create, store and experience multimedia content. Multimedia applications play a crucial role in education which range from preschool education to postgraduate students and corporate training packages (Fen, 2017). By definition Multimedia is a representation of information in an attractive and interactive manner with the use of a combination of text, audio, video, graphics and animation. In other words we can say that Multimedia is a computerized method of presenting information combining textual data, audio, visuals (video), graphics and animations (tutorialspoint, n.d.).
Multimedia as name suggests is the combination of Multi and Media that is many types of media (hardware/software) used for communication of information.
Image: tutorialspoint.com
Components of Multimedia
Here are the common components of multimedia:
Text - The text can have various types of fonts and sizes to suit the profession presentation of the multimedia software.
Graphics - In many cases people do not like reading large amount of textual matter on the screen. Therefore, graphics are used more often than text to explain a concept, present background information etc. There are two types of Graphics −
Bitmap Images - Bitmap images are real images that can be captured from devices such as digital cameras or scanners. Generally bitmap images are not editable. Bitmap images require a large amount of memory.
Vector Graphics - Vector graphics are drawn on the computer and only require a small amount of memory. These graphics are editable.
Audio - A multimedia application may require the use of speech, music and sound effects. Audio are of analog and digital types. Analog audio or sound refers to the original sound signal. Computer stores the sound in digital form. Therefore, the sound used in multimedia application is digital audio.
Video - Video element of multimedia application gives a lot of information in small duration of time. Digital video is useful in multimedia application for showing real life objects.
Animation - Animation is a process of making a static image look like it is moving. The animation can be used effectively for attracting attention. Animation also makes a presentation light and attractive.
(tutorialspoint, n.d.).
Video
Born in Norway in 2011, WeVideo was founded on the idea that everyone—from school children to professionals—should have the power to create, communicate, and collaborate with video.
WeVideo is an complete end-to-end online video learning platform with everything you need to make interactive videos and enhance learning!
Easily edit videos and add a variety of question types to make them interactive. Choose from hundreds of pre-made templates or create your own custom template. Update them from over one million pieces of stock video & audio content from our stock media library, custom motion titles and transitions. Make data-driven decisions with assessment data. Use classroom tools to manage media projects and interactive video assignments (WeVideo, n.d.).
I have used WeVideo first-hand in my broadcasting class. My students find WeVideo easy to use and less daunting than Adobe Premier Pro. My advanced students use Premier Pro, but my beginning students enjoy WeVideo as it is a simple introduction in editing and creating videos.
WeVideo also works great with learning management systems like Canvas, Schoology, ClassLink, and Google Classroom as well as others.
Users can make social media videos, marketing videos, educational videos, and even video memes with easy-to-use tools like trim, split, and merge. They also have a robust library of copyright-free images, videos, and audio clips. Text can be added, green screen videos can be made, simple animation tools are available, and there's also a screen recorder.
There is a cost to subscribe to WeVideo, but they have multiple levels and education discounts.
Audio
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.
Audacity is for anyone who wants to get creative with sound. It’s also the perfect tool for anyone who needs to quickly edit or export audio, for any reason (Audacity, n.d.). Audacity is proudly open source. This means its source code remains open to anyone to view or modify. A dedicated worldwide community of passionate audio lovers have collaborated to make Audacity the well-loved software it is today. Many third-party plugins have also been developed for Audacity thanks to its open source nature.
Audacity allows users to record live audio, record computer playback on any Windows Vista or later machine, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs, edit a variety of sound file types, cut, copy, splice, or mix sounds together, and numerous effects including change the speed or pitch of a recording (SourceForge, 2024).
Stock Photo
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Copyright laws do make it hard to find free photos. However, there are several places where photos can be found free of use.
Smithsonian - The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex. The Smithsonian Institution (the “Smithsonian”) has created and maintains websites and other digital properties to support its mission for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge” (the “Websites”). These Websites include www.si.edu; websites maintained by the Smithsonian’s museums, research institutes, offices, and programs; third-party sites on which the Smithsonian maintains a presence; downloadable mobile applications and application program interfaces (“APIs”).
Pics4Learning - One of the oldest, and still growing, collections of free images for education. The images found on Pics4Learning are all owned by the original photographers, but they’ve allowed Pics4Learning to share the images for use in any classroom, and shared in any media project, no matter where it’s posted, so long as the images aren’t used for any commercial purpose.
Open ClipArt - A large collection of free clipart, all part of the Public Domain. All of the images on this site have been donated to Public Domain, so they’re all free for the taking.
Animation
Animaker is a drag-and-drop animation and video-making platform featuring a free subscription plan. Animaker focuses on offering tools for beginners and professionals alike with diverse animated character customization, thousands of templates, and millions of stock videos and photos.
Animaker has a rich content library, is a cloud-based software accessible on any device, and has a easy-to-use interface. However, it does have limited customization, a steeper learning curve for complex animations, and limited features in the free plan (Vazquez, 2024).
Like many companies, Animaker has jumped on the artificial intelligence bandwagon with a new AI program that can create animation and live-action videos. The program can create videos from text prompts, screen recordings, or upload raw footage. The program can audio-edit videos in one click, adding B-roll, subtitles, text, music, and more.
All Around Programs
Two programs that I use frequently seem to have several or all multimedia components wrapped up into one site.
(Canva.com)
Canva - Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more. Canva is easy to sign up for, using either an email, Google account, or Facebook login. Once an account is created, for free, you can pick if you're using it as a teacher, student, or anything else. This will tailor the experience to your needs, making it simpler to search.
Free account holders get more than 250,000 free templates, 100 design formats, 1 million free photos and graphics—including Smartmockups, which overlay your design on products like tee shirts and cellphone screens—more than 1,000 fonts, and a subset of AI-powered tools, including Magic Write, Magic Design, manual Beat Sync, and Magic Edit. Although the Free plan now offers unlimited folders, there's a 5GB cap on data storage, and you miss out on the Pro features mentioned below, including exporting files to CMYK (Tupper, 2023).
Canva also helps you make videos. Magic Design lets you transform still images and clips into shareable short-form videos. Magic Design for Video suggests appropriate stock music and even manually (or automatically with the Pro subscription) syncs the beat to the frames (Tupper, 2023).
For me, as a multimedia teacher, Canva is a game-changer. My students and I create a ton of projects in Canva. Everything from print to video to animation to audio.
Adobe Express - Adobe Express is a web-based and mobile graphics arts and design app designed to help anyone create a variety of visual content quickly and easily. The app can also be a central repository for maintaining brand consistency, and we think it's especially good for helping you make social posts from templates. Express is accessible to users with little or no design experience, but it also has useful tools for professionals (Tupper, 2024).
Adobe Express has a freemium model. You can use it for free, but you get more features and content when you pay the $9.99-per-month or $99.99-per-year subscription fee. A 30-day free trial is available (Tupper, 2024). A key benefit of Express, however, is having access to your Creative Cloud libraries and the suite’s collaboration and sharing features.
Adobe Express now comes with Adobe Firefly generative AI under the hood, making it simple for anyone at any skill level to perform complex tasks more quickly and with ease. From just a text prompt, AI features let creators generate impressive images and layouts and insert, remove, or replace people and objects. Other AI features like Animate from Audio and Caption Videos automate complex processes into one-click Quick Actions.
Both Canva and Adobe Express are great programs to go to for all multimedia projects. However, in my personal experience, I prefer Canva as it is easier to learn and to teach. Adobe Express, to me, is for users who have professional graphic design and multimedia experience, whereas Canva is for the beginner wanting to learn.
References
(n.d.). Multimedia Introduction. Tutorialspoint. Retrieved October 1, 2024, from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/multimedia/multimedia_introduction.htm
(2024, September 27). Audacity. SourceForge. Retrieved October 1, 2024, from https://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/
Fen, T.A. (2017). Multimedia Applications for Educational Purposes. UKEssays.com. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/multimedia-applications-educational-4151.php
Rimes, B. (2011, November 4). 10 Resources for Copyright and Royalty Free Media. The Tech Savvy Educator. Retrieved October 1, 2024, from https://www.techsavvyed.net/archives/1997
Tupper, S. P. (2023, October 23). Canva Review. PC Mag. Retrieved October 1, 2024, from https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/canva
Tupper, S. P. (2024, May 14). Adobe Express Review. PC Mag. Retrieved October 1, 2024, from https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/adobe-creative-cloud-express
Vazquez, A. (2024, August 6). Top 10 Free Animation Software for 2024. G2. Retrieved October 1, 2024, from https://learn.g2.com/free-animation-software
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