OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN MEDIA AND INFORMATION

THE POWER OF MEDIA & INFORMATION

Media & Information can function to strengthen and enrich the connections between citizens and
intermediary organization including political parties, social movement as well as the economy.
The spread of new freedoms and extent of frontiers of freedom that the public authorities have often
attempted to control; religious freedom, gender, ethnicity and sexual freedom based on the social and
cultural identities.
OPPORTUNITIES IN MEDIA & INFORMATION
• Job Hiring
• Freedom of Expression
• Informing and keeping the mass up to date
• Inspire
• Empower citizens
• Tourism
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF MEDIA & INFORMATION
• NEWS INDUSTRY
• FILM PRODUCTION
• ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS
• PRINT
• BROADCAST
• MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS
• INTERNET
• ADVERTISING AND PUBLICATIONS
IMPACT OF MEDIA & INFORMATION IN EDUCATION
As we know from the recent vastness of online digital video. Video has become a compelling tool for
educational representation. Students use it in their projects; teachers and pre-service teachers use it
to study pedagogy; and researchers use it for capturing and examining how learning happens as they
unfold
Learners have been able to integrate a variety of digital media forms into documents. Multimedia,
Hypermedia, new media are the terms we have used to describe this used of visual media in learning.
Of course this is not the beginning of our use of a variety of media to learn. People have always used
diverse visual media to communicate with each other and learn.
CHALLENGES IN MEDIA & INFORMATION
• FAKE NEWS - are news, stories or hoaxes created to deliberately misinform or deceive
readers. Usually, these stories are created to either influence people’s views, push a political
agenda or cause confusion and can often be a profitable business for online publishers. Fake
news stories can deceive people by looking like trusted websites or using similar names and
web addresses to reputable news organizations.
• CYBERCRIME - also called computer crime, is any illegal activity that involves a computer or
network-connected device, such as a mobile phone. The Department of Justice divides
cybercrime into three categories: crimes in which the computing device is the target, for
example, to gain network access; crimes in which the computer is used as a weapon, for
example, to launch a denial of service (DoS) attack; and crimes in which the computer is used
as an accessory to a crime, for example, using a computer to store illegally-obtained data.
 • CYBERBULLYING - Bullying that takes place online, or using electronic technology such as
cell phones, computers, and tablets over communication tools including social media sites, text
messages, chat, and websites
• PLAGIARISM - An act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of
another author without authorization
• COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT is the use of works protected by copyright law without
permission, infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the
right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative
works.
• COMPUTER ADDICTION - The excessive use of computers to the extent that it interferes with
daily life
• DIGITAL DIVIDE - An economic inequality between groups in terms of access to, use of, or
knowledge of ICT. The divide within countries (such as the digital divide in the United States)
can refer to inequalities between individuals, households, businesses, and geographic areas at
different socioeconomic (and other demographic) levels.
WHAT IS PEOPLE MEDIA?
People Media is an assembly of people with common interest where they become the main means of
communication. In other words, people are media themselves since they have the ability for mass
communication.
PEOPLE IN MEDIA vs PEOPLE AS MEDIA
People in Media – they are the people behind another form of media. They use other forms of media
such as text media, visual media, multimedia, etc. in disseminating information and imparting
knowledge
People as Media – they are the MEDIA itself. The person serves as the medium for another person
to learn or acquire new knowledge
TYPES OF PEOPLE IN MEDIA
- Print People
- Web People
- Radio People
- TV People
- Teachers
- Students
TYPES OF PEOPLE MEDIA
- IDEA GENERATOR (Writer)
- SPEAKER (Active people media such as personal relations people, newscasters, politicians)
- USERS (Especially in the internet where content is highly user-generated, everyone is a user.
CHARACTERISTICS PEOPLE MEDIA
 TECH SAVVY
o Proficient in the use of technology, especially computers
 CREDIBLE
o Able to be believed, capable of being believed; plausible. Worthy of confidence; reliable
 FLEXIBLE
o Knows how to use a range of technology; able to change or do different things
 CHARISMATIC
o Appeals to the sense of different people
 UPDATED
o In the know of the latest information
 ARTICULATE
 o Expressing oneself easily in clear and effective language

ADVANTAGES OF PEOPLE MEDIA

 Flexibility
 Can correct mistakes last minute
 Ability to process the feelings of its media receivers
 Interactive
 Ability to maintain relationships between sender and receiver
 Fast feedback between sender and receiver
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?
- Social Media – is the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-
based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL MEDIA:
• Individualized, builds profiles (includes personal details, pictures, likes)
• Connects with friends and people (includes referrals by other friends or by the site itself)
• Uploads content in real time
• Enables conversations (both private and public)
• Provides tracking (history and threads)
FORMATS AND EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA FORMAT EXAMPLES

Relationship or Social networks Facebook

Micro-blogging Twitter, Instagram

Special interest networks Linkedin, Pinterest

Media Sharing YouTube, Flickr

Collaborative news Reddit, Waze

Discussion Forums Google Groups

Group buying/merchant sites OLX, Groupon, Dealgrocer

Farmville, World of Warcraft,

Virtual worlds
Secondlife, Minecraft, NBA 2K series
WHAT IS MULTIMEDIA?
• simply means "more than one medium." In other words, television programs, movies, even
illustrated books are all examples of multimedia – they all use combinations of text, images,
sounds, and movement.
• Is media and content and content that uses a combination of different content forms
• 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.
• The use of computers to present text, graphics, video, animation, and sound in
an integrated way.

Where did it all Begin?

The term multimedia was coined by singer and artist Bob Goldstein (later 'Bobb Goldsteinn') to
promote the July 1966 opening of his "LightWorks at L'Oursin" show at Southampton, Long Island.
Goldstein was perhaps aware of a British artist named Dick Higgins, who had two years previously
discussed a new approach to art-making he called "intermedia."
One of the earliest and best-known examples of multimedia was the video game Pong.
Developed in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell (the founder of a then-new company called Atari), the game
consisted of two simple paddles that batted a square "ball" back and forth across the screen, like
tennis. It started as an arcade game, and eventually ended up in many homes.
COMPONENTS OF MULTIMEDIA
TEXT

It may be an easy content type to forget when considering multimedia systems, but text content is by
far the most common media type in computing applications. Most multimedia systems use a
combination of text and other media to deliver functionality. Text in multimedia systems can express
specific information, or it can act as reinforcement for information contained in other media items.
This is a common practice in applications with accessibility requirements. For example, when Web
pages include image elements, they can also include a short amount of text for the user's browser to
include as an alternative, in case the digital image item is not available.
IMAGES

Digital image files appear in many multimedia applications. Digital photographs can display
application content or can alternatively form part of a user interface. Interactive elements, such as
buttons, often use custom images created by the designers and developers involved in an
application. Digital image files use a variety of formats and file extensions. Among the most common
are JPEGs and PNGs. Both of these often appear on websites, as the formats allow developers to
minimize on file size while maximizing on picture quality. Graphic design software programs such as
Photoshop and Paint.NET allow developers to create complex visual effects with digital images.
TWO TYPES OF GRAPHICS
- RASTER - are composed of pixels (Picture/s captured based on reality)
- VECTOR - are made of hundreds of thousands of tiny lines and curves (or paths) to create an
image (Picture/s created using a digital device)
AUDIO

Audio files and streams play a major role in some multimedia systems. Audio files appear as part of
application content and also to aid interaction. When they appear within Web applications and sites,
audio files sometimes need to be deployed using plug-in media players. Audio formats include MP3,
WMA, Wave, MIDI and RealAudio. When developers include audio within a website, they will
generally use a compressed format to minimize on download times. Web services can also stream
audio, so that users can begin playback before the entire file is downloaded.
VIDEO

Digital video appears in many multimedia applications, particularly on the Web. As with audio,
websites can stream digital video to increase the speed and availability of playback. Common digital
video formats include Flash, MPEG, AVI, WMV and QuickTime. Most digital video requires use of
browser plug-ins to play within Web pages, but in many cases the user's browser will already have
the required resources installed.
ANIMATION

Animated components are common within both Web and desktop multimedia applications.
Animations can also include interactive effects, allowing users to engage with the animation action
using their mouse and keyboard. The most common tool for creating animations on the Web is Adobe
Flash, which also facilitates desktop applications. Using Flash, developers can author FLV files,
exporting them as SWF movies for deployment to users. Flash also uses Action Script code to
achieve animated and interactive effects.
TYPES OF ANIMATION

 TRADITIONAL ANIMATION (2D, CEL, HAND DRAWN)

o In traditional animation, animators will draw images on a transparent piece of paper fitted on a
peg using a colored pencil, one frame at the time. Animators will usually do test animations with
very rough characters to see how many frames they would need to draw for the action to be
properly perceived. Timing is extremely important in traditional animation, since the frames has
to fit the soundtracks exactly, as such the animation process of traditional animation can be
lengthy and costly. Once the clean-up and in-between are complete, the production would step
over to photographing each individual frame.

 2D VECTOR BASED ANIMATION (VECTOR BASED)

o 2D animation is mostly referred to any key framed animation that is produced on a flat surface,
but can also refer to as vector animations that adopts the techniques of traditional animation.
Cel animation is often most thought of when talking about 2D animation, and the process is
often lengthy and complicated. The technique is the same as in traditional animation, but when
the animations and in-betweens are done, the frames are brought over to a process called ink-
and-paint. There the people in charge of inking and painting the frames, places a plastic sheet
of celluloid on top of the transparent paper containing the animated characters, and then
proceed to copy the frames on the celluloid. This way frames can overlay each other because of
the complete transparency of celluloid, which makes it easier to place multiple characters and
props on top of a background.Vector based animations, meaning computer generated 2D
animations, uses the exact same techniques as traditional animation, but the benefits is the
lack of physical objects needed to make traditional 2D animations apart from a computer.
 3D COMPUTER ANIMATION (CGI, COMPUTER ANIMATION)

o 3D animation, also referred to as CGI (Computer Generated Images) animation, is made by

generating images using computer graphics that create a series of images that forms an
animation. The animation techniques of 3D animation has a lot of similarities with stop-motion
animation, as they both deal with animating and posing models, and still conforms to the frame-
by-frame approach of 2D animation, but is a lot more controllable since it is all digital feedback.
 o Characters in 3D animations are digitally modeled on screen, and then fitted with a ‘skeleton’
that allows animators to animate the models for their use. Animation is done by posing the
models in certain key frames, which the computer will then calculate and perform a ‘tweening’
animation that is interpreted by the computer in each frame between the key frames. When the
modeling and/or animation is complete, the computer has to render each frame individually,
which unlike 2D or stop-motion animations, can be very time consuming depending on the
quality of the images and the quantity of polygons in the scene. A 3D animator will spend most
of their time looking at curves that represent the movement of different body parts over time.
Another big difference with 3D animation is that unlike traditional animation, the character’s
body parts are always present and should be taken to consideration.

 MOTION GRAPHICS (TYPOGRAPHY, ANIMATED LOGOS)

o It’s the art of creatively moving graphic elements or texts, usually for commercial or
promotional purposes. Think animated logos, explainer videos, app commercials,
television promos or even film opening titles. The skills for motion graphics don’t necessarily
translate to the other types of animation, since they don’t require knowledge of body mechanics
or acting, but they do have some attributes in common such as understanding good composition
and the all-important camera motion. The process of creating Motion Graphics depends on the
programs that are used, since video editing softwares often have different UI or settings, but the
process is the same. Motion Graphics usually involves animating images, texts or video clips
using key framing that are tweened to make a smooth motion between frames. These programs
also supports scripts that will automatically alter the animations to various preferences that are
required. Motion graphics also often uses particle systems to create various effects. It is
basically points in 3D and 2D space that is shown as texts, images or visual effects. The particle
effects are made with emitters that digitally produces lights, surfaces, or a disassembling
animation. Motion Graphics are simply flat-based images or 3D objects that are given the
illusion of motion, accompanied with music or sound effects. This technique is often used for
multimedia projects.

 STOP MOTION (CLAYMATION, CUT-OUTS)

o Stop-Motion animation can be referred to any animations that uses objects that are
photographed in a sequence to create a animated action. The process of Stop-Motion animation
is very long, as each object has to be carefully moved inch by inch, while photographing every
change, to create a fluid sequence of animation.
 Claymation
o One of the most popular form is Claymation. Working with clay or play-doh characters that can
easily be manipulated for animation. Advanced claymation (such as The Neverhood or
Armikrog) uses metal skeletons on which the clay is then molded for more sturdy rigs.
 Puppets
o Some animators would use regular Puppets instead of clay one, usually also built upon some
sort of skeleton rig. The faces of the characters can be replaced based on the expression, or be
controlled within the rig.
 Cut-Out
o Another popular form of stop motion is Cut out. Using construction paper or cardboard
characters and placing them on a paper while shooting the animation from above (That’s how
South Park was made before they switched to computers.) The cardboard is then moved a little
each frame to create the illusion of movement.
 Silhouette
o Similar to cutout animation, silhouette animation uses cardboard or some kind of flat material,
but the objects are all black and the shot is depicted with silhouettes only. This is one of the
oldest forms of stop motion and is rarely used today.
 Action Figures / Lego
o Some use action figures or lego characters for animation. This genre is very popular on
YouTube with many channels dedicated to creating funny skits with lego characters. Robot
Chicken is a great example of that. They use famous action figures to make fun of pop culture.
 Pixelation
 o Pixelation is a form of stop motion that uses real people and real environments to create unreal
videos. It uses the stop motion method of taking a still photo, moving things around, and then
taking another photo, but the subject matter is usually real people instead of puppets.

INTERACTIVITY is the communication process that takes place between humans and a computer
program
Interactivity involves user action that will cause a reaction from the media. This computer
based interaction can come in many different forms, including:
• Selection/Choice - Simple interaction, (ex. selecting a hyperlink)
• Completing an online Form - Entering data, (ex. an online search)
• Manipulation - Using the mouse to control an element, (ex. move a control)
• Build/Construct - Creating something new, (ex. online drawing software)
• Quiz - Answering different types of questions, (ex. Answering an online poll)
• Communicate - Interact with other users, (ex. chat, forums and e-mail)
• Animation/Video - Control the playing of an element, (ex. pause a movie)
WHAT IS MANIPULATIVES / INTERACTIVE MEDIA?
INTERACTIVE MEDIA – a method of communication in which the program's outputs depend on the
user's inputs, and the user's inputs in turn affect the program's outputs. Interactive media engage the
user and interact with him or her in a way that non-interactive media do not.
INTERACTIVITY – the communication process that takes place between humans and computer
software. The most constant form of interactivity is typically found in games, which need a continuous
form of interactivity with the gamer. Database applications and other financial, engineering and
trading applications are also typically very interactive. (Definition taken from Technopedia via
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/14429/interactivity)
Examples:
 Online booking - search for flights; booked a flight and paid through credit card; web-check-
in.
 Mobile apps - a software application developed specifically for use on small, wireless
computing devices such as smartphones and tablets, rather than desktop or laptop computers.
 3D TV - a television display technology that enables a three-dimensional effect, so that viewers
perceive that an image has depth as well as height and width, similar to objects in the real
world.
 Video games (multi-player) - a game played by electronically manipulating images produced
by a computer program on a television screen or other display screen. Multiplayer games allow
two or more players to play with one another or play together.
 Role-playing games (RPG) - a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a
fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either
through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making or character
development.
 Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) - any story-driven online
video game in which a player, taking on the persona of a character in a virtual or fantasy world,
interacts with a large number of other players.
 Interactive websites (pools, surveys, exams, exercises)
 Virtual reality and immersive environments - the computer-generated simulation of a three-
dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical
way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or
gloves fitted with sensors.
 Social media - websites or online services where users (actual people) are the creators and
consumers of the content, and where social interactions (commenting, liking, posting, talking)
 are the main features of content. Examples are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine,
etc.

MULTIMEDIA FORMATS
• Multimedia elements (like sounds, images or videos) are stored in media files and have their
own formats with different extensions
– PICTURES are recognized by extensions like .gif, .png, .tiff and .jpg.
– VIDEOS are recognized by extensions like .avi, .wmv, .mov, .rm/.ram, .swf, .flv, .mp4
and .mpeg.
– AUDIOS are recognized by extensions like .mid, .mp3, .rm/.ram, .wav and .wma.
– ANIMATION are recognized by extensions like .swf, .flv, .fla
WHAT IS MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM?
A Multimedia System is a system capable of processing multimedia data and applications.
A Multimedia System is characterised by the processing, storing, generating, manipulating and
rendition of Multimedia information.
Characteristics of a Multimedia System
A Multimedia system has four basic characteristics:
• Multimedia systems must be computer controlled.
• Multimedia systems are integrated.
• The information they handle must be represented digitally.
• The interface to the final presentation of media is usually interactive .
DESIRABLE FEATURES FOR A MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM
Very High Processing Power
-- needed to deal with large data processing and real time delivery of media. Special hardware
commonplace.
Multimedia Capable File System
-- needed to deliver real-time media
--e.g. Video/Audio Streaming. Special Hardware/Software needed e.g RAID technology.
Data Representations/File Formats that support multimedia
-- Data representations/file formats should be easy to handle yet allow for
compression/decompression in real-time.
Efficient and High I/O
-- input and output to the file subsystem needs to be efficient and fast. Needs to allow for real-time
recording as well as playback of data. e.g. Direct to Disk
recording systems.
Storage and Memory
-- large storage units (of the order of 50 -100 Gb or more) and large memory (50 -100 Mb or more).
Large Caches also required and frequently of Level 2 and 3 hierarchy for efficient management.
Network Support
-- Client-server systems common as distributed systems common.
Capturing devices
-- Video Camera, Video Recorder, Audio Microphone, Keyboards, mice,
graphics tablets, 3D input devices, tactile sensors, VR devices.
Digitising/Sampling Hardware
Storage Devices
-- Hard disks, CD-ROMs, Jaz/Zip drives, DVD, etc
COMPONENTS OF A MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM
Capturing devices
-- Video Camera, Video Recorder, Audio Microphone, Keyboards, mice, graphics tablets, 3D input
devices, tactile sensors, VR devices. Digitising/Sampling Hardware
Storage Devices
-- Hard disks, CD-ROMs, Jaz/Zip drives, DVD, etc
Communication Networks
-- Token Ring, FDDI, ATM, Intranets, Internets.
Computer Systems
-- Multimedia Desktop machines, Workstations, MPEG/VIDEO/DSP Hardware
Display Devices
-- CD-quality speakers, HDTV,SVGA, Hi-Res monitors, Colour printers etc.
MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS
Examples of Multimedia Applications include:
• World Wide Web
• Hypermedia courseware
• Video conferencing
• Interactive TV
• Groupware
• Home shopping
• Games
• Virtual reality
• Digital video editing and production systems
• Multimedia Database systems