PLA MULTIMEDIA PROJECT

Selia Karsten

October 1993

1. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT:

Research has continued, primarily in the area of CD-ROM.

Reading: NEW PAPYRUS: CD ROM edited by S. Lambert and S.
Ropiequet
Articles: CD ROM Drives by Liz Weiman (MacWorld Oct.'92)
          How to Make Your Own CDs - Liz Weiman (MacWorld Apr"92)
          I Want My Desktop MTV! by Fred Davis (WIRED, Aug '93)
          The State of the Art: CD ROM Today by Chuck Ander (CD
          ROM Special)       
          Updates in MacWorld and Amiga World especially re: CD
          ROM.
The Art of Human Computer Interface, ed. Brenda Laurel
Animal Architecture - Karl Von Frisch
The Life of the Bee - Maurice Maeterlinck
A Whack on the Side of the Head - Roger von Oech
Review of process to extract learning from experience, especially
action words.  Relevant materials (listed July report) outlined.

Charting of the curriculum content of the program is currently in
development.  I have established four main modules to exemplify
the process of moving from experience to learning outcomes. I
have had numerous discussions with colleagues as to the approach
that is taking shape. Projected are 320 screens.

OCTOBER CONTACTS:  met in the course of multimedia research
John McCuaig - Network Marketing
Dave McHardy - Directory Distance Learning, Seneca
Andrew Porter - Multimedia Developer, Amiga Specialist
Michael Hotrum - Director, The Courseware Factory
David McLachlan - TVO Online
Katharine Devlin - Devlin Multimedia 
Hong Dang - Multimedia Director, Turning Point Multimedia
Steve Cohen - VP, IMMPact! Interactive Multimedia Solutioins
Laurie Hanes - Executive Producer, Umbrella Multimedia
Communications
Greg Shanks - NIXX - multimedia agency
Sarah Langdon - Discis Knowledge Research Inc.
Swipe Books on advertising and design (Tina)






PLA MM - Oct. - page 2

2. WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Discussions with Fraser and Lynn are on a regular basis with fax
copies of script revisions as reference.  The revision of Script
One is now complete having absorbed input from Roberta and Carol.
This final revision (approximately draft 5) will be the rehearsal
script.  Names of characters have been changed in the process and
the Greek character named Eleni has been changed to a Spanish
character, Elena.  This was requested by Fraser so that we may
reach the US market more effectively.  The ant icon is now a bee. 
Lynn and I are currently conferring on Script Two which is
nearing completion.  Drafts of the other two scripts are due at
the end of November.  Some restructuring is being done on scripts
two and three to reflect the process leading to the essay better. 
Lynn is interested in revising the exercises which lead the
viewer in translating experience to learning so they better
reflect the software program.  All rehearsal scripts are to be
ready for January.
In his inquiries with ACTRA, Fraser believes it may not be
possible for the software program to use digitized photos of the
actors involved in the series.  Further research into
restrictions are underway.

The search for an appropriate working space at Seneca has
continued throughout the month.  In the meantime, I am working at
home.  Starting in November, I will be spending Tuesday and
Thursday afternoons in Lynda's office, testing file transfers and
scanning.  I have been meeting with Carol, Lynda and Marilyn as
needed.  There has been regular phone contact.

I have attended a meeting of the IICS (International Interactive
Computer Society) concerning the use of Amiga in multimedia
development.  I also attended IMDA (International Multimedia
Developers Association); this session featured a panel of experts
on the legal aspects of multimedia development.

I met with Joseph Koenig of Interactive Image Technologies Ltd.
to discuss the software program in develpment.  I was shown a
training program for police officers developed by this company. 
Also, an authoring program, Authority, soon to be in use in the
schools, grades K-12 was demonstrated.  While inspirational, the
information gained does not have immediate relevance to "Live and
Learn".









PLA-MM Oct '93 - page 3

I discussed my project with the Director of Media at York
University, Robert McKenzie and received some advice as to
formats for CD ROM.  I also spoke with his associate, Kelly
Parke.  I have discussed the program with Arne Gleason at St.
Clair Interactive and will be touring that facility in November
as a field trip with the multimedia class I am now attending
evenings at Seneca.

Daryl Mahabir continues to give technical assistance as required.
Liz Wilde, Commodore Instructor, has been available for
consultations. I have applied to do a presentation on the project
at the World of Commodore exposition in December.  Liz is
organizing a "show and tell" workshop for educators at that event
on December 4.

I have attended the Amiga users support group meetings.  The
directors of these two groups have both given generously of their
time for assistance on the bulletin boards they operate.

3. DELIVERY MEDIA AND METHODS

I have taken a course in telecommunications at Amsoft, becoming
more familiar with the workings of the modem and networking
through bulletin boards.  I am particularly interested in the
possibility of uploading and downloading files on the network in
areas where I may have difficulties with file transfers between
platforms.

I am presently taking the Amiga Multimedia course at Seneca,
meeting three hours each Wednesday evening to hear lectures and
have hands-on training in the use of multimedia related programs.

I had hoped to get into a more advanced class but this was
cancelled.  I began the current class on week three.  So far the
lectures have concerned the history of multimedia in Canada, the
comparison of the three major platforms with regards to
multimedia, and technical requirements of systems. The hands-on
half of the evening has been devoted to Deluxe Paint IV -
creating animations.














PLA-MM Oct 93 - page 4

4. SUMMARY

The software project was profoundly impacted by the
demonstrations on CD ROM given during Arts Week.  I spent three
evenings with multimedia developers studying their projects and
prototypes and questioning designers.  Previously I had concerns
regarding the restrictions of file sizes and cross-platform
issues. This would not be a problem with CD ROM.

Colourful graphics, animations, digitized photos and music will
greatly enhance the "Live and Learn" program and each of these
elements requires a huge amount of disk space.  CD ROM disks hold
vast amounts of information easily (650K)

In studying market trends, signs point to computer owners adding
CD ROM drives to their home computers; new and inexpensive units
are currently being released.  Shelf life is notoriously brief in
the realm of computer-generated materials. I would hope that by
packaging this program on CD ROM that it will enjoy a greater
usefulness.  Not only does the CDS ROM hold a large amount of
information - it is also cheaper to reproduce.  It is not
magnetic and therefore is more durable.  

It is also possible to format the program for several platforms
on one CD ROM.  The plan now is to create the graphics, animation
and sound on the Amiga platform and to take that material to
MacIntosh Authorware Professional and then to the PC Authorware
for Windows.  Neither time nor market demand make it likely a
version will also be programmed for the Amiga platform.

ATTACHED:

Summary of Live and Learn project (Oct. 27)
CD ROM Overview