Multimedia Corner

Multimedia In this Corner, Weighing in at...

Macromedia, Inc., has established itself as a leader in digital arts and multimedia software for more than a decade. Their Macromedia Director software is one of the true heavyweights in the industry. It is a powerful authoring tool for multimedia production for both the Macintosh and Windows PC. The popular program allows you to combine text, graphics, animation, sound, digital video, and interactivity into a multimedia project.

The program is suitable for corporate presentations, digital publications, electronic reference materials, entertainment pro- grams, educational CD-ROMs, interactive informational kiosks, software product demos, advertising storyboards, courseware, and video productions. The product has a strong set of sequencing tools that allow the multimedia developer to integrate various media into the product in a project along a controlled time line. It has its own paint animation tools.

The product allows the user to include files of music, voice, and sound effects into presentations. Animation, still video, and text can be pulled together and made part of a full running multimedia show. Director can control outside devices such as VCR's, audio compact disks, laserdisk players or video-in-a-window cards. The user can use the program's menu and dialog boxes to create their presentation, or use the English- like Lingo multimedia programming language.

As the name implies, Director is based on a stage production metaphor. Director has a stage, a cast of characters, and a score that tells the cast members what to do, where to go, and when to be there. The stage is the entire screen. This is where the multimedia production occurs. The cast of images, sound, and text play out their acts on the stage. The score is really more like a digital frame counter. The score controls what pictures and sound are used over time.

The package includes manuals that provide a quick overview, step-by-step guide, tips and tricks, Lingo tutorial, and Lingo quick reference dictionary. The system has extensive on-line hypertext help and open uncompiled examples you can study to learn the complete system. The metaphor is an easy example to understand and master.

While the package includes tools for drawing and animation, additional multime- dia functions need to be done with other programs. For example, to integrate video into a Director presentation, a video editing program should first be used. The resulting digital file can be made a cast member for scoring into the final product. To fully utilize Director, a sound editing program will also be needed.

The system has components for com- pressing videos for faster running, but not for the best track placement of a commercial CD-ROM product. The source files for this final product can be used on either the Macintosh or Windows PC to compile a user run-time version. Final production of com- mercial products will also require an installation program.

Macromedia Director for Windows requires a 40486/33 or greater IBM- compatible with an 8-bit or higher video card, 8 Mb of RAM, Windows 3.2 or Windows 95, 40 Mb of hard disk, and MS-DOS 5.0 or higher. The recommended system includes 16 MB of RAM and a 32-bit video card. The current version (4.0.4) is optimized for Pentium-Class computers. It takes full advantage of Microsoft's WinG software to boost the speed of all video cards. Applica- tions developed with the latest version are multimedia compatible with Windows 95.

The Macintosh version of Macromedia Director requires an Apple Macintosh or compatible with a 68030 or greater proces- sor, a 13-inch (640 x 480 pixels) monitor, 30 Mb of hard disk space, 4 Mb of available application RAM and System 7.0.1 or higher. Although the system will function on Power- books and AV's, a Power Macintosh is recommended. Version 4.0 for the Macintosh is cross compatible with version 4.0 for Windows 3.1 and Version 4.0.4 for Windows 95.

The product has a suggested retail price of $1,195, which includes 90 days of free phone support, extensive unlimited free fax back technical assistance, and on-line help through America Online, AppleLink, or CompuServe. There are several private Internet newsletters, news groups, and web sites where you can get assistance from the more than 100,000 users. Macromedia furnishes users with a monthly newsletter and very reasonably priced updates.

Contributed by C. W. Mann, who also writes the syndicated computer column, BuzzBytes.

Front Page