Concepts in Multimedia

mul·ti·me·di·a (mul te -me de- , -ti-)
pl.n. (used with a sing. verb)

1. The combined use of several media, such as movies, slides, music, and lighting, especially for the purpose of education or entertainment.
2. The use of several mass media, such as television, radio, and print, especially for the purpose of advertising or publicity. Also called mixed media.
3. The combined use of media such as text, graphics, video, and sound, as on a computer system.

n. attributive. Often used to modify another noun: a multimedia presentation;
a multimedia advertising campaign.

Today, multimedia is an immensely rich information space that affects the span of the human senses. Multimedia is a movement beyond the static media of books, television and pictures, to increasingly dynamic and interactive media. This reality is the responsibility of experimentation and design on the part of its pioneering artists, engineers, philosophers, and scientists. Many of them sought experiential means to empower the user or participant. While diverse in their work, these thinkers shared a coherent vision of technology being used for the higher ideals of enhancing our collective experience and inner potential.

This paper is primarily a summary of the online exhibition entitled, "Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality," which was curated by Randal Parker and Ken Jordan last year and sponsored by Intel. In their exhibition they mention the concepts below:

What follows is a brief discussion of these primary concepts in multimedia and a presentation of few of its thinkers.

next >