The information content and user driven aspects of the ACT-IT multimedia authoring system

Abstract

Existing commercially available multimedia authoring tools support the multimedia author by facilitating the combination, co-ordination and presentation of different media types. The author is meant to develop the multimedia application with little intended constraint and to their best abilities. However, there are many areas in which the multimedia author needs to be supported. These areas include explicit support for the information content, the user, the presentation strategy, the interface design, and the aesthetic and creative aspects of the final application. The ACT-IT project has addressed the wide scope of support required by a multimedia author and produced a prototype authoring framework of various solutions, using a user-centred perspective. Solutions developed include pre-defined templates, functional utilities, and a substantial information content, all of which aid the author, and ultimately the application end user.