Notes

Multimedia Project: Creation
Multimedia refers to multiple forms of media used to express information. It includes images, audio, video, animation, and other forms of visual or auditory content. Multimedia is already used in a variety of fields such as advertising, entertainment, research, and education. It is also used in professional organizations for communication.

Multimedia presentations or projects incorporate different media forms to support textual information and to make a presentation more engaging. This means you can turn any simple presentation into a multimedia presentation by adding some form of media to it. However, there are also many software tools available to make a multimedia presentation. Apache OpenOffice Impress, Adobe Flash, and Microsoft PowerPoint are examples of presentation software that will help you make multimedia presentations.Using Templates and Master Slides
Presentation software allows you to make neat, effective presentations with minimal effort. Most presentation software programs have features such as templates or master slides. Such features help you quickly format and maintain consistency across all the slides in a presentation. Depending on your goals for the presentation, you can use either or both of these features to enhance your presentation.

Template
A template is a predefined pattern of formatting of one or more slides. A template can contain color schemes, fonts, effects, layouts, or backgrounds for each type of slide in a presentation. Using a template saves time when you often create similar types of presentations. Instead of having to format every slide of the presentation, it allows you to start with a set of pre-formatted slides. Some programs also allow you to create a custom template that you can save and use for later projects.Master Slides
Themes are a good way to apply quick formatting to a slide. However, what if you need to change the formatting of slides when creating the presentation?

You can use master slides for this purpose. A master slide is the top slide in a hierarchy of slides that stores information about the theme, slide layout, and other formatting information. The slide master is a type of master slide that allows you to apply any changes in the theme to all slides. So, you do not have to make the same changes to individual slides.

Slide masters are useful when changing the color scheme, font, effect, and background style of many slides at once. You can change the slide orientation using a slide master. The slide orientation can be either landscape or portrait. You can also change title, footer, and text boxes in the slide master. You can insert placeholders, animation, images, and video or audio clips as well. Furthermore, it is possible to customize and save slide masters. You can later use your custom slide masters for other presentations.Adding Multimedia to Your Presentation
When you make a slideshow, remember the rule “less is more.” The audience does not want to read endless passages of text. They would rather listen to you speak and look at visual representations of your explanation.

A major advantage of choosing to create a multimedia presentation is that it allows presenters to show relevant images and graphics, such as photographs, charts, tables, and so on. It also enables presenters to play video and audio clips. These multimedia formats keep an audience more engaged.Adding Tables, Charts, and Graphs
You can represent statistical data using tables, charts, and graphs. Some presentation software programs allow you to link data from spreadsheets to your slides. This function makes it possible to perform certain functions and apply formulas.

Here are the steps to insert a table using Microsoft PowerPoint:

Select the Insert tab.
Select the Table option under Tables.
Select the number of rows and columns you require.
When you highlight the table, a tab called Table Tools opens. The Table Tools tab includes two tabs called Design and Layout. You can change certain characteristics of the table, such as borders, shading, text direction, and cell height and width, using the Table Tools options.
Resize the table.Adding Transition and Animation
Most presentation software programs allow you to customize transitions. Transitions are animation-like effects that occur when one slide advances to the next. Some common transitions include fade through black, cut, and wipe left. The most important reason for using a transition is to inform the audience about the change in content. However, they also create a visual appeal and engage the audience.

You can also improve audience engagement by adding in-slide animations. These animations can be applied to specific elements on a slide, such as a text box, bullet points, and graphics. Fade, wipe, and fly in are examples of animations you can apply to separate elements. Animations help to emphasize content, such as titles and bullet points.Multimedia Presentation: Etiquette
A simple presentation slideshow and planned narration are essential in creating a multimedia project. Your presence and level of interaction with your audience are also important aspects of delivering a compelling presentation. However, you can further enhance the effectiveness of a multimedia presentation by using speaker notes, handouts, and transparencies.

Before creating any of these documents or your presentation, it is a good idea to create an outline. The outline should include a list of the main topics and sub-topics for your presentation. This will help you to draft and summarize your presentation. You can also use the outline to help create speaker notes, handouts, and transparencies.

Now let's look at how to create the additional documents for your presentation.Speaker Notes
As a presenter, you might need reminders or hints when talking about important slides. Speaker notes come to your aid in such cases. You can add speaker notes in the Notes section of a presentation slide. The notes section is a text section that appears below every slide. In the Notes section, include information related to the slide that you would like to recall during the presentation. It shows like any text, and you can color or format this text too.

The Notes section is visible in the Slide view but not in the main Slide Show view. You can print the speaker notes on a page or put them on note cards. Alternatively, you can also arrange to have them displayed on a separate monitor while the presentation plays on the projector.

Remember to only use these notes as reference. You should never read every word from these notes during a presentation.Handouts
Handouts contain additional information about topics covered in the presentation. They can range from a page to a few pages to a thick booklet.

Handouts are useful for both the speaker and the audience. They help the speaker to not overload the audience with information during the presentation. So, handouts are useful for providing additional information that the speaker may not have time or scope to include while presenting. Handouts also keep the speaker on track. They allow your audience to focus on the presentation, as they do not have to take notes during the presentation. If they want to remember anything from the presentation, they have a handy copy of the most important parts of the presentation for reference.

Whether you should distribute handouts before or after presenting is a highly debated issue. Giving the audience handouts before the presentation allows them to take notes. However, taking notes may distract them and they may not pay attention to the speaker. If you have an element of surprise in the presentation, then it is best to distribute handouts after the presentation. Distributing handouts at the end of the presentation prevents the audience from flipping ahead.Transparencies
You can even use transparencies to display your content. Transparencies are clear sheets of plastic on which you can write and draw content. You can also print content directly onto transparencies.

Transparencies are mostly useful with overhead projectors, which use a mirror to project content onto a screen. Usually, the plastic sheet is placed on a flat surface with a light source underneath it. The light reflects over a mirror on top, and gets projected onto a screen in front of the projector. However, such projectors are being rapidly replaced with digital projectors these days.Guidelines for Multimedia Presentations
You may have to make a presentation in class, at work, or for an event. Regardless of where you present, you will be given guidelines. Guidelines for presentations will help you to prepare and present.

General presentation guidelines are devised with the target audience and a time limit in mind. Some guidelines tell you how to organize and format content on slides. They could also dictate what type of fonts, bullets, alignment, graphics, images, videos, and so on you should use and avoid. Typically, the main goals of making a presentation are to inform, persuade, entertain, or motivate an audience. Guidelines for making presentations make sure you achieve your goal.

Other guidelines are more specific to multimedia projects. The multimedia elements you use should have alternative formats. People learn in different ways. Using multiple alternative formats for the same content provides options for people to pick the medium they are most comfortable learning with. For example, some people prefer reading, while others understand better when they watch an animation. Alternative formats increase accessibility. Having alternative formats in multimedia presentations also makes them more accessible to people with hearing or vision disabilities.Evaluating Multimedia Presentations
The main goal of an evaluation is to check whether the presentation’s purpose was achieved. Here are some criteria that you should consider when evaluating a presentation:

Organization
Were the main points and sub-points clear, and were they presented logically?
Were the transitions between sections smooth and easy to follow? Were linking statements used appropriately?
Topic Knowledge
Did the presenter display a good grasp of the topic?
Was the content presented in a simple manner? Were the examples appropriate and easy to understand?Creativity
Was the content made interesting with visual aids or activities?
Were the visual aids simple, clear, and easy to link to the content flow?
Was the content presented innovatively?
Presence
Did the presenter appear confident and at ease?
Did the presenter appropriately use gestures and make eye contact?
Did the presenter engage the audience?
Summary
Were the major points summed up?
Were the recommendations or conclusions clear?
Was there a strong and challenging ending?
Methods of Delivering Multimedia Presentations
While presenting multimedia presentations live in front of an audience is common, it is by no means the only way to deliver a presentation.

For a live presentation, slideshows are generally projected on a screen or white wall. You have to connect your computer to a projector to display the presentation. You can also use an external monitor, such as a light-emitting diode (LED) monitor, to project your presentation.

Alternatively, you can conduct a webcast. Webcasts allow you to transmit your presentations live over the Internet using streaming technology. You can make a presentation in one location while your audience can view it from anywhere on earth.

Another way to deliver presentations is by copying the presentation on CDs. You can then distribute the CDs to the audience. You can also distribute a recorded format of your presentation over the Internet. Some websites, such as Slideshare, allow you to create and share your multimedia projects online.