On the promises of multimedia authoring

Abstract

'Multimedia authoring' for all its popularity, is still a very ill-defined concept. Yet there is considerable interest in the development of authoring technology to facilitate multimedia communication. A clearer understanding of what multimedia authoring is all about should begin with an examination of just how the needs of communication are being served. Such an examination is undertaken in the form of a case study of the IMPACT multimedia authoring system. It is seen that the architecture of this system is based on three key premises which support the objective of surmounting difficulties for the 'video amateur', but a critical review reveals significant logical weaknesses in each of these premises. The conclusion is that the lot of such amateurs will not necessarily be improved by more powerful multimedia software tools of the sort provided by IMPACT. Those amateurs require access to intelligent agents which embody the judgemental expertise without which those tools cannot be used effectively. The prospect of being able to develop such agents is briefly reviewed. © 1994.