Specifying, Collecting and Controlling Assets.

Assets are the core of a multimedia development: they are the basic media elements that are assembled to make a completed multimedia application; the texts, images, video clips, sound files, animations, etc. that comprise the content seen and heard by the user. The production of the basic assets of a multimedia application is likely to be the most labour-intensive part of the development process, and can involve a welter of detailed work in which it is quite easy for the 'big picture' of the application to be lost. Building up assets is a process that requires discipline and management.

Specification.

A key first step in this disciplined process is the careful specification of the assets required for a development. This should be derived from the storyboard. The construction of a storyboard is a creative process in which all the key elements of the application are envisaged and sketched (or, for non-visual material, described). The requirements of the storyboard are the first stage in the specification of assets. From these sketches and descriptions a precise specification of the required assets should be drawn up:

• text specifications should indicate subject matter, style and approximate length;
• image specifications should indicate composition, lighting and colour scheme, size and quality;
• sound specifications should indicate the nature of the sound, and the duration and quality of the clip;
• video clip specifications might include a sub-storyboard, and should indicate size, duration and quality;
• animation specifications might include a sub-storyboard, and should indicate size and duration.

The reason for all this precision is that it is important to construct all and only the assets required by the current production, not what the asset creator happens to feel like constructing at the time. Some assets may already be available in a library of already-created materials, or available elsewhere; a specification aids the search process.

Collection and Creation.

Already-created assets have to be collected (from libraries or commercial sources) and checked against their specifications. Texts can be found in various printed sources, images in image libraries, etc.The collection of assets should be done according to a plan and timescale. Assets that have to be created require the use of specialist skills to be scheduled. For you, this might mean that you have to schedule a learning phase before you aim to create an asset of usable quality.

Management.

Multimedia assets are a valuable resource that cost a lot of time and effort to assemble; all this effort will go to waste unless they are carefully stored so that they can be found and used when required. They should be stored on appropriate permanent media, in carefully-named file structures (use directories, sub-directories and meaningful file names) and back-up copies made. As new versions of assets are made make sure to keep the last one or two generations in an archive. Only discard material when you are sure that it is of no further use. In a serious project you would store a neat version of the specifications with the assets. In a really serious environment, all of this would go into a multimedia database.

Take the storyboard that you have developed for the ghost story application (this should contain a large amount of detail by this time). Identify the various assets required. Draw up a detailed specification for them. If you have designed a very elaborate adaptation, then you might wish to restrict yourself to specifying the assets for a couple of 'screens' in the storyboard. You will only be developing one or two web pages for this application, so pick on the parts that you would like to develop. Think hard about how you specify your assets, try and do so in a way that someone who knew nothing of your design could pick up your specification and work from it.

When you have specified your assets, take the specifications for the page(s) that you will implement. Plan how you are going to collect or create these assets - decide on matters such as places to search or tools to use. Execute your plan.