MMH Module Introduction

Multimedia Heritage - Module Introduction

Multimedia Heritage Interpretation - Introduction.

This module is focused on the practical investigation of heritage sites in 'real space', and the construction of multimedia resources to complement the interpretative materials to be found on them. The notes and resources to be found on this site direct you through this process, and give you the necessary theoretical framework to support your investigation and design work. The supporting materials for this module are organised in the usual grey - green - blue scheme explained on the teaching home page.

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1. Notes and Supporting Materials.

Week 1	heritage concepts	web sites and books	independent learning
Week 2	interpreting heritage	readings	independent learning
Week 3	development methodology	readings	independent learning
Week 4	strategic design	readings	independent learning
Week 5	concept design	readings	independent learning
Week 6	concept design (cont.)	readings	independent learning
Week 7	high-level design	readings	independent learning
Week 8	low-level design	readings	independent learning
Week 9	implementation	readings	independent learning
Week 10	implementation (cont.)	readings	independent learning

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2. Lecture and Tutorial Programme.

	Lecture	Tutorial
Week 1	introduction and orientation	group formation and brainstorming
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11	troubleshooting and contingency	assignment - implementation / test
Week 12	troubleshooting and contingency	assignment - implementation / test

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3. Assignment.

There are two parts to the assignment for this module. There is a group assignment and an individual assignment. They are not connected in terms of subject matter, but there is an overlap in the methods used on both of them.

In the group assignment you are asked to organise yourselves in to groups of 3 or 4. You are then asked to choose a heritage site that you should visit as a group (if arranging a time is difficult I may, with negotiation, be prepared to schedule a 'visits' week in which you will not be expected to attend the lecture/tutorial session). You are asked to perform the following tasks:

analyse the way in which the heritage site presents itself to its audience;
identify an opportunity for some multimedia product to be attached to the site;
develop a design concept for this product;
write up all of the above in a proposal which you (at least notionally) are to deliver to the management of the site.

The proposal should not exceed 3000 words and 15 pages - you are encouraged to use diagrams and images to get your points across. The details of these tasks, and step by step guidance will be found interspersed throughout the notes for the module. You will use selected parts of the development methodology used in the individual assignment in this work - this enables you to get more practice with it.

In the individual assignment you are asked to choose a heritage site, or some heritage object or theme (see notes for details) and develop a prototype multimedia product (web site, Flash animation, etc.) for it. You will be expected to follow the steps of the development methodology in designing and constructing your product. You should only implement 6-10 reasonably dense and interactive 'screenfulls'. Whatever you produce should fit onto a 1.44Mb floppy disk (which probably means that web pages and Flash are your only options). You should also produce not exceeding 2000 words and 10 pages of design documentation - you are encouraged to use diagrams and images to get your points across. Equal weighting will be given to implementation and documentation. The details of these tasks, and step by step guidance will be found interspersed throughout the notes for the module.

Group work must be handed in by the end of week 8, and should be accompanied by a statement from each of the group members giving an estimate of the proportion of the total effort of each of the group members. These statements will be used by me to 'adjust' the marks given to each member of a group - but I will only do this to a limited degree. A group 'hate figure' will not get 0%, since hatred is often a two-way process.

Individual work (documentation and implementation) must be handed in by the end of week 12.

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4. Assessment Criteria.

4.1 Group Work

Analysis of Heritage Site. The group should:

determine identify the historical themes presented by their chosen site, and try and place it in a genre of related heritage sites
analyse the way in which their chosen site attempts to communicate with its audience
identify particular exhibits, rooms, catalogues, interpretation boards etc. which exemplify the communication strategy of the site

Comments:

Multimedia Opportunity. The group should:

use an analysis of the heritage communication strategy of their chosen site (using an analysis of scope, content and narrative structure, as required) to identify a gap or opportunity within this strategy
identify a multimedia product that will fill the identified gap and develop the concept of this product to a degree that would be persuasive to the management of the site
give representative samples of the kind of material that the identified product would contain, such as might be used in a presentation to management

Comments:

4.2 Individual Work

Multimedia Heritage Concept. The student should :

identify a heritage site, object or idea suitable for multimedia treatment
develop their multimedia concept by identifying theme, genre, way of communicating with audience, and the intended placement or function of their multimedia product
develop the details of their design by identifying the historical and cultural scope of their project, giving an indicative list of content, and outlining the narrative structure of the multimedia product

Comments:

Multimedia Design. The student should :

go through and document a structured design process that turns concept and content into a viable structure for multimedia implementation
develop a design style appropriate for the heritage product, taking into account subject matter, audience and established heritage design approaches
produce a detailed design for the product, at the level of storyboard and screen layout

Comments:

Multimedia Heritage Implementation. The student should :

develop a representative portion of the projected product, within the specified size and delivery constraints
ensure that the product they implement works as specified, and corresponds to the design
ensure that the product they implement is of sufficient quality, in terms of content, structure and design style, to establish that the completed product would be usable in its target environment

Comments:

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