QuickTime movies. QuickTime Pro, HyperStudio, and MovieWorks can be
used with a camcorder or VCR to create and edit QuickTime movies. These
programs can also import movies from the Internet and from resource CDs
such as The Archives of History. Movies that can depict a 360-degree
panorama or a movable object can also be incorporated into a multimedia
project. These virtual reality movies, often referred to as QuickTime VR
movies, can be created with QuickTime VR Authoring Studio for playback
and be incorporated into programs such as HyperStudio, MovieWorks, and
QuickTime Pro.
Videos, like animation, are a key component of multimedia and result in
greater interest and enjoyment for learners when incorporated in e-Learning
courses. Although the definition of a video is quite well known in today‟s
society, it is still important to review how literature describes this type of
multimedia. Video is the “technology of capturing, recording, processing,
transmitting and reconstructing moving pictures, electronic signals, or digital
media, primarily for viewing on television or computer monitors”.
As with animation, videos require programming, and this can be achieved
through the use of a variety of software products including Premier,Quicktime and Movie Player. “Premier Adobe” is the programming software
that assists in editing videos, including the enhancement of colour.
“Quicktime” has been described as „multimedia technology‟ and is therefore
utilised in the handling of all different types of multimedia, including videos.
When reviewing the quality of a video, this is determined by the frames per
second used. „Frame rate‟ is the number of “still pictures per unit of time of
video” and can range from six to eight frames on older model cameras to
120 or more frames on new cameras. In its simplest form, that is, creating
the „illusion of a moving object‟, a video requires the frames to be a
minimum ten frames per second.
It is important when creating learning to decide whether the video is
essential to the learning or whether the same learning can take place
without the expense of creating a video. There are several issues that need
to be considered such as the increased difficulty of developing training
materials through this medium. There are however, benefits from using this
type of medium such as the easy storage of knowledge. The way the video
is to be produced, for example the type of background to be used also
needs to be considered, as it will affect the ability of the learners to engage
in a positive or negative manner.
A further consideration when using video for learning purposes is the need
to ensure that learners are provided with computer systems that can view
the video the way it is meant to be viewed, for example, fast internet
connection as well as compatible software. Finally, as with animation, video
requires the use of a storyboard to convey the look and feel of the video
before it is produced.