Scientists have made amazing discoveries about the human body over the years, but because journalists and scientists speak two different languages, trying to explain those discoveries can be difficult. What better way to explain the complex processes of the body than through new media?

Specialized Bicycle Components has put together an amazing interactive Flash animation to demonstrate how bicycles, and more specifically the company's products, interact with the human body. The centerpiece of the project is a figure stripped down to blood, bone and sinew that mimics the different movements of a bicycle rider. Users can toggle between a number of bike moves, including the spin and the hammer, and simultaneously isolate several systems in the body, including the nervous and circulatory systems.




The next presentation isn't for the faint of heart (pun intended). Hybrid Medical Animation, in order to present the viewer with a clearer understanding of the beating heart, has created the Hybrid Interactive Heart. Users can toggle between the opaque tissue of the organ and a "glass" version that shows the inner workings of the heart. The result is absolutely mind-blowing and somewhat hypnotic. A similar video animation shows the beating heart with blood flow.




As part of its Design and the Elastic Mind exhibit, the Museum of Modern Art hosts a project entitled The Inner Life of the Cell. According to the creators "We follow a macrophage as it patrols the wall of a capillary and encounters a chemical signal from a capillary cell indicating that an inflammatory event has occurred in surrounding tissue." In layman's terms, it is a visually stunning video that shows with scientific accuracy what's going on beneath the skin.




(Note: The next site is admittedly a little morbid but is totally safe to view at work.)

Interactive Autopsy, as it's name suggests, allows visitors to go through the steps of performing an autopsy, including removing and weighing the internal organs and cutting and stitching the body. In the middle of the interactive is a brief video of a forensic pathologist who discusses the removal of the brain. At the end of the project is a link to read more about the instruments used in autopsy that, honestly, rival those used in any Hollywood horror movie.

Labels: flash, video

Here is an example of a typical courtroom sketch (okay it's actually a Photoshopped screengrab from A Few Good Men, but work with me here). Like other sketches, it's basically just a flat graphic.



Here is the same sketch with a little multimedia treatment. (Roll over the characters with your mouse. Click here for the .FLA)



Or if you have a series of sketches at your disposal or just cropped versions of a single one, you can create a quick slideshow using Flash, SoundSlides, or by uploading to your content management tool. See an example below (click here for the .FLA)



Both of these Flash files took less than ten minutes to build and add an incredibly useful multimedia element to an otherwise old news standard. For more on the artists behind some of the most recognizable court sketches, check out this post at Ironic Sans.

Labels: flash

I was watching a Hillary Clinton rally on CNN last week when I noticed that nearly every supporter behind her had some sort of camera in his or her hand. My mind immediately went to multimedia and what it would be like to use some of what I assume were hundreds of cameras positioned around the auditorium. Using the different camera locations could give the online user the ability to pick the angle from which they view a news story instead of letting a media outlet choose for them.

Further in my train of thought, I recalled the bullet time technology used in the movie The Matrix that positioned a number of cameras around an actor to create the effect of stopping time. That same thinking can be married with what is visually represented in the end credits of the movie Dreamgirls: the film editor's job of selecting different camera shots (see below for examples). We can, in effect, let the user be his or her own film editor.


Left: Actor Keanu Reeves is captured in bullet time; Right: Film editing represented in the end credits of Dreamgirls

Below is a visual example of what I'm talking about. Using user-submitted photos, in this case, from Flickr, a site visitor can select the angle from which they view a news event (in this case a Barack Obama campaign rally in Oakland, Calif. last year).


Photos from Flickr users solsken, juicyrai, oso, js42, Barack Obama, y-cart used under Creative Commons license

The project above was built in Flash in less than 30 minutes and can be done for political speeches, sporting events, red carpet coverage, you name it. Many news outlets already have tip lines in place like for example CNN's I-Report and the submissions can be harnessed to provide the online visitor with a unique experience. This can also be recreated by a quick-on-their-feet photog or videographer who can literally be in many places at once.

Labels: citizen journalism, flash

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. 95 percent of the multimedia work I do is hand-coded and designed from scratch. But once in a while I am pressed for time or the project I'm working on requires technical knowhow I just don't have...yet. That's when I turn to sites that offer stock Flash and ActionScript elements that can be tweaked to fit the project I'm working on.

For example, a couple of months ago I scoured the web and several books for hours, trying to find ActionScript that would allow me to build a multiple choice quiz. When I was close to giving up, I remembered Flash Kit, an excellent resource for Flash templates and other multimedia elements. I quickly found a multiple choice quiz that I dissected and whose code became the basis for two quizzes: "Which 'Hero' are you?" and the Movie Prop Quiz.

  

(click thumbnails to enlarge)

For a long time, I had a kirupa.com Flash tutorial on interactive image panning buried in by bookmarks before I realized the ActionScript could be used for an interactive, virtual tour of the W.E.B. DuBois Center in Accra, Ghana (the full project can be viewed here). You can still how the original script came into play, but how it was also added to and expounded upon. There are many sites that offer online tutorials on Flash and other multimedia programs, but I am a fan of kirupa.com for its straightforward and easy to understand tutorials.

  

(click thumbnails to enlarge)

Sites like iStockphoto, a stock agency that carries photos, illustrations, video and Flash files, are an excellent resources for finding Flash components that would otherwise take hours, if not days, more to build. I used this file and others like it for a recent Flash feature on dancing celebrities that had to be finished in less than 5 hours. The results were outstanding and amusing, and incorporated the stock files into a unique Flash project.

  

(click thumbnails to enlarge)

The site isn't free, and depending on the complexity of the file, isn't cheap, but it can really come in handy. I also use some of iStockPhoto's stock illustrations on the 10,000 words posts when time is a factor.

  

iStockPhoto illustration before and after

There is also Soundslides, of course, for aid in creating quick slideshows and a number of other Flash-based image galleries. I must reiterate that I believe wholeheartedly in originality and I have become accustomed to staring at a computer screen for hours on end. But when you're in a time crunch or need a push in the right direction, the aforementioned sites can be of great service. Just be sure to make them your own, because originality trumps speed any day.

Labels: flash

I've been bed-ridden deathly ill out sick the last couple of days and as you can tell from the last post, I've had a lot of DVDs to help me through. I've long admired the subtle connection between DVD menus and interactive/multimedia projects created in Flash, which are often styled and laid out in a similar fashion. Below you'll find screengrabs of some great DVD menus that are designed well and can be related to a online multimedia package.

NOTE: I'm more than a little wary of using Flash to design an entire multimedia project because Flash is not search engine friendly. There are some things you can do if you want to produce a self-contained Flash piece and still increase your SEO. Instead of having an entire project designed in Flash, simply animate the things that need animating (do not animate text) and insert the smaller files into a more searchable HTML document. If the entire project is created in Flash, include a text description that contains keywords about the content of the .swf file. Also, it may be cumbersome, but try breaking up the Flash project into multiple files with text links to the different .swf files. CNET has great advice on helping Google "see" your Flash content. More information on creating a Google friendly website can be found at Digital Inspiration.

On to the menus:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy





More DVD menu goodness after the break

Click thumbnails to enlarge the screengrab.

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996)



Artificial Intelligence: AI



Rent



The Simpsons Movie



War of the Worlds (2005)

Labels: flash

Do you know what a shamisen sounds like? Do you know what it is?

If you don't, this simple multimedia project will help you become more familiar with the banjo-like Japanese instrument. After playing a couple of notes, I'm not sure if I'm ready to join a Japanese band, but I am more enlightened about traditional music. Have a musical instrument, singer or band that would make an amazing multimedia project? Get it, them, him or her into a recording booth and upload the audio files onto the web or in a Flash project. Create a replica of the instrument or take photos of the musician to make the project come alive.


Need more inspiration?
Now Play It has video tutorials that teach users how to play guitar chords from their favorite songs. The site includes from an impressive lineup of artists like Radiohead, Coldplay and KT Tunstall (who actually does the teaching herself.) The chords are shown in the foreground while the music video plays. You'll be rocking out in no time.

Buckle's virtual drum set is a killer way of learning how all the different sounds come together. The interactive project shows how basic drumbeats are constructed and allows the user to make a few beats of their own with a few clicks of the keyboard.

When you're ready to put it all together, you must check out this fun animated band. Each individual band member can be selected to make a catchy samba tune. The site is in Portuguese, but a língua da música é universal.

Labels: audio, flash

At the beginning of my multimedia journalism career, I used the phrase "click here" to direct users to different components of a multimedia project or web page. I never had a real reason, I just did it. Later, a mentor from the New York Times told me to eliminate click here in favor of more natural wording. She instead used a few words from a complete sentence as her link text. I used this same technique until I arrived at the Los Angeles Times where "click here" was absolutely necessary element of Flash projects and links were better if they blinked or were a very different color.

So who is right? A quick, unscientific Google search of the nation's 10 largest newspapers revealed that "click is here" is getting some major play.


Click heres per site

1. USA Today - 86,600
2. The Wall Street Journal - 462,000
3. New York Times - 11,300,000
4. L.A. Times - 7,140
5. Denver Post/Rocky Mountain News - 231,000
6. Chicago Tribune - 47,900
7. The Washington Post - 29,900
8. New York Daily News - 5,290
9. New York Post - 25,700
10. Houston Chronicle - 4,530

USA Today ranks highest amongst major news sites in Google Search for its use of the phrase. CNN and Fox News follow close behind.

A recent study shows that "click here" does indeed make users click here...or there. Another study found that "click to continue" works much better than "continue to article" or "read more." Do you use "click here?" If not, why?

Labels: flash, site management

Kirupa.com has a easy and helpful tutorial on how to create interactive objects in Flash that can be dragged and dropped. The insanely addictive Stardoll makes great use of a similar technique to create interactive paper dolls. This technique can also be used to create draggable photos or interactive games.

Here's an example that I produced last year for the Contra Costa Times. Click "continue" and select "Carolyn Dundes." The remote is both draggable and interactive.



As you can see, the remote is an odd shape and has a transparent drop shadow. To create draggable items in Flash that are not rectangles or squares, create your image in Photoshop or Illustrator with a transparent background. In the File menu, click save for web and select the "PNG-24" option. You can then import that object into Flash and it will retain its shape and/or transparency.

Labels: flash

I would call Flash 8 for Dummies the Flash Bible but that already exists. Nevertheless, this title from the ...for Dummies line is the standard for anyone looking to improve their Flash skills. The book starts off with the basic steps of creating a Flash movie and gradually discusses more advanced nuances like embedded video and ActionScript. Intermediate Flash users can skip ahead a couple of chapters and not miss a beat. The book includes detailed how-tos on adding interactivity, using buttons and actions and even creating preloaders. All in all, this a go-to guide that every multimedia reporter should have handy.

Visit the ...for Dummies website to order a copy or purchase a previously owned copy here.

Labels: books, flash

Interactive panoramic images are popping up all over the web. Some of the best, like this Google Street View of Miami, give users a 360° view of a particular area. In the past this required an expensive camera or a lot of time. Now all you need is a digital camera and a little bit of patience. The following instructions will help you build a panorama similar to this interactive panorama of the WEB DuBois Centre in Ghana.

Most digital cameras have a feature that allows the photographer to line up the viewfinder to create a series of photographs that eventually become a panorama. If your camera doesn't come with this feature you can either eyeball the area and merge the images in Photoshop or use AutoStitch to create the panorama.

Once you have the final image, follow the instructions at Kirupa.com to upload the image into Flash. Add a little ActionScript and voila! Panorama!

Labels: flash, photos