Module 1. Multimedia Concepts

Please check the right complete answers below.
Those are very long answers, but you will get a complete picture if you were confused about some of them.
For shorter answers,also check Max Geiger's post.

1. A bitmap is a graphic file whose information is stored as a grid of pixels.
The term bitmap comes from the computer programming terminology, meaning just a map of bits, a spatially mapped array of bits.
The picture is built up from these dots. The smaller and closer the dots are together, the better the quality of the image but the bigger the file needed to store the data. If the image is magnified it becomes grainy as the resolution of the eye enables it to pick out individual pixels.
Bitmaps are also referred to as raster graphics.
Some common file formats for bitmaps are .bmp, .jpeg,. tiff, .gif, .png, psd.

2. Resolution is the interpreter between the physical world of inches and the digital world of pixels.
When you scan an image, the scanner translates inches into pixels using resolution. When you print an image, the printer translates pixels into inches using resolution.
The resolution of a screen is 72 dpi, which means dots (or pixels) per inch. This means that there really isn’t any point of trying to look at things in a higher resolution than the screen has because it will just display in the same way as it would if you were looking at it in the lower resolution.
Printing resolution, however, must be quite a bit higher because it takes more information to print an image than it does to view it on the monitor. A typical desktop printer needs between 150 and 300 dpi in order to print the image correctly.

3. Flash files tend to be small because it saves the graphic information in a vector format.
Vector graphics files store the lines, shapes and their properties that make up an image as mathematical formulae.
A vector graphics program uses the mathematical formulae to construct the screen-image by building the best quality image possible, given the screen resolution, from the mathematical data.
The mathematical formulae determine where the dots that make up the image should be placed for the best results when displaying the image. Since these formulae can produce an image scalable to any size and detail the quality of the image is only determined by the resolution of the display and the file size of vector data generating the image stays the same.
Printing the image to paper will usually give a sharper, higher resolution output than printing it to the screen but can use exactly the same vector data file. And the file is much smaller in size.

4. DV resolution is 720 X 480 pixels, but full screen digital video is 640 X 480 pixels.
The term "full-screen digital" video is mostly used by web developers, since for a long time, short bandwidth forced video over the web to be smaller than that size.
This format works with square pixels (the files don't have to be output into a broadcast video device.
640X 480 is the resolution of a 13" monitor. This was considered the standard size monitor for working screens in the 90s.
A typical format for video over the web was traditionally 160 X 120 or 320 X 240, also called "half-screen video". Notice that the AREA of "half video"(320X240) is actually a fourth of "full-video"(640X480).
We use those standards because a video file (also based on pixels), works best when you remove half the pixels in the horizontal direction and half the pixels in the vertical one (throwing every other pixel away).

Digital video has a quirk that many of its formats employ “non-square” pixels.
This means its pixels are supposed to be stretched or squashed by a specific amount when played back on a television or a video monitor.
In contrast, computer monitors have square pixels. As a result, much digital video looks odd when viewed on a computer.
Therefore, it is essential to understand these pixel aspect ratio (PAR) issues when creating graphics.

The DV specification defines both the codec and the tape format.
Its smaller tape form factor Mini DV has since become a standard for home and semi-professional video production.
The DV codec works with a resolution of 720X480 pixels, and it uses non squared pixels (with a 0.9 aspect ratio). The reason to this was to match analog TVs, that also worked with rectangular pixels.
NTSC video works at a frame rate of 29.9 frames per second and it works with 480 lines of resolution, this is why both formats work with 480 pixels of vertical resolution.
The 720 pixels across might be due to the rectangular proportion of the pixels, it might also have been an strategy to pair up with PAL (the European Video standard) that always worked with 720 pixels of resolution across.

DV is not a wide screen format. It still works with a 4:3 aspect ratio. HDV on the contrary, is a wide screen format that uses a 16:9 aspect ratio. HDV is High definition video.
Its standard resolutions are 1280X720 pixels and 1920X1080 pixels. They are usually called by their vertical resolution. You might have heard of 720p or 1080p screens, when buying flat-TV-screens.

5. An mp3 is a very size-efficient sound file format.
Since 1998 the MP3 standard has become more and more important, and an enormous success. MP3 is a system to give a huge compression of digital sound files. The compression is lossy (i.e. musical details are cut away). Yet MP3 delivers a sound quality (almost) as good as uncompressed CDs, due to the very intelligent psycho-acoustic algorithm reducing the file size.
The MP3 format is very versatile; it can be hosted on any storage media and can be transferred on demand over the Internet.
These files can be played using a player like iTunes, Winamp, MusicMatch or Windows Media Player. The MP3 files can also be decoded and used for CD-recording.

_____

The DV specification defines both the codec and the tape format.
Its smaller tape form factor Mini DV has since become a standard for home and semi-professional video production

Module 2. Post on Graphic Concepts

Here are the right answers:
1. Vector based programs store Graphics created with their native tools as mathematical formulas.
What type of information can you store in a native vector-based file?
You can store technical illustrations that use points, lines, curves, shapes, and fill colors to describe the image. They can therefore be represented at arbitrary resolution without loss of detail.


2. Can you list 3 names of vector-based software?
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Flash
Macromedia Freehand
Maya
Intaglio
Corel Draw graphics suite
Photoshop has SOME vector based tools, but it is clearly a bitmap based software.

3. Which is the screen resolution of your computer at home, and at work (if you do have a computer at work).

4. What do you know about 8 bit/ 16 bit/ 24bit/ 32 bit displays?
Color depth is the term used to define the color range of a computer. This indicates the total number of colors the screen can display.
Some common screen color depths 8-bit (256 colors), 16-bit (65,536 colors) and 24-bit (16.7 million colors).

Computer screens have very good displays nowadays.
True color (or 24-bit color) is the most commonly used mode, and 32-bit can use around 4 billion different colors.

We can also talk about the color depth of a Graphic file. Gifs use 8 bit images as an strategy to save on file-size. That is why GIFs can use up to 256 colors.
Most RGB files are 24 bits, assigning an 8 bit channel for each one of the basic colors. 32-bit color-files use 24 bits per pixel to represent the image, plus an additional eight bits for an alpha channel.
Alpha channels work as an'stencil or mask channel, storing graphic info on what areas to mask and what areas to consider as transparent.

Module 2. Intro to Gestalt

The Gestalt Theory began at the end of the 19^th century in Germany. It was the protest against the looking at something bit by bit to looking at it as a whole. How simple could they get the object and still comprehend the object. A viewer looking at an outline of a tree knows it is a tree. Details of the tree are not necessary. Artists look for details. Viewers look for shapes, color, size, texture or placement to complete the picture.

How objects are placed on the viewing surface can influence the way a viewer perceives the image. If the object is near or overlaps another object, the viewer will see both objects as a whole. The object does not need to be complete. The viewer’s mind will complete the object, depending on their knowledge. The artist can manipulate the viewer mind by use of color, shape and proximity. The FedEx logo causes you to see the name because of the colors purple and orange. The space between the E and the x creates an arrow causing the viewer to think the service is rapid.

http://www.princeton.edu/~freshman/gestalt/

http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15897149/Gestalt-Principles-Overview

http://www.scientificjournals.org/journals2008/articles/1288.pdf

http://www.moillusions.com/2006/05/fedex-logo-optical-illusion.html

http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~kbroom/Lectures/gestalt.htm

http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/279/Gestalt-Psychology.html

http://psychology.about.com/od/schoolsofthought/f/gestalt_faq.htm

(The Gestalt school of psychology studies the way we perceive reality.
It attempts to answer why we organize visual elements the way we do, resulting in the images our mind perceives.
Some more principles used to study gestalt are similarity, continuation, closure, proximity, and figure. The theory of gestalt was developed in the 1920's by German psychologists.

The principles of Gestalt are figure and ground, grouping, similarity, proximity, continuation, closure, leveling and sharpening, surrounding and third dimension. All of these are ways to explain how our mind is able to piece together objects to make a recognizable image.)

Module 3. Post on Gestalt and Visual Perception

Case 1: The principles of visual perception used in this case are figure & background, in an unusual way, since the background is brought forth to portray the woman in a way viewed from different angles at once. That makes it look like there is only foreground in this picture. But overlapping is used to still have a sense of three dimensions.

The pictures also have similarity since details like the hair and certain body parts suggest that it is the same model. The drawings also have continuity since they mostly exist of one unbroken line.
I can see grouping working here, because the two women in each photo are separated by an amount of negative space.

Case 2: The principles of visual perception that have been used in Figures 86 and 87 include figure and ground, proximity, similarity, leveling and sharpening, and third dimension.

Figure and Ground: The three figures and table create the “figure” and the surrounding white space creates the “background” (the area that assumes an inactive role).
Overlapping is also apparent in both images. Although the table is covering portions of the people (and vice versa), we still are able to understand that there is a table and three figures.

Proximity and Similarity: The principle of proximity states that elements which are close together are associated. In this case, the closeness of the three figures helps imply that they are associated.
The principle of similarity states that elements which look similar tend to be perceived as associated. The three figures in case 2 display enough similarities (round heads, arms, torsos, etc) that allows one to come to the conclusion that they are associated (all people).

Leveling and Sharpening: Leveling is defined by unification, enhancements of symmetry, reduction of structural features, repetition, dropping of non-fitting detail, and elimination of obliqueness.
Figure 86 could be considered an example of leveling by the symmetry, unification, and reduction of structural features (no table legs, etc). Sharpening enhances difference and emphasizes obliqueness.
The effects of sharpening are evident in Figure 87 where the table and figures have taken on a more “exaggerated” perspective. The table no longer appears square and the figures are of varying sizes (perspective distortion).

Third Dimension: Third dimension is apparent in Figure 87 due in part to the shape and front edge of the table and the varying sizes of the figures at the table.

Case 3: With strong upright shapes, the women holding their beaters become foreground. The rest of the objects with horizontal lines are viewed as part of the background.
While the four beater sticks create a rhythm, the similarity and the proximity of the inner two sticks brings your focus to the center. This separates the women into two groups.
The figures on the left are overlapping and create dimension in the art piece. The figure behind the table adds to the dimension.
Closure can be seen with the two figures that are looking at the figure behind the table creating a triangle shape.

Case 4: The horse is seen in the Egyptian view. It is drawn in a frontal view from the shoulder to the hoofs, with the neck and head drawn in profile. Only your mind can tell you this is a complete horse. It is a very flat figure that lacks dimension on a white ground. Western man looks at the horse as foreshortened and as whole. It is only the direction of the hoofs that tell the viewer they are looking at the front of the horse.

Case 4: The principles of visual perception that have been used in Figure 88 include figure and ground.

Figure and Ground: The black region in Figure 88 is the dominate area (figure), whereas the white area in the image is passive and therefore takes on the role of the background.

The image of the horse also displays foreshortening characteristics. The image can be described as a horse, despite its flat/solid appearance.

Extra Credit

“Sky and Water I”: The principles of visual perception that have been used in M.C. Escher’s “Sky and Water I” woodcut include figure and ground, grouping, proximity, similarity, continuity, and surroundings.

Figure and Ground: Figure and ground is most obvious of the principles found in this piece of M.C. Escher’s work. The black (bird) and white (fish) areas work separately as figure and ground. It is easiest to focus on the birds and then to switch one’s focus to the fish. It is difficult to see the evolution of both at the exact same time.

Grouping: Humans look for patterns to simplify the reading of different images. In the case of “Sky and Water I”, two patterns are grouped separately to help make the image easier to understand. One pattern is of the birds and the second pattern is of the fish.

Proximity: The principle of proximity assumes that items which are close together are associated. The birds are within close proximity to each other and the fish are in close proximity to each other as well. The group of birds and the group of fish are also in close proximity to each other. The closeness of the objects helps the viewer separate the animals into two groups, but to also see them as a whole (since the birds turn into fish and fish turn into birds).

Similarity: The birds have certain characteristics as do the fish. Due to the similar characteristics found within the birds (overall shape, wings, beak), the similar characteristics found within the fish (overall shape, fins, tail), it is easy to understand that the birds are related the birds and that the fish are related to the fish.

Continuity: The principle of continuity is based upon the idea that smooth changes are preferred to abrupt changes. M.C. Escher did a fantastic job of creating a smooth change between seeing the image of a bird to seeing the image of a fish.

Surroundings: The surroundings of an image affect the way the “figure” is seen. The principle of smallness (smaller areas are often seen as figures against a large background) is evident in the ease of seeing the small black birds on the large white background and seeing the small white fish on the large black background.

Extra credit:

Maxima Velocidad de la Madona de Rafael, by Salvador Dali Dali is using grouping in this picture by placing shapes of different colors together and thereby creating the illusion of the woman.

He is also using proximity to create that affect. Similarity is used, as well as shapes that are different from the pattern, like the eyebrows, to draw attention to a certain detail.

Continuity is used with the placement of the circles to create the illusion of three dimensions. Closure is definitely used, and our minds are instinctively filling out the blanks between the shapes to create the image of the woman.

Leveling is used to create order in the mass of shapes, which will make it easier to understand and remember. We will remember the circles as symmetric.

Adding a dimension is used to draw the viewer’s eye and complete the image of the woman, as well as guide our eye to the center.