Creative Multimedia and Digital Marketing

The fields of creative multimedia programming and online marketing are closely related. Many creative multimedia projects are in fact used to promote the product of the creator, while also being the product. Viral marketing has become a huge phenomenon in recent years, and the skills learned in creative multimedia programming are very much transferable to this area. Indeed, it can be very simple to start off, by using a blog such as this or a Facebook page. Search engine optimisation is very important for this type of marketing as well; the more hits you get on Google and Bing, the more likely people are to look at your work, and the more likely you are to be successful.

Take, for example, Miranda Manning. Manning is an emerging author who has recently published her first book, Who is Alice?, through Poolbeg Press. Manning set up a Facebook page to market her work online, and received 50 fans in the space of a few days, using her own network. As her work has never been published in book format before, this is quite an achievement. Her own statistics indicate that many of the views on her page were viral, in that the content was seen through the sharing actions of others.

In the image above, where you see the words '60 people saw this post', the administrator can hover over the words to see how many of these views were organic and how many were viral. It is a very effective marketing tool and should be used to the utmost.

To view Miranda Manning's Facebook page and 'like' it, click here:

Miranda Manning on Facebook

To read about her on the Poolbeg Press website, click here:

Miranda Manning at Poolbeg

Final Year Creative Multimedia Programming Project

Check out my Final Year Project blog for information on my major project for the H. Dip in Creative Multimedia Programming. I'm building an online museum using Unity 3D. I modelled my objects in 3ds max and brought them in to a terrain I created using Unity. I have yet to add scripting to the project, but you can see my work in progress here:

Creative Multimedia Programming - Online Museum

Creative Multimedia Programming and database systems

Good database design is vitally important to a successful creative multimedia project. Data may be stored in the database and called using the PHP programming language in order to create dynamic content and minimise site maintenance. With a dynamic PHP database, the owner of the website can update it without the help of webmaster, which is essential for any business.

Good database design ensures readability and usability in your creative multimedia project.

Programming for Creative Multimedia Projects

Programming can often be a challenge for those starting from scratch with creative multimedia. Many find it difficult to integrate left-brain and right-brain thinking, as most of us are dominated by one side of the brain or the other. However, with lots of practice, it's possible to create dynamic content which can be styled creatively at the front end. It is fundamental to multimedia to be able to combine the logical with the creative. However, often in industry these roles are separate, with programmers doing the back end and designers maintaining the front end. However, it is very important to understand the dialogue between these two for a successful multimedia project.

 

Creative Multimedia Programming and animation

Animation is a combination of the skills learned in a creative multimedia programming environment - interface design and user experience are combined with scripting language to create dynamic multimedia pieces. Sound editing, graphic design, and programming all come together to create a finished product. For example, I created this animation in Flash . I create the illustrations using Adobe Illustrator and used Flash's inbuilt programming language, ActionScript, to get my animation moving. I also used Adobe Audition to edit and clip the sounds. This animation is intended to enhance learning for young children, hence the nursery rhyme theme of Pop Goes the Weasel.

Creative Multimedia Programming uses - game design

Creative multimedia programming often gives students their first taste of designing for video games, and many graduates go on to develop games as a career. There are many excellent conversion courses available in Ireland which would suit creative multimedia programming graduates or anyone interested in the fields of game design and creative multimedia. Courses include:

http://www.gamedesignireland.ie/
http://www.pulsecollege.eu/galway/

Anyone with a foundation in 3d graphics (as taught by many creative multimedia programming-based courses), Photoshop, and basic programming, will find these courses build well on their existing skills. However, beginners may also find them useful, and will be challenged into using their creative skills for something different.

For images of what you can do using some simple modelling techniques, click here:

Creative 3d Graphics 

Creative Multimedia Programming on Facebook

To get up to the minute information on Creative Multimedia Programming at LIT, check out the frequently-updated Facebook page here:

Multimedia at LIT on Facebook

Here you can find example of the work of current students on the Higher Diploma in Creative Multimedia Programming, as well as offerings from undergraduates studying for the BSc in Creative Multimedia. These include multimedia portfolios, interface design, short films, and more. Social networking has become a huge part of many jobs in the creative multimedia industry, and it is important to use it to the best advantage. It's also an excellent way to promote your own multimedia work.

Creative Multimedia winners!

Three students of the Creative Multimedia Programming H.Dip at Limerick Institute of Technology won second prize at the annual dare2bdrinkaware.ie short film and multimedia awards last Wednesday. Michelle O'Gorman, Kamil Zal and Emer Murphy created a video game style film to promote responsible drinking among young people. Students of the undergraduate BSc in Multimedia Programming and Design also came in third place. Well done everyone!

Creative Multimedia Programming Courses

Ireland is rapidly becoming an international centre for multimedia, largely because we have a wide variety of multimedia courses available, specialising in both creative design and multimedia programming. Check out the list here:

http://creative-multimedia-programming.blogspot.ie/p/explore-your-creativity-with-multimedia.html

Creative Multimedia video award

The public vote is still open for dare2Bdrinkaware.ie's annual multimedia film competition. Three students from the Creative Multimedia Programming H.Dip in LIT are up for an award for creating a video about drinking at your own pace. The video employs a number of creative techniques, such as editing with graphic, good use of sound, and a concept tying in with the role multimedia plays in our lives. It really shows what you can do as part of the Creative Multimedia Programming H.Dip - it's a great way to broaden your skillset and learn technical skills to back up your creativity. You can vote in the dare2Bdrinkaware.ie multimedia film award here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/dare2bdrinkaware. Voting is open until 5pm, April 23.

Creative Multimedia Programming: A marketable career

Creative Multimedia Programming is a rapidly growing field of study. It has a high value in the jobs market, as employers want creative individuals who are also technically minded and undaunted by the use of programming languages to make dynamic multimedia content. 3D animation, user interface design, web development, and app development, are all good examples of integrating programming with your creative side to build useful, contemporary technological products.

Creative Multimedia Programming

Welcome to the Creative Multimedia Programming blog!