Objectives and outcomes
Students are able to create, collect, handle, compress, archive, program, synchronise, transfer, present,
aesthetically evaluate and enhance, and commercialise multimedia content. They learn about the
phenomenon of content-distribution networks which is a central technological phenomenon of the largest
global computer giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook. Students should become familiar with
all key formats of multimedia content. They should be able to recognise a need for a certain dedicated
tool and to shape multimedia content with it. They should be prepared to participate in the development
of a wide range of system and application solutions in the field of multimedia information systems,
including document-centric systems, social networks and automatic content processing and analysis.
Lectures
Introduction to the basics of multimedia formats and multimedia information systems. Colour models,
colour perception, images (JPEG standard, discrete cosine transformation, compression techniques and
image storage formats, input and output devices, basics of image processing, automated image
analysis, aesthetic image analysis). Video (video compression, MPEG standards, video analysis
techniques, live video streaming). Sound (input and output devices, discretization and compression of
sound). Large text (fonts, layout). Multimedia convergence (software and other trends). Multimedia
server, storage and data center. Modeling of multimedia services and resources. Multimedia applications
of medium size (documentation and document-centric systems). Large multimedia applications (content-
distribution network, Google, YouTube, big data in multimedia). Algorithms of multimedia collective
intelligence (collaborative filtering, clustering, retrieval of independent features, examples in Python).
Students get acquainted with the leading professional and scientific literature in the field of multimedia
and are instructed on how to use it.
Practical classes
In these classes, conducted in a classroom with computers, in the photo studio and in the music studio of
the School of Computing, students learn about digital media as a significant segment of many IT projects
in the modern era. Students gain a basic knowledge of the relevant Adobe Creative Cloud
programs (Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, XD, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects and others)
and they practice the basic graphic design principles such as composition, dynamics, contrast,
colour, abstraction and balance. They are acquainted with the history and modern practice of multimedia
design. They learn the basics of recording and sound and image editing. They are acquainted with
generative design through Processing and p5.js.