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New Perspectives: Multimedia in Analytical Chemistry
This article includes t w o animated figures as Supporting Information, which can be viewed for free at http://pubs.acs.org.org/ac.
When I was studying biochemistry in college, my professor often attempted to illustrate structures of complex proteins on the board. Even though he was artistically inclined, with his white chalk on the green board, the structures always had a suspicious resemblance to a bowl of spaghetti. And no matter how much he emphasized that the action of most proteins is directly related to their three-dimensional (3-D) structure, the concept never truly hit home until I saw my first computer-generated model of a protein's crystal structure rotating against a simple black Although this kind of animation used to Hamid Ghanadan gh multimedia
require top-of-the-line Silicon Graphics workstations, today's personal computers are faster and more capable of creating multimedia. In computer terms, multimedia can be defined as any combination of images, animation, sound, and words used to convey an idea. The more complex and technical a subject, the more suitable it is for communication through multimedia. Thus, science is the ideal subject for this type of communication. This article provides an overview of software programs that are available for creating scientific multimedia and COVPfS s0TT1P issues regarding the distribution of multimedia via the Internet Authoring multimedia
Animation. For scientific purposes, animation can be defined as the stacking of small images or other multiples of data through time. Effective animation can add several dimensions—for example, movement, color, or time—to a static illustration.
There are several good software packages available for creating 3-D and two-dimensional (2-D) animation. Standard 2-D illustration software such as Adobe Illustrator (http://www.adobe. com/prodindex/illustrator) and Macromedia Freehand (http://www.macromedia. com/software/freehand) do not offer enhanced animation tools. They do, however, provide a flexible environment for creating motion graphics. For example, a multilayered image can be created in Illustrator, ,n which layers scotain different frames of a simple animation. This multilayered image file can then be exported to Adobe Photoshoo (httpV/www adobe com/ prodindex/photoshoD) for assembly of the animation Illustrator rlso incluues s araphing tool, allowing numerical data input for plotting graphs. This is especially useful to scientists for two reasons. First, scientific data are no longer bound to the "canned" look
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and feel of standard spread sheets. With the software's wide range of design tools for customizing fonts, colors, and axes, scientists have control over every element of their graphs and charts. Second, scientists can create simple animation of their data. Imagine how that might enhance the results from a time series of experiments, for example.
perhaps showing their structure, contour, or water-accessible surface from multiple vantage points. More complex animation can illustrate the spatial interaction of several molecules, stereochemical reactions, or complex biochemical processes, as shown in Figure 2. Audio. Sound adds yet another dimension to data. For example, adding narration
video, and they are widely used by professional multimedia producers. Video. Traditional film and video techniques require special hardware and are cumbersome, time-consuming, and expensive. With today's computers, however, creating movies and editing videos are relatively trouble-free. Video has many potential uses in science. For example, microscopists can document and present real-time cellular behavior (e.g., see the depletion of serotonin from Retzius neurons or the depletion of epinephrine and norepinephrine from bovine adrenal chromaffin cells at http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/ ancham-a/71/il5/html/yeung html [1]) Other for video include the demonstration of multistep analytical techniques and the distribution of prerecorded lectures over the Internet As with aiidio v i d p n c a n hp dicrin'7pH h v rppnrdincr it di
Figure 1 . Single frames from animation showing the rotation of green fluorescent protein.
Macromedia Flash (http://www. macromedia.com/software/llash) creates 2-D animation that is Web-friendly. Flass also can add interactivitytoanimation, allowing viewers to make selecttons through hot links. For example, a chemist can create an animated diagramtoexplain the operattng prrnciple of an instrument Viewers of the diagram can "virtually" operate the instrument by cllcking on the valves to turn them ""n" "r "off'. Each action by the viewer affects the animatton. Three-dimensional animation can be created with several modeling programs, such as MetaCreations Ray Dream Studio (http://www.metacreations.com/products/ rds55) and/orm'Zbyauto'des'sys (http:// www.formz.com). Each program uses its own algorithm for creating and rendering 3-D images. These programs, like most 3-D modeling software, come equipped with a time line for creating complex animation. As shown in Figure 1, simple animation can be used to rotate molecules 762 A
to a video that explains the protocol for operating an instrument allows for faster "metabolism" of the information. Although recording, capturing, and playing back the audio requires the computer to be equipped with a sound card, virtually all of today's Macintosh computers and Windows-based PCs come with this hardware. Audio can be digitized in two ways: :I can be directly recorded onto the computer, or prerecorded audio can be captured by the computer. There are many software packages available for capturing and editing audio. These programs range from simple, amateur-level programs to complex, studio recording software for professional audio engineers. Macromedia SoundEdit 11 (http://www.macromedia.com/software/ sound) and BIAS Peak (http://www.bias-incc com/peakhtml) are two simple programs that offer substantial flexibility and editing features Both programs allow merging and synchronization of audio with animation and
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rectly onto the computer or prerecorded video can be rantured In both cases how ever the comnirter needs to be eqrrinned with a video capture card. Once digitized, video can be edited with a program such as Adobe Premiere (http:// www.adobe.com/prodindex/premiere), which offers many features and tools for editing video. A similar program, Adobe After Effects (http:p/www.adobe.com/ prodindex/aftereffects), emphasizes the creation of special effects and motion graphics. Although both packages are used by video professionals, they are fairly easy to learn and straightforward to use. Serving multimedia The most convenient and inexpensive method of distributing multimedia supplements is via the Internet. With Internet connection speeds increasing, the Web provides a viable means for distributing scientific information. Today's scientific Web sites offer a wealth of multimedia for a variety of audiences (e.g., view Kent Wilson's interactive teaching tool for physical chemistry at http://www-wilson.ucsd.edu/ education/samplegateway.html) However, there are several issues to consider when creating multimedia for distribution over the Internet. Most audio video and animation requires optimization for Web circulation Also issues regarding compatibility with different Web browsers and operating
technology for streaming audio and video over the Internet. Three different software programs are needed for distributing Real content. First, RealPublisher is needed to compress and encode QuickTime source files in the Real format. RealPublisher automates the process of creating Real content by encoding audio/video files, writing the HTML code, and uploading all the files directly to the server. A server-side software program is also needed to distribute Real content Finally viewers need RealPlayer to play back Real content. Macromedia Shockwave creates streaming interactive video and uses a unique compression method for distributing its content via the Web. Like Flash, Shockwave offers audio, video, and interactivity, allowing viewer input through hot links. Shockwave is created with Macromedia Director, which is an extensive multimedia authoring package for creating CD-ROM content Director can either assemble a sequence of images or use QuickTime movies to create Shockwaves. A plug-in is necessary on the viewer's side for the browser to recognize and parse the Shockwave code No additional software on the side is necessarv
systems need to be addressed. Lastly, multimedia pieces are often too large to be downloaded over conventional connections within a reasonable amount of time. The simplest animation, containing only a few frames, can be distributed as an animated giffile.First, each frame is created individually and saved as a gif file. (All of the software programs mentioned above support the gif format) Then, the sequence is assembled by the shareware programs GifBuilder for Macintosh (http://iawww.epfl.ch/Staff/ Yves.Piguet/clip2gif-home/GifBuilder.html) or Gif Constructton Set for Windows s.1/ 95/NT (http://www.mindworkshop.com/ alchemy/gifcon.html). Alternatively Macromedia Flash can create Web-ready interactive animation However viewers need to download free plug-in software to enable their Web browserstoparse the flash format More complex animation, especially those with audio and video, are often "streamed" on the Web. Streaming is a technology where audio and video can be viewed as the data are being downloaded. This technology eliminates the long download times that would be needed to view animation and video. Without streaming, a 4-MB file can take more than 8 min to download with a 56-Kb modem. As a streamed file the movie would start playing after several seconds. There are three main types of streaming technologies available: Apple QuickTime 4.0 (http://www.apple.com/quicktime), RealNetworks (http://www.real.com), and Macromedia Shockwave (http://www. macromedia.com/downloads). Each of these technologies has unique capabilities and features. However, they all require viewers to download plug-ins or helper applications for their Web browsers. QuickTime is the industry standard format for digital video on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. All of the 3-D modeling and digital audio/video programs mentioned in this article rely heavily on the QuickTime format, and the most recent version, QuickTime 4.0, includes streaming technology. However, although it takes relatively little effort to create a QuickTime movie and distribute it over the Internet, QuickTime's streaming technology requires special hardware and software configurations on the server side. RealNetworks Real media is a popular
Keeping it clean
With all this power and ease to create complex multimedia, principles of effective information design must be followed to create meaningful supplemental information (2,3,4.. Far too often, the Web is used as a showcase of technology for technology's sake. And this grave mistake has created a sea of information-less documents. But amidst this sea, there are gems of scientific information, presented and supplemented with fabulous multimedia. References (1) Yeung, E. S.Anall Chem. 1999, 71,522 A529 A (2) Tufte, E. R. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information; Graphics Press: Cheshirer CT, 1983. (3) Tufte, E. R. Envisioning Information; Graphics Press: Cheshire, CT, 1990. (4) Tufte, E. R. Viiual Explanations; Graphics Press: Cheshire, CT, 1997. Figure 2. Single frames from a complex animation illustrating the formation of t h e prepriming complex in DNA replication.
Hamid Ghanadan (
[email protected]) is a multimedia producer who specializes in scientific communication. His work includes several covers for Analytical Chemistry.
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