A multimedia project by definition is a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactive content forms. There is a lot to think about when planning a multimedia project.

At MB/I we work on a diverse range of these multimedia projects, from a trade show piece to an hour-long high-end sales presentation. Here’s what these projects have in common in terms of planning.

1. Purpose
A piece that needs to sell has a very different tone from a piece that needs to educate. Understanding the purpose is critical to defining the message, the tone, and the types of content that will be needed. 

2. Audience
Is it an internal piece to educate your staff? Is it a sales piece your sales force  will use during a client meeting? Is it a piece prospects will receive in the mail when you are not there to walk them through it? Who will watch it and whether someone from your company will be there to present the information needs to be defined and agreed to.

3. Delivery method
A multimedia presentation delivered on a CD can me much more involved than one to be delivered online… due to file size considerations. Tweaks will need to be made if your audience will be using both a PC and a Mac. A presentation ran directly from a hard drive will typically run smoother than from a laptop’s CD drive.

4. Duration
Creating smooth transitions from one message to another is time consuming. The smoother a presentation looks, the more time it took to make it so. Duration is a big budget consideration. Minutes can make a big difference in a project’s budget. From the end user’s perspective, the longer a presentation is, the more variety it needs to have to keep them captivated.

5. Script
The writing of the script is typically what gets done first. The script shapes what the visuals will be and what the voice over will say. Who will write this script? Is your content extremely technical or unique that you need to have an internal resource write the first draft? Or can you have a professional writer outside your company write it? 

6. Types of content
What will you need to convey the message? If video is needed, does your multimedia developer offer such services or do you need to find your own resource? If you need voice over, what kind of talent do you need? Male, female, professional voice, casual tone? Do you have the still images needed or do you need to hire a photographer… or use stock imagery? 

7. Functionality
At the basic level you will need the following functions: pause/play, back/next, audio on/off, volume control. However, you can add more customized features, such as the ability to launch other content from the presentation, a chapter menu, the ability to jump to a specific frame within a video, a call to action form that captures users’ data, etc. All of the items above (1 through 6) will help define what this functionality needs to be. 

8. Flexibility
Stretch your investment. If you need the same content for the web and CD-ROM, tell your developer. Knowing that there needs to be different versions of the same content before any work has been done is crucial to avoiding double work and budget increases. There are many ways to program these multimedia projects. Picking the appropriate way will depend on understanding its different intended uses.

A good developer will guide you through these planning steps and will not start until all aspects of the projects are thoroughly understood.