Sound Design for the Web

E85.1812.001
New York University
Instructor: rich cirminello

New Forum!

Student Work:

Assignments

  • due 9/18/06
    1. download the latest browsers and plug-ins
    2. authorize QT Pro for your machine
    3. send e-mail to me
  • due 9/25/06
    1. Learn how to connect to your NYU Home Web space using SFTP with a client application such as Fetch, Fugu, BBEdit, WinSCP 3.8.2. Don’t forget that you need to select the “SFTP” option or your connection will fail
    2. create a directory named ‘sdw’ in your NYU Home ‘public_html’ directory
    3. create a simple homepage for the class, name it ‘index.html’ and upload it to your new ‘sdw’ direcotry
      Make sure to include a proper !doctype to your page; for information refer to this article on the ‘A List Apart’ Web site.
      You may also browse the source code of the sample page I built last night.
    4. test it to make sure it is online
    5. create adirectory called‘assets’ inside ‘sdw’; refer to the site organization map for help planning your directory structure, and remember to use lowercase web–safe names for all your files and directories
    6. send e-mail to me with a link to your new class homepage
    7. Read Chapter 1 in the Streaming Media Bible (use the link below to access the electronic resource from Bobst Library)
  • due 10/16/06
    1. Practice using QuickTime Pro 7
    2. Choose an audio file and encode it using several different QuickTime Pro export settings
    3. Bring the original file and your encoded examples to class
  • due 10/23/06
    1. Author a basic presentation of a QuickTime .mov file in a Web page.
    2. Practice using the </object> and </embed> elements and various attributes of the QuickTime plug–in
    3. Post your page to your class Web site, add a link to it on your sdw/index.html page and send me an e–mail when it has been uploaded. See a sample.
  • due 11/6/06
    • Create a Web presentation of two QuickTime movies combined into one
    • The movie you embed in the Web page should include:
      1. an audio– QuickTime .mov file
      2. a series of images or a short video
    • Use the 'Add to Selection And Scale' function from the QuickTIme Edit Menu to combine your files
    • Save either as a 'Self-Contained' movie or as a 'Reference Movie'
    • Post your page to your class Web site, add a link to it on your sdw/index.html page and send me an e–mail when it has been uploaded.
  • due 11/13/06
    • Using a javaScript function similar to the popupwindow() function demonstrated in class, author a presentation of a QuickTime movie that plays in a separate window opened by JavaScript
    • The JavaScript window should have the following:
      1. an appropriate size to present your movie
      2. the browser tools and address bars removed
      3. the window should load a complete (but simple) HTML page into which you have embedded your QuickTime movie
    • You may choose to inclde your JavaScript code in the <head/> of your parent page or in a separate file
    • see an example here
  • due 11/20/06
  • due 12/4/06
    • Create a SMIL presentation that includes streaming audio or video
    • use SMIL Scripting Guide for QuickTime, Streaming with QuickTime, the QuickTime Streaming presentation, and the sample SMIL movie as a guide
    • e-mail me a link to your SMIL page

Latest Browsers

Latest Plug-ins

Articles:

Electronic Musician Magazine:

Others:

Tutorials and Guides

Helpful Tools

Links:

Handouts, Class Notes, and Presentations:

(downloadable PDF files) get the free Adobe Acrobat Reader if you need it (PDF files are viewable using Preview on Mac OS X without Acrobat)

Books and Resources

Some of my book recommendations from the past year and a half, or so…

Web Standards, Usability, Functionality, Design

  • Designing With Web Standards, Jeffrey Zeldman
    comment: a fantastic book about all the right reasons to design with Web Standards; also has the best description of the various <!doctype>s that I’ve seen
  • Beginning CSS, Richard York
    comment: goes through all the CSS syntax, selectors and rules: Highly recommended for someone new to CSS
  • Bulletproof Web Design, Dan Cederholm
    comment: uses great examples for getting around some common CSS problems
  • CSS Mastery, Andy Budd with Cameron Moll and Simon Collison
    comment: has a great section on overcoming bugs and points out many frustrating IE6 issues like the peek–a–boo bug and others
  • Professional JavaScript for Web Developers, Nicholas Zakas
    comment: a serious and thorough book for truly understanding JavaScript
  • DOM Scripting, Jeremy Keith
    comment: new to ‘non–obtrusive JavaScript?’ Pick this one up and start reading.
  • Professional Ajax, Nicholas Zakas, Jeremy McPeak, Joe Fawcett
    comment: great first book to understanding Ajax; helps if you are already familiar with basic JavScript
  • The Zen of CSS Design, Dave Shea and Molly Holzschlag
    comment: also see the site www.csszengarden.com
  • MTIV: Process, Inspiration, and Practice for the New Media Designer, Hillman Curtis
  • Professional CSS, Christopher Schmidt, Mark Tammell, Ethan Marcotte, Dunstan Orchard, Todd Dominey
  • Accessible XHTML and CSS Web Sites:Problem – Design – Solution, Jon Duckett
    comment: a good read and a fantastic desktop reference for all the elements of XHTML and using the tags and attributes properly

Architecture and Usability

  • Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville
  • Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web, Christina Wodtke
  • Ambient Findability, Peter Morville
  • Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug
  • Designing Interfaces, Jenifer Tidwell
  • Site–Seeing, Luke Wroblewski
    note: this is actually an older title, but many of the points still hold true although the methods have changed a bit

Project Management and Business

  • Web Redesign 2.0: Workflow that Works, Kelly Goto and Emily Cotler
  • Fundamentals of Technology Project Management, Colleen Garton and Erika McColloch
  • The Art of Project Management, Scott Berkun
  • A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, the Project Management Institute (PMI)
  • The Business Side of Creativity, Cameron Foote

Multimedia

  • Hands–On Guide to Webcasting, Steve Mack and Dan Rayburn
  • QuickTime for the Web, Apple Developer Series
    note: this is a fantastic book about QuickTime 6, unfortunately I know of no equivalent for QuickTime 7
  • Hillman Curtis on Creating Short Films for the Web, Hillman Curtis
  • The Streaming Media Bible, Steve Mack
    note: this is another older book but I still find it useful in the classes I teach about multimedia on the Web and Streaming Media; beware that some of the methods may be out of date

Don’t Waste Your Time or $$

These books really aren't worth the paper they're printed on, in my opinion
  • Return on Design, Ani Phyo
    note: it's a wannabe Web Resdesign 2.0 but doesn't come close; get the Goto and Cotler book and forget this one
  • Web Design on a Shoestring, Carrie Bickner
    note: I know she’s a contributor the the fantastic www.alistapart but in her book she profiles a ‘shoestring’ company who charged $2500 for a terrible site that helps a client save $$ by recommending they NOT have their own domain name… WHAT?!!?; read Krug’s Chapter about Mystery Meat Navigation, then visit the profiled company’s site, www.nodltd.com… ’nuf said
  • Web Standards Programmer’s Reference: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Perl, Python, and PHP, Steven Schafer
    note: great if you want to learn all about table layouts, slicing graphics and all that Old–Skool stuff that will make your sites inaccessible and 1997 retro; this is not an old book ©2005; what was Wrox thinking?