HERE鈥橲 a major growth sector of information technology which is playing an
increasing part in everyday living and offers numerous opportunities for
employment. Sales relating to multimedia products and services around the world
now exceed 拢7 billion yet, because it is so multifaceted, it is difficult
to get firmly to grips with what it is all about. Multimedia has been defined as
鈥渢he creation and integration of content held in a variety of media for
electronic transmission鈥� and 鈥渢he fusion of computing, audiovisual technologies
to combine text, audio, graphics, still pictures, animation and moving
颈尘补驳别蝉鈥�.
Some participants in this industry approach it from the perspective of
hardware providers, others as the writers of the enabling software. Many are
publishers, moving ever more rapidly into the electronic publishing and
distribution of their products. Multimedia is proving to be particularly useful
in education and training, the provision of public information and the
advertising and marketing of products. Inevitably, in a situation where many
potential users of multimedia have so little knowledge of the technicalities and
where to begin, there are many consultants offering advice and practical help.
The Computer Services and Software Association has around 40 members who offer
multimedia services to their clients.
The British Interactive Multimedia Association, whose 150 plus members
include electronics and computer manufacturers, software houses and publishers,
solicitors鈥� partnerships and companies such as British Airways and Unilever, is
the body which represents the industry. A multimedia exhibition is held each
June and there are more than 17 magazines published, including Multimedia
News and PC Interactive which cover different aspects of the
industry.
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A typical example of the use of multimedia is the availability of
encyclopedias on CD-ROM, which include text, sound, video and pictures.
Development of the Internet is now offering people the opportunity to access
remote multimedia information from their personal computer. It is exceptionally
powerful when it becomes interactive, allowing the inquirer to ask questions and
receive answers.
What of the jobs? At the hardware end of the market, are firms such as
Philips and ICL. According to Simon Turner, group leader of interactive systems
at Philips, the industry needs people who can address the technical aspects of
producing new products and services based around the Internet 鈥渨hich will work
in the television and phone-based domain鈥�. Deciding what services people will
want in the future and designing the user interface are other essential
questions which must be addressed.
Turner鈥檚 group of 35 employees includes designers, some of whom are recruited
from the Royal College of Art, to design the hardware plus engineers and
software people to establish the content and links with other databases.
Philips, at its Redhill R&D Laboratories, is producing both PC-based
multimedia and stand alone products such as a Web access box.
At ICL, by contrast, the emphasis is more on the software. 鈥淲e employ people
with technical skills such as a knowledge of the Internet and C++ programming,鈥�
says Duncan Short ICL鈥檚 personnel manager at its Putney head office. 鈥淎n
understanding of HTML and JAVA, the languages used to programme Web sites, is an
advantage. The multimedia employment market is open and not mature. It wants
people with commercial awareness who are change oriented, quick learners who
will adapt to new technology. It is a young person鈥檚 industry where people fresh
out of school or university are preferred.鈥� Short sees the need for people who
can design materials for both the Web and television. 鈥淭hey must be visual,
bringing together the artistic and the technical; computer science degrees are
not the be all and end all.鈥�
Abacus Software is one of the growing number of small software companies
which specialise in electronic and on-line publishing. With a staff of 10, based
in West Kensington, London, it focuses on multimedia services, network services,
libraries, publishing and printing. Employees in Abacus Software have at least
three years C++ programming experience and are building systems on the World
Wide Web using the UNIX operating system and the JAVA programming languages.
Another way to look at the multimedia industry is through the publishers who
actively participate. The Directory of Book Publishers, Distributors and
Wholesalers (Booksellers Association, London) gives details of more than
160 publishers of electronic and multimedia materials. Starting in publishing,
the career route through production editing often leads to work in this field
nowadays. The new breed of editors must adapt to the changing environment which
is leading to more electronic publishing and distribution of their products.
Problems of layout, making an electronic page attractive to the eye, which media
to use and when, and how to market electronic material all need to be addressed.
Publishers and editors cannot afford to lag behind in the technology revolution
which demands a different approach and new types of material for
publication.
Jonathan Newby, publishing director of IPC鈥檚 New Media Department, says
publishers expect new recruits to have a good appreciation and enthusiasm for
multimedia and electronic publication. 鈥淚t has been hard in the past to gain
formal training but the educational system is fast catching up. Editorial staff
must be able to understand how multimedia can be used and know the jargon
without needing to do the programming,鈥� says Newby. And he adds that anyone
seeking to move into middle management in publishing will now need to be
conversant with multimedia.
If you are starting out on your career there are 26 degree courses and
several HNDs now available which relate to multimedia. They include multimedia
journalism at the University College, Warrington, Cheshire, and multimedia at
Southbank University, London. Many of these courses are new and have yet to
produce their first graduates. At postgraduate level the courses of study
include those leading to MAs at the University of Huddersfield and the London
College of Printing and Distributive Trades in interactive multimedia design.
Similar courses are being offered at the Univesity of Lancaster and Liverpool
John Moores University.
If you decide to make multimedia your career, salaries are currently higher
for those who enter via the engineering and software route than those who begin
as designers and editors. A graduate starting out by the former route can expect
to earn between 拢14 000 and 拢16 000, while new entrants to a
publishing career receive between 拢12 000 and 拢14 000 per annum.