CHArt Eighteenth Annual Conference

Simon Rodwell, The Open University, UK
DVD and Visual Resources

So far the impact of DVD on the computing world has primarily been via commercial channels. The general public's wide acceptance of the technology for the playback of commercial video material has meant that DVD can also gain ready acceptance in the educational world. This provides producers of educational DVD great opportunities and complex challenges. The reliance of the format on visual material whether this is made up of video or still image ensures the format's future dominance in the visual world. The visual material can include paintings, buildings, and maps. Authoring software can be used to manipulate and examine these artefacts in various ways. With a DVD hybrid disc which contains material for a stand-alone player, but also web pages and computer programs, there is the possibility of examining a visual resource from different perspectives. The positive nature of the medium also encourages archival projects dealing with the transferral and re-examination of video and audio material on older formats and their preservation on DVD. Linked to this falling cost of DV cameras coupled with their portability also encourages many film makers to work on creative projects that result in production of a DVD.

This paper will focus on a small group of projects undertaken at the Open University which explore the interactive use of video, audio and still image resources within an educational context. The challenges of using the DVD format will be discussed and will be illustrated with examples taken from all stages in the production process from early planning through to completion of a disc.

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