ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some of the basic principles for writing for many media: Text, Audio and Video. The necessity of writing for many media in the same production is as demanding on the multimedia writer as is dealing with interactivity. The World Wide Web has brought a major resurgence in the writing and reading of text in multimedia programs. Even with the increased use of web video, audio, and animation, on-screen text still plays a major role on most web sites where the primary activity of most users is still reading. Most interactive media projects will not have anyone on the team with the title of “editor.” Examples of audio-only or audio-dominant multimedia include web audio interviews and seminars; audio and image scenes in which narration carries the bulk of the meaning. Writing for video is an important skill for the multimedia writer because DVDs can accommodate considerable full-motion video and animation.
