Multimedia for Authoring Motion Pictures

Abs t rac t In this article we present a computer program called “MAD”, Movie Authoring and Design. Whereas most computer software for filmmaking focuses on the editing and post-production stage, MAD is designed specifically to support the authoring stage, and may be used before any film footage is shot. It assists in the process of developing and refining the concept for a movie by supporting the intrinsically hierarchical nature of movies; it supports a top-down design approach as well as a bottom-up implementation approach. MAD allows the user to keep script, storyboards, sounds, and digitized video clips together in a single document. Visualizing the final result is assisted by the “play” feature, which allows an approximation to the final film to be played on the author’s workstation at any time. The accuracy of this approximation increases as additional script, timing information, and other data is added to the movie.