Assignments

The Multimedia Systems course requires active participation in class and involves three main assignments for the students: [1] state of the art paper presentation, [2] multimedia project and [3] blind peer paper review.

1. State of the art paper/article presentation

Read, understand and present a state of the art multimedia article. The two (2) students presenting the article will also need to write 5 questions with the corresponding answers to hand in to the professor at the beginning of the presentation. The presentation must be 20 minutes including questions (15 minutes presentation + 5 minutes debate).

After the presentation, there will be a debate on the topic.

Deliverables:

You MUST bring a CD/DVD with the content of the presentation the day you present. If you DON'T give me the CD/DVD before your presentation you will not be allowed to present and you will have a ZERO 0/20 on the assignment. The CD/DVD must have the following information:

• the presentation.
• a list of references with the resources included in the presentation. The references must be listed in the last slide of the presentation.
• The five questions and answers in a PDF file. The questions must also be in the presentation.
• An URL with all the material posted.

How you will be graded:

• quality of the presentation: style, format and timing.
• debate: where you able to stir an interesting debate.
• research: how much additional information you added to the assigned article.
• understanding, analysis and performance: did you fully comprehend the subject, where you able to transmit the key concepts.

2. Multimedia project

there are two options: a) develop a multimedia system; b) survey on a specific multimedia topic. In both cases, a group of two (2) students will need to write a paper of minimum of four pages (double column) and a maximum of tenpages that reflects their research. The longer the report, the more contribution work needs to have. The reports must be accompanied by a video with a demo of the work. The work will be presented at the final conference and the presentation will be also graded. The presentation must not exceed 20 minutes and after the presentation the audience will be allowed to ask questions.

Recommendation:
keep the research topic simple! Ask the professor for advice on which topics to choose and how to quantify the workload.

Deliverables:

You MUST submit a CD/DVD with all the information related to the project (report, source code, presentation, additional material, URL, etc.). And you MUST create a site. If you DON'T give me the CD/DVD and you don't have a site you will have a ZERO 0/20 on the assignment.

• project description, a PDF that includes:
  name of the authors, contact information, title of the project, representative image (see description below), a single sentence (summary that introduces the achievements of your project, 60 words or fewer) and a 400 word abstract that summarize the essential contribution of your work.
• one "representative image":
  one clear digital image with the highest print quality possible (at least 1500x1200 pixel resolution, at 300 dpi, at 10x10cm). Image must be JPEG format, 24-bit uncompressed (RGB, 8-bits per channel). Avoid embedded, layers, masks, etc. Also specify copyright and image credits.
• the report/paper:
  a minium of four-page paper and a maximum of ten-page paper, written and proffed, in PDF format, which conforms the SIGGRAPH style rules and instructions for authors
  Download paper template here .
  For the FINAL version of the paper use LaTeX code: \documentclass{acmsiggraph};
  For the REVIEW version use LaTeX code: \documentclass[review]{acmsiggraph}.
  A sample paper is available here
• final presentation:
  name of the authors, contact information, all slides, videos/additional material, references, etc. You have to make sure that the presentation runs properly in the CD/DVD.
• references:
  a PDF file with the list of all the references used in the project. References must be complete.
• additional material:
  you must include a maximum of five-minute video that demonstrates your work (only Quicktime MPEG-4 or DivX Version 6 format is accepted and the file size must not exceed 120 MB) and the source code of your project if applicable. You can also provide up to five supplementary images.
• five Q&A:
  a PDF file with five questions and its answers. These questions must also be included in your presentation. Make sure your presentation answer those questions.
• site:
  create site with all the material related to the project: project description, one representative image, the report/paper, final presentation, list of references, all the additional material and the five Q&A.
• readme file:
  include in the CD/DVD a readme.txt file with the URL of the site, a list of the content of the CD/DVD and installations instructions if applicable.

How you will be graded:

• quality of the report/paper: style, format and content.
• quality of the presentation: style, format and timing.
• demo: does the video transmit the key concepts and contribution of the work?
• research: how much information you have studied and thoroughly review.
• overall evaluation: understanding, analysis and performance during the semester. did you fully comprehend the subject? where you able to transmit the key concepts in both the report and presentation?

3. Blind peer paper review

Each student will review one classmate's paper and provide feedback, following a template provided by the professor.
Download the template here, a sample review is available here.
If you don't follow the delivery instructions you will have ZERO 0/20 in the assignment.

Deliverables:

You must generate two files in PDF format and send them to me by email:
veronica.orvalho (@) dcc.fc.up.pt:

• File 1: for the authors
  name of the file: review_paperTitle.pdf
  Make sure NOT to include the name of the reviewer in this file. This file will go to the authors of the paper.
• File 2: for the professor
  name of the file: review_paperTitle_reviewerName.pdf
  Make sure to include the name of the reviewer in this file. This file will go to the professor for evaluation.

How you will be graded:

• quality of comments: you must provide constructive comments.
• analysis: you have to be objective and critical with your descriptions.