University of Hertfordshire
Contents
1. Beginner Intermediate Advanced Lessons will take you to a separate menu for each choice These menu s contain the actual lessons that you must follow and learn in order to become a good DJ These are the core of the software David Robinson Page 50 04 12 2003 Beginner Lesson Pc 2 Hear the Music 3 The Push Off 4 Beat Matching 5 How to Fade 1 Setting Up Your Equipment Mixer and Decks Back Each of the lesson path menu s look like this if you hover the mouse over each choice a brief explanation of menu thelesson is given to the right of the Click once on the lesson to be taken through that lesson It is recommended that the lessons be completed in the sequence that they are presented becausesin some later lessons it will be assumed that you are familiar with principals and techniques explained in earlier lessons So unless you are sure that you already know all that will be taught in a particular lesson Do Not Skip David Robinson Page 51 04 12 2003 Structuring Your Set Different types of set Various things affect what sort of set you should play be it time available to you the time in the night and the crowd you are playing to Here are some examples of set plans Constant Increase in Long workout style set tempo and energy with no huge builds and breaks Favoured by short set DJ s Favoured by long set DJ s Continue Previous Back to Menu2. David Buser et al Beginning Active Server Pages WROX 2000 Eric Taylor The AB Guide to music theory part 1 The Associated Board of the Royal School of Music 1992 Eric Taylor The AB Guide to music theory part 2 ThesAssociated Board of the Royal School of Music 1991 Phillip kerman Teach yourself Flash MX in 24 Hours SAMS 2002 David Robinson Page 39 04 12 2003 Appendices David Robinson Page 40 04 12 2003 Appendix A Questionnaires and I nterview schedule Software Design Questionnaire Q1 Have you used a CD ROM based training application before a What did you like about it b What would you change about it Q2 How long have you been a DJ or are you just starting to learn Q3 Do you have a lot of experience with Windows based applications Q4 What version of Windows will you run this software on Q5 What specification is the computer that you will run this software on Q6 Is it important to you to have an assessment of your progress as you complete the lessons on the disc Please complete this to the best of your knowledge I will collect the questionnaires shortly David Robinson Page 41 04 12 2003 Interview Questions Introduction 1 Do you DJ at the moment 2 Ifso for how long 3 What style of music do you play 4 Do you own a pair of turntables and a mixer How you learnt 1 How did you learn the skill of the DJ 2 Would you appreciate a teaching aid such as mine 3 Would
3. Evaluation of achieved Aims and ObjecCtivVveS s ssssesrsrssrserrorsnsnrnrsnrnnnnn nar 32 Bis Problems ENCOUNtEreC ssssssrssrsrersrrssrserrenrsersnenrrrrr rn renen er rr n RAR KRK KKR rann AR 34 4 F nblfer DevelOpMenNt ussssssssresserrenrensranrsrranrsnenss annan nara rar sann ARA Rn ARK nn nen nn 35 ReferehCCS sis sas cs sas s ks sar koks sek e ene ns n keane anana K SA RENAR RANE Far a pp 36 37 Bibliography cccsceseseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesaesaeeaeeeeeesaegseesaesaeeaeensanae pp 38 39 Appendixes is is sovsnanndaCkansusd snaran kun b nKRRENSREKAREN SNS RENRNSKSRENARSNNENA pp 40 44 User Manual pp 45 55 David Robinson Page 5 04 12 2003 Chapter 1 I ntroduction Introduction There is a lot about the noble craft that must be learnt and can be taught 1 The world of the professional DJ has never been as it isttoday the superstar DJ has risen from humble origins as a person who simply plays someone else s music to a central figure in the music industry As such more and more people are looking to Share their ideas and musical tastes with as many like minded people as possible and becoming DJ s themselves With turntables now outselling guitars there needs to be a serious look at what self tuition materials there are available for those hoping to learn this difficult but rewarding skill Report Structure The structure of this report is straight forward there is a description of the problems
4. Structuring Your Sets Introduction to Playing Out These lessons are designed with the more dedicated and advanced student in mind they aim to provide the skills needed to play in public professionally as well as some tricks to impress the crowd The software is aimed at DJ s wishing to learn a particular style of music dance music is very segregated in its many genres for example learning to mix with Drum and Bass music doesn t lend itself well to mixing house music This package is aimed at the house and trance DJ with a particular emphasis on progressive house Flow diagrams Software Application Splash Screen Flash Web Site Guide to DJ hardware Beginner Intermediate Advanced Lessons Lessons Lessons David Robinson Page 17 04 12 2003 Flow Diagrams Web Site Intro Login Register Registered Users HM Area Hew User Setup Contact Pages More Lessons David Robinson Page 18 04 12 2003 Human Computer I nterface HCI Research In order to make the software accessible to a wide range of people thought has to be given to the way that people interact with or use computer software There is a subject that looks into how people use interact with computers and software called HCI Human Computer Interface the task of HCI is to make the function of a technology self evident Much like a well designed hammer fits the user s hand and makes a physical task easy a wel
5. Each lesson is presented in the same way the navigation controls are shown below the main window and always offer the same options To continue through the lesson to go to a previous slide and to exit back to the main menu At the end of each lesson you will see the following symbol to illustrate that you have reached the end David Robinson Page 52 04 12 2003 Whilst progressing through the lessons be on the lookout for interactive activities always explained in the text that accompanies them Also look out for the following symbol as it will let you listen to a sound recording of a particular example David Robinson Page 53 04 12 2003 4 Using the Web Link From the main menu you can access the web site portion of the software It will take you to a page that looks like this Be aware that the web linkis constantly under maintenance F Interactive DJ Tutor Web Link Microsoft Internet Explorer EEE Ble Edt Yew Favorites Tools Help Ay Oa O x A QD Asah feros Aui O A JOG 3 Address http mmtprojects herts ac uk 10080 mmk4 53lindex asp O00000 ME ink Google z search Web Search site FBnews PageRank page info yup SHoh 2 INTERACTIVE DJ TUTOR WEB LINK LOGIN CREATE AN ACCOUNT Done internet From here you can create_a new user account that will be stored on the server or login using a previously created account No access is given until you have cr
6. ea 12 3 Research on learning methodologies Lune Qaceessteceeeseeeeeeeeees 14 Chapter 4 Design 1 Initial Storyboard APPrOaCh sssessrssersesesbilerse naea eerren rrenen 15 2 The Lesson StruCtUle ssremereerorenrn rn FR Ner spenr anses nanna en ran rann nr 16 a Beginner Mogelena 16 b Intermediate Le Bee ceccseesseseeeeeseeeereeneees 17 C AVANCE eeceeeeececeee Gombe rr nt raser ann esse rerna ran reenen na 18 3 FICI RESGaCN ass der sat anced he iif sn or vale cnet eee iene 19 4 User exposure amp FeedDaCk teessltssarserssrssrsrenssnnrnrensnarernrrnrsnrn rn nr nn nr 20 5 Website final deSiQN nsssgfBeoserenrerennsSPissonrarens sanna ananas arenan neon r nan 21 Chapter 5 I mplementation 1 Overview of the implementatiO mprOCeSS s e esersemmmermrrrsrrsna 22 2 Software Tools a Macromedia Director b Macromedia Fireworks c EO Video d Sonic Foundry Soundforge e AdobePhotoshop f Audiograbber g Microsoft Frontpage ccscececsseeeeseeeeeeseseeseeeetees pp 23 25 Chapter 6 Testing le User feeda Ky Jicin hida tein ion ciel eet iiA 26 2 Test Meds 2 enera eheee ante Maclin e Tee eaa AE an 26 SEE de KO aa EEEE 27 TEST A E E E pp 28 29 5 Problems DiSCOVErEd cccsccscsssessssssssessssecssessssesseeessesssessesseseeses 30 Chapter 7 Conclusion 1 Re State Aims and ODjeCtiVES s msssssesersrsrssersnrsnsrsnrrsrnrnrsrenrnnrr rr rnn rann rn rn nerna 31 2
7. to be solved with the software described as a series of aims and objectives that should be complete by the end of the project time span At the end of the report there willbe an analysis into how successful the software is at achieving allethe aims set out at the start Throughout the report details on the following stages will be documented Background Information Research Market Research Analysis Problem Definition User Requirements Design Explaining the software design processes Implementation An overview of the progress with implementing the software e Testing How the product was tested and how successfully it performed Conclusion Including how many aims were achieved By the end of the report it is hoped that you will have a great understanding of how the software was researched implemented tested and evaluated As well as why the subject matter was chosen David Robinson Page 6 04 12 2003 Aims and Objectives The software package will meet the following aims and objectives To teach the student how to become a better DJ To cater for DJ s of different Skill levels so that the beginner isn t thrown in at the deep end and the more experienced DJ isn t working through elementary lessons To provide a useful multimedia experience for the student where video and sound is used for good tuition purposes and is notypresent simply for aesthetic reasons To provide the student with a reliable method o
8. 04 12 2003 Chapter 6 Chapter 6 focuses on the testing of the finished product and the user feedback obtained since the program was finished User Feedback The first method of testing employed was simply to give theseople questioned and interviewed during earlier phases the chance to use thoroughly the software and then to offer their opinions and_to point out any errors that they feel need removing from the finished product After the selected people were given copies of the software their remarks were noted down and acted upon Testing Methods In order for us to fully test the finished software there needs to be two methods of testing performed White Box testing and Black Box testing White box Testing is where the software is examined piece by piece by the developer or someone who understands the internal workings of the software They can then come up with a series of test cases to trial tests for robustness and to ensure that the software meets its original specification Black box testing is involved with the user feedback stage mentioned earlier people not familiar with the software implementation itself are given a series of test cases and outcomes then they report back to the developer with problems or errors The testersshould know the correct outcome from the software depending on hiseor her interactions with it Advantages of this meth d are that because the developer and tester and separate during testing th
9. England including Southampton City College Also there areymany independent teaching centres including the Academy of Contemporary Music in Surrey the Manchester MIDI School and in many studiosvacross London DJ tuition is available either in groups or on a one to one basis David Robinson Page 8 04 12 2003 Records music used in the creation of the software In order to create the tuition program several records need to be used to demonstrate the skills that are going to be taught to prospective students Because of my own style of DJ ing I am using House records ofthe progressive genre This is a popular genre of dance musi sand has a large following in clubs across the country and abroad DJ s that play this genre of music include Sasha largely regarded as one of the best DJ s of all time John Digweed the three DJ s that make up Deep Dish and Anthony Pappa Record Labels that publish this kind of music include Global Underground Surround Sounds Renaissance Nettwerk Fade and many more A selection of records from the above labels wereeused that should work very well as tuition pieces mainly because they contain good production values and can be used to demonstrate well the techniques that are going to be explained in the software These titles are Drax amp Gooding Straight to the floor Renaissance 2002 Visuddha Visualiser Tone Depth Remixes Fade 2002 David Robinson Page 9 04 12 2003 DJ Hardware Used in t
10. Robinson and Paul Walker David Robinson Page 3 04 12 2003 Glossary of Terms e DJ Disc Jockey Mixer The DJ s hardware for blending between two or more audio inputs Turntable The record deck Record Can be used to describe a song in any recording format House The style of music covered by the software Blend The skill of mixing two records together smoothly Cut The skill of mixing two records very quickly to form a natural continuation Beatmatch To synchronise two records perfectly e Phasing When two records will not synchronise correctly e Bedroom DJ A DJ who doesn t play pofessionally David Robinson Page 4 04 12 2003 Table of Contents Chapter 1 I ntroduction page Te LINERO CU GUI TV sie ety teva tits obras tata oe ee et ea nied 6 2 Report Stru ctu res raa aaa teeth aun adh aei a aaaea taadaa 6 3 Aims and ObjeCtiVES ssessessssrseresrsrenerenannrner en ran ren nsrene rna nro rann n ene oi 7 Chapter 2 Background I nformation 1 Other Available Teaching AlOS essumsssssssesrenrserarrersnrnrrnr rna narr rer nonan none Tian 8 2 Records Used in the production of the softwWware lt 9 3 DJ hardware used in the leSSONS ssessrsrrsrssrrssersnrrernnnn den Paaso one enn 10 Chapter 3 Analysis 1 Evaluation of the problem defiNitiON s eerssrserrsersrrsn inasin rann rn rn 11 2 Defining user requirements neern Aeee Rs enar ereere
11. Tools Macromedia Director 8 Director was used to create the CD ROM side of the application and is used to bring all the multimedia creations from other packages such asflash or a video editing suite together to form the finished product The navigation system the overall design of the CD contents and the finished executable were all created or implemented using director A set Director 8 5 File Edit View Insert Modify Control Xtras Window Help SVB ellis n fe gt aeaea 4 s Ale a I set Stage 100 Structuring Your Set It is your choice in records that determines what group you want your set to fall into This is one of the toughest skills in DJ ing and some consider it as important or more important than your technical skills a 34 34 aplus 36 Bitmap 04 Back to menu 4 Text 04 climber 17 Flash Movie 04 CLUBBL 1 2 Bitmap 04 CLUBGI I 28 Bitmap 04 ITA IAN CLUBSH 1 23 Bitmap 04 Cantinne Button 5 Text 04 Pi inspector x Bitmap 04 amp C Documents and Setti set dir Script 04 E Script o4 eee a F Bitmap 04 T LY Guides and Grid E Movie a Guides IV Visible I Lock All Guides I Snap to Guides The waterfall a set with many The waves keeping the crowd Coor E builds and breakdowns to in
12. UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE WITH HONOURS IN MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY Project Report INTERACTIVE DJ TUTOR David Robinson Abstract This report is written to cover the various stages throughout the creation of the interactive DJ tutor software tool It is written to encompass everything from problem analysis through design implementation testing and conclusion It will include a definition of the objectives and functionalities that the software package will achieve and explain how successful the project is at attaining these goals David Robinson Page 2 04 12 2003 Acknowledgements Throughout the creation of both the project and the report there have been certain people that without their help and guidance my progressS would have never got off the ground These are Scarlett Xiao my project tutor for providing constant guidance and assistance throughout the duration of the project without which this achievement would not have been possible My thanks go out to Nettwerk Fade and Renaissance records for either the use of records from their catalogues or general assistance Appreciation and respect goes to Kenny Pierce aneup and coming hard house trance DJ for his valuable assistance in data collection and general help Thank you to everyone else that participated in my data collection exercises and testing these people include lan GunnjPeter
13. can be bundled with the executable file that is being distributed on the CD ROM Some of the video was also inaccessible during the playing of each director movie found that because the filenames of the mpeg clips were exceeding 8 characters when it comes to loading these fileseDirector could not locate them It was a simple amendment that corrected this error On the test machine located in lab D401 thesoftware was running slowly am putting this down to the fact that the machine was a public station and as such in a state of poor maintenance The software runs fine on both the systems that tested it on outside the university laboratories These problems were all amended before the final test cases shown earlier were performed David Robinson Page 30 04 12 2003 Chapter 7 Conclusion The conclusion has been written as if to form a complete report in itself and can be read independently of the main report body Project Aims and Objectives As stated in the main report the software tool that was developed as the project deliverable aimed to meet the following criteria To teach the student how to become a better DJ To cater for DJ s of different Skill levels so that the beginner isn t thrown in at the deep end and the more experienced DJ isn t working through elementary lessons To provide a useful multimedia experience for the student where video and sound is used for good tuition purposes and isnot present s
14. crease interested with a constantly New EE E the tension and tease the crowd changing tempo all night Remove All all night is Grid I Visible 7 I Snap to Grid Color i Isplay Text Width Height Spacing 64 x 64 opdown List Display Dots Jmp Forward Button ate Lines Imp to Movie Button Multi State Button E Push Button mmj Radio Button Group Tooltip Ey le OCLUBSH 1 0 3 start On fw 9 10 Bryan Adams R Gl Final Report doc Mic Music f r Dj Tutor set Director 8 5 Li 15 52 David Robinson Page 23 04 12 2003 Macromedia Flash 5 Flash was used to create every animation on the CD that isn t used in the navigation system anything used to demonstrate a technique or a principal within the software was animated in flash 5 EO Video For editing of the video clips used in the software and for combining more than one clip together a program called EO video was used It is easy to use and powerful It was selected for use because it deals almost singularly with Quicktime Video which is the supported format for Macromedia Director Sonic Foundry Soundforge 6 Soundforge was used to edit the audio files used in the software It is a professional software tool that allows for advanced modification of wave files as well as compression into smaller formats such as MP3 ideal for use in the project David Robinson Page 24 04 12 2003 Adobe Photoshop 6 Photo
15. e result should be unbiased Also it is tested entirely from the user s point of view which is a bonus for a commercially viable project such asathis The use of both of these methods should ensure comprehensive testing of the software and prove conclusively whether or not the software meets its Original specification as well as providing the best course of action to discover bugs and errors within the program Testingsmethods have to be used on both the website and the CD ROM applications David Robinson Page 26 04 12 2003 Test Platforms Test Windows PC Platform 1 Hardware Spec AMD Athlon 2100XP CPU 256MB RAM CD ROM Drive 52x Soundblaster Live Soundcard Nvidia Geforce 4 Ti Graphics Board Windows XP SP1 Test Windows PC Platform 2 Hardware Spec AMD Athlon 1 4 CPU 128MB RAM CD ROM Drive 32x Soundblaster PCI 128 Nvidia Geforce 2 MX Video card Windows 98 r2 Test Macintosh Platform Hardware Spec Apple G4 Processor 256 MB Memory CD ROM Drive Unknown Sound Hardware Unknown Video Hardware David Robinson Page 27 Software Spec Flash 5 Player Quicktime 6 Player DirectX 9 Software Spec Flash 5 Player Quicktime 6 Player DirectX 8 0a Software Spec Flash 5 Player Quicktime 6 Player 04 12 2003 Test Results Test Case Software Developer White Box Software Test Autoplay on Windows Format Autoplay on MacOS Format Hypertext Link to Web site functions Correc
16. e to fade in and out of view by using Macromedia Director s internal transparency tools This gives a nice effect and allows smoother navigation through the program In keeping with the rules of Human Computer Interface more tooltip style help was offered throughout the navigation of the menus The users felt that a brief description of the lessons would be helpful before the student proceeds with it in order to give a taste of what is to come and decide if the lesson is suitable for them David Robinson Page 20 04 12 2003 Web Site Final Design When creating a website and an application of this depth and size then it is important to have the right design methodology Waterfall Method of Design Feasibility Study Analysis Design Implementation Testing Feedback The waterfall design method was chosen for the website design because the website design is a fairly simple one and a methodology like this allows the designer to see the whole project process and cut down on planning time Even though the model doesn t allow for change in the design no change is expected David Robinson Page 21 04 12 2003 Chapter 5 This chapter describes the implementation of the software both on CD ROM and the website Overview of the Implementation Process CD ROM The implementation of the software was relatively straightforward Because of the nature of the program there were no difficult programming languages to compre
17. eated an account This allows the tutors to have your e mail in order to contactsyouewith updates help and advice or feedback David Robinson Page 54 04 12 2003 F Interactive DJ Tutor Web Link Microsoft Internet Explorer File Edit View Favorites Tools Help Q sak x a L p gt Search She Fovorites rei O 2 Br LJ amp 3 Address http mmtprojects herts ac uk 10080 mmt4 53 main asp Google z Gsearch web search Ste Fnews PageRank Eppage info Eup Interactive DJ Tutor Registered User Welcome David Now you are in the main section of the website from here you have access to further lessons and the facility to talk to other users and tutors via e mail and a forum Happy Mixing On Line Lessons Contact a Tutor Main Forum Done Internet From the main menu you have access to more lessons These are constantly updated A Forum for users to share ideas and tips on DJ ing and contact details for the tutors so that you may get in touch with expert DJ s and ask advice from them Remember all posts in the forum are closely monitored by our moderators David Robinson Page 55 04 12 2003
18. eedback and possible modifications to improve the software As mentioned earlier in the report most of the data collected pointed toward using a simple interface that is not going to provide much interference for the user whilst he or she is trying to follow the lessons It was deemed important that both the website and the CD ROM application should follow the same HCI guidelines and design ethos to promote a feeling of smooth transition when students are working with both of them together The use of sound and video should be there to compliment the learning experience and not to hinder it As such thewuse of sound has been kept so that it is only available on demand with thesexception of a few interface sounds that play automatically Video is present in most lessons but has been implemented in such a way as to not impair the user s concentration when studying the lessons The colour scheme was modified after user feedback the use of grey was cut down and so most of the application and the website is designed around a minimalist black and white style using colour inverted graphics to help create a distinctive and modern feel to the software This suits the application and the target audience as itfits in with other material available in the field The screen transition animation was also altered instead of moving graphics it was thought more stylish and less confusing to have the different menu s and buttons present in the softwar
19. f remote assessment Possibly via the use of a file sharing service where existing DJ s can review the students progress To provide teaching tools for the student that are not available in other teaching applications already available To avoid information overload it is expected that the student uses the software at the same time as he she iis practising the lessons too much audio and visual stimulation can be distracting when there is so much else to think about in any one lesson To provide flexibility for the student so that he or she doesn t have to partake in lessons thatare not important for them Implemented through the use of a search engine to locate lessons The project deliverables will be in the form of a CD ROM application and a web site linked to from the CD David Robinson Page 7 04 12 2003 Chapter 2 Background Information This chapter aims to give an idea of existing teaching materials and gives an explanation of the tools and records used in the lessons Other available Teaching Aids Most of the existing teaching aids available for the aspiring D are in the form of books the most popular being How to DJ Properly sby Frank Broughton and Bill Brewster Broughton and Brewster also have a regular column in MixMag magazine and are widely respected as beingetwo of the best DJ s in the field with an amazing knowledge and enthusiasm for dance music This book is in use on several DJ tuition course
20. f the project use of the University web server proved problematic and I lost a little time through having to host my web site off campus for a period However this was quickly resolved and never really posed a difficult problemas the programming didn t need to be changed at all the files were simply migrated onto the new FTP address David Robinson Page 34 04 12 2003 Further Development It would be possible to discuss at length all the possibilities of extending and improving this software The most obvious step to be taken by someone developing thiseproject further would be to include extensions that cover more genres of dance music Because this disc has been tailored to suit house music specifically it doesn t cover techniques needed for learning how to mix with drum and bass or garage or any form of broken beat style dance music There could be an entire range of discs produced that are each independently designed to teach DJ s of different styles each with their own specific multimedia content The next obvious step for further development would be the on line section of the project the file sharing aspect that wasymentioned in the main report body could be implemented and with more time legal difficulties could possibly be worked through allowing for a Useful and unique method of remotely assessing the work and results of the students More work would have to be done on the security of the website currently there is onl
21. he Lessons The most important tool used by the DJ is still the turntable although the use of CD players and MP3 players is becoming more widespread The message given by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton is that itis not important how the music is delivered to the audience just as long as the DJ has put thought into the selection of the music The industry standard turntable is still the Technics 1200 series first in use during 1970 and still very widespread today a pair of Technics 1200 s with a Numark 2 channel mixer are being used as this represents the most likely set up for the prospective students Technics Model 1200 Turntable Numark DM1001 2ch Mixer The Numark DM1001 2 channel mixer is a good entry level mixer it features Bass Midrange and Treble EQ controls which are essential for the lessons that are being included as well as gain controls and 4 inputs For the CD mixing lesson a Gemini CD 20 professional CD player connected to the mixer is being used hhis again is typical of the CD player that a bedroom DJ would use and is the right choice of equipment for the target demographic The Gemini CD 20 features adjustable pitch control jog wheel for manipulation of the track cue control and a pitch bend utility It is a top loading CD player designed to sit ona desktop most bedroom DJ s use this model It is expected expecting that the student has a computer connected to the output of the mixer to reco
22. hend the only language used within Director is called LINGO and is a very loose derivative of BASIC being an event driven programming language rather than an Object Oriented language such as Java or C LINGO is used to control the navigation round the software to provide a way of viewing the multimedia aspects of the program and to provide the link between the software on CD and the website The images and video used within the software were taken at various clubs and at home using my own DJ equipment All photography was performed using a digital camera and was either taken during the design process or during implementation itself when a particular need for the image arose Audio was recorded using a piece of software called Audiograbber and was taken directly from the Mixer intothe computer s soundcard Flash animation is present and was also created during the implementation process rather than during the initial stages of the project Web Site The website was designedain Microsoft Frontpage and follows a similar look to the CD ROM software to promote a feeling of smooth transition for the user when working with thestwo at once The secure login system was written in ASP this was learned from a book as my knowledge of ASP had grown rusty and needed to refresh my memory User details are held in an Access database and they are retrieved modified and added through the ASP web pages David Robinson Page 22 04 12 2003 Software
23. his were unanimous all the people interviewed were sure on one thing that when you are learning there aresso many bombardments on the senses to begin with that any more could pose asproblem The tuition software therefore has to be designed with simplicity in mind and keep the users from suffering information overload Especially with the audio demonstrations that are present in the package these have to be on the users demand and not just start playing throughout the course of a lesson as this could be very distracting for the user who_will be trying hard to listen to what he or she is doing at all times and juggling two different sound sources at all times during most of the lessons Questionnaires Using questionnaires as the only method of collecting data from the target audience is flawed they should only be used as an addition to face to face interviewing because of the possibility that the answers that you receive back are more likely to be un true or biased Questionnaires were distributed to everyone that was interviewed and to several people that were believed would make up the target demographic mainly young people between the ages of 18 30 The questionnaire can be seen in appendix A also David Robinson Page 12 04 12 2003 Analysis of questionnaire data After receiving the completed questionnaires the data received allowed the following conclusions to be drawn Almost everyone quizzed had used some kind of mu
24. imply for aesthetic reasons To provide the student with a reliable method of remote assessment Possibly via the use of a file sharing service where existing DJ s can review the students progress To provide something for the student that isn t available in other teaching applications already available To avoid information overload it is expected that the student uses the software at the same time as he she is practising the lessons too much audio and visual stimulation ean be distracting when there is so much else to think about in any one lesson To provide flexibility for the student so that he or she doesn t have to partake in lessons that are not important for them Implemented through the use of a search engine to locate lessons David Robinson Page 31 04 12 2003 Evaluation of Achieved Aims and Objectives The overall aim of the software was to give the newcomer or beginner Dj a reference tool that will allow him or her to learn the most importanteskills needed for success in the field and to give him or her a few of the basic skills required for using this talent professionally in short to allow the student using this software to be a betterD The project has met this objective through a series of other project aims described earlier in the report These aims included the provision of different lesson plans for students of varying experience namely beginner intermediate and advanced levels of difficulty Wi
25. ing both together would put the development time beyond the available deadline The software provides advice for the student that is only available in books and on thevinternet there are very few CD ROM based DJ tuition packages on the marketmand none that are available to the general public Most of the CD ROM packages available are only for sale through dedicated outlets The marketability of this project lies in its ability to reach a lot of people if sold through general music stores David Robinson Page 32 04 12 2003 Great care was taken during the project lifecycle to ensure that only essential information was included in the lessons themselves When beginning to learn how to DJ there is so much that a student must keep in mind at any one time that to include un necessary information would be a hindrance to the learning process This includes multimedia content as well as written text too much video and audio would get in the way of the ultimate aim of he project which is simply to teach the user to be a better DJ The idea of implementing a search engine within director to allow the user an easy way of selecting lessons never really got off the ground The technical aspect of putting a search engine in using LINGO codesproved too difficult and time consuming for the project plan It was rejected in favour of using a menu based system for users to find the requireduiessons as illustrated below Beginner Lesson Path 1 Se
26. l designed human machine interface must fit the user s mental map of the task he or she wishes to carry out 2 There are several principals of HCI that must be obeyed and the project was designed with this in mind This includes concepts such as keeping the text readable by using sensible colour schemes encouraging user interaction in the software from as early as possible and making navigation simple and intuitive with help in the form of tooltips and descriptions as he or she progresses through the program Initially the software offered the user very little in the way of assistance throughout the use of the program This had to be amended to allow for some kind of help system at least to let the user know what to expect if he or she follows a particular link within the application In the end a method of tool tip style description was implemented this system shows clearly on the screen a brief introduction to the lesson or link that the user hovers the mouse over The colour scheme fro the software is pretty basic with a minimalist approach to the design An idea of the colour palette is shown below a Om Keeping the black text on a white background makes it easy to read and makes following the lessons simpler David Robinson Page 19 04 12 2003 User Exposure and Feedback After the first release of the software it seemed a good idea todetssthe people who had helped with the initial data collection to try it and offemf
27. ltimedia application before There were only a small number who hadn t Almost everyone who had used a multimedia application stated that ease of use and navigation were the two most important factors in making the software useful Things that people would change about these applications included the navigation system to add more multimedia content and to provide more interactivity for the user Also to provide some kind of help system whilst using the software as some users have found applications they have used in the past quite daunting especially ones with large arrays of menu content The people that completed the forms have warying levels of knowledge about the subject matter of the project some are beginners some more advanced and some completely new to DJ ing All people quizzed have experience of basic windows navigation The software will be run mainly Omwindows systems on both 9x and NT formats Most potential users felt that feedback on the learning process would be very beneficial to them and wouldalike to see it included within the final software release David Robinson Page 13 04 12 2003 Learning Methodologies The entire basis of tuition within the CD ROM application is to enable the student to learn by actively following the examples given in thelessons and replicating them on their own equipment at home By encouraging the user of the software to learn by doing andenot having to rely only on a go
28. new folder on your hard drive There is no installation software included with the disciy amp Dj Tutor File Edit View Favorites Tools Help Back gt 2 Search Er Folders E Address G C Documents and Settings David Robinson SMIRNOFF My Documents Final Year Project Dj Tutor Google esearch web GRsearch site gBnews PageRank page info fup Mdighliaht File and Folder Tasks 2 Audio lasl io Gy Move the selected items P Copy the selected items autorun inf F videoj Setup Information GJ E mail the selected items YK Delete the selected items Other Places Final Year Project My Documents Q Shared Documents 7 owtofade dir 3 My Computer ector Movie nedia Director Movie My Network Places Details nedia Director Movie ia Director Movie David Robinson Page 49 04 12 2003 3 CD ROM User Guide Once the application is up and running you are presented with several options to choose from Equipment Overview Beginner Lesons Intermediate Lessons Advanced Lessons Web Link Exit Equipment overview allows you to see a brief run down of all the equipment you will have to be familiar with in order to achieve success in the lessons contained within the software Web Link will takesyou to the website for the CD ROM From here you can create a new uservaccount for yourself and there are contact details for all the tutors on the site for feedback and advice
29. o the widest range of people it was decided that there should be some facility for users of different skilllevels Although the program is aimed at beginner or bedroom DJis in particular it was deemed through the data collection process that there should be included some lessons that cover more advanced topics The project therefore was split into three main sections excluding the website a beginner section an intermediate section and an advanced section with different lessons contained in each Beginner Structure The lessons within the beginner section include Setting up your equipment How to listen to music The push off Beat Matching How to fade These lessons contain enough information and tuition for the first time DJ to complete his or her first mix The lessons are step by step so as to avoid confusion and all the points are illustrated with animation video and sound Intermediate Structure The intermediate section contains the following Cutting Stops and Spinbacks Musical Structure CD Mixing Basic Musical Theory This will enable the student to perform more advanced tricks and techniques with his or er mixing and possibly learn a little about the theory of music Again animation plays a big part in this and is used to illustrate the musical stave David Robinson Page 16 04 12 2003 Advanced Structure The advanced section contains these lessons Mixing in Key Getting your first gig
30. od memory the learning process is speeded up and results can be achieved quite quickly The other method employed by the software is to employdlearning by repetition often within the CD application the student Is asked to repeat techniques shown multiple times or until he or she feels comfortable with the process David Robinson Page 14 04 12 2003 Chapter 4 This chapter discusses the design methodologies that have been employed since the user requirements have been examined Design CD ROM Initial Storyboard Approach After the data collection phase of the project was complete there was a clear idea for the look of the software and so choices needed to be made regarding the navigation of the users through the program In order for this to work there had to be a specific lesson plan created allowing for users of multiple skill levels once this had been done then it was simply a matter of putting these lessons imorder of skill and providing the student with a method of browsing of navigating these lessons A storyboard was created showing each lesson in a single frame then the lessons were lain out in order to show the path through them This would form the basis for the navigation ofthe software These sketches also included a little of the graphical design ethos that my program and website would follow David Robinson Page 15 04 12 2003 The Lesson Structures In order for the software to appeal t
31. rd their results David Robinson Page 10 04 12 2003 Chapter 3 This chapter gives a description of the methods used to collect data from the target audience to form the user requirements Evaluation of the Problem Definition In order to evaluate the worth of the problem that the projectaims to solve there needs to take place an evaluation of the aims andpobjectives that need to be met to ensure that the project is a success To accomplish this several questionnaires and interview schedules were prepared for a select group of people who match the target demographic that the completed software package is going to be aimed at These people include DJ s both bedroom and live and individuals who have expressed an interest in learning how to DJ Knowing what the target audience is looking for from a program such as mine is a great help in knowing what features to add to the software for example what lessons people want how to design the look of the lessons and how detailed the software needs to be David Robinson Page 11 04 12 2003 Defining user requirements Interviews The interviews were brief schedules can be found in the appendix A lasting for no more than fifteen minutes at a time and focussed on the design aspect of the software I interviewed existing DJ s for this because they are the people who have had to learn the skill already and can givebetter advice for others looking to learn The results of t
32. s that are available throughout the country Other titles in a similar vein to the above title include Turntable Technique The art of the DJ By Stephen Webber This title is unique in that it comes complete with two records for tuition purposes This is an intriguing idea but unfortunately something that will be wery hard to include with the project because of the prohibitive cost of producingtest pressings of music Another book is simply titled How to DJ and is written by Tom Frederikse and Phil Benedictus It follows a similar style as the rest of the tuition books but fails to be as comprehensive as How to DJ Properly which remains the industry standard teaching aid As far as electronic teaching materials go there are few available at all let alone ones available from usualoutlets to the public For example amazon co uk doesn t stockkxany CD ROM based applications at all Point Blank in association with Numark a leading manufacturer of DJ equipment such as turntables and Mixers all hardware is explained at the end of this chapter have created a tuition CD similar to that proposed here but it is only available from Such retailers as Hard to Find Records in Birmingham It features video and sound and it follows a similar structure to my own software There are Several DJ tuition courses across the country including a BTEC National Diplomayqualification in DJ Technology this course is available from colleges across
33. shop is the industry standard image editing tool and it is a very powerful piece of software it was used throughout the project for various tasks including resizing and compressing the digital photography and ensuring that the resulting images are free from noise and as clear as their sizeswwould permit Audiograbber 1 81 Audiograbber is an amazingly useful tool that allows the user to perform various operations to retrieve sound from either files on the computer or from external sources It has a built in MP3 encoder for rippingecompressed files from CD audio or wave formats However it s most useful feature as far as this projecttis concerned is it s ability to use the computer s soundcard to retrieve audio in real time from the DJ s mixer i Audiograbber File CD Settings Help lt 3 WK gh fx G 6 Year Fade tracks Refresh Grab Settings Norm I MP3 Freedb Player Exit Genre gt Compilation disc Artist I Album Track name Filesize Information w E S T MOR Total time left 00 00 00 gt I ERETTE audiograbber 1 81 Microsoft Frontpage Frontpage was used in the development of the HTML side of the website Pages that didn t use ASP were built in Frontpage because of it s ease of use and powerful features When working in Frontpage it is possible to see the entire navigation structure for the site at once This is handy for the developer and a valuable feature David Robinson Page 25
34. son Page 43 04 12 2003 Reply from Marcus J ames of Renaissance Recordings From Marcus James mailto marcus renaissanceuk com Sent 08 May 2003 15 35 To D J Robinson herts ac uk Subject d amp g hi david we are fine with this based on the following renaissance are credited should the system you develop have any further commercial value post course ie you sell it on license it you agree to pay a licensing fee of no less than 500 and no more than 1000 to renaissance the final figure to be negotiated in good faith if you do sell it the software on eenaissane have a preferential agreement giving all future repentoive priority consideration again for a mutually agreed license fee as and when the software package is updated i appreciate the whole purpose of this software is to select your own tracks however we are raising this point in the event you have a demonstration segment in the programme i hope this is fine please advise of your further thoughts all best m David Robinson Page 44 04 12 2003 User manual David Robinson Page 45 04 12 2003 Interactive DJ Tutor je Installation guide J User Manual a e y f Thank you for your interest in the Interactive DJ Tutor This booklet has been designed to help you get the best from your new software University of Hertfordshire Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences Bachelor of Science Degree wi
35. th Honours in Multimedia Technology User Manual David Robinson David Robinson Page 46 04 12 2003 Contents 1 Software Hardware Requirements 2 Installation Techniques 3 CD ROM User Guide 4 Using the Web Link David Robinson Page 47 04 12 2003 1 Hardware Software Requirements Recommended Hardware System To get the best performance and therefore the most from this Software we recommend that you are running it on a computer that meets at least the following specification Minimum Recommended Intel Pentium 3 at 500Mhz Pentium 4 1 0 Ghz AMD Athlon at 600 Mhz AMD AthlonXP 1 4 Ghz 128 MB Ram 256Mb Ram 500MB Free HD Space 1GB Free HD Space 32x CD ROM Drive 52x CD ROM Drive 16MB Video Card 64MB Video Card Soundcard Soundcard Required Software In order for this software to run correctly you will be required to have the following installed on your computer Macromedia Flash Player 5 or Higher Apple Quicktime 5 Player or Higher Direct X 8 0 or Higher David Robinson Page 48 04 12 2003 2 Installation Guide To run your software simply drop the CD into the drive and it will auto run taking you straight to the main menu If however you require greater speed than that provided by your CD drive simply copy the entire directory onto a folder on your hard drive Then you can run the software by double clicking on the file Dh exe You must copy every file and folder contained on the CD into the
36. th the advanced lessons focussing on the skills needed professionally The software caters for all three of the expected student types and each lesson within th se tiers offers advice and examples specifically tailored to allow the studento progress through them in a linear fashion Audio Video and animation have been used throughout the software to enable the student to hear and to see what should be practised in the more hands on lessons contained within the software As stated in the original aims and objectives of the project these multimedia additions should not intrude into the learning process of the student and should be there if needed by the pupil to provide another way of illustrating the points contained in the lesson text The initial idea of implementing a Napster style file sharing service for users of the software to get feedback from tutors and other users fell short of completion because of two major points the first being the issue of copyright For a student to be able to record their results from the software to share with other students the legality of this would have to be brought into question Without paying royalties to the record labels who publish the tracks used in the student s recordings distribution of any kind is illegal The second issue was time there would not have been enough time available to implement a system Such as this alongside a full CD ROM based application it was projected that develop
37. the main site section There is very little validation in place currently The system cannot cope with incorrect data entry If the details are present in the database the user is forwarded to the main part of the site The system allows one incorrect try then forwards the user to the registration Sereen All hyper links work correctly and forward the user tothe correct page Actual Outcome Test results weresas expected A new record was created and the user was forwarded correctly The system didn t cope withinvalid character inputeduring the registration process An error was generated Theysystem behaved as expected The users details were located and were forwarded to the main page The results were as expected The system allowed one incorrect try then registration was the next step All links work correctly development of the software for the purposes of black box testing The results Were the same as for the white box tests David Robinson Page 29 Pass Fail Pass Pass Pass Pass 04 12 2003 Problems Discovered Through Testing The sound reproduction through Director has caused a few problems Director seems inconsistent in producing predictable loading delays forthe sound samples and on some machines refused to play at all found a solution to the problem by including a series of files from the plugin folder called X tra s within the director software These files
38. tly Basic Navigation Multimedia Content Spelling and Grammar errors Robustness David Robinson Expected Outcome Program should auto load when CD is inserted taking the user to the menu Program should auto load when CD is inserted taking the user to the menu Program should take the user seamlessly from the Main Menu to the website All interconnectingslinks within the software function correctly All video and audio to play on demand without problems No errors within software Program should behave as expected under abusive use Page 28 Actual Outcome Program Loaded Correctly on Disc insert Hypertext Link functions correctly and presents the user with the secure logon system Although the University Server requires authentication All links operate and take the user to where he she is supposed to go All video and audio is present and functioning correctly No errors found Program held up as well as expected Pass Fail Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass 04 12 2003 Test Case Software Developer White Box Website Test Create new user valid input Create new user invalid input Login as existing user registered Login as existing user unregistered Basic Navigation The same test cases were also used by a person un familiar with the Expected Outcome Users data is entered into the database and user is passed onto
39. tting Up Your Equipment 2 Hear the Music 3 The Push Off 4 Beat Matching 5 How to Fade Back David Robinson Page 33 04 12 2003 Problems Encountered During the data collection phase of the development cycle experiencedsa problem in the lack of available people to interview luckily found Several beginner and intermediate DJ s in time for the end of the phase this however cost the development a little time The software implementation phase was remarkably straight forward very few problems were encountered during the software implementation The main issues were that I had to learn new skills relating to using Macromedia Flash a software tool that had never used before and refreshing some of my ASP knowledge In order to overcome these issues books were purchased that guided me through the creation of what wanted to achieve with the tools The only aspect of the software navigation that T didn t implement correctly was the search function Through LINGO I couldn t figure out how to get this running reliably Users will have to rely on navigating the menus and the helpful tool tips to locate their requiredsinformation from the software Copyright issues have been tricky to resolve but after negotiations with several record companies a solution was found allowing me to use a series of samples for tuition purposes Details of the discussion with Renaissance records can be found in the appendix At the start o
40. y a rudimentary system in place that takes all the users details There is no method of validating that and data entry by these users is correct and accurate The website could also be developed to form an e commerce site that can offer users the chance to purchase other CD s from the range as well as the possibility of selling merchandise and offering further tuition at cost The software is a very saleable prospect and further development of it would lead to an entire array of multimedia CD ROMS that could be produced backed up with an on line community of learning DJ s and tutors As for the current software on the CD there are a number of further developments that would be useful additions The search engine that was not implemented couldsbe included to allow users to locate lessons without using the menu systems An installation option would also come in handy because of the benefits of running the software from a hard disk drive rather than a CD ROM drive It would be easier for the user to have an installer when the disc autoruns David Robinson Page 35 04 12 2003 1 Broughton amp Brewster Last Night a DJ Saved My Life Bantam Press 2002 2 IEC The Human Machine Interface http www iec org online tutorials hmi index html David Robinson Page 37 04 12 2003 Bibliograph Broughton amp Brewster How to DJ Properly Bantam Press 2002 Broughton amp Brewster Last Night a DJ Saved My Life Bantam Press 2002
41. you pay money for a teaching aid such as mine Design 1 Do you already own any interactive teaching aids 2 Ifso what do you like about these 3 Would you prefer to have a linear path through the lessons or to select your own way 4 I will show you a series of possible screens which do you prefer 5 Describe for me some existing windows applications that you like to use and why they are so good 6 What is the most intuitive piece of software you have used recently David Robinson Page 42 04 12 2003 Appendix B Conversation with Renaissance Records Contained within this appendix are the correspondence between the author of the software and Renaissance recordings regarding the use of the following record in the software Drax amp Gooding Straight to the floor Renaissance Catyno USR008 2002 Orignal Letter via e mail Hello My name is David Robinson and am currently working on my final year University project for a degree in Multimedia Technology For this project Fam creating an interactive DJ tuition tool for mixing house music am writing to you to ask your permission to use a Small section not more than 2 minutes of one of your releases namely Drax amp Gooding s Straight to the Floor cat no USRO08 in order to teach the basics of house music beat matching would be most appreciative if you would_allow me to do this Many Thanks David Robinson D J Robinson herts ac uk David Robin
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