Managing Interactive Media Glossary: R

Glossary: R (23 entries found)

RACI chart or matrix: A diagram showing the people involved with a work initiative, their accountability for the work and the communication they have been given about the work. RACI stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed.
RAD: Rapid Application Development, an approach to software production that splits development into small functions that are programmed quickly.
RAM: Random access memory, basically the memory in a computer.
Rationalized Unified Process: An iterative software development approach that provides a framework of best practices based on an assessment of project failures and how to avoid them.
ray tracing: A technique used in computer graphics to produce realistic images by following the path of light as it travels from the light source, via the objects in the scene, to the observer. This technique has largely been superceded by more realistic methods of modelling light since ray-traced images tend to look very clinical and 'too clean'. There is also no allowance for light reflecting between objects.
refractive index: The amount by which light changes velocity when it passes between media, usually between air and glass or water. The refractive index is different at different frequencies and therefore colours; hence a prism is able to break white light into its constituent colours.
relational database: A database with a complex structure allowing the data items to relate to each other in many ways. If the relationship is simple the database is often called a flat-file since its structure resembles that of a card index.
render: In computer graphics, to build an image.
requirements agreement: A document explaining what the client wants from the program that indicates the range and scope of the work you will produce according to the time and cost you define.
residuals: Extra rights in a licence that are not involved in the primary use but which may be applied later, usually at extra cost. Also called secondary rights.
responsibility matrix: A chart used in some business circles to denote who has responsibility for an initiative and which type of responsibility Ð prime, responsible, secondary responsibility and support responsibility are examples of the types commonly used.
return path: In an interactive system, the way a user can send data back to the interactive system in order to control it.
reverberation: In audio, delayed repeats of the original sound, either due to sound bouncing off the walls of the room or deliberately added electronically, which are so close together as to be indistinguishable. See also echo.
RGB: Red, Green, Blue, the three primary colours of light from which virtually all colours can be built. Also refers to an image that stores the three primary colour components separately.
rights: Permission to reproduce and/or sell something.
RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computer, a microprocessor with relatively few built-in operations but which can execute what it has extremely quickly.
ROI: Return On Investment, a measure of the effectiveness of capital invested in a project, calculated by expressing average profits from the project as a percentage of average capital invested in it.
role play: A technique used in teaching and psychology, in which a person acts out a situation, perhaps from different perspectives, to get insight into decision-making and reactions.
royalties: Payments based on the number of copies sold or distributed.
royalty free: A copyright licence which allows the licensee to use the material without any further payment. A similar term is buy-out. See also clip art/media and royalties.
RSS: Really Simple Syndication, provides a simple way of asking a website to tell you what significant or new items have been added and to provide you with a link to them. The so-called RSS feed is essentially a web page that is designed to be read by the computer and is written in XML rather than HTML. With news sites, the RSS feed will tell you what the latest stories are, and on someone's blog it will be the latest entries. RSS is becoming more sophisticated, with audio, pictures and video being listed and linked. An RSS listing is the way in which a podcast is publicized and disseminated.
run-length encoding: A form of compression that stores the colour of a pixel followed by how many subsequent pixels are of the same colour. This works best with images made up of large areas of flat colour, such as a cartoon.
run-time: The execution, or running, of a program.