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I GM online 95% of the time, via voice chat and a virtual table top (VTT). I generally have some music and a few sound effects, which I use with a light touch. I also gather a half dozen applicable graphics, which I show to players as appropriate. Finally, the VTT itself is quite graphical, and thus counts as 'media'. I don't generally use any video.
I have a duck ton of music I use for my games, like 4 gb worth. I create unique playlists for each part of an adventure with tracks representing specific or general events, encounters, and areas of the appropriate mood/theme. It takes a little bit of preparation but it's fun and worth it. I hate it as a player when the GM will play the same 3 tracks over and over again. Music is the only type of media I use that my players have "access" to.
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I have been spoiled by an awesome Dm that puts the maps (i think the program he uses is roll20.com) on a huge flatscreen and moves our character pogs (which are all pictures we chose for our guys from any sourse we want) as we direct. As we are only doing adventure paths, paizo has tailored maps so we can get a real feel for the area we are in.
Some appropriate background music would be great, but for the most part my groups play in a local game store so it's not an option.
Pictures of what is being fought or seen by characters is also cool. Kinda makes me wish I wasn't a mediocre artist sometimes.
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I find music distracting, but sometimes the right audio clip can be used to great effect.
I had a party once tasked with capturing 'my pet bird that escaped into the sewers' unharmed. While they explored the sewers/underworld trying to find the 'bird' I occasionally played this audio clip, mainly using it to taunt them,frequently lure them into traps (there was also a green hag emulating the call), and generally make them feel some frustration that the bird kept eluding them.
When they finally found the lair of 'the bird', turned out it was a cockatrice. After a long and painful fight where the cockatrice took full advantage of the squeezing rules (the entire party was medium size and the lair was sized for a Small cockatrice), fighting defensively, and the fact that none of the characters had brought weapons suitable for dealing nonlethal damage I'd mentally conditioned my players to flinch every time they heard turkey gobbling.
That party never encountered a cockatrice again, though it became a running gag for some time. I'd occasionally use the audio clip when I felt they were losing concentration or when it was time to pick the game back up after a break.
...Then, about nine months later in RotRL I replaced the shock lizards beneath fort Rannick with cockatrices. The party opened the secret door in the basement and I immediately played the same audio clip - but I'd edited it and overlaid it about four times so they could hear the overlapping gobbling of at least a dozen cockatrices echoing down the caves. The party fighter promptly went 'screw this' and sealed the door.
OK so for each session I look at the key themes, what's the setting (culture/terrain) or key identifiable imagery.
I then raid Google for images (image search on key words) and grab maybe 10-20 good quality setting appropriate pictures.
Following that I then get some mood appropriate music (atmospheric, less well known and 'wordy' the better, a foreign language/chanting might also work - nothing 'pop')
Taking all that, I throw the whole mix into Windows Movie Maker and tack in an opening Title screen with the name of the scenario/mod.
So as an example, for a recent game 'Kirin' PFS Scenario, the background was some nice Shakuhachi (Japanese flute music, very zen) with images of old Asian temples, misty bamboo fields, some katanas, some old samurai, some old classic prints etc.
For Murders Mark it was all slightly disturbing carnival music (thematic stuff by Nox Arcana) with the creepiest circus freak images and retro spooky goodness Google would lend me.
The whole lot goes up on the 50" plasma as we game, set at a low volume level so it is just ambience.
Print out full size maps (Murders Mark circus took up a huge chunk of loungeroom floor! I think 15 A3 pages joined) and away you go.
To make it portable I suppose the whole thing could be played from a lappy .
I am 100% DETERMINED to have a PFS event on the beach at Jervis Bay with only nautical/pirate themed scenarios. Only a quick drive, would be worth it. I have a couple of 12 man tents for accommodation and the Rangers are cool with people staying right on the sand.
as a player i use my ipad for evrything charachters refrence document books the works i think carrying paper is dumb!
The less rules referencing that happens the better imo, and that is the ultimate aim.
I like it when the most we have on the table is a couple of character sheets and some dice.
Obviously the GM needs a Module too :p
What as in 'how to', or content? Whilst the files are only about 300mb in H264 format, I'd have to track down royalty free multimedia :p
I already use 3d terrain and music. And I have a s~$& ton of pictures for npcs and locations. I guess what I want now is more of all of it.
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For dungeons, I do the old grabbing dungeon maps in GIMP, scaling up and printing off the PDF. I usually go to a local print shop and print off the size of paper that doesn't require me to cut it up.
I also print off relevant character portraits, and any strange monsters I print the images off for them too.
For sound, I use Syrinscape which is a dynamic background soundtrack and soundboard for tabletop games. Made by a fellow Aussie, I strongly suggest you check it out and the free trial gives you a couple of soundsets to have a look at.
Not sure, seems to have upset the applecart when I had done it in the past and some of my old Machinima videos got soundtracked nixed by Youtube. I've been overly wary since :p
Suckes when you have a 10-15 minute production up and SOMETHING in it has upset them but you don't know what, and especially after I had already deleted all the working files once the job was done.
Make sure you check out the new Syrinscape PC SoundSets! Now players can set off their spells etc.
So the GM, runs the general background music and the roars of the mosters and when the Wizard casts a spell, that player hits her own Fireball sound... so much cooler than just saying, "I cast Fireball"
And don't forget, you can buy Syrinscape stuff in the paizo store now too! Woot!
I'm too lazy to compile and make playlists for music... then my wife pointed something out to me:
Youtube has done it for me.
Epic Movie Music
Epic Pirate Music
etc etc...
one to two hours long, no lyrics, totally awesome, legal and free.
I would LIKE to get a big screen to use, but we play with technologically... simple... people and they insist on tabletop stuff.
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I would love to have a projector table so I could project the beautiful maps in the APs onto the table and use miniatures with it.
I don't have the cash for that so I went and bought map tiles instead. Takes longer but still provides better looking maps than what I can draw on a grid.
As a table top gamer (40k in the past, now warmahordes), I love good visuals in a game. So we paint minis and use terrain tiles. But a projector table.....that would just be sweet.