Systems and methods of authoring a multimedia file are described. In one method of authoring a multimedia file, a collection of media objects, including a reference media object of indexed temporally-ordered data structures, is accessed. The reference media object is rendered. While the reference media object is being rendered, a media object in the collection is linked to the reference media object with a rendering time synchronized to the rendering of the reference media object. In another multimedia file authoring method, a collection of inter-linked media objects is accessed. Media objects are sequentially rendered in accordance with a sequence of media object links selected by a user while media objects are being rendered. The sequence of selected media object links and synchronization data are stored to enable reproduction of media object rendering experienced by the user.