Download 34 Chapter 1 Distributing a Macromedia Flash Movie

Macromedia Flash 8
Revealed
GETTING STARTED WITH
MACROMEDIA FLASH
Chapter Lessons
Understand the Macromedia Flash
workspace
Open a document and play a movie
Create and save a movie
Work with the timeline
Plan a Web site
Distribute a Macromedia Flash movie
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Using Flash 8
What is Flash 8?
– An animation and interactive authoring
program
– Has tools for complex animation, as
well as excellent drawing tools
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Using Flash 8
What can Flash 8 be used for?
– Web sites
– Web-based applications
– CD-Rom and interactive applications
– Video
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Optimized for the Web
Flash uses vector images
– Vectors are scalable
– Reduces the size of graphic files
Flash provides for streaming content
over the Internet
– Does not need to wait for entire
contents of Web page to load to start
playing
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Understanding the Flash
Environment
You can customize your
workspace
Flash works on a movie metaphor
– Create scenes on a stage
– Scenes run in frames on a timeline
– Create a movie by arranging objects
on the stage
– Play the movie on the stage using
VCR-like controls
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Understanding the Flash
Environment
Three parts to the development
environment
– Stage
– Timeline
– Workspace
Other parts of the program
– The toolbox
– The properties panel
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The Stage
Contains all objects that are seen
by the viewer in the final movie
You can draw objects on, or import
objects to the stage
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The Timeline
Used to organize and control the
movie’s content by specifying when
each object appears on the stage
Contains images within frames
– Units of the timeline
Has separate layers
Has a playback head
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The Tools Panel
Contains a set of tools used to
draw and edit graphics and text
Divided into four sections: Tools,
View, Colors, Options
Panels, i.e., Properties panel
– Used to organize and modify objects
and features in a movie
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Open a Document and Play a
Movie
The .fla extension is native, and
can only be opened in Flash
Flash exports Web-ready files as
.swf
.swf files should be tested before
being published
Always keep the original .fla file for
modifications
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Previewing a Movie
Flash movies can be previewed in
the development environment
Use control menu commands
– Play, rewind, step forward, step
backward
Use the Controller
– Toolbar command on the Window
menu
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Keyboard Shortcuts
Play: [Enter] (Win) and [Return]
(Mac)
Rewind: ([Ctrl] [Alt] [R] (Win)) and
([Option] [R] (Mac))
Step Forward (.) moves the play
head forward progressively
Step Backward (,) moves the play
head backward progressively
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Testing a Movie
When previewing a movie, some
interactive functions do not work
unless the movie is played using
the Flash Player
Use Control > Test Movie to test
using the Flash player
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Create and Save a Movie
Movies are created by placing
objects on the stage, editing these
objects, animating them and
adding interactivity
You can create graphics in Flash,or
import them from another program
such as Photoshop
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Creating an Animation
A basic animation requires two
keyframes
– The first keyframe sets the starting
position
– The second keyframe sets the
ending position
The number of frames between two
keyframes determines the length of
the animation
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An Object in a Keyframe
Object on the
stage is in
Frame 1 on the
timeline
FIGURE 9
Getting Started with Flash 8
Oval object in Frame 1
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Motion Animation
Arrow indicates
motion animation
FIGURE 10
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Motion animation
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Adding an Effect to an
Object
In addition to animating an object’s
location, you can also animate an
object’s appearance
– Shape
– Color
– Brightness
– Transparency
– Rotation
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Work with the Timeline
Determine and modify what is
happening in a movie frame by
frame
– Which objects are animated
– What types of animation to use
– Which objects will appear on top of
others
– How fast movie will play
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Work with the Timeline
Playhead
Frames
Frame View Icon
Status Bar
Layers
FIGURE 15
Getting Started with Flash 8
Elements of the Timeline
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Using Layers
Layers: like transparent acetate
sheets of content stacked on top of
one another
Adding a layer causes it to be
placed on top of the other layers
Can be re-ordered by dragging up or
down
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Using Frames
The timeline is made up of individual
units called frames
Content is displayed in frames as
the playhead moves over them
when the movie plays
The status bar indicates current
frame the playhead is on
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Using the Playhead
The playhead indicates which frame
is playing
Can be dragged left or right
Dragging back and forth allows you
to check some animations in Flash
without exporting to .swf
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Understanding Scenes
A section of the timeline designated
for a specific part of the movie
Create a number of scenes to
organize movie
Give scenes descriptive names for
faster editing
Manage your flash movie production
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Working with the Timeline
By studying a timeline you can
determine
– If different objects are on different
layers
– If there is motion in any of the layers by
looking for the motion arrow
– The length of the animation
– The frame rate
– Where the animation is in its sequence
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Plan a Web Site
Step 1: State the purpose of
your site
– What do we want to accomplish?
Step 2: Identify the target
audience
– Who will use this Web site?
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Plan a Web Site
Step 3: Determining the Treatment
– What is the look and feel?
– Tone
– Approach
– Emphasis
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Plan a Web Site
Step 4: Develop the Specifications
– Playback System
– Elements to Include
– Functionality
– User Interface
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Using Screen Design
Guidelines
FIGURE 23
Getting Started with Flash 8
Sample Storyboard
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Using Screen Design
Guidelines
Balance
Unity
Movement
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Using Interactive Design
Guidelines
Make it simple, easy to understand
Build in consistency in the navigation
scheme
Provide feedback
Give the user control
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Distributing a Macromedia
Flash Movie
Export out of Flash as:
– .html (The HTML document)
– .swf (The Macromedia Flash
Player file)
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.swf extension indicates a
Code specifying the Macromedia Flash
Player Movie that the browser will play
FIGURE 24
Getting Started with Flash 8
Macromedia Flash Player file
Sample HTML code
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Other Publishing Options
Stand-alone Projector Files
Quicktime .mov files
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Chapter 1 Tasks
Understand the Macromedia Flash
environment
Open a document and play a movie
Create and save a movie
Work with layers and the timeline
Plan a Web site
Distribute a Macromedia Flash movie
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