Understanding the Flash Interface

Assignment: Work on finishing your Image websites
by Wednesday, April 5th.

Assignment for Friday, April 7 : come to class with
URLs to the Flash websites and Flash banner ads
that you want to use as models for designing your
Flash projects.

Change in Student website Projects:

1. A Flash Banner Ad will be assignment 4, and
it will be due on April 21

2. A Flash website will be assignment 5, and it
will be due on May 8th.

Assignment: (Do after Class)
Study the handout sheet with Flash keyboard
shortcuts. These shortcuts making using Flash
a whole lot easier.

1. I will start grading your image websites on Wednesday, April 5th.Make sure that your image website is up and running by Wednesday. If you are still having trouble using FTP to load your pages on the web, please come see me during my office hours or make a special appointment to come see my at another time. Please send me the new URL for your Design Portfolio page if you were transferred to the www.cclewis.com server or if you have changed the URL address for your portfolio webpage. Please check by Wednesday to make sure that I have the proper URL on the Students' Web Design Portfolio webpage.

2. Two final tips to get your Websites notices:

Check the metatags on websites that come up
first in your Google search, for example, for
"web design" sites:

Webpage Design for Designers

Webpagesthatsuck.com
Link your website to the most dominant websites
in your Google category, for example, link to
the above pages that come up with a "web
design" Google search.
Ask other dominant websites to link to your
websites on their website. This is often "hit
or miss", but sometimes it works.
If you have the money, consider paying a
company to place your website highly in the
search engine rankings.

2. Macromedia Flash-powered websites

Make sure you have installed the
Macromedia Flash Player 7
Make sure you have installed
Macromedia Flash MX
Make sure you have installed the
Macromedia Shockwave Player
Shockwave.com
Macromedia Flash Showcase
FlashAnimation.net
Cocacola.com
Absolut.com
Figleaf.com
Thinkmango.com

2. Examples of Flash -powered Course website

2. Students' Favorite Flash sites

3. Student Flash example websites

3. Flanders' Two-Step Recovery Program for Web Designers

"There's a tendency to add graphics, frames,
bevels, etc. to a site because it can be
added."
"Just because you can add a technology to your page doesn't mean you should....So ask yourself this: 'Does adding this new technology really enhance your website?' "
"Two-Step Recovery Program for Web Designers:

             1. We admit we are powerless over new Web
                   technologies and our Web sites have
                   become unmanageable.

2. We will only add design elements to a page
if they help the site make money or if they
are appropriate to the theme of the site.

3. Paul Ingram, Flash Web Designer, on when to use Flash:

"The main appeal of Flash is its capability to combine and manipulate objects to make animations called "movies" with astonishingly small file sizes."
"We got tons of resistance from customers, but now people come to us wanting Flash. We have to
protect clients from themselves sometimes--
Flash isn't always appropriate."
"Many websites are more informational than
   entertaining....Because Flash is difficult to update,
   if you need a fully database-driven site, then it's
   more difficult to use Flash."
"We use Flash as a major website element only
when the audience is expecting an extraordinary
visual experience."
If you use Flash in your webpages, always give the
user a choice between a "Flash version" and a
"non-Flash version" of a page.

4. Learning to create Flash Multimedia

Flashkit Online Tutorials
Let's look at Macromedia Flash MX.
Creating HTML Files to play Flash Player Files
Flash Movie:

1. Sewtest.html (looping)

2. Rottweilers on Mars (non-looping)

3. When you copy a Flash movie to website, make sure you copy two files associated with it, for example, Movie5.html, Movie5.swf
Beware of continuous looping of your Flash Movies. Continuous playing of Flash movies
can be annoying.

5. The Basics of the Flash interface

Flash creates movies that you can play on the web.
The essence of Flash involves creating symbols that you then put on an active stage.
The power of Flash involves manipulating different
symbol elements on many different Flash movie layers.
Remember, Flash requires you not to use more than one symbol per layer.
In order to make different elements Flash symbols, you must select these elements with the "pointer tool" and then press "F8."
Like a regular movie, Flash works by running frames across the viewing sreen.
Each layer will contain flash symbols that will change from frame to frame.
The power of Flash is to use "motion" or "shape"
tweening to make flash symbols change from frame to frame.
In order to do tweening, you must put keyframes on the layer you want to tween. Press "F6" to create a keyframe.
To add additional frames to a Flash movie layer, press "F5".
By varying the Flash Movie properties, such as frame-rate per second, you can speed up or slow down how fast your movie plays.
The key to using Flash 5 is to use the "panels" menus to create and manipulate various Flash effects.
You should try to keep the most used panels open on your Flash movie desktop. I keep the "Characters," "Info", and "Instance" panels" open to make it easier to do basic work in Flash.
Remember, you can add or delete layers in a Flash movie by pushing the "+" button.
Use the tools on the toolbar to create and modify graphic elements for Flash.
Use the "circle" and "rectangular" shapes tool to
draw smooth, precise shapes for Flash movies.
Most complex Flash movies are a collection of dozens of layers, with each layer consisting of one simple Flash action.
Look back at some of the Flash movies we previewed at the beginning of class. Can you now recognize some of the basic Flash actions we demonstrated today?
See example of Basic Flash Movie
See Flash file for Basic Flash Movie

6. Flash MX Resources

Streaming Audio and Video on the Web

1. Make sure you have the proper "plug-ins" to
run these animations.

2. Examples of Streaming Web Audio and Video

3. What do these producers of Streaming Audio and Video
all have in common?

They represent the professional print, video, and audio world.
What resources do you need to create and update
these multimedia websites?
Should you try to compete with the multimedia
professionals?
If we leave multimedia to the professionals, will the
media always give us what we want and need?
The internet also acts as an "Alternative Voice" for
diverse interest groups and peoples throughout
the world.
Is there, or should there be, an acceptable
standard for "alternative media" and "alternative
voices" on the web?

Shockwave.com
QuickTime--Streaming Audio and Video
Macromedia Flash Showcase
FlashAnimation.net
Thinkmango.com