Flash Window

Chapter 1
Getting Started with Flash
Chapter 1 Lessons
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Understand the Flash workspace Open a document and play a movie Create and save a movie Work with the Timeline Distribute an Adobe Flash movie Plan an application or a website
2011 Delmar Cengage Learning
What is Flash?
Defacto
standard for creating complex animation sequences in Web pages

Use
animated GIFs for simple animation, Flash for more complex sequences
Introduction: What is Adobe Flash?
A developmental tool that allows students to create compelling interactive experiences, often by using animation An excellent program for developing animations that are used in websites, such as product demonstrations and banner ads
Appropriate Use of Animation
Do use animation to:

Explain abstract concepts Chemistry simulation Create subtle special effects or transitions
http://www.cbe.wsu.edu/~jsv/
Add creativity playfulness to a site http://www.greenolive.co.uk/home.html Explain a series of events or a process that follows a specific timeline Draw attention to a detail in a picture by making it move
http://irv.cs.uwec.edu:8080/CS318/JMorrison/KAATKL/MajorProject/index.html
Don't:

Use animation just for the sake of doing it Force a user sit through a set sequence (always provide an exit or way to turn it off) Overused animation so it takes away from your site's goals
Tools Youll Use

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
Understand the Flash Workspace

Title Bar Menu Bar
A Typical Flash Workspace
Movie Menu bar Tools panel Object in the Library panel
Object on the stage

Pasteboard Playhead Selecting frame 1 displays the object (car) on the Stage
Stage

You
can place objects on the stage and they are incorporated on a timeline. You can create a movie by arranging objects on the stage and then animating the objects. You can play the movie on the stage using movie controls, such as play, stop, and rewind.

There

are three parts of the workspace.
Menu bar organizes commands within menus Stage is where you place objects Timeline is how you organize and control objects on the Stage
You
can display one or more panels at the same time.
The Stage contains all the objects such as drawings, photos, animations, text, and video.
Shows how the objects behave within the movie and how they interact with each other You can resize and change the background color
The Timeline is used to organize and control the movies contents by specifying when each object appears on the Stage. The images of the Timeline are contained within frames. Layers help to organize the objects on the Stage.

You can use Panels to view, organize, and modify objects and features in a movie. The Tools panel contains a set of tools, used to draw and edit graphics and text.

Collapsed panel sets
Grouped panels
Stand-alone panel
Floating panel Stacked panels (Properties/ Library and Color)
Arranging panels

The Library panel is used to store and organize the various assets of a movie such as graphics, buttons, sounds, and video. You can expand a panel to show all of its features or collapse it to reduce the clutter on a workspace.

Floating panels can be resized by dragging the left side, right side, or bottom of the panel. Flash provides several preset workspace configurations that provide panels and panel sets most often used.
Open a Document and Play a Movie
Flash files are called documents or movies interchangeably. To play a Flash movie on computers without Flash, you must change the movie to the Flash Player (.swf) file format. Flash players can be downloaded free

To preview a movie, you can play the frames by directing the playhead to move through the Timeline, and watch the movement on the Stage. You can preview a movie using the Controller. To display the Controller, open the Window menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Controller.

The Control menu commands and the Controller have buttons that resemble common DVD-type options.
Control commands
Controller
To preview the full functionality of a movie, you need to play it using a Flash Player. You can use the Test Movie command on the Control menu to test the movie using a Flash Player.
Example of an Application
To view a Flash movie on the web, your computer needs to have the Flash Player installed. An important feature of Flash Player is that you are able to decompress a compressed file.
Create and Save a Movie

Creating a Flash Movie.
Flash movies are created by:
1. Placing objects on the Stage 2. Editing the objects 3. Animating the objects
A keyframe indicates that there is a change in the movie, such as the start of an animation, or the resizing of an object on the Stage.

Object on the Stage is in frame 1 on the Timeline
Circle object in frame 1


Creating an Animation.
The blue background color on the Timeline indicates a motion animation that starts in frame 1 and ends in frame 24 The dotted line on the Stage indicates the path the object will follow during animation A basic motion animation requires two 2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Dotted line indicates the path the object will follow during animation Blue shading indicates a motion tween animation
Motion Animation

Flash provides a process called motion tweening that makes it relatively simple to move objects. Only symbols and text boxes can be motion tweened. Tween span is the number of frames in the motion tween.

Two important things happen during the motion tween animation process.
The Timeline shows the tween span (also called the motion span), which is the number of frames in the motion tween A dotted line is created, called the motion path, representing the path the object takes from the beginning frame to the ending frame

Flash provides several preconfigured motion tweens that you can apply to an object on the Stage. You can preview each preset before applying it and you can easily change to a different preset, if desired.

Note: Your Motion Presets panel may be part of a different panel set or it may be a standalone panel Preview window
Default Presets available, scroll to see more
Panel set with Motion Presets panel active


You can animate an objects appearance. You can alter the objects properties as it is being animated using the motion tween process. You can make changes to an object by using the Properties panel.
Work with the Timeline

The Timeline organizes and controls a movies contents over time. By learning how to read the information provided by the Timeline, you can determine and change what will be happening in the movie, frame by frame.
Layers
Playhead
Current frame
Frame rate
Elapsed time
Status bar
Frames
Frame View icon
Elements of the Timeline


Layers are like transparent sheets of plastic that are stacked on top of each other and can contain one or more objects. You can add layers using the Timeline command on the Insert menu or by clicking the New Layer icon on the Timeline.

When a new layer is added, Flash stacks it on top of other layer(s). You can change the stacking order of layers by dragging them up or down in the list of layers. You can name, hide, and lock layers.
The concept of layers

The Stage

The Timeline is made up of individual segments called frames. The contents of each layer appear as the playhead moves over the frames. Frames are numbered in increments of five.

If you create a motion tween, the first frame of the tween span will be a keyframe. Types of keyframes.
Property keyframe specifies locations on the Timeline where you want an animation to change Blank keyframe indicates that no content (objects) appear on the frame
The Timeline of a movie with a second object


Interpreting the Timeline: What is happening on the Stage is represented by symbols and colors.
Common symbols and colors on the Timeline


The Playhead indicates which frame is playing and can be manually moved by dragging it left or right. Dragging the playhead allows you to do a quick check of the movie without having to play it.
Distribute an Adobe Flash Movie

You can view Flash movies on the web as part of a website or directly from a viewers computer using the Flash Player; they cannot be viewed on the web using the web browser. To publish a Flash movie, you must

Publishing a movie creates two files. The HTML document contains the code that the browser interprets to display the movie on the web.
.htmlthe HTML document .swfthe Flash Player file

Dimensions Movie source Background color
Sample HTML code


Creating a projector file is another way you can distribute a movie that may or may not involve delivery on the web. The projector file is an executable file where you can specify the type of file you want to create such as Windows
Plan an Application or a Website

Use Flash to:
Develop animations that are part of a product and delivered via the Internet Create enhancements to web pages, such as animated logos, interactive navigation buttons, and banner ads Create entire websites 2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Planning an application or an entire website should include:
Stating the Purpose (Goals). What do we to accomplish? want Identifying the Target Audience. Who will use our application or website? Determining the Treatment. What is the look and feel? 2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Defining Treatment.
Tone: Will the website be humorous, serious, light, formal, or informal? Approach: How much direction will be provided? Emphasis: How much emphasis will be placed on various multimedia elements? 2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

A flowchart is a visual representation of how the contents of an application or a website are organized and how various screens are linked. Sample flowchart

Specifications state what will be included in each screen as well as:
The Playback System: the choice of what configuration to target for playback Elements to include: details about the various elements included in the site Functionality: the way the program reacts

A storyboard shows the layout of the various screens, often in the form of thumbnail sketches. It describes the contents and illustrates how text, graphics, animation, and other screen elements will be positioned.

Flowcharts and storyboards make up the user interface (how the objects are arranged on the screen) and the interactivity (how the user navigates through the site or application).

Screen design guidelines.
Balance refers to the distribution of optical weight in the layout of the screen design Unity helps the screen objects reinforce each other Intra-screen unity refers to how the various screen objects relate and how they all fit 2011 Delmar Cengage Learning
Sample Storyboard

Screen design guidelines.
Inter-screen unity refers to the design that viewers encounter as they navigate from one screen to another, and how it provides consistency throughout the entire application or site Movement refers to the way the viewers eyes move through the objects on the screen

Guidelines determine the interactivity of applications.
Simplicity: make it easy so users dont have to spend time learning what the application does Consistency: build in consistency in the navigation scheme so users dont get lost

Guidelines determine the interactivity of applications.
Feedback: provide feedback to users when completing an action, such as changing the color of a clicked box User control: allow the user to skip long introductions and provide controls for starting, rewinding, and skipping animations

Guidelines for a general workflow process.
Create/acquire the elements to be used in the application Arrange the elements and create animations Apply special effects Create the interactivity Test and publish the application

Project Management.
Develop a project plan that provides the project scope and identifies the milestones, including analyzing, designing, building, testing, and launching Identify personnel and resources needs, budget, tasks, and schedules Successful projects are a team effort
Arrow: This is used for when ever you are not using any of the other tools. It selects individual objects or frames or a marquee for selecting multiple objects. It operates the tool bar and menu systems. etc. Brush: The Brush tool is not unlike the pencil but it allows you to create thicker objects and if you're in the mood it can also do calligraphy but I'll let you figure that one out. Dropper: Use the eyedropper tool to copy fill and stroke attributes from one shape or line and immediately apply them to another shape or line. The eyedropper tool also lets you sample the image in a bitmap to use as paint. Eraser: Pretty self explainatory really.

Flash Window

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Descrizione originale:

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Flash Window

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Chapter 1

Getting Started with Flash

2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

standard for creating complex animation sequences in Web pages

Getting Started with Flash

Introduction: What is Adobe Flash?

2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Appropriate Use of Animation

Do use animation to:

Getting Started with Flash

Tools Youll Use

Getting Started with Flash

uses vector images.

Vectors are scalable Reduces the size of graphic files

provides for streaming content over the Internet.

Understand the Flash Workspace

A Typical Flash Workspace

Movie Menu bar Tools panel Object in the Library panel

Object on the stage

2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Understand the Flash Workspace

Understand the Flash Workspace

are three parts of the workspace.

can display one or more panels at the same time.

2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Understand the Flash Workspace

2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Understand the Flash Workspace

2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Understand the Flash Workspace

Understand the Flash Workspace

Floating panel Stacked panels (Properties/ Library and Color)

2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Understand the Flash Workspace

Understand the Flash Workspace

Open a Document and Play a Movie

2011 Delmar Cengage Learning

Open a Document and Play a Movie

Open a Document and Play a Movie

Open a Document and Play a Movie

Open a Document and Play a Movie

Open a Document and Play a Movie

Create and Save a Movie

Create and Save a Movie

Circle object in frame 1

Create and Save a Movie

Create and Save a Movie

Create and Save a Movie

Create and Save a Movie

Create and Save a Movie

Create and Save a Movie

Default Presets available, scroll to see more

Panel set with Motion Presets panel active

Create and Save a Movie

Work with the Timeline

Work with the Timeline

Frame View icon

Elements of the Timeline

Work with the Timeline

Work with the Timeline

Work with the Timeline

The concept of layers

Work with the Timeline