Macromedia Flash

1
Macromedia Flash

• Introduction to Concept

2
Flash Movies May Include

• Vector Graphics
• Imported video
• Bitmap Graphics
• Sounds
• Streaming is used in order to display the movie
• Start viewing your site within seconds without
  waiting for the whole movie to download. User
  has something to look at right away.

3
Supports Two Types of Graphics

• Vector
• lines and curves descriptions of their properties
  (what colors, how wide to make lines, etc)
  
• Small in file size
• Scale very well
• Complex vector graphics can become very large in
  file size
  
• Not the best for pictures (small gradations in
  color)
  
• Load quickly on the internet
• Raster
• bitmaps created using pixels Map out the
  placement and color of each pixel
  
• Generated by exporting images from Flash

4
Flash can use

• BMP
• GIF
• JPEG
• PNG
• Mac (PICT and PNT)
• TIFF

5

• Flash Project
• FLA local file saved from flash
• Saved in Flash
• HTML Web version
• When published
• SWF playable version
• When published
• Macromedia Flash Player
• Player needed to view Flash on the Internet.
• Bundled with
• IE, AOL, Windows XP, and Netscape Navigator

6
Organizing the Flash Development Environment

• Three Basic Parts
• Stage
• contains al the objects that are part of the
  movie
  
• shows how the objects behave within the movie
• how objects interact with each other
• Layers are used to help organize the objects on
  the stage
  
• Timeline
• Organizes and controls the movies contents by
  specifying when each object appears on the
  screen
  
• Movie is merely a series of still images that
  appear over time
  
• Images are contained within frames
• Indicates where you are at any time within the
  movie
  
• Workspace
• Simply the space where all is created.

7
Operates like a movie metaphor

• Create scenes on a stage
• Scenes run in frames on a timeline
• Create a movie by arranging objects on the stage
• Animate the objects using the timeline
• Play the movie as you are working on it
• Test the movie in a browser
• Publish to create the viewable movie to use in a
  web site
  
• May be saved as executable (projectors) Viewed
  without the need of Flash Player