1 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Flash 8: Animation Techniques © Netskills, Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Netskills is a trademark of Netskills, University of Newcastle. Partly funded by the

2 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Topics Animation in Flash Frames and Keyframes Types of animation Frame-by-frame animation Tweened animation Controlling animation Special-purpose layers Shape hints Movie-clips Authoring aids for animation

3 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Flash Animation Objects exist in space and time Frames represent time graphically Keyframes Designate key changes e.g. object position at start/end of animation Frames Inherit content of previous keyframe Specify time interval between changes Changes during animation can be: Made manually (keyframing) Generated automatically by Flash (tweened)

4 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Keyframing Animation Manual changes in object shape/position Each change made on separate keyframe May be required for some animations Fine control over changes Difficult to create smooth transitions Time-consuming May slow movie playback

5 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Tweened Animation Manual changes on two keyframes Difference between keyframes is interpolated Changes in object position / shape Quick and simple Maintains small file size Flash creates smooth transitions Not appropriate for all animations Less control than frame-by-frame animation

6 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Tweened Animation: Motion Animate motion between two points Keyframes define start/end positions Motion tween generates intermediate positions Motion can be controlled Follow a motion guide Rotate, ease, scale… Only for symbols & groups Not simple shapes

7 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Tweened Animation: Shape ‘Morph’ one simple shape into another Keyframes define start/end shapes Shape tween generates intermediate shapes Refine morphing with shape hints Multiple hints give smoother transition Only for simple shapes Not for symbols or groups

8 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Movie-clips Movie clips are a type of library symbol Reusable, animated content Instances can have different properties Separate movie within the main movie Has own timeline that can contain any object Animation is independent of main timeline Can use an unlimited number of movie-clips Properties manipulated through ActionScript e.g. play/stop, hide, rotate, scale…

9 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Animation Aids Creating animation Onion skin View object on a series of tweened frames Edit multiple frames Modify object on multiple frames Reposition, resize, etc. Controlling animation Motion guides Shape Hints Mask layers

10 © Netskills Quality Internet Training, University of Newcastle Summary Flash Animation can be: Generated automatically (simpler) Created manually (if need more control) Combine approaches as appropriate Movie clips Allow independent animations to run in movies Required for interactivity Special purpose layers Control and refine animation Features to aid production of animation e.g. Onion skin view